Saved by the CEO(6)

Ah. Clarity dawned.

"This isn't really about recultivating, is it?" he asked, stepping closer. "This is about what happened at the wedding."

She whipped around to face him. "I told you I didn't want to talk about that."

And yet the moment hung over them begging to be mentioned. "Come now,  bella mia, don't tell me you expect us to pretend it never happened?"

How could they possibly ignore such an amazing kiss? Surely he wasn't  the only one who lay awake at night remembering how perfectly their  bodies fit together. The way her breath quickened when he'd stepped  closer, told him he wasn't.

"Don't call me bella mia, and I'm not asking you to pretend about  anything. It's simply not worth talking about. We drank a little too  much wine and let the romantic atmosphere get to us, that's all."

"Really?" He leaned in, angling his head near the curve of her neck.  "That's all it was? A drunken mistake? I'm not sure I believe you."  Especially when her skin flushed from his proximity.

"Why not?"

"Because..." Nico let his gaze take the path his fingers wanted to take. "For one thing, I wasn't drunk."

This time it was Louisa who closed the distance between them, her eyes  ablaze from the confrontation. "Maybe you weren't, but that doesn't mean  I wasn't. Much as your ego would like to think otherwise."

Oh, how his little hornet's nest enjoyed poking him as much as he  enjoyed poking her. "Trust me, bella mia," he said, "my ego doesn't need  stroking. Go ahead and call it a drunken mistake if you have to. Same  way you can tell yourself that you wouldn't enjoy a repeat performance."

Louisa's lips parted with a gasp, like he knew they would. With a smile curling his own, Nico dipped his head to claim them.

Just as their mouths were about to touch, she turned her face. "Okay,  fine, I admit it was a great kiss, but it can't happen again."

"Why not?" Again, he didn't understand. Two people obviously attracted  to one another; why shouldn't they explore the possibilities?

"For a lot of reasons. To start with, I'm not looking to get involved in a serious relationship."

All the better. "Neither am I." Serious came with certain expectations,  and as history had proven, he lacked the depth to meet them.

"And-" she dodged his outstretched hand "-we're neighbors, plus we'll be  working on that committee Rafe is creating. We'll be around each other  all the time."

"Perhaps I'm misunderstanding, but doesn't that make things easier?"

"It will make things awkward."

"Only as awkward as we let it be," he replied.

Her sandals slapped softly against the floor as she returned to her  breakfast table, a position, Nico noted, that put a barrier of glass and  wrought iron between them.

Of course, she already knew that, or else her hands wouldn't be gripping  the chair back so tightly. Nico knew the cues; she was working up to  another reason. "Look, right now I can't be involved with anyone  seriously or casually. I need to concentrate on taking care of myself.  Do you understand?"                       
       
           



       

"Si." Better than she realized. The last woman who'd said those words to  him had been suffering from a broken heart. Was that Louisa's secret?  Had she come to Monte Calanetti because some bastard had let her down?

If that was the case, then far be it for him to add to her injury. One  woman was enough to have hurt in a lifetime. There were other women in  Monte Calanetti whose company he could keep, even if they weren't as  enigmatically fascinating. "Consider the kiss forgotten," he told her.

* * *

Louisa's back relaxed as she exhaled. "Thank you," she replied. It felt  good to clear the air between them. She'd been acting like a complete  brat the past couple of days, stuck between wanting to stand up for  herself and being afraid of succumbing to the attraction. She'd treated  Nico like the enemy rather than the neighbor she'd come to know and  respect. But now that they were on the same page...

Maybe she could finally stop thinking of how much he reminded her of  Steven. Her ex-husband's kisses had made her head spin, too, she  recalled. The first time she'd been kissed by a man who knew what he was  doing.

Feeling Nico's dark eyes studying her, she added in a low voice, "I appreciate your understanding."

"I am nothing if not agreeable."

The joke broke the spell and Louisa laughed. They both knew he could be  as stubborn as she could. "Yes, I've seen how agreeable you can be."  He'd been particularly "agreeable" earlier this year when his sister,  Marianna, had announced her unplanned pregnancy. Louisa had had to talk  him out of staking the baby's father in the garden.

"I brought a smile back to your face, did I not?" His smile was crooked and way too sexy.

"I'm glad you said something," he added in a more serious voice. "I did not like that our friendship had turned awkward again."

He was being kind. "I was being a bit irrational, wasn't I?" Bitchy would have been a better word.

"A bit. But I may have egged you on."

She laughed. "You think?"

"A bit. How about if we both promise to be on our best behavior?"

"Sounds like a plan."

"Good." To her surprise, there wasn't an ounce of seduction in his  smile. If anything he looked genuinely happy. Damn if that didn't make  her stomach flutter.

"But," he continued, changing topics, "you should do something about these fields. It is a waste of good cropland."

Not to mention bad business. Guests weren't going to pay to stay at a nonworking vineyard.

Shoot. She was going to have to let him replant, wasn't she? "As soon as  I finalize the plans for the hotel, I'll make some decisions." He might  be getting his way, but he would get it on her schedule.

"How are your plans going?"

"They're coming along." Only last night she'd put the finishing touches on a preliminary marketing plan.

"Glad to hear it. You know-" he set down his cup, the contents of which,  Louisa noticed, were untouched "-my offer still stands. If you need  investors..."

Louisa tensed before remembering she'd promised to behave better. It  wasn't his fault his offer set her teeth on edge. "I won't need  investors," she told him. "I've got a meeting with the bank this  afternoon to discuss opening a line of credit. If plans go as I hope, I  might be able to open on a limited basis this winter."

"That soon?"

"I did say limited. Waiting until the palazzo is fully renovated could  take years, and I want to move fast enough that I can capitalize on the  royal wedding." She sounded defensive, the way she used to whenever  Steven questioned her. But he's not Steven, and you don't need anyone's  permission anymore. "I figured I'd concentrate on upgrading the  infrastructure, plumbing, electrical, that stuff, and make sure the  front half of the palazzo is in perfect working order, before expanding  into the back."

"Sounds smart."

"I think so." She did not feel a frisson of pleasure at the compliment.  "Now I just have to hope the bank comes through with financing quickly."  And that the loan officers would take the palazzo for collateral  without looking too far beyond the fact she was Carlos Bertonelli's  grandniece. Her post-divorce financials were sketchy at best. And heaven  help her if the bank looked into her former life. She'd never get  financing.

"Who are you meeting with?" Nico asked.

"Dominic Merloni."

"I know him. He's a smart businessman. When I get to my office, I'll call-"                       
       
           



       

"No. Thank you."

"I don't mind. I'd do the same for any friend."

"Did you do it for Rafe when he opened the restaurant? That's what I  thought," she said before he could answer. Rafe would have had his head  if he'd interfered.

So would she. "Look, I appreciate your wanting to help, but it's very important to me that I do this 100 percent on my own."

"I understand," he said. Except that he didn't. Louisa could tell from  how his brows knit together. He was studying her, looking for the  reasons behind her need for independence. Louisa said nothing. She'd  already revealed more about her past than he needed to know.

"But," he added, "I hope, if you need a reference, you won't hesitate to  give Dominic my name. I'm told I have influence in this town. With some  people, that is."

Louisa couldn't help but return his smile. "With some people."

They chatted for a few more minutes, mostly about superficial things.  Rafe's committee, plans for the harvest festival. A series of nice safe  topics that would prove they'd put the awkwardness of the kiss behind  them. Nico had just started describing the traditional grape-stomping  ceremony when his cell phone rang.