What to do, where to live, what to wear and say… And he was treating this whole thing like it was no big deal. More and more he was bearing out her initial judgment. That for him this whole thing was a rich boy’s game. But it was her livelihood. It was all she had. She’d built it from nothing. And he’d been given everything—life on a silver platter.
“What are your plans for the Cascade?” She spoke to his back as he poured a glass of red wine, filling a second glass despite her decline.
He returned and handed her the glass, then perched on the arm of the sofa. “I have many plans. I think revamping the hotel is going to be fun.”
Fun? Her heart sank further. Great. He was charming, handsome. There was no denying it. In fact he was the first man she’d responded to physically ever since leaving Toronto. Her eyes narrowed. Acknowledging his good looks meant nothing except that she still had eyes to see with. Taking her livelihood in his hands for fun didn’t sit well.
“Don’t you think those sorts of decisions should be examined, weighed?”
“What’s the fun in that?” His lips tipped up as he sipped his wine. “Aren’t you going to have any? I brought it with me. It’s Nico—the vineyards of my best friend, Dante Nicoletti. You’ll like it—it’s a fine Montepulciano. And it’s a staple on all Fiori lists.”
She dutifully sipped and looked down as the rich flavor surrounded her tongue. Oh, it was nice. Very nice. But that was hardly the point.
“I take my job seriously, Mr. Fiori. Not something to enjoy on a whim.”
“Sometimes whims are the very best things.” He smiled disarmingly and she found she actually had to work at not being charmed. Damn him!
She sipped again, sliding further back in the chair and crossing her legs. “I like what I do.” Would she have called it fun? Probably not. But it gave her a sense of accomplishment. Working in a hotel in the majesty of the Rockies suited her wallflower qualities to a tee. She could glimpse the fairy tale while still being able to watch from the sidelines. She felt protected, and yet had room to breathe. But fun?
She wasn’t sure she knew what fun was.
“But that’s not the same thing. Tell me, Mari, what drives you? What makes you get up in the morning?”
The fact that I can.
She pushed the automatic answer away. She didn’t have to justify her choices to him. He didn’t need to know how she’d had a narrow escape, how it could have turned out so very differently years earlier.
“This isn’t about me, it’s about what’s going to happen to this hotel. Paul Verbeek resigned when you bought the hotel. How much more is going to change? Staff is already upset at the possibility of change and insecurity. If I start handing out pink slips, morale’s going to take a serious dip.”
“That’s the first thing you’ve said that I agree with.”
She bristled. He waltzed in here and after what, four hours? decided she was wrong about just about everything. She knew how to do her job and she did it well, despite being new at it. This was going to be another case of owners sending in an emissary, turning everything upside down, then leaving the mess for local management to clean up. She sighed. Everything had been going fine. Why did this have to happen now?
“I don’t know what to say. We obviously have differing opinions yet I have no wish to cause any discord. You’re the boss.” She folded her hands. One of them had to keep a logical head.
“Describe the Cascade in three words.”
She squeezed her left fingers in her right hand. “Are you serious?”
“Perfectly. What are the first three words you think of when you think of this hotel?”
“Efficient. Class. Profitable.” She shot the words out confidently. She prided herself—and the hotel—on them. It was the image she tried to portray every day.
He stopped pacing and sighed. “I was afraid of that.”
“What’s wrong with that? We have an efficient staff, an elegant establishment and we make a profit. You should be happy with all those things.”
“Come here.” He went to the balcony door again and slid it open. She followed, bringing the wine with her and cradling her glass in her hands. What on earth was he doing now?
“Look out over there.”
The afternoon was waning and the sun’s rays filtered through trees and shadows. Goose bumps rose on her skin at the chill in the air and she shivered.
“Just a minute,” he murmured, disappearing back inside.
When he returned he draped a soft blanket over her shoulders and took the glass out of her hands. She tensed at his casual touch.
“Now look. And tell me, what do you see?”
“The valley, poplar trees, the river.”
“No, Mari.”
His body was close, too close and she fought against the panic rising instinctively in her chest. Please don’t touch me, she prayed, torn between fear and an unfamiliar longing that he’d disobey her silent wishes. What would it feel like to have him cradle her body between his arms? Torture, or heaven? The way her heart was pounding, she recognized the sensation for what it was—fear.
As if he sensed her tension, he stepped to the side and gripped the iron railing. He breathed deeply, closed his eyes. When he opened them again he gazed over the vista before them.
“Freedom. Right now, what I’m feeling is freedom.” His smile was wide and relaxed. “Look at this place. Look at where we are. There’s no place in the world like this place. The Cascade can be a jewel in a beautiful kingdom. Wild and free on the outside. And inside…a place to rest, rejuvenate, to fall in love. Can’t you feel it seducing you, Mari?”
Tears pricked her eyes but she blinked them away, gripping the edges of the blanket closely around her in a protective embrace.
Freedom. Rest. Rejuvenation. All the things she had spent years searching for, and exactly how she felt about her new life in this tiny resort town.
And with his good intentions, Luca Fiori was about to ruin it all.
CHAPTER TWO
“I DON’T understand.”
Mari stepped back from the railing, away from the whispering trees and Luca’s warm voice. He was talking castles and falling in love? She’d stopped believing in fairy tales a long time ago. “How exactly do you intend on accomplishing this?”
Before he could answer she scuttled back inside, removed the blanket from her shoulders and kept her hands busy by folding it. Having it around her shoulders had felt too much like an embrace and that didn’t sit well. It was becoming increasingly clear that she and Luca were two very different people. She was firmly grounded in reality. Full stop.
He followed her, watching her from the glass door until she put the blanket down and then he stepped forward, giving her back
