Kitabı oku: «Love Islands…The Collection», sayfa 47

Chapter Five

LILY FOLDED THE laptop on her knees as if it might protect her from his keen gaze.

She felt vulnerable out here, away from the office. Away from her clothes! With that thought her nipples tightened into needy pebbles against the cotton of her sleep top.

How long before her body stopped responding to this man as a virile, spectacular male? She longed for the day she could relegate him to a mere colleague like the ones she worked with daily. The ones who, to her surprise, were becoming friends.

Lily swallowed a groan. Caught half naked by Raffaele Petri. Thankfully he hadn’t turned on the lights.

Not that he needed lights. The moon was bright. Enough for her to have difficulty keeping her gaze off the tantalising V of skin revealed by his partly unbuttoned shirt. The combination of formal clothes and rumpled hair, bare feet and open shirt made him look even more potently masculine than usual. Every nerve centre relayed shock waves of pleasure at the sight.

How could her body betray her so?

‘Moonlighting implies I’m going behind your back,’ she snapped, stress tightening her vocal chords. ‘That I’m cutting corners on my work for you. That’s not so.’ Better to focus on that than her body’s tingling excitement.

‘So what are you doing?’

She drew a deep breath, marshalling her thoughts, and was surprised to intercept a flicker of movement as his gaze dropped to her chest. Instantly her nipples budded tighter as if trying to push closer to him.

Lily told herself it was a reaction to the breeze.

‘I told you I had responsibilities that meant I couldn’t come to New York, but you forced my hand. This—’ she waved a hand at the laptop ‘—is one of them. A job for a business looking to expand in Brisbane. I was checking a draft report from my assistant.’

‘Assistant? I thought you worked alone?’

Once more Lily was unsettled that Raffaele Petri had taken time to learn about her.

‘I recently expanded my business. There’s a good market for high-quality research.’ He said nothing and she felt compelled to fill the silence. ‘I’m not cutting corners on your work. I’m doing this in my own time.’

‘At midnight? That’s no way to run a business.’

It stung that he of all people should lecture on her gruelling work schedule. As if her exhaustion didn’t remind her every day when she dragged herself out of bed, almost drip-feeding coffee to keep going.

‘You think I don’t know that?’ She shook her head, finally breaking free of his gaze and turning to look over the diamond-sprinkled velvet of the city at night. Even now, with Raffaele Petri evoking desires she had no business feeling, she couldn’t quite get over the fact she was here, in New York, the city she’d never believed she’d visit. What wouldn’t she give for a chance to explore? To wander and be part of the anonymous crowd? Yet, despite her growing ease with her colleagues, that was a step too far.

‘I don’t have a choice. Not since I was blackmailed into coming here despite my other work commitments.’

‘That’s why you were reluctant to leave? Not because of a man?’

Lily almost snorted in derision. A man? That was a laugh. There’d been no men in her life. They weren’t exactly lining up outside her door, besotted by her looks and charm. Not even when she’d been fourteen and fresh-faced had she been that popular with boys. She’d been too ordinary, too easily overlooked. And later she was noticed for the wrong reasons. She’d learned the hard way not to confuse sympathy for interest.

‘Several men, actually.’ She watched, surprised, as he stiffened. Was it imagination or did his eyes narrow? ‘That retailer in Brisbane. The HR manager of a security firm wanting checks on potential staff. The head of a planning authority—’

‘Clients, you mean.’

‘Yes. And all important. Which is why I use my spare time working for them.’

‘But none are as important as me.’

True. None had the same power to make or break her business.

‘All my clients are important. They expect results and I’d already promised to deliver. I don’t take on work I can’t complete to the best possible standard.’

‘Even if the projects bring in a pittance compared with what you’re doing for me?’

Lily tried not to grind her teeth. Good thing he was so arrogant. It would counteract this powerful attraction.

Shame it hadn’t worked yet.

‘You’d be surprised. Some of my clients even rival you.’ She’d recently done work for a man who could reasonably be called Raffaele Petri’s rival. Luca De Laurentis was another entrepreneur providing vacation services to the rich. ‘For my business to expand it makes sense to cultivate as many sources of income as possible.’

Slowly—perhaps reluctantly?—he nodded.

‘When you say expand, what do you mean? There’s only so much you can do, even if you go without sleep.’

‘Is it so hard to take me seriously as a businesswoman? To see me as an employer?’ Umbrage thickened her voice. Her work, her professional success, meant everything. They were all she had. She’d long ago realised she’d never have a family of her own.

He shook his head. ‘You’re the most serious-minded person I know, Lily.’ Inevitably there it was again, the tiny thrill of delight as he turned her name into something exotic with that mellow voice and mouthwatering accent. ‘It’s just that you obviously prefer to work alone.’

‘You mean I’m not a team player?’ She read criticism in his words.

‘No, not that. I’ve seen how meticulous you are about sharing information, making sure everyone’s up-to-date. More that you prefer to be alone.’

Lily swallowed, her throat tight. He was right. Over the years she’d developed a taste for her own company. Surely he could understand that.

Or maybe not. People stared at him all the time, but it was in admiration, not horror at how he looked.

‘Well, you’ll be interested to know I employ two other people.’ Albeit part-time, and both still learning the ropes. But for Lily this was a major step forward.

‘Why?’

She frowned. Hadn’t he listened? ‘You said yourself there’s a limit to the work I can do alone.’

‘Why expand? Why build up a company rather than accept a permanent job here, for instance?’ His voice resonated with genuine curiosity.

Lily stared into that gorgeous fallen-angel face. No one else, not her family or friends or even her bank manager, had bothered to ask.

Something faltered inside her. She found herself on her feet, staring at the beautifully lit pool. Yet she couldn’t distract herself from stirring disquiet. Her heart thumped high in her chest and she knew it was because his interest made a difference. What he thought mattered.

Despite their differences she respected him—his business acumen, his drive, even his sometimes brutal honesty. And the fact he’d never once seemed fazed by her looks. He treated her not as scarred Lily Nolan but, she realised in shock, as someone strong enough to stand up to him. As an equal, despite their imbalance of power.

She should end this conversation. It bordered on the intimate. Yet their isolation in this moon-washed garden and the sense of familiarity made it seem almost normal.

It struck her how far she’d cut herself off from those who cared about her. In Australia she’d crossed a continent to get away from her family’s loving but claustrophobic over-protectiveness, moving from Fremantle, on the west coast, to the east. Since then she’d focused on work. She had no bosom buddy, no confidante. No one close to share her hopes and dreams.

‘I want to build something for myself.’ The words tumbled out.

To her surprise he nodded. Only a tiny inclination of the head but it seemed to bridge the distance between them.

‘I want...’ How did she put it into words? ‘Security, the safety that comes from success, but more too. I want...’

‘Recognition.’

Lily’s eyes widened. ‘How did you know?’

His shoulders lifted and her gaze slid across that wide, straight expanse of powerful muscle and bone. ‘It sounds familiar.’

‘You?’ It didn’t seem possible. ‘But you already had recognition before you started your business.’

His lips curved in what should have been a smile.

‘To be recognisable as a face, or a body, plastered across the media in advertising campaigns isn’t quite the same as genuine recognition.’

‘Recognition for your achievements, you mean?’

Again that nod.

Was it naive to admit she’d never thought of the difference before? Raffaele Petri’s phenomenal media presence had seemed the epitome of success. To be so watched, adored and admired...

It was as if he’d read her mind. ‘Being known because of how you look isn’t an achievement.’ His eyes held hers and phantom heat washed her scarred face. ‘Being someone because of your actions, your success, is something else.’

Understanding stretched between them. An understanding she’d never before shared. It felt momentous. Lily sank back onto her seat, watching him avidly.

‘Is that what drove you to build your business? The need to make your mark?’ She admired him for that. It would have been easy to continue modelling. To move from that field where he was in such demand and strike out on his own must have taken grit as well as talent.

‘Maybe. I wanted to take charge of my future. That’s hard when you’re dependent on the whims of advertisers and fashion gurus, likely to be out of style next year because they’re hungry for a new face.’

She blinked, astounded that he shared such information. He wasn’t a touchy-feely sort of guy. She’d seen him affable and relaxed but he could as easily intimidate with a look.

Was he too affected by the intimacy of the half-darkness, high above the city?

‘I can’t imagine you out of modelling work for long.’ It wasn’t just his staggering good looks. He had a magnetism Lily couldn’t resist, no matter how she tried. And she’d tried. For over a month she’d fought the compulsion to watch him.

He laughed, the sound a soft ripple skating along her bare arms. ‘It’s a cutthroat business. Don’t let the gloss fool you.’

‘So you took to real estate as a safety net?’ That was how he’d started his enterprise.

‘You could say that. I was determined to make myself safe.’

‘Safe?’

Again that quirk of the lips that should have been a smile, but which felt, in the dimness, like something else.

‘I was born poor. It takes a lot of money to stop worrying you’ll lose everything and end up in the gutter again.’

Lily nodded. She knew he didn’t come from money. But the gutter? Was that just a figure of speech?

‘Building my business meant I could choose my direction, doing things the way I want, not dependent on others.’

‘I know what you mean.’

He sat back, and even in the semi-darkness she felt his piercing regard.

Lily held her breath, waiting for him to continue. He didn’t. He looked perfectly relaxed, watching her. But he sat closer than in any meeting. There was nothing between them except a few scant inches of space.

Abruptly the elusive feeling of companionship dissipated.

The silence grew and Lily’s lungs tightened with the effort to breathe normally, not gulp down huge draughts of warm air, scented with that man and spicy deliciousness she’d come to associate with him.

‘What are you thinking?’ she burst out when she couldn’t bear the silence.

His mouth quirked up again and this time she spied amusement. ‘I’m thinking how similar we are.’

He had to be kidding! They were galaxies apart.

‘We’re both loners.’ He ticked the point off one finger. Lily watched, fascinated that he lumped himself with her there. Raffaele Petri was always surrounded by people. In the office he was the hub around which everyone revolved, eager to meet his needs. She’d seen enough media reports to know that out of the office he was surrounded by glamorous, beautiful people, drawing them like a magnet.

But how many is he close to?

The question had never occurred to her before.

‘We both want the security of success.’ Another tick. ‘We both want to make our mark, rather than have the world judge us on how we look.’

Lily sucked in her cheeks on a hiss of shock, blinking at those knowing eyes. She’d never mentioned the problem she’d had since her teens—of people not seeing her, just her scarred face.

It stunned her that he’d picked up on that.

Why had she thought he wouldn’t get it? Because he wasn’t interested in anyone but himself? Yet he’d continually surprised her with what he knew about her.

Because he was so handsome?

For the first time it struck her that he carried a burden too—far easier, of course, since his looks must have opened doors. In a weird way they were linked—judged by people because of their faces—his utterly gorgeous and hers downright ugly.

Slowly Lily released her breath, and with it some of the tautness in her shoulders and neck.

She nodded. He’d put into words something she’d never admitted. That she still fought to be judged as someone other than the woman with the appallingly scarred face.

That was why, until now, she’d enjoyed working from home instead of in someone else’s office. When people couldn’t see her they treated her like anyone else—no pity or sneaking stares or embarrassment.

Working here in New York was the first time in years she’d begun to relax with others. Were the people here remarkable or did her hard-won confidence in her work mean she was less concerned with their initial reaction? Whatever the cause, she felt more relaxed and accepted than she’d expected. It irked to admit it but her forced move had been good for her.

‘We’ve both set up our own businesses too. That’s another point in common.’ It didn’t matter that his was a multinational empire and hers a fledgling company carrying brand-new debt. The principle was the same. ‘Did your previous career help you get started?’

His laugh was short. ‘Not in the beginning. I wasn’t taken seriously. I was a face, not a businessman. No one understood how single-minded I’d had to be to get where I was.’

‘I suppose people think modelling is easy.’ She had.

‘Modelling?’ He shifted in his seat, his head swinging up, and she had a curious feeling she’d missed something. ‘Let’s just say I paid my dues to climb out of the hole where I started life.’ His face hardened. ‘Getting investors to trust me with their assets was tough. Everyone expected me to fail.’

‘But you didn’t.’

‘In the beginning, when I needed advice and investors, no one would touch me. Later it was different. People wanted a part of what I’d built, but by then I was used to working alone.’ He shrugged. ‘Maybe being forced to go solo was a good thing. It made me more determined to succeed and learn from my mistakes.’

‘Did you make many? Mistakes?’ Lily leaned forward, her hands clasped between her knees.

‘Plenty. I had money, I’d been careful about saving, but I overextended myself with a project that ran into problems. It was touch-and-go for a while.’

Lily knew the feeling. ‘But you succeeded.’ Fervently she hoped she could too.

He lifted one hand, palm up, in a gesture that seemed wholly Italian. ‘It was the only option I’d accept.’

Didn’t that say it all? Raffaele Petri was a man who, as Pete said, made it his policy always to get what he wanted. Did she have the same determination to succeed?

‘You make it sound easy.’

‘Not easy. Straightforward. I refused to accept failure. I did whatever it took to succeed.’

Could she do that? She was trying. How hard she was trying!

Perhaps it was ridiculous to take solace from the example of the man who’d disrupted her plans, the one forcing her to work twice as hard as usual just to keep on top of her obligations. Yet she felt buoyed.

‘Have you considered narrowing your market?’ His query dragged her out of her reverie.

‘Sorry?’

‘Your market. It seems very broad. You’re doing personnel security checks. You’ve taken a job for a small business plus some project for a planning authority. Then there’s your work for me, which is in a different ballpark. I’m asking if you need to specialise and become the best at what you do instead of being all things to all people.’

Lily surveyed him with surprise. Instead of anger that she wasn’t devoting all her efforts to his project, he was interested in her business? Offering advice? It was too good an opportunity to ignore.

‘Specialising would cut off some lucrative income.’ Like those security checks she didn’t particularly enjoy.

‘Lucrative long-term or short-term?’

She hadn’t thought about it like that. ‘Lucrative enough to pay the bills while I build my name in the areas I want.’

‘And do you have a plan for the transition from doing everything to doing only what you want as your core business?’

Lily hesitated. Her business plan had been based on doing more of the same. General expansion rather than targeted. Her focus had been on building income to make the enterprise as secure as possible.

‘I see.’ He sat back.

So did she. ‘There’s a gap in my planning, isn’t there?’

She didn’t feel defensive. This shadowy version of Raffaele Petri, sitting easily with her in the garden, wasn’t nearly as daunting as the one she worked with daily. She could almost pretend to forget her attraction to him. Despite her quickened pulse and the tingle of awareness, she felt easier with him than ever before. As if he were no longer a threat.

Amazing what a little moonlight could do. Or was it because his interest was in her work, not her?

‘It sounds like you need to revisit your strategy. Unless you want to be stuck in a rut, tendering for every job, whether it interests you or not.’

Lily dragged her fingers through her hair, letting it slide away over her shoulder. ‘I’ve had enough of that, working at things that don’t interest me.’

Even in the moonlight she saw his eyebrows rise. ‘Does that apply to what you’re doing for me?’

Quickly Lily shook her head. ‘No, I love that.’ She paused, wondering if she sounded too eager. But he’d acknowledged she never ran to him seeking kudos. ‘The projects are complex enough to be fascinating. I—’ She paused. ‘Signor P—’

‘Raffaele. Or Raffa. Surely we’ve gone past formality.’

Lily wished his face wasn’t half-shadowed. There was a note in his voice she couldn’t recognise. It kicked her pulse into high gear.

Reluctantly she nodded. ‘Raffaele.’ She stumbled over his name. Not because she couldn’t say it, but because it felt like an illicit pleasure on her tongue. As if she’d crossed some boundary. Heat spiked in her chest. ‘Is there a chance you could...?’

‘A chance I could...?’ He leaned forward and she felt the waft of warm air as he exhaled. Lily blinked, overwhelmed by his sheer physical presence. The stark male beauty that even pale moonlight couldn’t diminish. The challenging mind. The fizz of attraction.

Yet most appealing of all was the way he talked to her. He made her feel...important. As if she genuinely interested him.

Lily’s gaze fell to those powerful hands at his knees. Her blood tingled as for one decadent moment she wondered how it would feel if he lifted a palm and put it on her bare flesh. A quiver of exultation coursed through her. Till sanity returned.

The very fact he was so close, discussing corporate planning of all things, proved he had no interest in her physically. It was her mind, her plans he was curious about.

She was glad. It was what she wanted, to be taken seriously as a businesswoman.

Yet Lily couldn’t help wondering what it would be like, just once, to be desired by a man.

She gulped down a sudden restriction in her throat. She didn’t do self-pity. Far better to focus on what she could get out of life.

‘I wondered if you had any advice. About how or when to make that switch from taking every job to something more targeted.’

Her nerves stretched with the growing silence. But just when she’d decided she’d gone too far, he spoke.

Raffa watched Lily expound a point, gesturing, the light catching the small scar on the back of her hand. It caught the larger scar on her cheek too. But not even that detracted from her lit-from-within animation.

When she talked about her business it was with an enthusiasm most women reserved for a lover. An enthusiasm he found hard to resist.

True passion was rare.

How many would-be entrepreneurs had approached him to give them a start up? How many established businessmen had tried to entice him into a shared deal? He was adept at resisting, going his own way.

Yet here he was, caught up in Lily Nolan’s enthusiasm for a solid, but nevertheless tiny enterprise.

Or, more accurately, caught up in watching her, enjoying the change from buttoned-up, defensive worker bee to a woman who even in this gloom shone with an inner glow. A woman who made him wonder what she’d do if he stretched his arm out and hauled her onto his lap.

Her effervescence was a turn-on. It was no hardship to discuss business plans with her. He’d been genuinely interested, but beyond that was an edge that had nothing to do with commerce and everything to do with the fact that for the first time in recent memory he found himself contemplating taking a lover.

Lily Nolan?

It was a crazy idea.

‘When will that report on Bradshaw’s Caribbean property be complete?’

She looked surprised at his question. Understandable given it had nothing to do with their discussion. ‘Tomorrow. I’ve got one more thing to check in the morning.’

‘Excellent. You can have ten days off when it’s done. That will give you time to work through your other responsibilities.’ He gestured to her now dormant laptop. The sooner she got on top of those, the sooner he could have her to himself. He needed her. For her expertise, he assured himself.

‘Ten days? But I’ve only worked for you a short time.’

Raffa’s mouth kicked up. Who complained about time off? ‘Don’t worry. I’m getting my money’s worth from you and I intend to keep doing so. When you start back we’ll be in a crucial stage of the project and I’ll want you available twenty-four-seven.’

Slowly she nodded. ‘Well, I am on the premises, so I’ll be available.’

Raffa shook his head. ‘We won’t be in New York. We’ll be in the Caribbean, on Bradshaw’s home turf.’

She stilled, her eyes widening. ‘We?’

‘That’s right. We. I want you where you can be most useful.’

This was a sensible business decision. It had nothing to do with the tug of attraction he felt towards Lily Nolan. Almost nothing.

She opened her mouth, the same tight expression settling on her face that he’d become used to before tonight. It didn’t bother him. Now he knew something of the vital, intriguing, oddly innocent woman behind the facade.

He looked forward to seeing more of that woman. To learning her secrets.

‘And, before you object, this is a requirement, not a request. Finish what you have to. I don’t want you bringing other work. I want you completely at my disposal.’