changed a whole lot over the years.
The sunshine warmed the back of her neck, but it was Angelo’s arm beneath her fingertips that warmed her insides. She resisted the urge to smooth her fingers over his tanned skin. She was in serious danger of forgetting that he was her boss—the key to her future promotion.
As the bell towers rang out, Kayla stared at the cobblestone path that wound its way between the brick buildings. A number of the homes had flower boxes with red, yellow and purple blooms. There were also flowerpots by the various shaped doors painted in every imaginable color. In other places, ivy snaked its way along the bricks. This area was quite picturesque and made Kayla forget that she was in the center of the village.
A rustling sound had her glancing upward. She craned her neck, finding fresh laundry fluttering in the breeze. She couldn’t help but smile. It was a lovely, inviting sight. But as much as she liked it, it was the man at her side that she found utterly captivating.
Angelo Amatucci might be icy cool in the office, but she’d found that once he thawed out, he was a warm, thoughtful man. Not that she was falling for his amazing good looks or his dark, mysterious eyes. Her priority was her career—the reason she’d left her home in Paradise. And she wasn’t about to ruin her future by throwing herself at her boss.
She chanced a quick glance his way. But then again—
No. She pulled her thoughts up short. This wasn’t getting her anywhere.
She was supposed to be touring Monte Calanetti to get ideas for the wedding pitch. If they were going to sell the royal couple on this location for the wedding, she needed to know as much about it as possible. And of what she’d seen so far, she loved it. This village and its occupants would give the wedding an old-world feel with lots of heart.
The villagers sent puzzled glances their way as though they should know who Angelo was but couldn’t quite place his face. And then there were a few people that ventured to ask if he was indeed Angelo. When he confirmed their suspicions, he wasn’t greeted with a simple hello or a mere handshake; instead, he was yanked into warm hugs. She could see the frown lines etched on his face, but to his credit he didn’t complain. There were even a few tears of happiness from the older women who remembered him when he was just a young boy.
Angelo took her hand in his as though it were natural for them. Kayla liked feeling connected to him—feeling his long fingers wrapped around hers.
“I’m sorry about that.” Angelo started walking again. “I didn’t expect anyone to remember me.”
“You must have spent a lot of time in the village as a kid.”
“I did. It was my escape from the monotony of working around the vineyard.” His jaw tensed and a muscle twitched.
“I take it that’s why you let your brother have the run of Calanetti Vineyards?”
He nodded. “Nico is as passionate about the winery as I am with advertising. How about you? Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
Kayla shook her head. “My parents wanted more children, but that didn’t work out. So with me being an only child, they heaped all of their hopes and dreams onto me.”
“Hmm...sounds a bit daunting for one person.”
“It is. That’s why I had to leave Paradise.”
“Somehow I just can’t imagine life in Paradise could be such a hardship.”
She shrugged. “It’s great. The people are wonderful. It’s the perfect place to raise kids.”
“But you weren’t ready for kids?”
The thought of taking on that sort of responsibility still overwhelmed her. “I have to figure out me first and accomplish some things on my own before I can be there 24/7 for others. And my parents, as much as I love them, didn’t understand this.”
“They wanted you to graduate high school and settle down.”
She nodded. “They had it all planned out. I’d get married, have lots of kids and when the time came my husband and I would take over the family store.”
“Doesn’t sound so bad.”
“No. It isn’t. But I always had a dream of going to college and making a name for myself. I wanted to move to the city. I wanted to climb the corporate ladder. I wanted to—”
She bit off her last words. Heat rushed up her neck and warmed her face. She couldn’t believe that she’d gotten so comfortable around Angelo that she’d just rambled on about her dreams. For a moment, she’d forgotten that she was talking to her boss.
Not good, Kayla. Not good at all.
She freed her hand from his. It was time she started acting like his employee, not his girlfriend. The time had come to get back to reality.
Angelo stopped walking and turned to her. “What aren’t you saying? What do you want to do?”
“Um...nothing. It’s no big deal. Let’s keep going. I want to see the whole village.” She turned to start walking again.
Angelo reached out, catching her arm in his firm grip. “Not so fast.” She turned back, glancing up at his serious gaze. “Kayla, talk to me.” His hand fell away from her arm. “I’ve told you all sorts of things that I don’t normally share with people. I’d like to know what you were about to say and why you stopped. Surely by now you know that you can trust me.”
Could she trust him? She supposed it depended on the subject. With her safety—most definitely. With her dreams—perhaps. With her heart— Wait, where had that come from?
“Kayla, what is it?”
She wasn’t good at lying so that left her with the truth, but she didn’t know how Angelo would take it. “I came to New York because I wanted...er...I want to be an ad executive.”
His brows scrunched together. “And?”
She shrugged. “And that’s it.”
“That’s what you didn’t want to tell me?”
Her gaze moved to the cobblestone walkway. “It’s just that I got comfortable around you and forgot to watch what I was saying.”
“Oh, I see. Since I’m the boss, you feel like you have to screen what you say to me?”
She nodded.
“How about this? For the duration of this trip, I’m not your boss. We’re just business associates or how about friends? Would you like that?”
Her gaze met his and she found that he was being perfectly serious. “But what about when we return to New York?”
“Obviously things will have to change then, but for right now, I’d like to just be Angelo, not Mr. Amatucci. I’d forgotten what it’s like just to be me again.”
“And I like you calling me Kayla.” Her gaze met his. Within his eyes she found a comforting warmth. “Consider yourself a friend.”
He
