Not, Hannah acknowledged, that she had a lot of experience. Ben, Jamie’s father, had been her only lover, and while she’d enjoyed being with him she hadn’t felt this desperate, craving physical touch like water in a parched desert.
Sliding sideways glances at Luca, she felt an overwhelming urge to touch him, to feel the rough stubble on his jaw, to discover if his lips felt soft or hard against hers. To feel his body against hers as she had that morning, and rock against him again, and then deeper still.
Heat flashed through her at the thought and Luca must have felt it, must have sensed her response, because he gave her a single, burning look before turning back to address Simon Tucker.
He knew how he affected her, maybe even how much. The thought would have been mortifying except that she knew she affected him too. He’d told her he’d been attracted to her that morning, and surely she couldn’t feel this kind of chemistry if it were merely one-sided.
So the question was, could she do anything about it? Did she dare? She wasn’t looking for a relationship, wouldn’t put herself or Jamie at risk of being hurt. She knew what happened when you loved people. You risked losing them. She’d lost too many times already to try again.
‘Hannah?’ Luca prompted, and she realised she had no idea what anyone had been saying for the last few minutes.
‘Sorry?’ She tried for a conciliatory yet loving smile. ‘I’m afraid I was a million miles away.’
‘No doubt planning your wedding,’ Simon joked good-naturedly. ‘Have you set a date?’
‘As soon as possible, as far as I’m concerned,’ Luca answered swiftly, with a squeeze of Hannah’s waist. ‘But Hannah wants more of a do.’
Hannah lifted her shoulders in a helpless shrug. ‘You only get married once.’
‘Hopefully,’ James joked, an edge to his voice that made a frozen silence descend on the little group for a few seconds.
‘What’s your secret to a happy marriage, then, James?’ Simon asked, trying for jocular.
‘A limit-free credit card and no questions asked,’ James replied with a pointed look at his wife. Daniela pressed her lips together and said nothing.
Hardly a response of a family man, Hannah thought. James Garrison was a slick study, and looked to share Luca’s view on relationships.
‘I’ll take that on board,’ Luca answered in a tone that suggested he would do no such thing.
‘Falling for your PA isn’t like you, is it, Luca?’ James said, malice entering his ice-blue eyes. ‘I thought you made sure never to mix business and pleasure.’
‘As I said last night, this time it was impossible to resist.’ He glanced down at Hannah, who tilted her head up to look at him so their mouths were only a few inches apart. She felt her insides shudder even though she knew Luca was only play-acting. That simmering heat in his eyes might not have been real, but the response Hannah’s body gave certainly was. Her lips parted in helpless expectation, her whole being trained on Luca’s sleepy, hooded gaze.
‘Irresistible,’ he murmured, and then closed those scant inches separating them.
The feel of his mouth on hers was a complete surprise and yet also a sigh of relief and wonder. At last. Her mouth opened underneath his and Hannah clutched at his lapels, barely aware of what she was doing. Luca’s tongue swept into her mouth with sure possession, turning her insides weak and liquid. Her fingers tightened on his jacket.
‘No doubt that you two are heading for the altar,’ Simon joked, and Luca finally broke the kiss. Hannah sagged against him, her heart thudding, her mind spinning, her whole body feeling as if she’d been lit up inside like a firework.
‘Like I said,’ Luca said with a wry smile. ‘Irresistible. I didn’t stand a chance.’
And neither did she.
Her lips were still buzzing from his kiss when they headed out to the terrace where tables had been set up for dinner, laden with crystal and silver that glinted under the moonlight. Torches flickered, casting warm shadows across the terrace, and the sea was no more than a gleam of blackness in the distance, the tide a gentle shooshing sound as the waves lapped the shore.
They were just about to take their seats when Andrew Tyson turned expectantly to the open French windows. ‘Ah,’ he said, his voice filled with pleasure. ‘My family has finally arrived from New York. Please let me introduce you all to my wife and children.’
* * *
Luca froze before slowly turning to face the French windows, where Andrew Tyson’s wife, Mirabella, and their two children stood, framed by the gauzy white curtains.
He’d been waiting for this moment, both expecting and bracing himself for it, and yet now that it was finally here he found every thought had emptied from his head, the smile wiped from his face. Even the electric, intoxicating buzz of Hannah’s kiss was forgotten in that horrendous, endless moment.
Distantly, as if he were down a long tunnel, he heard people exchanging pleasantries. Words were said, but it was as if everyone had started speaking another language. Tyson’s two children, Stephen and Laura, came forward, smiling and shaking hands. Stephen had the dark hair of his mother and Tyson’s brown eyes. Laura was the opposite, with her father’s sandy hair and her mother’s blue eyes. They were both relaxed, friendly, completely in their element, and in a few seconds he was going to have to shake their hands. Say hello. Act normal.
He acknowledged this even as he didn’t move. Had no idea what the expression on his face was. Felt nothing but the relentless, painful thud of his heart. He’d been waiting for this moment for years, decades, and yet he hadn’t been prepared for it, not remotely.
Then he felt a soft, slender hand slide into his, fingers squeezing tightly, imbuing warmth and strength. He glanced down at Hannah’s face, the worry and concern in her eyes, the compassion in her smile, and he felt as if he’d fallen out of that tunnel with a thud, as if he’d rejoined reality, and was strong enough to deal with it—thanks to the woman next to him.
‘Stephen. Laura.’ His voice came out on a croak that he quickly covered, extending his hand for them both to shake. ‘Luca Moretti and my fiancée, Hannah Stewart.’
Hannah stepped forward to greet them both and Luca forced himself to breathe normally, to school the expression on his face into one of friendly interest. To will his heart rate to slow.
He felt the delayed reaction of shock kick in, an icy wave that swept over him and left his knees weak, his whole body near to trembling. He had to get out of there.
‘If you’ll excuse me,’ he murmured, and went in search of the bathroom.
Once inside, safely away from all the prying eyes, he splashed his face with cold water and then stared hard into the mirror, willing himself to get a grip. He’d climbed his way out of appalling poverty, negotiated dozens of million-and billion-dollar deals, was a man of power and authority and wealth. He’d conquered all these old fears and insecurities. He didn’t need to feel this way now. He wouldn’t.
Except he did.
He released a shuddering breath and rubbed a hand over his face. He needed to get back
