An Invitation to Sin(22)

Feeling Luca's tension, Taylor slid her arm through his. ‘I'm thrilled Luca appreciates beauty.'

‘Many women would be jealous.'

‘Perhaps. But not me. We're with each other through choice. Love cannot be bound and held captive. It has to be freely given.'

Luca was looking at her strangely but he didn't say anything and the  chairman beckoned to an overweight man in a suit. ‘Taylor, this is Nico  Gipetti, manager of our flagship hotel. You're his idol so he's been  hoping for an introduction.'

Nico Gipetti's face turned scarlet up to his ears as he shook her hand  vigorously. ‘I love your work.' Having stammered his way through a  stream of compliments, he turned to Luca. ‘Any news from Matteo?'

‘Not a sound.' Luca was looking at her mouth. ‘But I suppose that isn't so surprising in the circumstances.'                       
       
           



       

The manager's features tightened in disapproval. ‘What does he think he's doing?'

‘I should think right now he's probably smashing his way through all ten  commandments,' Luca murmured and then winced when Taylor drove her  elbow into his ribs.

‘What Luca means,' she said swiftly, ‘is that he's probably keeping a low profile out of sensitivity to Alessandro's feelings.'

‘So you have no idea when he will be back?'

Luca suppressed a yawn. ‘No, but while he's away I intend to increase  your profits by an indecent amount so I suggest you all relax and let me  get on with it. I work much better alone.'

And why was that? Taylor studied him thoughtfully, wondering why he was  so determined to keep himself apart, both in work and in play.

‘It's a difficult time for the market,' Nico snapped. ‘What makes you  think you can do what we can't? You know nothing about the hotel  business.'

‘And that is precisely why I will make it a success.' Luca paused to  study the cut of the suit of a man walking past, a perusal that ended in  a disbelieving shake of his head. ‘I don't come weighed down with  preconceived ideas, nor am I working from a palette of ideas that have  been used a million times before by both yourselves and the  competition.'

The chairman joined in the conversation. ‘Perhaps this is a good time to  give us some detail. I'm sure Nico is interested to hear how you intend  to add value to the brand.'

‘That's easy. Your occupancy is down because you have no appreciation of  style or beauty,' Luca said bluntly and Taylor almost laughed at the  shock on their faces.

She loved his honesty. He didn't care what people thought, which meant  he wasn't afraid to speak the truth. Working in a profession where  people rarely told the truth, she found it a refreshing change to be  with someone who spoke his mind.

Sadly Nico didn't agree. ‘Perhaps we should talk in Italian so that we don't bore Taylor with our business.'

Luca scooped up two glasses of champagne from a pretty waitress with a  wink and a smile. ‘Taylor doesn't speak Italian-' he handed her a glass  ‘-and unlike you, Nico, I have no problem with my fiancée expressing an  opinion. I'd like her to be part of the conversation.'

They put him down at every turn and yet he was bigger than all of them,  she thought. He had an innate confidence, a powerful belief in himself  that resisted all their attempts to diminish him. They tried to make him  look small and yet each time they knocked him down he rose higher,  towering above them in every way.

She felt a flash of pride and then wondered why she would feel pride in a man who wasn't hers.

Unsettled, she sipped her champagne and asked the question no one else  seemed interested in asking. ‘So do you have a plan for the hotels,  Luca?'

Luca didn't hesitate. ‘We're going to refurbish the top six from the  latest Corretti Home collection. Out with bland, hotel uniformity and in  with style and originality. Instead of guests walking away with white  waffle dressing gowns they could purchase from any retail outlet, they  come away with ideas for decorating their own homes and recreating  luxury in their everyday lives. They leave not just rested, but  inspired.'

Nico spluttered over his drink. ‘The Corretti name is already a strong brand. We don't need your help with that.'

Luca smiled. ‘By the time I've finished Corretti won't be a brand, it will be a lifestyle.'

There was a stunned silence.

Nico hadn't touched his drink. ‘You're assuming people would want your lifestyle.'

‘How could they not?' Luca slid his arm round Taylor, who smiled up at  him in full-on adoring-fiancée mode, but this time the act was easy  because her admiration was genuine.

‘So you're giving people the message that if they stay in a Corretti  hotel, they soak up some of the Corretti style-that's a totally  brilliant idea.'

A faint frown touched his forehead. ‘Grazie, bellissima.' He hesitated  and then lowered his head and kissed her gently. ‘And now I think about  it, you'd be perfect to front the campaign I have planned. Corretti  Hotels-First Choice for Taylor Carmichael, Movie Star.'

‘I'd have to stay in it first, just to check it has my approval.'

His smile was intimate. ‘Once the hotel has been refurbished, we'll christen the Presidential Suite.'

Her gaze collided with his. Her stomach twisted. the chemistry between  them rocketed off the scale. Through the thick, lazy heat of sexual  awareness she heard the chairman clear his throat.                       
       
           



       

‘It seems Luca has extravagant plans for the business, but what about  the two of you?' He beamed at them. ‘You're just so perfect for each  other. It occurred to us that a Corretti wedding would focus attention  away from Matteo's untimely elopement.'

‘Was it untimely?' Still looking at Taylor, Luca raised his eyebrows. ‘I thought the timing was perfect.'

Taylor, still shaken by the depth of the physical connection between them, decided that goading the board was a sport to him.

‘What Luca means,' she said quickly, ‘is that there is never a good time for such a thing to happen.'

‘Perhaps not.' The chairman didn't look convinced. ‘But there is no  doubt that your wedding would divert attention and give the press  something positive to think about. You should marry without delay.'

It was a suggestion she hadn't anticipated and Taylor felt Luca's arm tighten around her.

‘A rushed wedding would lead people to assume Taylor was pregnant and none of us want that.'

The chairman's smile faded. ‘You don't want to be pregnant?'

‘Of course she wants to be pregnant.' Luca's gaze drifted over the heads  of the people around them. ‘But not before we're married.'

The chairman relaxed slightly. ‘The press is full of pictures of your  romantic dinner together last night. Love has transformed you, Luca. A  big family is exactly what you need. I assume Taylor will be giving up  her career once you're married?'

Taylor choked on her champagne and Luca thumped her on the back.

‘Taylor can't wait to have children,' he said smoothly as he gave her  time to compose herself. ‘To the world she's this fantastic, glamorous  movie star but underneath all she wants is to walk barefoot round my  kitchen, cooking my dinner and nursing my babies. She's a real  earth-mother type, aren't you, angelo mia?'

Taylor had the feeling he was enjoying himself hugely. ‘Babies-' she  played along ‘-I can't wait. We've agreed on at least six, haven't we,  Luca?'

‘Six?' It was his turn to be startled. ‘Of course, bellissima. I'm all  too happy to make as many babies as you would like as long as you're  sure you can cope with them while I'm away on business. Which might be  often.' His sensual mouth flickered at the corners and she found herself  looking at that mouth and thinking of the way he kissed.

‘We'll travel with you, my heart.'

‘Bene! I'll be working on my laptop while six adorable little children,  all dressed in Corretti Bambino crawl all over you wanting you to read  to them, play with them and tuck them in at night.'

The image he painted was so vivid she couldn't breathe. It was supposed  to be a private joke but Taylor didn't feel like laughing. How would it  feel, she wondered, to have a family like that? A family that supported  one another? It wasn't a life she'd ever imagined for herself. Whenever  she looked into her future she saw herself alone because any alternative  scenario involved trust, and she knew she wasn't capable of that.

Sadness squeezed her chest, as unexpected as it was painful.

The chairman patted Luca on the shoulder. ‘We'll leave you two young  things to mingle.' Smiling benignly, he drew Nico away and Luca and  Taylor were left alone in the crowd.