On Her Terms. Cathryn Fox

along with my older brother, Matteo, the family legacy falls to me. That includes the dukedom and the family conglomerates. Uncle Giovanni is overseeing things for now, but if I don’t meet the stipulations of my father’s will and marry his best friend’s daughter before I turn thirty this year, the controlling shares of my father’s conglomerates will go to my eldest cousin, Marco. I can’t let that happen. He’ll blow through the entire Marino fortune in no time, destroy everything my father built.

      “This looks amazing,” Summer says, and with that we all dig into our meals. Small talk is made as the courses are served one after the other. Over an hour later, after the dessert dishes are cleared, we all head to the bar area for a drink. I search the crowd for Brianna and find her talking to Tate, but every now and then she casts a fast glance my way. Only problem is, whenever she finds me staring she tears her gaze away. At least that gives me the opportunity to blatantly look her over, revel in the way her formfitting skirt clings to her hips, the way she fiddles with the button on her blouse. A nervous little habit I remember from years ago. I’m not even sure she knows she’s doing it, but it does beg the question, what is sexy Brianna Carson so damn worked up about?

      “Can I get a whiskey neat,” I say to the bartender as I shrug out of my suit jacket and place it over the back of the stool before I settle myself onto the plush seat.

      Summer comes up to me and puts her hand on my shoulder. I turn to her and she offers up a smile. “Hey, Summer,” I say and drop a kiss onto her cheek. “You look beautiful tonight.” She angles her head and narrows her big eyes, her curious gaze moving over my face. “What?” I ask and shift a little on the chair.

      She taps her nails on the bar top. “Do you and Brianna know each other?”

      I shake my head and grin. Leave it to Summer to notice the tension between us. As a doctor, she’s pretty good at picking up on subtleties, and there isn’t much anyone can get by her. I’m about to open my mouth to answer, when Tate slides his arm around his fiancée’s waist.

      “I was wondering the same thing,” he says, and that’s when I notice Brianna coming up behind him, avoiding my gaze as she signals the bartender for a drink.

      “Brianna,” I say, and she settles a polite gaze on me.

      “Luca, isn’t it?” She turns to Tate. “Sorry, I was so jet-lagged when you did the introductions, I wasn’t sure if I caught the right name.”

      “Ah, so you two don’t know each other, then,” Summer says, but from the way her gaze is going back and forth between the two of us, I’m not so sure she’s convinced of that.

      There was a time I would’ve liked to have known Brianna. A girl like her, well, she could make me forget my responsibilities to my family in Italy. If life were different, I would’ve gone for her, made her mine. But I didn’t date while I was at Oxford, not when I’d have to subject a woman to the rigidity of my title and obligations.

      “Why would we know each other?” Brianna asks and smooths her hand over her thick chestnut hair. For a second I envision my hands in that tangled mess, tugging on those long strands until her mouth opens for me. What I’d do to finally taste her, finish what we never got the chance to start all those years ago. But I’m not about to start something I still can’t finish. Brianna deserves better than that. She deserves her own Prince Charming, not a duke who’s already spoken for. For the last few years, Valentina has been waiting in the wings, eager to walk me down the aisle and become my duchess. I haven’t seen the woman in years. Who the fuck does arranged marriages anymore, anyway? I never thought in a million years that my father would put such a stipulation in his will.

      “You both went to Oxford Law,” Tate says. He gives a shrug of one shoulder and adds, “Then again it’s a big campus, and Luca was probably a year or two ahead of you.” The overhead lights dim, and the music picks up. Tate turns to Summer. “Dance with me.” She smiles up at her fiancé, and I grin. Those two were made for each other. I knew it the first time she came into the bar here in St. Moritz, where Tate and I were working six months ago. He was undercover as a bartender, trying to prove Summer was a fraud who was out to steal billions from his granddad. At the time, I was hanging out in the Swiss Alps, enjoying the commoner’s life. For years now I’ve been travelling around, doing odd jobs, trying to live a full life before duty catches up to me and I have to settle into my rightful position as Luca Marino, Duke of Massara.

      Brianna opens her mouth, no doubt to excuse herself, when her granddad’s cane hits the floor as he saunters up to the bar. “I’ll have a brandy,” he says.

      “Granddad, I don’t think you should be drinking,” Brianna says.

      He waves a dismissive hand her way. “Foolishness, child. I’ve got more brandy in these veins than blood. Now, what’s this I hear about you two knowing each other?”

      I shake my head, having no idea how he could have heard us from the other side of the room. He settles himself onto the stool next to me, and the bartender slides him a drink. He drains the amber liquid in one easy swallow, slams his glass on the mahogany top and then gestures for another.

      “We don’t know each other,” Brianna says quickly, her gaze darting to mine, like she’s worried I might claim otherwise.

      “Well then, get out there on the dance floor and start getting to know each other, already.”

      Brianna briefly closes her eyes, and I catch something in Granddad’s smile, something that looks an awful lot like mischief. What is the old man up to? Tate told me his grandfather was behind him and Summer meeting and falling for each other. I look him over, take in the statuesque way he carries himself. Something tells me he’s not as frail and sick as he lets on. Maybe the others can’t see it because they’re too close. But I sense there is something more going on with James Carson.

      “I’m tired, Granddad. It was a long flight and an even longer day. I just want to go back to my room and call it a night.”

      “I’m headed out, too,” I say, picking up on the tension between Brianna and her grandfather. Wanting to help her out, I add, “I’ll walk you to your room.”

      “That’s okay,” she says quickly, her smile forced. “I forgot a few things and have to hit up the gift shop.” She drops a kiss onto her granddad’s cheek and hurries from the room, once again avoiding my gaze and pretending she doesn’t know me. Although I’m pretty goddamn sure she does. What the hell is going on with her?

      “I guess I should call it a night, too,” I say to James as he downs another ounce of brandy. “I have some forms I need to go over.”

      “I just bet you do,” James says to me, an almost sinister smile quirking his lips, like he’s been inside my head all night and knows all the dirty things pinging around in my brain. I can’t imagine he’d be too happy with my thoughts, considering Brianna is his granddaughter.

      Tate and Summer come back to check on their granddad and I use that opportunity to excuse myself. I leave the room and head outside. I’ve opted to stay in one of the family’s chalets instead of the grand hotel. I have always preferred the solitude.

      I nod to a group of women as they wave to me, and keep my head down as I make my way to my cottage. The warmth of the night falls over me, and my clothes stick to my skin. Since I know the resort like the back of my hand, I turn left instead of right. Forgoing rest, I take one of the lesser-known paths that leads up the mountain. There are plenty of suitable swimming lakes scattered throughout the town, but this high up on the hill, most are untouched. The frigid temperatures a bit too much for visitors. The wind picks up as I climb, and I dodge a few puddles, compliments of the afternoon downpour. I start to unbutton my shirt, tug it away from my body, anxious to jump into the water to cool myself down. But that’s when I realize I left my suit jacket back at the hotel. Good thing I brought a couple of extras.

      The path narrows, and up ahead a bunny scurries into the underbrush. The temperature has dropped significantly, but I don’t mind. As I approach my favorite private spot, I’m about to unzip my pants, but humming reaches my ears.