That shouldn’t be a problem.”
“I’ve also had the paperwork drawn up to release you from your Le Ciel contract. You can show him that, too. It will clear you of any remaining obligations.”
She drew her bottom lip between her teeth. “Thank you. That’s a big weight off my shoulders.”
The vulnerability glittering in her eyes caught him off guard. It was there when you peeled back the layers. When she forgot to hide it. He studied her for a long moment, then told himself he’d be a fool to overanalyze it. To buy in to it.
“See that you don’t let me down,” he advised tersely. “The eyes of the world are going to be on us. Millions of dollars are at stake. Screw up once, miss one shoot by ten minutes, blow off an appearance, however insignificant, fail to show up to any job with less than one-hundred-percent enthusiasm and I will make you rue the day you put pen to paper.”
An emotion he couldn’t read flashed in her eyes. Intimidation? Fear? Antagonism?
Her gaze tangled with his. “I will execute this contract to the best of my ability. You have my word on it. See that you keep yours.”
“I intend to do so.” He rose to his feet, walked over to the bar, procured the wine bottle and refilled their glasses. “How does working alongside Mario Masini sound?”
Her eyes widened. “You’re serious?”
He sat down and stretched his long legs out in front of him. “I never say anything I don’t mean.”
“Wow.” She looked dumbstruck. And rightly so. Mondelli’s head designer was a legend in the fashion industry. He had joined the company to partner with Giovanni when the two men were in their early twenties. His classic yet inspired designs were the mainstay of high-profile personalities worldwide who wanted a streamlined vision that took its cues from beautiful materials and perfect cuts.
He allowed an inner smile as his plan came to brilliant, vivid life. “So now we talk details. We have one year. I want to move fast on this.”
She nodded, looking a little overwhelmed.
“There is a design conference in New York next week the House of Mondelli is represented at. You will come with me and we will announce you as the new face of Mondelli at the press conference on the opening day.”
Her face went gray. “That’s very fast.”
“It’s the perfect opportunity. The eyes of the design world will be there.”
She pushed her hair out of her face in what he was coming to recognize as a nervous tick. “And the engagement? When do we announce that?”
“My plan is to let the gossip hounds do it. We go ring shopping tomorrow, we show up in New York together with a massive rock on your hand and let the buzz take care of the rest.”
The gray cast to her skin deepened. “And your family? When will we tell them?”
“We’ll have dinner with Alessandra tomorrow night and tell her. You have met her, sì?”
She nodded. “We worked together on a shoot a few years ago.”
“Bene. I am not intending on telling her the truth about us. She is too chatty, too apt to say the wrong thing to the wrong person. It’s better she takes it for what it is.”
She frowned. “Is our engagement really worth all this subterfuge? Wouldn’t it be easier to simply announce me as the new face of Mondelli? It will generate a huge amount of buzz in its own right.”
His gaze speared hers. “This is more than a publicity stunt, Olivia. This is the joining of two of the world’s great brands. The creation of a dynasty, so to say. It will be a far more powerful story than you simply becoming the face of Mondelli.”
“And when we end our engagement?”
“That will only increase the buzz. Everyone loves a heartsick, broken couple. It’s great photography.”
She looked at him as if he had an answer for everything. He did, in fact.
“I will have your belongings transferred to Villa Mondelli this week. I spend most of my time there commuting back and forth so it makes sense you are there with me. But we’ll delay your actual move date until after we get back from New York. I have meetings in London later this week, and you likely won’t want to spend your first days in the villa alone.”
Her face lost the remainder of its color. “We’re to live together?”
His mouth curved. “We’re madly in love, Olivia. Of course we’re living together.”
“Yes, but—” she waved a hand at him “—we could position it as we’re both so busy, I’m going to be traveling a ton, it just makes sense to keep it separate until we marry. I mean, living apart doesn’t preclude...”
“A wild night in bed?” He shook his head. “Sorry to disappoint you, bella, but I’m not sleeping on your sofa to make this look real. You will move into Villa Mondelli when we get back.”
She gave him an agitated look. “The apartment...”
He shrugged. “It’s a good investment. If you can manage not to blow your money this time, maybe I’ll allow you to buy it back.”
Her mouth tightened. He plunged on relentlessly, “We have a lot of work to do before New York. Alessandra will be all about the big eyes for each other, but my Sicilian friend Stefan, who will undoubtedly want to toast us in New York, will be tougher. We’ll need to know each other inside out.”
She scrunched her face up. “What do you mean by tough?”
A wry smile twisted his mouth. “I went to Columbia with three other men I became very close with. We are all confirmed bachelors. For me to announce my engagement, to make such a quick, one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn, we’re going to have to make our feelings for each other convincing.”
She slid a perfectly manicured nail in her mouth. “What will our story be, then?”
“I think we should say we met in a café and it was love at first sight.”
She arched a brow at him, the humor of it all lost on her apparently. “And this was when?”
“A month ago. We’ve been staying out of the limelight, but now with your return to the modeling world, we’re making our engagement public.”
She chewed on the fingernail. That would have to stop, but he wasn’t about to antagonize her further tonight. “Is there anyone you need to tell about the engagement?”
“My parents, eventually. I can do that in New York.”
“You don’t want to give them a heads-up?”
“We’re not close,” she said flatly. “It can wait.”
“Siblings? Close friends? Anyone we should invite out the night we see Stefan?”
A
