Bound by the Italian's Contract. Janette Kenny

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      A fact she couldn’t deny. Still, the lodge was hers and she could expand in time if she wished. “It’s all I can manage.” All she could afford.

      “Alone, perhaps.” He pushed to his feet and paced before the windows, his stride gracefully masculine. “You need to expand your scope. What you have envisioned has global appeal. Run with it.”

      He couldn’t be serious. Just the idea of taking her program into the world market had her head spinning. She didn’t want to run something that huge.

      “You’re talking incorporation and I want none of that,” she said.

      “Why?”

      “I want the lodge to remain controllable, and I can do that by keeping it family oriented,” she said.

      He tapped one long finger on the side of his glass and studied her so long that dread lay like a lead ball in her stomach. “You want to police every aspect of your program. That’s why you balk at courting the après-ski set. The expansion would be too great and you would have to delegate, to trust others, and you can’t do that.”

      She stiffened, disliking that he thought her that intractable. “My reputation is on the line here. I don’t want to slap my name on programs around the world, even if I personally train every therapist I hire. There is more to it than technique. The personal connection I strive to achieve with clients is what makes my program unique.”

      “Are you sure you aren’t equating small with safe?” Luciano asked.

      “I simply want to renovate my lodge into an alternative ski facility and launch my program,” she repeated. “That’s why I need a backer.”

      He pushed to his feet and crossed to the bar. “You want my money and nothing more from me, and you don’t want to take a risk,” he said over the clink of glasses.

      “Basically, yes,” she said. “Is that a problem?”

      “It could be one for you.” He strode toward the sofa with two glasses of decadently red wine and handed one to her, his gaze hot on hers, probing, assessing. “Everything has risks to some degree.”

      Like being here alone with him. Like courting his interest and financial support, which was all she wanted from him.

      “I’m cautious, Luciano,” she said, taking the wine at last but hesitant to taste it.

      Challenge glinted in his eyes. “Be bold.”

      “I am.” To a point. “What’s your proposal?” she asked, mindful of the disastrous turn her life had taken the last time she’d acted boldly.

      “Ignite my brother’s love of life again with your program. It is my hope that he will regain his desire to ski and develop his own line of adaptive equipment.”

      All built under the la Duchi logo of course.

      It was a logical sound business move that would surely make Luciano millions. That he was going to great lengths for his brother spoke volumes.

      “I can’t promise that therapy will totally heal him,” she said honestly. “Julian must want my help as well.”

      He sat on the sofa, so close to her she saw flecks of silver flare in his eyes. “Give him a reason to. In exchange for your tireless effort and expertise, I will completely finance the renovation of Tregore Lodge to your specifications. Anything you want. Do we have a deal?”

      She shook her head, refusing to agree to any verbal agreement, no matter how tempting. “It can’t be that simple. What’s the catch?”

      “No catch,” he said, his gaze riveted on hers, hot and intense. “I will finance the renovation and equipment for the launch of your adaptive ski program if you agree to come to my Alpine lodge and do all in your power to help Julian regain his life.”

      “Why is this so important to you?”

      “He’s my brother and has all but given up hope of having any normalcy of life,” he said. “Look around. There are far too many like him similarly afflicted. I have the means to give him that new start. You have the knowledge to reach and motivate him.”

      She bit her lower lip, thinking. Her program would gain huge accolades if it helped Julian. But even if it didn’t, she liked him and wanted to help. And she did need to cinch this deal with Luciano.

      “What you’re expecting of me is massive,” she said. “The chance for failure is great. You must realize that.”

      His frown deepened but he gave an abrupt nod, troubled eyes meeting hers. And for a heartbeat she was lost in them. Lost in the emotional pain that flickered a nanosecond in his eyes before vanishing behind that same blank wall.

      “I understand the risk,” he said. “But it is worth it if Julian will one day lead a productive life again.”

      “That’s admirable of you.” Touching.

      He shrugged, his blue eyes as turbulent as a restive sea. “As I said, I care about my brother.”

      She didn’t doubt that. But something else was bothering him deeply. What was it?

      This vulnerability of his to the travails of others was another change, a huge switch from the ruthless, competitive champion she remembered. Could a man change that much in seven years?

      Her father had taught her that a leopard never changed its spots. Yet this stern businessman she faced now was nothing like the rash playboy she’d known. Nothing similar to the man she’d expected to deal with.

      This Luciano was all business. Serious, driven, and clearly tormented. What had caused this transformation? His bitter divorce? The accident? Or did it run deeper than that?

      Hard to guess as she rarely read anything about him in the tabloids either. It was as if he’d dropped out of sight. She rose from the sofa and walked to the stunning vista offered by the windows. She needed the space between them to think.

      “Will Julian’s transformation free you to live your life again?” she asked.

      His jaw clenched. “My life is as I wish it. Your answer, Caprice,” he said, his intense gaze locked with hers in silent challenge again.

      She nodded, mentally kicking herself for getting sidetracked over the state of Luciano’s health instead of getting on with her business with him. But she wasn’t fool enough to accept his word at face value and snap up the chance to work with him, forgetting the slights.

      “If we agree to this on paper, you’ve got a deal,” she said and extended her hand just like she would to wrap up any business deal.

      His lips curved in a rare smile that brought back memories of the fun-loving man she’d known. Just as quickly it vanished behind that wall of indifference that he wore so well.

      “Excellent. I’ll arrange for us to meet with my interior design team as soon as possible. Once they are made aware of what we require, they will be able to come up with a plan for my lodge by the end of next week.”

      “Whoa! I thought СКАЧАТЬ