A Proposal From The Italian Count. Lucy Gordon

      ‘Anything else?’ he asked at last.

      ‘No, that’s all.’

      ‘You have nothing else?’ he asked, looking astonished.

      ‘This is all I need,’ she said defiantly.

      He gave her an odd look, as though wondering what madness had made her refuse his money when she seemed to own so little, but all he said was, ‘Then let’s go.’

      She looked around nervously as they went downstairs, but there was no sign of Rik.

      ‘Where are we going?’ she asked as they went out into the street.

      ‘I’m staying in the Davien Hotel, a couple of streets away. We’ll get you a room there for tonight, then make our plans.’

      She knew the hotel. It had a reputation as being costly.

      ‘I don’t think it’s quite the right place for me,’ she said uneasily.

      ‘If you’re worried about the money, don’t be. I’m paying. I landed you in this mess and it’s my responsibility to get you out.’

      Suddenly she recalled Rik’s warning to her. He’d suggested that Vittorio was hoping to lure Jackie into bed with the empty promise of a great fortune.

      Suddenly she was uneasy. Was that why Vittorio was taking her to his hotel at his own expense? Did he mean her to share his bed?

      Only recently that thought would have excited her. Vittorio attracted her powerfully. The thought of lying with him in bed would have been a pleasure. But now everything was different. Was he trustworthy? Could she be sure?

      A short walk brought them to the hotel. Vittorio went to Reception and chatted with the woman there as she typed something onto the keyboard. Nodding to her, he headed back to Jackie.

      ‘I’ve managed to secure you a room on the second floor.’

      He escorted her upstairs, leading her to a door for which he had the key. She held her breath.

      But when the door opened she knew she’d done him an injustice. There was only one single bed.

      ‘Th-thank you,’ she stammered.

      ‘If you need me I’m three doors along the corridor.’

      He departed at once, leaving her standing alone, trying to take in everything that had happened. Only yesterday she had quarrelled with this man, and today he had come to her rescue and she had accepted his help gladly.

      It doesn’t make any sense, she mused.

      But nothing had made sense since she’d met him. Perhaps nothing ever would again.

      He returned just as she finished putting her things away.

      ‘They do a good lunch here,’ he said. ‘I’ll have some sent up.’

      ‘Couldn’t we eat downstairs in the restaurant?’

      ‘Do I make you feel nervous, Jackie? Are you afraid to be alone with me?’

      ‘Of course not,’ she said uneasily. ‘I have no feelings about you one way or the other, actually,’ she lied bravely.

      ‘So you didn’t mean it when you said you wouldn’t marry me in a million years? Or the bit about me being cold and arrogant and a person who thinks money can solve anything?’

      For a moment it was as though her worst nightmares were coming true. But then she saw he was grinning, and that his eyes were full of friendly humour.

      ‘Forget it,’ he said. ‘People say things in the heat of the moment. And it’s not far different from what you said to me yesterday. But it’s time we drew a line under that. We have to work matters out between us and be friends—if that’s possible.’

      It was still embarrassing to know that he’d heard her, but his unexpected humour made it bearable.

      ‘So—can I have some food sent up?’ he asked.

      ‘Are you asking my permission?’

      Again he gave her a cheeky grin. ‘Isn’t that what you prefer a man to do?’

      ‘Stop trying to make me sound like a bully.’

      ‘Not a bully. Just a woman who knows her own mind—as Rik would tell us after the way you stood up to him. He’s a nasty bully, but you really dealt with him.’

      ‘Yes—and that was so successful that now I’ve got to start looking for another job and a home.’

      ‘But where? You’ll never get another job around here. He’ll make sure of that.’

      She groaned, recognising that Vittorio was right. Rik would spread the word that she was unreliable, destroying her prospects.

      ‘I still feel that I owe you any help I can persuade you to accept,’ Vittorio said.

      ‘You have a job to offer me?’

      ‘Not here, but in Italy. I could find many opportunities for you there. Why not come back with me?’

       CHAPTER THREE

      JACKIE STARED AT him in disbelief. ‘Italy? Did I hear right?’

      ‘Dead right. I want you to work for me in my family’s department store in Rome. Your talents will be valuable.’

      ‘But I’ve only ever worked in a little shop. I’d be useless in a department store.’

      ‘Not in our glass and china section. It’s a new department, and it isn’t doing brilliantly because nobody really understands it. But you could bring it to life and make it profitable.’

      ‘According to Rik, I was lousy at making profits.’

      ‘Were you? Or did he make a lot of stupid decisions?’

      ‘Yes, he buys all the wrong stuff.’

      ‘So I can rely on you to buy all the right stuff?’

      ‘Mightn’t the language be a problem? I never got to finish my Italian course at night school. I had to stop when Daddy became ill.’

      ‘A lot of people there speak English. Some of our customers are tourists, and your English would be a blessing to them. Your Italian seems already pretty good, and you can work to improve it.’

      ‘It’s very kind of you—’ she began uneasily.

      ‘No, it isn’t. I’m not being kind. I’m a businessman and I’m doing what any sensible businessman does—turning the situation to my own advantage. I could make a lot of money out of you, and I’m not passing up the chance to do that.’

      ‘But how—?’

      ‘You won’t just have that one department. I want you to cast your expert eye over the whole store and tell me how it looks to you—because that will tell me how it looks to our customers. Tourists are profitable, and you can help me attract plenty of them. And it could open some new doors for you, Jackie. I’ll pay you a decent wage—far more than Rik paid you—and you’ll have a position of authority.’

      Authority. The word seemed to sing in her ears. This would truly be a new, more satisfying life—exactly what she had longed for. Again she had the mysterious feeling that Vittorio could read her mind.

      ‘Authority?’ she echoed. ‘Do you really mean that?’

      ‘You’d be in charge of your department. You’d have a team that would take your orders. Or don’t you feel up to giving orders?’

      ‘Oh, yes, I do. That was always my problem with Rik. And with my father too sometimes. He complained that I argued with him too much.’ She gave a brief laugh.