Swept into the Rich Man's World(32)

Apparently it wasn't crisp enough, since he reacted with little more than an arched brow. "Are you sure?"

Dani jumped to her feet. "I'm going to go see if Rafe needs help.  Marcello rearranged the pantry yesterday, and you know how he gets when  he can't find things."

Who did she think she was fooling? Rafe wouldn't allow anyone to rearrange his pantry without supervision.

"Subtle," Nico remarked when Dani was out of earshot. "One would think she was trying to give us time alone."

"One would think," Louisa muttered in return. "Though I don't know why."

"Perhaps she thinks we need to talk."

"Well, she would be wrong. We don't need to talk about anything."

"I see. Is that why you're avoiding me, bella mia?"

His beauty indeed. I'm not your anything, she wanted to snap. She didn't  belong to anyone. Not anymore. And especially not to someone like him.  Bad enough she let herself fall under his spell at the wedding. "Who  says I've been avoiding anyone? Maybe I've been busy. You're not the  only one who's had a lot to do since the wedding."

"My apologies. You're right." His chair made a scratching noise on the  floor as he angled it so they were facing one another. Taking the last  cornetto from the center of the table, he tore the pastry in two and  divided the pieces between their plates. "So tell me, what have you been  up to that has kept you so busy?"

Louisa glared at the fluffy delicacy in front of her. "Things," she replied.

"Things?" His chuckle was smooth like syrup. "That's a very broad category."

"I'm a very broad person."

"Ah, bella mia. 'Broad' is definitely not what I would call you." His  hand moved forward. Thinking he was about to brush the bangs from her  eyes, Louisa jerked back, only to turn red when he picked up his half of  the pastry. "I wanted to talk about what happened at the wedding."                       
       
           



       

"I told you, there's nothing to talk about. We made a mistake, that's all. Why don't we forget it ever happened?"

Sounds from the kitchen drifted into the restaurant as Nico chewed his  pastry. Louisa listened, trying to determine how far away she was from  rescue. There was an uneasy familiarity to the way they sat with Nico's  leg close but not touching hers.

Slowly his eyes lifted to meet hers. "What if I don't want to forget?"

"One double espresso as ordered!" Rafe announced. The chef returned to  the dining room carrying a gold-rimmed demitasse. Behind him trailed  Dani, who shot Nico a look. From their mutually taut expressions, Louisa  wondered if there hadn't been a disagreement over interrupting the  conversation. She offered a silent thank-you to whichever one of them  had won.

First thing Dani did when she sat down was to try to catch Louisa's eye,  but Louisa continued to stare at the tablecloth and prayed that the  floor might swallow her up. She hated scrutiny. Hated the feel of  people's eyes upon her. Trying to look inside her. Thinking they could  read her thoughts. Her fingers crept to her neckline to tug the suddenly  too-tight collar.

"Will there be anything else, your highness?" Thank God for Rafe. Again.  He set the cup on the table with a flourish, forcing Nico's attention  back to the business at hand.

The vintner's bronze fingers wrapped around the handle. "This will do for now," he replied.

"You do know that when I said 'your highness,' I meant it sarcastically, right?"

"Yes, but you wait on me all the same." Nevertheless, Nico saluted his  friend with the cup before taking a sip. "So," he said after he  swallowed, "you said something about a committee?"

"You were listening," Rafe replied. "Yes, I want to create a committee for developing tourism."

"Monte Calanetti already has a person in charge of tourism." Nico explained. "Vincenzo Alberti."

"Tell me you're joking. Everyone knows Vincenzo did nothing and that the  only reason we hosted the wedding was because your brother was in town  to write the proposal. It could have just as easily gone to some place  in Umbria."

"True. Vincenzo is rather useless."

"What I'm talking about is something independent and more grassroots.  I'm certain if the local businesspeople put their heads together, we can  come up with a host of ideas to increase tourism. Not to mention run  them better."

"I certainly won't complain about increased business, especially during  the dormant months," Nico said. Leaning back, he hooked an arm over the  back of his chair. "Who else do you have in mind besides the four of us?  I assume it is the four of us, since we're all sitting here."

The two men began tossing names back and forth, some of whom Louisa  recognized, some she didn't. She wasn't surprised when, as the  conversation progressed, the dynamic between the friends shifted with  Nico slowly taking the reins. That was something else Nico Amatucci did.  No matter how commanding others might be-and Rafe certainly qualified  as commanding-Nico was always the one in charge.

Her ex-husband had been the exact same way. Minus the rugged sensuality  that is. Steven had been painstakingly glossy, his looks created from  the pages of fashion magazines whereas Nico was more earthy. The kind of  man who got his hands dirty from actually working with them, not from  helping himself.

She remembered the roughness of Nico's calloused hands as his thumbs had fanned her cheeks...

And how effortlessly he'd managed to dance her into a secluded corner  without her realizing. In charge till the end, just like Steven.

"We need to make it clear to everyone involved that we don't want to be  too commercial," she heard him say. "It's one thing to increase tourism,  it's another to lose the very thing that makes Monte Calanetti  special."

Rafe agreed. "Absolutely. Ideally, we want events or attractions that  highlight our traditions and Old World charm. That's what the tourists  want. Maybe there's something we can do around the Madonna and Child  painting in the chapel. Something historical."                       
       
           



       

"I read the other day that Santo Majorca is building a spa around its  underground springs. Too bad we can't unearth a spring here."

"Wouldn't that be nice?"

"Ow!" Louisa jumped as pain shot up from her shin. Damn it, but Dani wore pointy shoes. That kick would leave a bruise.

The two men turned to look at her. "Everything all right?" Nico asked.

"Fine," she said, rubbing her leg. Beneath her index finger she could  feel a small divot. There was definitely going to be a bruise.

Across the table, her friend didn't even have the decency to look  apologetic. She was too busy gesturing with her eyebrows for Louisa to  say something. Louisa replied with a shake of her head.

Why not? Dani mouthed.

Because of a zillion reasons. The concept was still too vague and  unformed, for one. She wasn't ready for people to start poking holes in  her idea. Or take it over, she thought, sliding a look in Nico's  direction. She wasn't sure she was ready period.

"Did I miss something?" Nico asked.

Of course he would say something. Those sharp brown eyes didn't miss a  thing, not that either she or Dani were being very subtle.

"Louisa's been working on a terrific idea," Dani said.

"Really?" He turned to face her. "What is it? If it's something that will help, by all means tell us."

"It's still at the very beginning stages. I haven't worked out all the details yet."

"But the general idea is brilliant. She wants to turn the palazzo into a hotel."

Some of Nico's enthusiasm faded in favor of concern. "What kind of hotel? You're not planning to alter the property, are you?"

"Nothing drastic, I assure you," she said as she shot a narrow-eyed look  in Dani's direction. Why couldn't she have found an unenthusiastic best  friend? "I was thinking of something more like a high-end boutique  hotel."

"Isn't that a great idea?" Dani piped in, clearly unfazed by Louisa's  glare. "People love to stay in historic buildings. Remember that couple  last month who told us they were staying at Palazzo St. Rosa? They  couldn't stop raving about the place."

"She's right, they couldn't," Rafe said. "No matter how hard I tried to make them."

"They showed us the photos, and the place can't hold a candle to Louisa's."

"That's because Palazzo di Comparino is special." Intended as both a  compliment and a warning, Nico's comment made Louisa bristle. It'd been  nine months since she'd moved in and he still acted as though the  palazzo was his responsibility. And Dani wondered why she didn't want to  talk about her plans.