it at the time, but when my credit card bill came through I realised it seemed a bit low for such a posh restaurant.’
Rico sighed. ‘OK. I admit I settled part of the bill in advance. I knew it would be expensive and I didn’t want to take advantage of you.’
There at least he wasn’t like Michael, who’d really taken advantage of her. All the same, it annoyed Ella that Rico had made a high-handed decision without even discussing it with her. ‘Don’t you think that’s just a tiny bit patronising? I told you I could afford it.’
‘I know. But it still felt like taking advantage of you.’ He wrinkled his nose. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be ungrateful. I guess I’m used to being the one who pays.’
‘So you’re a control freak?’ she asked. ‘Except …’ She shook her head. ‘No, that’s not what you were like. Not that first night. When you made all that effort and cooked dinner for me yourself. And you admitted that you’re rubbish at puddings so you bought them from the deli.’ She narrowed her eyes at him. ‘You were telling the truth then, weren’t you?’
‘Yes. And I really was a tour guide, that day, Ella. Another time, you might’ve met me as a waiter. Or the male equivalent of a chambermaid.’
She blinked. ‘You really clean hotel rooms?’
‘And other jobs. I’ve worked in the kitchen—I probably have the same kind of food hygiene qualifications you do.’
‘But you’re the CEO of the chain.’ She didn’t understand. He was the boss. Why was he taking on other roles?
‘That’s precisely why I do it. Working a short stint in every role is the best way of seeing what issues my staff face, and it also helps me see what would make life better for my guests and for my staff. And my staff respect me for it, because they know I’m not just issuing orders from some ivory tower—they know I’ve done the job myself, so I’m talking from experience rather than some half-baked theory. And they also know that because I’ve done it myself, I appreciate what they do.’
‘That figures. And the girl who told me about you seemed to respect you.’
‘Good.’ He paused. ‘You overreacted, Ella. I told you one little white lie.’
‘It was still a lie.’
‘But it wasn’t meant to hurt you. Your ex really messed with your head,’ he said. ‘Or is there more to it than that?’
‘He isn’t the only one who lied to me,’ she admitted. ‘Lying is a definite deal-breaker where I’m concerned.’
‘Supposing I promise never to tell you anything but the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, from this moment on?’ he asked.
She grimaced. ‘You make it sound as if I’m putting you on trial.’
‘Isn’t that what you’re doing?’
He was the one who’d lied. How come she was the one who felt guilty? She sighed. ‘Rome—you and me—that was meant to be just fun. A fling.’
‘Absolutely. Three days of enjoying each other’s company, and we’d never have to see each other again.’
‘But now you’re here in London.’
‘On business.’
‘So why did you look me up?’
‘To prove something to myself.’
‘What?’
He shrugged. ‘Doesn’t matter.’
He really didn’t like talking about himself, did he? He sidestepped questions, or even stonewalled them. She didn’t have a clue what was going on in his head. She frowned. ‘Where are you going with this? Rico, I’m just starting up my business. Right now I barely have time to sleep.’
‘I didn’t,’ he said softly, ‘have sleeping in mind.’
Pictures bloomed in her head, and heat coiled deep in her belly. ‘Oh.’ Her voice sounded husky, and she was furious with herself for giving herself away like that. She still had the hots for him. Which was crazy, because in some ways he was more of a stranger to her now than he’d been when she’d met him.
‘I don’t have time for this, either,’ he said. ‘I have an empire to finish building.’
‘That’s the dream you wouldn’t tell me about in Rome? To build an empire?’ She paused. ‘Or a dynasty?’
He scowled. ‘Not a dynasty. I don’t want a family.’
He sounded a little too emphatic. She remembered he’d said he wasn’t close to his family. ‘What’s so bad about your family?’
‘Let’s just leave it that they want different things from me.’
‘But surely your mum and dad are proud of you? You don’t look much older than I am, and you’re already CEO of a chain with four hotels in Rome.’
‘Sounds as if you’ve been doing research on me.’
‘No. Your receptionist told me about the other hotels. And you’re avoiding the question.’
He shrugged. ‘I have no idea whether my parents are proud of me and I don’t actually care. I barely speak to them, and it suits all of us that way.’ He looked her straight in the eye. ‘What about you? I know you lost your mum—but if she’d been here I’d bet she would’ve been really proud of you last night. But what about your dad, your grandparents? Were they there at the launch?’
‘My mum was a single parent, and …’ She grimaced. ‘I don’t have a family to be close to. But I have good friends. That’s enough for me.’
‘Me, too.’ He gave her a wry smile. ‘Something else we have in common.’
‘We’re from different worlds. You’re—’
‘—a bored, spoiled rich kid, slumming it?’ he cut in.
She blew out a breath. ‘I apologise for that. But you do come from a wealthy background. I don’t. My lottery win would be small change to you, but it’s absolutely life-changing for me.’
‘You’re the one who said money isn’t important,’ he reminded her.
‘It isn’t what you have that matters; it’s the kind of person you are and how you treat others that’s important.’
‘That works for me,’ he said. ‘So. You and me.’ He drew her hand up to his mouth. His lips were warm against her palm. She closed her eyes as his mouth moved to her wrist; she knew he would be able to feel just how hard and how fast her pulse was beating.
‘Ella bellezza.’ He stroked her cheek and she opened her eyes again. ‘Neither of us has time for this. Neither of us is looking for this. But can you honestly tell me that you want to walk away from this?’
‘Honestly?’
