A Kiss At Midnight. Kate Hardy

It was so out of character for her that Vanessa had been shocked when she’d told her, but hadn’t let her forget the idea, adamant it was just what she needed. She’d reminded her of it earlier when she’d called her to say she was snowed in at the manor. Could this really be her chance to tick that off her list, to prove to herself she was over Jason, without getting her heart broken?

      No. She was here professionally and wouldn’t jeopardise her business reputation for one night of excitement, however tempting Xavier might be.

      * * *

      Xavier sensed there was a lot more she wasn’t telling him. To be defending her ex-fiancé so strongly, she must still love him. But why love someone who’d hurt you, walking out on you when it had most counted?

      He done exactly that to his long-term girlfriend when she’d left him literally hanging in the hospital, too disgusted to even sit with him. Carlotta had taken it so well he’d seriously questioned if she’d ever loved him and was relieved he’d resisted prompts from her and his family, before the accident, to make that final and permanent commitment. At least he hadn’t had to deal with a divorce as well as the knowledge he’d destroyed Paulo’s family.

      Tilly stood up abruptly, dragging his thoughts back from those dark days, effectively ending the conversation. ‘Dessert?’

      The husky tone of her voice pulled his thoughts back from those painful months after the accident. Painful not because Carlotta had shown her true shallow nature but because of the guilt that racked him every time he thought of the accident and the devastation it had caused.

      He let his gaze travel down Tilly’s slender body, allowing her gorgeous figure to ground him and pull him back from that abyss. On her beautiful face was an expression of hesitancy, mixed with the composure she’d been fighting to retain all night.

      A stab of hot lust shot through him. It wasn’t just the challenge she’d set before him, it was much more—and almost impossible to ignore.

      He wanted her—more than he’d wanted any woman.

      ‘Let’s abandon this formality.’ The need to break out, to rebel against what was right, surged through him.

      ‘What do you mean?’ The shock in her voice was clear, her blue eyes wide with disbelief.

      ‘The fire in the lounge is so much more inviting, no?’

      ‘Yes, it is.’ She lowered her lashes, blocking him out, but even so her body called to his, beckoned him with the lure of desire.

      ‘Bene.’ He got up and moved around the table towards her. She met his gaze again, her gorgeous eyes wide and luminous, and he felt something squeeze tight around his chest. It had been a long time since a woman had affected him so potently.

      Suddenly she moved away from him and began clearing the table. ‘I will see to this first.’ The matter-of-fact words cooled his ardour, reminding him she was not the kind of woman to have affairs, the kind who wanted just what at the moment he could offer. He had to remember he’d hired her for this evening’s dinner party, which in itself was an added complication.

      Before he had time to process those thoughts properly she left the room, carrying things back to the kitchen. He picked up other items from the table and strode through to the kitchen where the bright lights subdued what had arced between them—and highlighted reality.

      ‘I have a few things to do then I will bring dessert through to the lounge.’ She turned and looked at him, the wariness in her eyes halting him in his tracks. She was warning him without words to keep away, telling him she didn’t want to pursue the attraction, and after what she’d just told him he’d be heartless to force her. She was still in love with another man, even though her body called to his. But ignoring her was proving difficult.

      ‘Allow me to help.’

      ‘No.’ The shock in that word startled him, and he looked at her in question. ‘No, thank you. This is my job, Signor Moretti, I’m not here to be wined and dined. I’m paid to be here—working.’

      She was either putting them both firmly in their places or laying down an even bigger challenge. His pulse leapt at the thought, but he knew, deep down, it wasn’t that. She was right. Her brief story about last New Year’s Eve only confirmed she wanted more than a night of passion and an expensive parting gift. She wasn’t the kind of woman who sought such nights, she never would be. He couldn’t give a woman like Tilly what she wanted.

      ‘Very well,’ he said firmly. ‘But I expect you to join me in the lounge. I have no intention of welcoming in the New Year alone.’

      ‘But...’ She searched for more excuses.

      ‘You will join me,’ he said sternly, and she looked up at him and the expression on her face soothed his ruffled demeanour. She looked vulnerable and so very beautiful. ‘For just one glass of champagne. To toast in the New Year.’

       CHAPTER FOUR

      TILLY’S HEART RATE HAD barely slowed after Xavier had left the kitchen. Unable to do anything for a while, she had just stood looking out of the window, watching the large snowflakes drift past, so white against the darkness of the night.

      For the last hour she’d kept reminding herself she was working for Signor Moretti, as she tried hard to think of him. Anything to stay on a professional level, because talking about Jason and last New Year’s Eve with him had allowed things to slip into something more intimate.

      After what had just happened, her body hummed spectacularly with desire, in a way she’d never known, one unacceptable in every way. She’d tried to avoid spending further time with him, not liking his probing questions about last year. She had reminded him she was working for him, but it hadn’t cooled the heat in his eyes. She was going to have to be on her guard. She had no intention of breaking her rules and certainly not of becoming just another woman to him.

      She stood on the threshold of the lounge, not daring to push open the door and walk in, sensing that doing so would change her—for ever. The clock in the hall struck the half-hour. Half past eleven. Very soon it would be midnight and her contract would end. She should be leaving, but fate had other ideas and she wasn’t sure she could hide behind her mask of professionalism—or that she even wanted to.

      As the chimes fell silent she pushed open the dark wooden door, feeling the warmth of the fire meet her. Her hands were shaking and she paused, looking at Xavier, the sense that everything would be different after tonight becoming greater.

      ‘Infine.’ The soft Italian word and the hint of amusement in it caressed her senses as she walked into the room, trying to leave her insecurities outside. She didn’t want him to know just how these last few hours had already affected her.

      The image of Xavier standing close to the open fire, his tall and toned body commanding her attention, was almost too much. The formal black suit only added to his sex appeal and she made an effort to drag her gaze from him. She had to stop looking at him so wantonly. She looked instead at the many paintings hanging around the room, but that didn’t stop her wondering what it would be like to be held in his arms or kissed by his lips. She seriously doubted if anything could, now the sizzle of attraction filled the very air she breathed.

      ‘Yes, finally,’ she translated with a smile, inwardly berating herself. She needed to do something to remind both of them exactly what her position here tonight was. Hired help. ‘Sorry to have kept you waiting, but I had some work to do.’

      ‘Come.’ He gestured to the sofa in front of the fire, a smile playing about his lips suggesting he knew she’d been hiding in the kitchen. Or was that her guilty conscience for having done exactly that? ‘It is almost midnight. Join me for a glass of champagne.’

      His dark eyes sparked with something she didn’t want to recognise as she walked to the sofa and sat demurely in front of the fire, the soft warmth of the fabric offering some protection