Saved by the CEO(10)

"Besides," he added in a voice that was even lower than before, "if you  run away, the press win. People will believe what's written-the stories  will start to sound true. Is that what you want? To give Luscious Louisa  life?"

"No."

"Then stay, and show the world you've got nothing to hide. That what the press is saying is nothing more than gossip."

He let his reasoning wash over her. For several minutes, she said  nothing, all her concentration focused on an invisible spot inside her  drink. When she finally spoke, the words were barely a whisper. "What if  you're wrong?"

"I'm not." It hurt to hear the doubt in her voice. Damn her ex for  killing her trust. "Whatever happens, you already have three people on  your side."

"But last time..." She shook her head.

"Last time there was a trial, no? This time it is only gossip. In a few  days the press will have moved on to a new scandal and forgotten all  about Luscious Louisa. Then you go back to your life. Surely, you can  handle a few days of whispers, can't you?"                       
       
           



       

"You have no idea how many whispers I've handled in my lifetime," she replied, looking up at last.

Finally, there was a spark. A bit of the fire he'd come to expect.  "Good. Then, it's settled. You're staying here, where you belong."

Louisa had opened her mouth to reply but stopped abruptly. He heard the  sound of rustling outside on the terrace. She'd heard it, too, because  the fingers holding her glass grew white with tension.

For the third time in less than an hour Nico could feel his temper rise.  At this rate he would need an entire case of fernet to keep him from  murdering the entire Italian media corps.

"Wait here," he mouthed, then held an index finger to his lips. Moving  as softly as possible, he headed toward the terrace door, which they'd  accidentally left propped open, and peered around the corner. There was  another rustle, followed by a flutter before a lark flew past his face.  Nico started at the sudden movement, his cheeks turning hot. "Just a  bird," he said unnecessarily.

"This time," Louisa replied.

She was right. This time. Sooner or later the paparazzi would get their  shot. "Maybe you should stay with Dani and Rafe," he said.

"I thought you didn't want me running away."

"I don't, but I also want you safe." He didn't say it, but it wasn't  only the paparazzi he was worried about. There were also those unhinged  few who would want to see if Luscious Linda was as sexy as the gossip  pages implied. Until the story died down, trespassers were a real  threat.

"I don't know..."

Surely they were past her insecurity at this point, weren't they?  "What's the problem? As long as you are staying with them, you won't  have to worry about the paparazzi. Rafe will make sure no one bothers  you." Nico would make sure he did.

"Rafe and Dani have a business to run. I'm not going to ask them to waste their time babysitting me."

"No one is babysitting anyone."

"Aren't they? If they have to spend their time protecting me from all  the paparazzi in town then it's babysitting," Louisa replied. "I'm  better off grabbing the bus." She took a sip of her drink and grimaced.  "What is this stuff?"

"Fernet-Branca."

"I hate peppermint," she replied, and set the glass on the coffee table.

"It is an acquired taste." Her change of topic wasn't going to work. She  could complain about the drink all she wanted, he wasn't going to let  her leave Monte Calanetti.

Tossing back his own drink, he slapped the glass down before the liquor  even started cooling his insides. "If you don't want to stay with Rafe  and Dani," he said, "then you'll just have to stay with me."

"Excuse me?"

If the situation weren't so serious, he'd laugh at the shock on her  face. It was the perfect solution, though. "You will be able to avoid  the paparazzi in the village, plus you'll be close enough to keep an eye  on the palazzo. Can you think of a better location?"

"Hell. When it freezes over."

This time he did laugh. Here was the feisty Louisa he was used to.

"I'm serious," she said. "If I don't want Rafe and Dani playing babysitter, I sure as hell don't want you doing it.

She was being stubborn again. It wouldn't work any more than trying to  change the subject had. "Fine. If it makes you feel better, you can work  while you are staying with me."

"Work?"

"Yes. I told you, since the wedding, we've been inundated with orders  for Amatucci Red. I can barely keep up as it is, and with the harvest  and the festival coming up, I'm going to need as much help as I can get.  Unless you don't think you can handle filing invoices and processing  orders."

"You-you'd trust me to do that?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"What about Luscious Louisa?"

God, how it hurt to see her looking so vulnerable. Tears rimming her  eyes and her lower lip trembling. Silently, he damned Steven Clark for  dragging her down with him.

He might have promised to keep his distance, but at this moment, he  couldn't stop himself from closing the space between them. He brushed  his thumb across her quivering lip.

"Like I told you before, anyone who has spent time with you knows you're not the icy seductress the press makes you out to be."

"Thank you." A tear slipped out the corner of her eye and he fanned it  away with his hand. So vulnerable and so beautiful. It shocked him how  badly he suddenly needed to keep her safe. But then, this afternoon had  been full of shocking reactions he'd never experienced before.                       
       
           



       

There was one reaction he recognized, though. The stirring in his jeans  as he breathed in her scent. He brushed the hair from her face, the  strands reminding him of corn silk. Promise be damned. He wanted to kiss  her. Quickly, he stepped away before he could take action. Now was not  the time to push his luck. "Go pack a bag," he told her. "We'll leave  before the paparazzi realize you're gone."

* * *

You made the right decision, Louisa reminded herself on the way  upstairs. Hiding out was better than running away, and Amatucci  Vineyards did make the ideal hiding place. Plus she would be earning her  keep. It wasn't as though she was going to become Nico's kept woman.  She'd insist on the entire arrangement being professional and platonic.

Why, then, was her stomach in knots? Maybe, she thought as her eyes fell  on the suitcase in the corner, because she'd gone from leaving town to  working for Nico in less than an hour without knowing how she made the  journey.

Or maybe it was because saying yes had become a whole lot easier once Nico had brushed her cheek.





CHAPTER FOUR

LUSCIOUS LOUISA'S LATEST CONQUEST?

"TOO BAD THEY couldn't find a proper synonym. Conquest spoils the alliteration." Nico said, turning the newspaper over.

Louisa didn't share his sense of humor. The headline screamed across the  front page along with a photograph of her and Nico cropped from one of  the official wedding shots. Apparently the photographer Nico kicked off  her balcony had done some research following the altercation. The  article described how the "enraged" vintner had come to her rescue and  implied the two of them had been an item for weeks. Or, as the article  put it, she'd managed to charm the richest man in town.

This was exactly what she didn't need after a restless night. There was  still a large part of her dying to grab the first bus to Florence.  Screaming loudly, in fact. She couldn't stop thinking how easily she had  agreed to Nico's idea. Sure, he had a point about staying and proving  the press wrong, but to put herself in his care like this? It reminded  her of how things had begun with Steven. He'd liked to swoop in and take  care of everything when they were dating, too. Only you're not dating  Nico, she reminded herself, staring down at her breakfast pastry.

And unlike with Steven, this time she had age and hindsight in her  favor. She may have agreed to stay here, but she would keep her bags  packed. That way if the situation changed and the walls started closing  in, she could be out of here in a flash.

Meanwhile, her breakfast partner was enjoying his pastry as though he didn't have a care in the world.

"I don't know how you can be so cavalier," she said watching him chew  his pastry. Anyone would think he liked being dragged through the  tabloid mud.

Nico shrugged. "How am I supposed to act?"

Indignant, perhaps? Angry? Some show of emotion. He'd practically  exploded when he discovered the paparazzo yesterday, and that had  nothing to do with him. These headlines were personal. "The article  makes you sound like a lovesick fool."