failed to take the appropriate level of interest in parents’ evenings and homework projects, but she had never tired of trying to dress her up.
Kate had resisted all those efforts, and had continued doing so even when her mother had no longer been around, trying to steer her in a different direction from the one she wanted.
So now here she was.
And as she browsed through the shops she saw herself through her mother’s eyes. Always a little drab. Never making anything of what she had been given.
Those were Alessandro’s eyes also.
A streak of rebellion coursed through her, and as she shopped she was guiltily aware that she was enjoying shopping for maybe the first time in her life.
She wasn’t buying clothes to project the image she wanted the world to see. She was buying clothes because she liked the way they looked on her. Two dresses, a skirt that reached to mid-thigh, tops that had no buttons...and shoes that had heels and weren’t black.
Though she still avoided red.
She had no idea where they would be going after the ‘city exploring’ Alessandro had suggested, but she didn’t care.
She took her time soaking in the bath, washed her hair and left it loose, so that it tumbled down her back in a cascade of waves, and wore one of the dresses she had bought—a sleek, pale coral affair that did a little clinging. And she wore the high sandals she had bought too.
As she stared at her reflection in the mirror she could feel her heart beating wildly. Because this was not the Kate Watson she had spent her life cultivating.
This was a young woman who had a life—and an exciting one.
‘Okay...’ She grinned sheepishly at the stranger in the mirror. ‘So we both know that that’s a bit of an exaggeration—but what’s the harm in having a life for one evening? Dispelling the ideas Alessandro has about me? Mum, if you could see me now, you’d be proud.’
On the spur of the moment she took a selfie and sent it to her mother, and minutes later, as she headed down to meet Alessandro in the bar, she smiled at the response she got—which was a series of exclamation marks and smiley faces.
They had arranged to meet in one of the trendier bars in the hotel and it took her a few minutes to locate Alessandro, who was sitting at the back, shielded from view by the crowds of young people milling around.
Some of those young people were turning to look at her. Kate was conscious of that out of the corner of her eye, and it gave her a heady little thrill as she took some time to look at Alessandro...
He glanced up and there she was. For a few seconds Alessandro’s mind went completely blank. He had thrown down a challenge to her—dress like a woman and not like a robot—but he had doubted she would pick up the gauntlet. He had fully expected to see her in yet another tiresome version of ‘The Suit’, complete with discreet blouse buttoned all the way up, just in case a glimpse of her neck made her feel like a tart.
Not for a single passing second had he expected...
A vision.
He had seen her in a pair of shorts and a cropped top, but not even that had prepared him for just how beautiful she was when she stripped off the suit of armour.
She was tall anyway, but her heels escalated her to nearly six foot. Her long brown hair, streaked with shades of chestnut and deep gold, flowed down her back and over her narrow shoulders, and the dress, in some peachy colour that would have made most women look washed out, was glorious against her skin tone.
Glorious, and clinging in all the right places.
A surge of purely masculine appreciation kicked in with force. He watched as she glanced through the crowded bar, noticed as eyes were turned in her direction, realized that he wasn’t the only one in the room feeling a surge of purely masculine appreciation.
He relaxed back, half smiling as she sashayed towards him.
Who would have guessed that she could sashay? But then prissy, starchy suits weren’t conducive to sashaying, were they? Neither were sensible flat black pumps...
But a peach-coloured dress that lovingly cupped generous breasts, clung to a slender waist and fell to mid-thigh with a frilly little kick was definitely the stuff that sashays were made of...
He wondered whether it would be politically incorrect to insist in the contract for her promotion that she only wear clothes conducive to sashaying...
‘I see you went shopping...’ he said, rising to his feet as she approached him. In heels, she was almost at his eye level. Eye make-up. A charcoal colour on her lids that gave her a sultry, sexy look. And just a shimmer of lip gloss, emphasizing the fullness of her lips.
An inconvenient erection was making itself felt, pushing against his zipper.
‘You were right.’ Kate sat down hurriedly. Because, unusual and satisfying as it was to garner stares from other people, her prurient streak was just a little too insistent to ignore for very long. ‘My suits are way too formal and hot for the weather over here, so I’ve invested in one or two things...’
She discreetly tugged at the hem of the dress, which had ridden up and was exposing too much thigh for her liking.
‘Very wise,’ Alessandro murmured gravely. ‘Although you might have gone to the other extreme. If you plan on wearing sexy little numbers like this during the day...it might be a little too dressy...’
Kate’s breathing hitched and her eyes widened at the slow, lazy smile that lightened his features.
‘This is just a normal...er...dress,’ she stammered, mesmerized by the gleam in his eyes. ‘Nothing that any other woman in here isn’t wearing.’
Alessandro made a show of looking around him before resting his dark eyes on her flushed face. ‘But not many of them have the body to pull it off. You must know that.’
‘I...’
‘I admit I was a little surprised when I saw that you had taken me at my word. Aside from the time when I surprised you in your house, I honestly thought that your entire repertoire of clothes was comprised of suits in various shades of grey and navy...’
‘I don’t have much use for... I don’t usually...’
‘Paint the town red in snappy little numbers that attract attention?’
So what had she expected? That they would talk about work? When he had specifically told her that work was the last thing he wanted to think about after the day they had had with George and his sad, disturbing revelations?
‘I’ve never been one for going to clubs.’ She couldn’t conceal a shudder. ‘So, no, this is the one and only dress I have along these lines. Well, aside from the other one I bought today. Now I have two.’
‘Two? I don’t know why, but that strikes me as a little sad...’ He grinned, and she blushed and looked away.
‘You’re winding me up again, aren’t you?’
‘More
