Читать книгу The Vineyards Of Calanetti - Rebecca Winters - Страница 60

CHAPTER TWELVE

SIMPLY CHARMING.

At this particular moment, Kayla had no better word for it. And she wasn’t just talking about the village. She gave Angelo a sideways gaze. Handsome, thoughtful and entertaining. “Quite a combo.”

“What?”

Oops! She hadn’t meant to vocalize her thoughts. “I...I was just thinking Monte Calanetti has quite an amazing combination of old-world charm and modern day functionality.”

They meandered away from the fountain. On the edge of the piazza, they passed by a well that she was certain had seen its days of women gathering to fill their buckets. While waiting for their turn, she imagined they’d shared the happenings of the village—the historic form of gossiping around the water cooler. It was so easy to envision how things used to be. Something told Kayla that this village hadn’t changed a whole lot over the years.

The sunshine warmed the back of her neck, but it was Angelo’s arm beneath her fingertips that warmed her insides. She resisted the urge to smooth her fingers over his tanned skin. She was in serious danger of forgetting that he was her boss—the key to her future promotion.

As the bell towers rang out, Kayla stared at the cobblestone path that wound its way between the brick buildings. A number of the homes had flower boxes with red, yellow and purple blooms. There were also flowerpots by the various shaped doors painted in every imaginable color. In other places, ivy snaked its way along the bricks. This area was quite picturesque and made Kayla forget that she was in the center of the village.

A rustling sound had her glancing upward. She craned her neck, finding fresh laundry fluttering in the breeze. She couldn’t help but smile. It was a lovely, inviting sight. But as much as she liked it, it was the man at her side that she found utterly captivating.

Angelo Amatucci might be icy cool in the office, but she’d found that once he thawed out, he was a warm, thoughtful man. Not that she was falling for his amazing good looks or his dark, mysterious eyes. Her priority was her career—the reason she’d left her home in Paradise. And she wasn’t about to ruin her future by throwing herself at her boss.

She chanced a quick glance his way. But then again—

No. She pulled her thoughts up short. This wasn’t getting her anywhere.

She was supposed to be touring Monte Calanetti to get ideas for the wedding pitch. If they were going to sell the royal couple on this location for the wedding, she needed to know as much about it as possible. And of what she’d seen so far, she loved it. This village and its occupants would give the wedding an old-world feel with lots of heart.

The villagers sent puzzled glances their way as though they should know who Angelo was but couldn’t quite place his face. And then there were a few people that ventured to ask if he was indeed Angelo. When he confirmed their suspicions, he wasn’t greeted with a simple hello or a mere handshake; instead, he was yanked into warm hugs. She could see the frown lines etched on his face, but to his credit he didn’t complain. There were even a few tears of happiness from the older women who remembered him when he was just a young boy.

Angelo took her hand in his as though it were natural for them. Kayla liked feeling connected to him—feeling his long fingers wrapped around hers.

“I’m sorry about that.” Angelo started walking again. “I didn’t expect anyone to remember me.”

“You must have spent a lot of time in the village as a kid.”

“I did. It was my escape from the monotony of working around the vineyard.” His jaw tensed and a muscle twitched.

“I take it that’s why you let your brother have the run of Calanetti Vineyards?”

He nodded. “Nico is as passionate about the winery as I am with advertising. How about you? Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

Kayla shook her head. “My parents wanted more children, but that didn’t work out. So with me being an only child, they heaped all of their hopes and dreams onto me.”

“Hmm...sounds a bit daunting for one person.”

“It is. That’s why I had to leave Paradise.”

“Somehow I just can’t imagine life in Paradise could be such a hardship.”

She shrugged. “It’s great. The people are wonderful. It’s the perfect place to raise kids.”

“But you weren’t ready for kids?”

The thought of taking on that sort of responsibility still overwhelmed her. “I have to figure out me first and accomplish some things on my own before I can be there 24/7 for others. And my parents, as much as I love them, didn’t understand this.”

“They wanted you to graduate high school and settle down.”

She nodded. “They had it all planned out. I’d get married, have lots of kids and when the time came my husband and I would take over the family store.”

“Doesn’t sound so bad.”

“No. It isn’t. But I always had a dream of going to college and making a name for myself. I wanted to move to the city. I wanted to climb the corporate ladder. I wanted to—”

She bit off her last words. Heat rushed up her neck and warmed her face. She couldn’t believe that she’d gotten so comfortable around Angelo that she’d just rambled on about her dreams. For a moment, she’d forgotten that she was talking to her boss.

Not good, Kayla. Not good at all.

She freed her hand from his. It was time she started acting like his employee, not his girlfriend. The time had come to get back to reality.

Angelo stopped walking and turned to her. “What aren’t you saying? What do you want to do?”

“Um...nothing. It’s no big deal. Let’s keep going. I want to see the whole village.” She turned to start walking again.

Angelo reached out, catching her arm in his firm grip. “Not so fast.” She turned back, glancing up at his serious gaze. “Kayla, talk to me.” His hand fell away from her arm. “I’ve told you all sorts of things that I don’t normally share with people. I’d like to know what you were about to say and why you stopped. Surely by now you know that you can trust me.”

Could she trust him? She supposed it depended on the subject. With her safety—most definitely. With her dreams—perhaps. With her heart— Wait, where had that come from?

“Kayla, what is it?”

She wasn’t good at lying so that left her with the truth, but she didn’t know how Angelo would take it. “I came to New York because I wanted...er...I want to be an ad executive.”

His brows scrunched together. “And?”

She shrugged. “And that’s it.”

“That’s what you didn’t want to tell me?”

Her gaze moved to the cobblestone walkway. “It’s just that I got comfortable around you and forgot to watch what I was saying.”

“Oh, I see. Since I’m the boss, you feel like you have to screen what you say to me?”

She nodded.

“How about this? For the duration of this trip, I’m not your boss. We’re just business associates or how about friends? Would you like that?”

Her gaze met his and she found that he was being perfectly serious. “But what about when we return to New York?”

“Obviously things will have to change then, but for right now, I’d like to just be Angelo, not Mr. Amatucci. I’d forgotten what it’s like just to be me again.”

“And I like you calling me Kayla.” Her gaze met his. Within his eyes she found a comforting warmth. “Consider yourself a friend.”

He held out his hand to her. She accepted it. A shiver of excitement raced up her arm. They continued to stare deep into each other’s eyes, even though it was totally unnecessary. She knew she should turn away. She knew that it was the proper thing to do with her boss. But as he’d just pointed out they were friends—for now.

His voice grew deeper. “I couldn’t think of a better friend to have.”

Her heart fluttered in her chest. What had just happened?

Angelo turned and tucked her hand back in the crook of his arm. Why did it suddenly feel as though their relationship had just taken a detour? How would they ever find their way back to just being boss and employee now?

* * *

Monte Calanetti is a diamond in the rough.

Had that thought really just crossed his mind?

Before he’d left the hotel a few hours ago, he’d envisioned Monte Calanetti as he had when he was a child—suffocating with its traditional ways and its resistance to growth and to modernization. But somehow, with Kayla by his side, he’d seen the village from a different perspective—he’d seen it through her very beautiful, very observant eyes. With her passion and romantic tendencies, she might just be the key he needed to pull this wedding pitch together. But did he dare ask for her help?

Sure, she had talent. He’d witnessed it firsthand with the Van Holsen account. But did he trust her with a project that was so important to his family? After all, his brother and sister, not to mention the entire village, were counting on him to represent them properly to the royal couple. But how was he supposed to do that when he kept hitting one brick wall after the other?

They walked some more before Kayla turned to him. “Thank you for showing me your hometown. I love it.”

“Really?” He failed to keep the surprise from his voice.

“Of course I do. How could you not? Not only that but it has the most delicious aromas and it’s so peaceful.” Just then two scooters whizzed by them. “Okay, so it isn’t totally peaceful.”

“You’ll get used to them. Scooters are very popular around here.”

A couple more scooters zoomed down the road causing Kayla to step into the grass. She took a moment, taking in her surroundings. “Is this where you went to school?”

Angelo glanced at the back of the building off in the distance. The years started to slip away. “Yes, it is.”

“I bet you were a handful back then.”

As a young kid, he’d been the complete opposite of the way he is now. “I believe the word they used was incorrigible.”

Now why had he gone and admitted that? Letting down his defenses and opening up about his past would only lead to confusion and misunderstandings, because sharing was what people did when they were getting serious. And that wasn’t going to happen. He refused to let it happen. No matter how ripe her lips were for a kiss. Or how her smile sent his pulse racing.

“You probably picked on all of the girls and pulled on their ponytails.”

He shook his head. “Not me. I didn’t have time for girls, not until I was a bit older.”

“And then I bet you broke a lot of hearts.”

He wasn’t sure about that, but there was one girl, Vera Carducci, and he’d had the biggest crush on her. He hadn’t thought of her in years.

“See. I was right.” Kayla smiled triumphantly.

“Actually, I was the one who got dumped.”

“That’s so hard to believe—”

“It’s the truth.” Why did he feel the need to make Kayla believe that his life was far from idyllic? What was it about her that had him letting down his guard? He had to do better. He couldn’t let her get too close. It’d only cause them pain in the end.

Kayla walked over to a tree in the school yard. Her fingers traced over the numerous carvings from initials to hearts. “Was this the kissing tree?”

He nodded, suddenly wishing they were anywhere but here.

“I bet your initials are here...somewhere.” Kayla’s voice drew him back to the present. “Want to point me in the right direction?”

“Actually, they aren’t here.”

Her eyes opened wide. “Really? I thought for sure that you would have been popular with the girls.”

He shrugged, recalling his fair share of girlfriends over the years. But he’d never kissed them here. Not a chance.

“Surely you stole a kiss or two.” Her gaze needled him for answers.

“Not here.”

“Why not?”

Oh, what did it matter if he told her? It wasn’t as if there was any truth to the legend. It was all a bunch of wishful thinking.

“There’s some silly legend attached to the tree that says whoever you kiss here will be your soul mate for life.”

Kayla’s green eyes widened with interest. “Really? And you don’t believe it?”

He shook his head. “It’s just an old wives’ tale. There’s nothing to it.”

“And yet you’ve made a point not to kiss anyone here.” She stepped closer to him. “If you don’t believe in such superstitions, prove it.”

His pulse kicked up a notch. Why was there a gleam in her eyes? Was she challenging him? Did she really expect him to kiss her here?

Instead of the idea scaring him off, it actually appealed to him. His gaze dipped to her lips. Kayla was the only woman he had ever contemplated kissing here—wait, when did that happen? He gave himself a mental jerk, but it didn’t chase away the tempting thought.

What was it about Miss Kayla Hill that had him wishing there were such things as happily-ever-afters instead of roller-coaster relationships? He’d had so much turbulence in his life that he couldn’t stand anymore. But Kayla was different. She had a calming presence.

This wasn’t right. He should make it perfectly clear that he was no Romeo, but the way she kept staring at him, challenging him with her eyes, filled him with a warm sensation. He didn’t want it to end. What would it hurt to let her remain caught up in her romantic imaginings?

Without thinking about the pros and cons of what he was about to do, he dipped his head and caught her lips with his own. Her lips were soft and pliant. He wrapped his arms around her slender waist and pulled her to him. She willingly followed his lead. Her soft curves pressed to him and a moan swelled deep in his throat. How in the world was he ever going to let her go? He’d never felt anything this intense for anyone—ever.

He wanted to convince himself that it was because she was forbidden fruit—his assistant. But he couldn’t buy that. There was something so special about her that he couldn’t diminish the connection with such a flimsy excuse. He knew as sure as he was standing there in a lip-lock with her that if their situation were different and he wasn’t her boss that he’d still desire her with every fiber of his body.

His mouth moved over hers, slow at first. Yet when she met him move for move, the desire burning in him flared. Her mouth opened to him and she tasted sweet like the sun-ripened berries she’d sampled back in the village. He’d never tasted anything so delectable in his life. He doubted he’d ever experience a moment like this again.

There was something so special about Kayla. It was as though no matter what he did, she could see the real him. But could she see his scars, the ones that kept him from letting people get too close?

Her hands slid up over his shoulders and wrapped around the back of his neck. Her touch sent waves of excitement down his spine. He wanted her. He needed her. But his heart and mind were still guarded.

If he let her get any closer, she’d learn of his shame—of his ultimate pain—and then she’d pity him. Pity was not something that he could tolerate. He was Angelo Amatucci. A self-made man. He needed no one’s sympathy. He needed no one.

Anxious to rebuild that wall between them, he braced his hands on her hips and pushed her back. Her eyes fluttered open and confusion showed in them.

“We should head back to the hotel. I...I have work to do.”

Disappointment flashed in her eyes. “Oh. Okay.”

He retraced their steps. “I have a conference call this afternoon.”

Kayla fell in step beside him. He should say something. Explain somehow. But he didn’t know what to say because that kiss left him utterly confused by the rush of emotions she’d evoked in him. Somehow, some way, she’d sneaked past his well-placed barriers and with each smile, each touch, she was getting to him. That wasn’t part of his plan.

Unable to decide what to do about his undeniable attraction to his assistant, he turned his attention to something much less stressful—the village. For the first time, he saw its charms. Kayla had opened his eyes to everything he’d blocked out, from the amazing artisans, to the detailed architecture, to the warm and friendly people. He had so much to work with now. The pitch would be amazing if he could pull it all together, even though he was still unsure about the wedding aspect.

Still, Monte Calanetti had some of the best food in the world. It was sure to impress even the royal couple. And to be truthful, he was quite anxious to try Raffaele’s restaurant—if the rumors were anything to go by, it was out of this world.

Although his desire to go to dinner had more to do with Kayla than the food. He hungered for more of her melodious laugh and her contagious smiles. Though he shouldn’t, he’d come to really enjoy her company.

As productive as they were, working as a team, he was enjoying getting to know her on a personal level. After all, it wasn’t as if this thing, whatever you wanted to call it, would carry over to New York. He’d make sure of it. But what would it hurt to enjoy the moment?