not?”
“Because...” Nico let his gaze take the path his fingers wanted to take. “For one thing, I wasn’t drunk.”
This time it was Louisa who closed the distance between them, her eyes ablaze from the confrontation. “Maybe you weren’t, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t. Much as your ego would like to think otherwise.”
Oh, how his little hornet’s nest enjoyed poking him as much as he enjoyed poking her. “Trust me, bella mia,” he said, “my ego doesn’t need stroking. Go ahead and call it a drunken mistake if you have to. Same way you can tell yourself that you wouldn’t enjoy a repeat performance.”
Louisa’s lips parted with a gasp, like he knew they would. With a smile curling his own, Nico dipped his head to claim them.
Just as their mouths were about to touch, she turned her face. “Okay, fine, I admit it was a great kiss, but it can’t happen again.”
“Why not?” Again, he didn’t understand. Two people obviously attracted to one another; why shouldn’t they explore the possibilities?
“For a lot of reasons. To start with, I’m not looking to get involved in a serious relationship.”
All the better. “Neither am I.” Serious came with certain expectations, and as history had proven, he lacked the depth to meet them.
“And—” she dodged his outstretched hand “—we’re neighbors, plus we’ll be working on that committee Rafe is creating. We’ll be around each other all the time.”
“Perhaps I’m misunderstanding, but doesn’t that make things easier?”
“It will make things awkward.”
“Only as awkward as we let it be,” he replied.
Her sandals slapped softly against the floor as she returned to her breakfast table, a position, Nico noted, that put a barrier of glass and wrought iron between them.
Of course, she already knew that, or else her hands wouldn’t be gripping the chair back so tightly. Nico knew the cues; she was working up to another reason. “Look, right now I can’t be involved with anyone seriously or casually. I need to concentrate on taking care of myself. Do you understand?”
“Si.” Better than she realized. The last woman who’d said those words to him had been suffering from a broken heart. Was that Louisa’s secret? Had she come to Monte Calanetti because some bastard had let her down?
If that was the case, then far be it for him to add to her injury. One woman was enough to have hurt in a lifetime. There were other women in Monte Calanetti whose company he could keep, even if they weren’t as enigmatically fascinating. “Consider the kiss forgotten,” he told her.
* * *
Louisa’s back relaxed as she exhaled. “Thank you,” she replied. It felt good to clear the air between them. She’d been acting like a complete brat the past couple of days, stuck between wanting to stand up for herself and being afraid of succumbing to the attraction. She’d treated Nico like the enemy rather than the neighbor she’d come to know and respect. But now that they were on the same page...
Maybe she could finally stop thinking of how much he reminded her of Steven. Her ex-husband’s kisses had made her head spin, too, she recalled. The first time she’d been kissed by a man who knew what he was doing.
Feeling Nico’s dark eyes studying her, she added in a low voice, “I appreciate your understanding.”
“I am nothing if not agreeable.”
The joke broke the spell and Louisa laughed. They both knew he could be as stubborn as she could. “Yes, I’ve seen how agreeable you can be.” He’d been particularly “agreeable” earlier this year when his sister, Marianna, had announced her unplanned pregnancy. Louisa had had to talk him out of staking the baby’s father in the garden.
“I brought a smile back to your face, did I not?” His smile was crooked and way too sexy.
“I’m glad you said something,” he added in a more serious voice. “I did not like that our friendship had turned awkward again.”
He was being kind. “I was being a bit irrational, wasn’t I?” Bitchy would have been a better word.
“A bit. But I may have egged you on.”
She laughed. “You think?”
“A bit. How about if we both promise to be on our best behavior?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“Good.” To her surprise, there wasn’t an ounce of seduction in his smile. If anything he looked genuinely happy. Damn if that didn’t make her stomach flutter.
“But,” he continued, changing topics, “you should do something about these fields. It is a waste of good cropland.”
Not to mention bad business. Guests weren’t going to pay to stay at a nonworking vineyard.
Shoot. She was going to have to let him replant, wasn’t she? “As soon as I finalize the plans for the hotel, I’ll make some decisions.” He might be getting his way, but he would get it on her schedule.
“How are your plans going?”
“They’re coming along.” Only last night she’d put the finishing touches on a preliminary marketing plan.
“Glad to hear it. You know—” he set down his cup, the contents of which, Louisa noticed, were untouched “—my offer still stands. If you need investors...”
Louisa tensed before remembering she’d promised to behave better. It wasn’t his fault his offer set her teeth on edge. “I won’t need investors,” she told him. “I’ve got a meeting with the bank this afternoon to discuss opening a line of credit. If plans go as I hope, I might be able to open on a limited basis this winter.”
“That soon?”
“I did say limited. Waiting until the palazzo is fully renovated could take years, and I want to move fast enough that I can capitalize on the royal wedding.” She sounded defensive, the way she used to whenever Steven questioned her. But he’s not Steven, and you don’t need anyone’s permission anymore. “I figured I’d concentrate on upgrading the infrastructure, plumbing, electrical, that stuff, and make sure the front half of the palazzo is in perfect working order, before expanding into the back.”
“Sounds smart.”
“I think so.” She did not feel a frisson of pleasure at the compliment. “Now I just have to hope the bank comes through with financing quickly.” And that the loan officers would take the palazzo for collateral without looking too far beyond the fact she was Carlos Bertonelli’s grandniece. Her post-divorce financials were sketchy at best. And heaven help her if the bank looked into her former life. She’d never get financing.
“Who are you meeting with?” Nico asked.
“Dominic Merloni.”
“I
