of the room, talking to someone and writing on a pad—or was she sketching? She looked animated, almost glowing with pleasure. A kick of desire went through him. He could remember how to make her glow even more than that …
Oh, for pity’s sake. It was just sex. He hadn’t slept with anyone since Ella had left Rome; he’d been too busy to date, and this was just a physical reaction to abstinence, he told himself. There was absolutely no reason why his heart should be thumping like this. And he absolutely wasn’t going to give into the temptation to march over to her, sweep her off her feet and kiss her until they were both dizzy. Apart from anything else, it looked as if she was talking to a potential customer. He wasn’t going to barge in and spoil the deal for her. It wouldn’t be fair.
Maybe some coffee would clear his head and bring his common sense back. He went over to the tables where hot and cold drinks were being served, accepted a mug of coffee from the woman serving, and smiled appreciatively at her when she encouraged him to help himself to some cake.
He took one of the smaller cakes and the taste exploded in his mouth. Wow. He’d never eaten chocolate cake this good, before. He tried another. The ivory and deep pink two-tone icing turned out to be raspberry, the tartness of the fruit cutting through the sweetness of the icing. And the peach-coloured one was a glorious riot of passion fruit icing on a coconut base.
He was pretty sure Ella had been a very competent accountant, but she’d been totally wasted in the financial world. Being able to cook like this was a gift, and setting up this business was definitely the right thing for her to do. He ought to back off and leave her be. Except something nagged at him to stay.
Something dragged Ella’s attention from her client. She glanced up briefly to see what was drawing her, and nearly choked when she saw Rico.
No, it couldn’t be him. It had to be someone who looked a bit like him. He was hundreds of miles away, in Rome. And why would he come to her launch party, anyway? She hadn’t invited him. And if she’d really meant anything to him—if the time they’d spent together in Rome had been more than just Rico acting a role to amuse himself—then he would’ve got in touch with her before now. The hotel had all her details from her booking. His silence proved what she’d learned so shockingly on that last day: that it had all been some kind of spoiled playboy’s game. He wasn’t interested in her. He’d made that clear. He’d lied to her when there hadn’t been any need to lie.
But then he caught her eye. Raised his mug. Blew her a kiss.
And every circuit in her brain felt as if it had just fried.
This wasn’t fair. Just when she really needed to concentrate, all she could think of was the way that gorgeous mouth had enjoyed every centimetre of her skin, brought her such glorious pleasure. He was breathtaking to look at, and he made her feel like no one else ever had. Which made him incredibly dangerous to her peace of mind.
She hated the fact that she couldn’t tear her gaze away from him. That she still wanted him every bit as much as she’d wanted him in Rome.
She dropped her pen. Although she knew it made her look clumsy, at least it made her look away from Rico. ‘I’m sorry. I’m not usually this scatty,’ she said apologetically to her client. She forced herself to ignore Rico and concentrate on what she did best, planning and making cakes to delight people. Finally she had all the details of the commission, took a deposit and gave her new client a receipt. She was just putting everything in her briefcase when Rico walked over.
‘Ella bellezza,’ he said softly, his voice low and husky; in response all her hormones sat up and begged.
‘What are you doing here?’ she asked, trying desperately to sound cooler than she felt.
‘I think we have unfinished business.’
‘No, we don’t.’
‘You walked out on me in Rome without a word.’
Her eyes narrowed. ‘You lied your face off. What did you expect, congratulations and a helium balloon?’
‘I think,’ he said, ‘we need to talk.’
She knew what he meant by that. She’d been there before with Michael. No doubt Rico, too, thought he could exercise a bit of charm and talk her round to his point of view. Wrong. She wasn’t repeating her mistakes. ‘I have nothing to say to you.’
‘Is everything OK?’ A tall, statuesque woman appeared beside Ella and gave her a concerned look.
‘It’s fine,’ Rico said, smiling. ‘Ella’s cakes are amazing. And I was about to ask her to make me a special cake.’
She was looking daggers at him, and the other woman clearly picked up the atmosphere. ‘Perhaps I can help you. Ella’s been on the go all day.’
‘You’re Ella’s business partner?’ he asked.
‘Yes,’ the woman said.
‘No,’ Ella said at the same time, and sighed. ‘It’s OK, Ju. I’ll deal with this.’
‘Signal me if you need me, Ella,’ Julia said, and gave Rico a hard look, as if warning him to go easy on Ella or he’d have her to deal with.
‘Your guard dog?’ Rico asked.
‘My best friend,’ she corrected. ‘Though, yes, she does look out for me.’ She lifted her chin. ‘What do you want, Rico?’
‘To commission a cake.’
She narrowed her eyes at him. ‘I don’t have time for playing games.’
‘I’m not playing games. I have a business opportunity in London. If I decide to add the hotel to my chain, then I’ll need to have some kind of opening ceremony, and that in turn means I’ll need a cake for the party.’
‘So that’s an “if”. Not a definite.’ She shook her head in disgust. ‘Where do you stop with the lies?’
‘I haven’t lied to you.’
She folded her arms. ‘You told me you were a tour guide.’
‘Which I was. For that day. I’m hands-on in my business. I do a stint in every job, every few months, so I can see the issues my staff face and where things can be improved for both customers and staff. The day I met you, I was a tour guide.’
‘Why didn’t you tell me who you really were?’
‘Because.’ He sighed. ‘Ella, this isn’t the place to discuss it.’
‘You’re telling me.’
‘Can I take you to dinner, when you’ve finished here?’
‘Why?’
‘So you can continue with your launch party and do what you do best. And then we’ll talk.’
‘I …’
‘We have unfinished business,’ he said softly, ‘and you know it, Ella bellezza.’
She scoffed. ‘I don’t think so.’
There
