Bound by the Italian's Contract(24)
It was a hidden place of treacherous cliffs and lush hidden vales amid the backdrop of soaring snow-capped peaks. Shadows and amazing lights. Light and dark. Soft and hard. Like Luciano, who clearly had roots here.
Deep roots would be mandatory here. Clustered against the hills and nested on the flats were charming Alpine structures anointed with cream stucco walls and tiled roofs that gleamed a rich patina under an intense high mountain sun. It silently offered beauty and solitude. Yet for all its apparent quaintness an upbeat atmosphere pulsed in the air, as if the area were being prepped for an event.
Robust villagers waved as they passed, many shouting out warm greetings to Luciano, who returned each with a very broad, very relaxed smile that she’d never seen before. The transformation was miraculous. She blinked, certain she must have imagined the change in him from stoic traveling companion to congenial resident of this bustling settlement tucked in the Italian Alps.
Right now he was beyond handsome. Boyish. Open.
This was the man she’d caught a rare glimpse of years ago. A man she’d thought she shared much in common with. But she’d been wrong. She hadn’t known him then and she certainly didn’t know him now. Nor did she wish to.
The village might be a world apart from the après-ski scene she’d associated him with, but Luciano was the same cunning man. This show of relaxation was just another mask for him to don at will.
She wasn’t about to be fooled by him this time. But she would give herself over to admiring this amazing village. Every building held its own Old World charm. Except for the mammoth glass and log structure that rose high above the village. The clouds shifted and rays of sun illuminated its soaring glass facade as well as the hints of dangerous runs streaking the surrounding mountains.
It was a curious combination of danger and opulence, just like the man beside her.
“Is that your lodge?” she asked, shielding her eyes as she pointed to it.
He slid on a pair of Louis Vuitton sunglasses, but the hint of a smile pulling at his mouth boasted pure pride. “Yes, that is la Duchi Royal.”
Fingers of panic reached out to her from the shadows of her mind as he wound the car through the narrow cobbled streets toward the premier lodge overlooking the valley. She’d expected wealth unlike she’d ever seen before, but this went far beyond her imagination.
“It’s fabulous.” An understatement, but words failed her.
“It is unique.” He glanced at her and smiled, and her heart did a crazy thump in her chest. “Like your program.”
Her cheeks burned. “You don’t have to keep saying that.”
He shrugged. “It is the truth.”
She tore her gaze from his and swallowed hard, shaken that his compliments affected her so deeply. Was she that needy for attention?
No. That was her mother’s penchant.
She thrived on work and being totally independent. She had to be in control. Yet his compliments had begun to fluster her, and that wasn’t normal.
Luciano was right. She was only comfortable when she was in control of her business and her life. Right now both were hanging in limbo, leaving her feeling on edge.
Once she immersed herself in this project, she would draw strength and confidence. She couldn’t settle for any other outcome, no matter how much she was tempted.