The Italian's Ruthless Seduction(26)

With great difficulty she stopped herself from dashing outside and throwing herself into Sergio’s arms like a loving wife greeting her soldier husband home from a dangerous war.

‘Play it cool,’ she muttered under her breath as she forced herself to stay put in the kitchen.

Which she did, till he walked in with his arms full of shoe boxes and large plastic bags, his dark eyes glittering with happiness.

‘I was getting worried,’ she said before she could stop herself.

‘I would have texted you but that would have made me even later. Wow, something smells good,’ he added, dumping all his parcels on the large kitchen table and coming over to have a sniff of the very aromatic spaghetti sauce, which had been simmering for several hours. ‘Yours, or Maria’s?’ he asked as he lifted his head to smile at her.

‘All mine,’ she said. ‘One of Maria’s children has a cold so I sent her home.’

‘You’re a good woman,’ he said, turning to draw her into his arms. ‘And a brilliant one. That idea of yours was sheer genius. So a thank-you kiss is definitely in order.’

Without waiting for her to reply Sergio kissed her. Hard. His mouth devouring hers for a delicious length of time, Bella quite breathless by the time his head lifted.

‘You are like one of Roberto’s pizzas,’ he growled. ‘One slice is never enough. But you are also like fine wine, my darling Bella. Even better if left uncorked for a while.’

She laughed, loving the way he kept calling her darling. ‘Thank you very much. I think...’

‘Speaking of fine wine, I recall Jeremy sent me a case of truly wonderful reds last Christmas. I’ll just pop down to the cellar and get us a couple of bottles to have with that incredible food you’ve made us.’

‘I still have to cook the spaghetti. Or would you prefer another form of pasta?’

‘Spaghetti will do fine. And there’s no rush. It will be nice to sit here with you and talk till it’s ready. I have so much to tell you. And show you.’

‘Yes, so I see,’ she said, nodding towards his mountain of parcels.

He shrugged. ‘Wasn’t sure which ones to bring. After all, I know next to nothing about female fashion accessories. Like I said, I like my women naked,’ he added with a devilish grin. ‘Back in a sec.’

She shook her head at him as he left. He really was a bit naughty. But extremely lovable. And very sexy. She was going to find it hard to keep her hands off him till he’d talked himself out. Still, Bella could not deny that she was curious over what his new plans were for the business. She was keen too to have a look at the various samples he’d brought home.

By the time Sergio returned with the two bottles of red, the spaghetti was on and Bella was looking at the shoes and handbags on the table.

‘Well, what do you think?’ he asked her as he opened both bottles.

‘I’m no expert,’ Bella said thoughtfully, ‘but they all look very good quality to me. Not cheap at all. The leather is lovely and soft on the shoes. And the handbags have timeless classical lines. They’re also not too big or too small. Same with the handles. Possibly you could improve the quality of the linings. The material is a bit thin. And the colour is not the best. Black linings are really annoying. I can never find anything in handbags with black linings.’

Sergio nodded. ‘I would never have thought of that.’

‘Why would you? You’re not a woman. Thank heavens,’ she added with a saucy look.

He laughed, then poured them both a glass of wine. ‘Now tell me what you think of this wine.’ And he handed her a glass.

‘Once again, I’m no expert,’ she said as she swirled the glass, sniffed the bouquet, then took a small swallow.

‘Yes, I can see that,’ he said with a dry laugh.

‘Come now, Sergio, a modern western woman is not going to reach the age of thirty without absorbing a little wine know-how. I can’t say red wine is my favourite tipple but this is exceptional. Goes down like silk.’

‘Jeremy only drinks the very best.’

‘Sounds like a bit of a snob.’

‘Oh, he is. But a nice one. You’ll know what I mean when you meet him.’

‘I can’t see that happening any time soon.’

They ate out on the terrace where Bella had already set the table complete with candles. By the time the food was gone and they started on the second bottle of wine, Bella had the full picture of what Sergio’s new plans were for Morelli’s shoes and handbags.

After hearing Bella’s ideas over the phone, he’d immediately called a meeting of all the managerial staff in those departments, right down to the factory floor, explaining to them that they weren’t going to try to compete with the cheap shoes and handbags being made in Asia any more. They were going up-market, lifting their quality and prices. He also wanted to introduce a very exclusive and more colourful designer range of shoes and bags—including luggage—which would have limited production but super-high prices.

The reaction he’d received was generally very positive, with only a few older members of staff clearly unhappy about the changes. Apparently, Sergio took these aside after the meeting and offered them all redundancy packages that were too generous to refuse. One of them was a distant cousin who his father had put in charge of the company after he fell ill.

‘I gave him a little extra,’ Sergio admitted. ‘He’d done the best he could but was too set in his ways to embrace new ideas.’

‘You did the right thing, Sergio,’ she reassured him, picking up the bottle of wine and refilling Sergio’s glass.

He lifted the glass to his lips and took a deep swallow, his eyes carrying a degree of regret. ‘I felt bad to begin with but I really had no alternative. It’s a case of sink or swim in this economic climate and Morelli’s was sinking. Which reminds me...’ Now his eyes brightened, as did Bella’s spirits. The last thing she’d wanted when she’d come up with her idea was to cause him trouble. ‘I’ve decided that the new designer range of shoes and bags will need a new brand name. I hope you don’t mind but I would like to call it Bella.’

‘Mind! Why would I mind? It’s got exactly the right ring to it.’ She threw him a flirtatious smile. ‘I think you might just be as brilliant as I am.’

His smile was wry. ‘I have a long way to go to catch up with you, my darling. I’m still amazed by that song you wrote. You know, I’ve never seen that particular show of yours but I’d love to. Are you planning on another season on Broadway any time soon? Maybe I could see it when I come visit you.’

She almost told him then. About the movie. But she didn’t. Which was just as well, as it turned out.

‘There’s no immediate plans for another season,’ she said instead.

‘Pity. Not that I need an excuse to visit you, mind.’ His eyes glittered with desire as they raked over her. ‘Have I told you how sexy you look in that dress?’

‘No,’ she said, her own desire flaring in an instant.

‘What say we leave this mess for Maria to clean up tomorrow and pop off to bed?’

Yes, please, her eyes must have told him.

‘Come on.’ He put down his wine, stood up and held out his hand.

‘Do you think I could sleep with you here the whole night,’ she asked breathlessly when he pulled her up the stairs and into the master bedroom.

‘If that’s what you want,’ he replied, turning her to face him.

‘It’s what I want. But is it what you want? Maria will think things when she finds my bed unslept in.’

‘Maria already thinks things, Bella. She’s an incorrigible romantic, like Claudia.’

‘It’s a common female trait.’

‘I thought you didn’t like to talk during sex,’ he said as he started on the buttons of her dress.

‘I never used to. But I’m different with you. You’re my friend as well as my lover.’

‘That’s sweet, Bella, but could we just concentrate on the lover part tonight? I’ve done enough talking for today.’

She might have said something more but he stopped with the buttons and kissed her till she didn’t want to talk either. When Sergio fell asleep an hour later with his arms tightly around her, Bella’s heart was full of love for him, and a small measure of hope. She liked it that Sergio wasn’t worried about what Maria thought any more.

That was cause for hope, wasn’t it?





CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

‘I THINK THERE is something you should know,’ Maria said casually two weeks later as Bella walked into the kitchen after seeing Sergio off. She’d got into the habit of rising to have breakfast with him on weekdays, then walking with him to his car and kissing him goodbye like a good little girlfriend. Though of course she’d rather be his good little wife.

‘What’s that, Maria?’ Bella said a bit blankly, her mind still on Sergio.

‘Today. It is Sergio’s birthday.’

‘What? Oh, dear God, why didn’t you tell me this yesterday?’

‘I was not here yesterday. It was Sunday. Sergio gave me the day off.’

‘Sorry. So he did. But you could still have said something this morning. I didn’t hear you wishing him a happy birthday at breakfast.’