lightly down from the terrace, he started to walk towards the taxi. Because old habits couldn’t be shaken off, he put a comforting arm around her shoulder to lead her in the same direction. ‘Don’t worry, signorina. I’ll pay your taxi fare back to the airport. By the time you get there, my staff will have phoned through and arranged a return ticket for you. Where did you fly from, by the way?’
‘Heathrow—but—’
As they reached the open passenger door of the taxi Gianni took his arm away from her. After pressing far too much money into the taxi driver’s hand, he swivelled on his heel and walked off. As he headed back to the villa he threw a few disjointed words over his shoulder at her.
‘I’m sorry you’ve had a wasted journey, signorina. Goodbye.’
Closing a mental door firmly in her face, he forced himself to push thoughts of her inviting full lips and big blue eyes right to the back of his mind. He ought to be concentrating on his plans for Castelfino Wines, not distractions like her.
And then a voice interrupted his thoughts, ringing out through the hot, still air.
‘No, thank you, Signor Bellini.’
He stopped and frowned. That wasn’t supposed to happen. If the girl was going to say anything at all, it should have been a diffident ‘yes'. That was the way things worked in Gianni’s universe. People did what he told them to do. While he stood wondering how she could possibly have misunderstood his instructions, he heard a muffled bang. It was followed by the sound of light footsteps in the dust. That made him look back, over his shoulder. What he saw puzzled him still more. The girl had dropped her hand luggage and was running to catch him up.
Gianni Bellini, Conte di Castelfino, thought of all the staff members who would be watching this fiasco from behind the Villa Castelfino’s shutters. They all knew his reputation. The old place must be alive with gossip already. Playboy he might be, but Gianni knew what to do. It wouldn’t hurt to reinforce his authority. When this girl launched her screaming, hysterical scene, he would silence it with a single roar of his own.
He snatched a deep breath, but never got to use it.
‘With all due respect, signor, I think I ought to stay.’
She skidded to a halt, almost within his reach. Her voice had been little more than a whisper. He hadn’t expected that. When she glanced nervously at the front of the house before speaking again she surprised him a second time.
‘For a little while, at least. Please?’
Totally wrong-footed, Gianni was stunned into silence. Not by what she said, but by the way she said it. An arrow of thought shot through his brain. It’s almost as though she’s as concerned for the staff as I am…but, no, she couldn’t be…
Words hissed through his clenched teeth like a November blast.
‘You have the nerve to speak to me of respect? A woman who bursts in on a house in crisis with laughter?’
Meg was so close she could hear the breath labouring in and out through his parted lips. She was petrified, but desperation kept her standing firm. She had to hope that she could make her new boss see reason and keep her on. It was vital.
‘I meant no harm, signor. I would never have made such a fuss if I’d known the circumstances. Can’t we draw a line under all this and start again?’
Within seconds she realised her mistake. Gianni Bellini had no reverse gear.
From the moment she’d arrived, she had realised this was going to be difficult. Now it looked close to impossible. She felt weak with terror, but couldn’t let him see that. She needed this job. Too many people were relying on her to simply roll over and accept what this strangely changed Gianni said.
With nothing to lose but her dignity, Meg pressed on. She lowered her lids. It was a slow, methodical gesture like that of a diver standing on the topmost board. To her surprise, he reacted by giving her time to speak.
‘When your father was alive, he specifically wanted me to come and work here,’ she said with measured calm. ‘I was the most highly qualified applicant for the post, and without my skill his plants will soon suffer. He had all sorts of plans in mind for the Castelfino Estate. Now he’s…well, let’s just say he’ll need a fitting memorial. He was always worrying about the future, and a lot of his ideas were practical. He spoke about throwing open his plant collection to the public one day, as a way of encouraging tourism in the area. I’m sure you’ll be carrying on all his other good works, signor,’ she added, and was relieved to see her innocent remark seemed to impress him. ‘Any man would be proud to leave such a legacy. Believe me, I know.’
His attitude hardened. ‘How do you know? Because you have a fistful of paper qualifications?’ he scoffed, clearly unimpressed.
‘No, I can say it because my father was exactly the same,’ she said evenly. ‘When he was taken seriously ill, he spent so much time worrying about what he would leave behind, he couldn’t rest. He was his own worst enemy. Your father was a good, kind man, signor. He deserves a living tribute. I worked with him closely on his new project here. He was so keen for it to go ahead, I really think it would be a mistake for you to cancel it just yet.’
Gianni stared at her for a long time. Then the corners of his mouth lifted in the slow, devastating smile that had been haunting all her dreams since their first meeting. He took a step forward, and held out his hand. ‘Allow me to congratulate you, Miss—?’
‘Imsey. Megan Imsey.’
His fingers felt deliciously warm as he enfolded her hand. It was a heat reflected in the colour of her cheeks.
‘Well done, Miss Imsey. I’m lost for words—something that has never happened to me before!’
Meg smiled back. She was a fast learner. In the last few minutes Gianni Bellini had morphed from her dream man into a living, breathing human being. Someone she could reach out and touch. To her surprise she realised they had at least two things in common. Work was everything to him—and he was as good at hiding his real feelings as she was. He might have started off as her fantasy lover, but Meg recognised a realist when she met one. Brought up on the breadline by devoted parents, she had become ultra ambitious to try to cushion them from poverty. She needed this job, for their sake. If that wasn’t reason enough to make a stand, Gianni Bellini was so magnetic. His playboy side had entranced her at Chelsea. He was so much more glamorous than anyone she had met before. Now he had been catapulted into a position of power, she wanted to see what his ambitions would make of her careful plans.
‘Surely you don’t need to make a snap decision about something as insignificant to you as my job, signor? Right now, you must have a thousand and one other things to think about.’
That at least was uncontroversial. He might be practised in the art of blocking his emotions, but for a split second Meg saw pain in his eyes. Anyone else would have missed it, but she’d been in some cold, dark places herself. She remembered how it had felt when her own father was hovering between life and death. With a pang she put her hand out to her new employer, but couldn’t quite manage the intimacy of a touch. Instead she withdrew, and let her words convey her sympathy. ‘And top of that list should be you.’
Her feelings were totally genuine, but they weren’t welcome. Gianni frowned.
‘No…I’m
