A Night of Living Dangerously(63)

“Thank you for being a fool,” she said, her heart welling with joy. “Thank you for making all my childhood dreams come true.”

He looked down at her, his handsome face glowing with love and shining with the strength of steel. “And thank you,” he whispered, stroking her cheek, “for making me want to dance.”

They danced at their first anniversary party the following September. As Alessandro led Lilley to the dance floor in their Sonoma ballroom, he whirled her in a circle, making her colorful skirts twirl. She heard a soft “awww” from their fifty or so guests, just family and friends, including a deep sigh from her father, who was holding his baby grandson, Teo.

Alessandro pulled her close on the dance floor. Lilley looked up at him breathlessly as he swayed against her.

“My, oh my,” she murmured, fluttering her eyelashes. “You’re quite the dancer. Have you been taking lessons?”

“You know I have. You’ve been taking them with me.” He twirled her, then gave a mischievous grin. “No broken toes in sight.”

“Because you’re leading me.”

“No,” he whispered, pulling her close. “We lead each other.”

Lilley looked up at him, dazed with happiness. Their lives over the past ten months had been filled with one joy after the next. They now split their time evenly between Rome and San Francisco, where Lilley had started her fledgling jewelry company, Lilley Caetani Limited. Her first collection had already been a great success at the international jewelry trade show in San Francisco.

So much had changed in the last year. Lilley was still awed to think how, just fifteen months before, she’d attended the trade show as a guest with a dream. Now she was an exhibitor. With Carrie’s financial backing, her fledgling company had already made a splash in the trade dailies and orders had started to flood in from around the world. She would have to hire more employees soon. Lilley often traveled with her husband and their baby to Singapore or Norway or Namibia, getting inspiration for her designs. She happily traveled wherever the continuing expansion of Caetani Worldwide took them.

There was only one of Alessandro’s potential acquisitions that she absolutely wouldn’t allow. Alessandro had made multiple offers to buy her company and merge it with Caetani-Hainsbury Worldwide, which she’d refused in no uncertain terms.#p#分页标题#e#

“Sorry, my company is not for sale,” she’d said breezily. “I’m not interested in being part of some soulless, heartless conglomerate—”

“Hey!”

She’d grinned. “Sorry. But my company is small and I like it that way.”

He’d tilted his head thoughtfully. “We could double your growth projections, especially in Europe. And there might be other fringe benefits as well,” he’d murmured. “Think about it.”

“Not for sale at any price,” she said primly.

He’d lifted a wicked eyebrow. “Oh? Are you sure?” And he’d pulled her into bed. Lilley sighed at the memory. Of course, she would never sell him her company, but it was sure fun to let him try.

Tonight’s anniversary party in Sonoma had been Alessandro’s idea. He’d planned the whole thing from start to finish. The wine harvest looked to be excellent this year, and all their friends and family beamed as they held up glasses, toasting Alessandro and Lilley on the occasion of their one-year anniversary.

Olivia Bianchi, alas, was not in attendance. Lilley hadn’t even tried to invite her. She’d learned she couldn’t please everyone, and she didn’t need to impress anyone. The only people she cared about were right here: her friends Nadia and Jeremy, who were now engaged. And her family. Her cousin had come all the way from France, along with Carrie and their baby. Alessandro and Théo might never be friends, but they’d managed to achieve a sort of détente. They’d moved their rivalry to the realms of basketball and extreme sports like skydiving. Great, Lilley thought with an inward groan. Just what she needed. A husband and a cousin who were fighting to jump out of a perfectly good plane.

Even her father was doing better, now that he’d retired and given up day-to-day management of Hainsbury’s to Alessandro. The company was on track to merge with Caetani Worldwide, and all of it would be left in trust to Walton’s grandchildren. Her father had moved to San Francisco to be closer to them, and to focus on getting healthier. And, like a miracle, he seemed stronger every day. Especially on the days he played with his grandson.

Friends and family were all that mattered, Lilley thought. Not fame. Not the glitter of wealth. The only diamonds that mattered were the ones in the bright smiles of the people she loved. As her dance with Alessandro ended and their friends applauded wildly around them, her father brought the baby to the dance floor.