will be the happiest day of my sister’s life?” He clenched his hands on his knees. “This is for our mother to do, not a stupid older brother.”
Renata grabbed his hand, wrapping her fingers around his tense ones. “You are not stupid. Stefania waited to come in because she wanted you here with her. I know you both must miss your mother, but you are the person she loves and needs for this.”
He looked down at their entwined fingers. She inwardly groaned. Her impulsive nature had gotten the best of her again and now she was holding hands with her client’s sexy brother whom she’d met, oh, approximately twelve minutes ago. Talk about professional and businesslike.
She tried to tug her hand away, but he tightened his grip. “Signorina Renata, how did such a beautiful, young lady become so wise?”
An unladylike snort escaped her. “Years of foolishness.”
The curtain rustled. “Renata, how do you zip this?” Stefania called.
Renata leaped to her feet as if one of her straight pins had fallen into the cushion and stabbed her in the butt. “Excuse me, please.” He was there for dress-shopping, not getting mushy glances from the hired help. Giorgio released her hand and stood politely as she disappeared into the dressing room.
The bride held the bodice against her and Renata zipped up the back, slipping into sales mode. “All right, this is a tea-length, white lace dress over a white tulle petticoat. As you can see, the skirt is very full.” So full that it was pushing Renata away from the bride as she fastened the hook-and-eye closure at the top of the zipper. “It has three-quarter-length sleeves that reach about to the middle of your forearm and a wide neckline that shows off your neck and shoulders nicely.” She backed away so Stefania could get the full picture of how she would look.
“Is it the lighting or is there some pink at the bottom?”
“Yes, the neckline and petticoat are hemmed with a pale pink thread for decoration.”
Stefania shook her head. “Not for me.”
“No problem.” Renata helped her out of the dress and carefully hung it up. “Here’s one without the pink.” Renata fitted her into a few more white dresses but Stefania just looked at herself in the mirror with a worried look.
“Sorry, Renata. I’m not usually this picky.”
“Yes, you are,” her brother called over the curtain.
“Can it, George,” she retorted. “This is important.”
Renata intervened. “You want to make sure to get the right dress for your special day.”
“Whatever you pick will be a trend-setter,” Giorgio predicted. What a nice brother—her own brothers would be loudly pitying whatever poor idiot Renata had suckered into marrying her.
“Yeah, I know.” Stefania still looked glum. And pale, which was odd considering her beautiful warm skin tone.
“How often do you wear white?” she asked.
Stefania twirled back and forth, her eyes glued to the mirror. “I have a nice winter-white cashmere coat, and some ivory turtlenecks. Oh, and an eggshell silk short-sleeved blouse with the cutest tie at the neck. Dieter loves me in that,” she confided. “He thinks it makes me look sexy.”
A loud groan startled them. “Dio mio, Stefania, save the racy stories for your bachelorette party, will you?”
They both snickered at the typical brotherly response. But Renata returned to the dress subject quickly. “All of those whites you like to wear are actually not pure white. With your lovely coloring, you’re attracted to ivories and off-whites. I think this pure white is washing you out.”
“Oh. I thought it was the lighting.”
“Nope, it’s the fabric color.” Renata had actually paid one of her lighting designer friends to install the most flattering light possible. “Wait here.”
She ducked out of the cubicle. Giorgio looked up from his phone. Renata thought his interest would drop when he saw it was just her, but instead his gaze sharpened. “And which one of your dresses did you pick out for yourself?”
“For me?” She was flustered for a second. “I like all of them, but I’ve never needed one, I mean…”
“Your boyfriend hasn’t, how do they say, popped the question?”
Exhilaration roared through her. “Boyfriend? What boyfriend?” She strutted into the stockroom, making sure her wiggle skirt lived up to its name.
3
GIORGIO FOUGHT TO KEEP the drool from shorting out his phone. Renata Pavoni was the sexiest woman he’d met in a long time, her dark blue eyes gleaming in a knowing manner. Even the tiny diamond decorating the side of her lovely straight nose turned him on. Like any real man, he loved curvy women instead of the unhealthy string-bean look. And the way she worked that round ass of hers under the tight skirt—che bella ragazza—what a beautiful girl. Like those old black-and-white movies his nonna liked, where the women’s sultry eyes promised untold delights once their men removed their formfitting, low-cut dresses.
Removing Renata’s clothing—opening her sheer black blouse, button by button. Peeling down—no, pushing up her tight red skirt to discover for himself if she was vintage down to the garter belt and hose.
The image of Renata’s rich red hair spread out on his pillow as he kneeled over her was too much for his lonely, deprived cock, which immediately sprang to life.
Giorgio muttered a curse under his breath. Poor timing, to lose control in the middle of a wedding boutique with his sister only meters away. He peeled off his suit jacket and draped it over his lap, but then his phone buzzed—his assistant, Alessandro. “Pronto,” he answered.
“Signor, the investigator sent me a preliminary report on the person you requested.”
“Ah, yes.” Giorgio darted a guilty look at the dressing room, half expecting Stefania to come roaring out. “Un momento, Alessandro. I am going to step outside to talk.” He leaped to his feet and headed for the front door, his jacket slung over his forearm. “Okay, give me the highlights and then send a copy to my phone.”
“According to the report, the princess’s fiancé, Dieter von Thalberg, was born to Graf Hans and Grafin Maria von Thalberg, Count and Countess of Thalberg, thirty years ago in Bavaria. He is heir to a large brewery on his mother’s side as well as to the ancestral holdings on his father’s.”
“So he has money as long as the Germans drink beer—forever, I would think. Excellent.” He’d heard enough horror stories from acquaintances about freeloaders marrying their sisters, breaking their hearts and then demanding large sums of money in exchange for not writing a sleazy tell-all book.
“Dieter von Thalberg is also the star forward for a big German football club.” Alessandro’s voice grew animated. “I didn’t realize it was the same person—he uses a shortened version of his family name as a player. Three years ago he set the league record for goals scored. But since he turned thirty, he has not had as much playing time and was heavily recruited
