One Night In His Bed. Christina Hollis

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СКАЧАТЬ were juggled and the table rearranged to make space for the extra dishes. Sienna was speechless, but at least the shock gave her time to consider her reply.

      ‘This is very kind of you, Signor Lazlo,’ she murmured as soon as all the waiters were out of earshot, ‘but I’m sure I shall never manage all this. What made you think my own meal wasn’t big enough?’

      He shrugged. ‘You’re as thin as a rail, and white as paper. Eat up. The servings here may not be American-sized, but they’ll still put some roses in your cheeks.’

      ‘So…does that mean your own meal is too small?’

      He began making great inroads into his own ravioli, with evident satisfaction.

      ‘Not at all. I can never stand to see good food go to waste, so I always eat everything that is put in front of me.’

      ‘It seems to do you good.’

      The words were out before Sienna could stop them. She gasped, desperate to take them back, but Garett had heard too many empty compliments in his life to take much notice of hers. And he chuckled at her innocent remark.

      ‘What I meant was…I mean, you look perfectly—that is…’

      He let her flounder about, watching with amusement as she got more and more flustered, and more and more embarrassed. It pleased him to see a woman struggling over compliments. The girls who slinked up to him at parties all read from the same script. They had their patter worked out. This Signora di Imperia was anything but practised. She was obviously attracted to him, but trying not to show it. This made a refreshing change for Garett. Though of course he would never respond to any come-on from a mousy little innocent like her! It was all he could do not to laugh out loud at the idea of it. What sort of attraction could she possibly hold for him?

      The lure of the forbidden: the most powerful one in the world, his body told him suddenly, with an alarming jolt.

      Disturbed, he looked up from his meal. Their eyes met across the table and he found himself looking temptation straight in the face. Suddenly the innocence in her large, clear eyes began to inflame rather than quell his feelings. The urge to stir those Mediterranean depths with desire—desire for him and him alone—was almost overwhelming…

      But he wouldn’t let that distract him now. He smiled lazily in her direction. ‘Forget it, signora—I already have. Now, let’s enjoy our delicious lunch!’

      His unruly libido was not so easily distracted.

      

      Their pudding was a wonderful shared confection of cream, chocolate mousse and chestnut puree.

      ‘It’s such a shame your friends weren’t able to enjoy this lovely meal.’ Sienna slumped in her seat with a sigh of satisfaction as coffee was served. Garett had been so charming over lunch that she was almost tempted to forget her suspicions about his motives. Then she thought of what Aldo would have said at such terrible backsliding, and sat up again smartly.

      ‘I shouldn’t waste too much sympathy on them, signora. We all eat like this far too often for our own good. It’s the executive’s plague.’

      Sienna believed him, but could tell instinctively that this wasn’t a man who overindulged too often. He liked to be in control. She suddenly had a delicious vision of him working his body in his private gym…

      ‘I wish I could eat like this all the time.’ She sighed with longing, dabbing her lips with her starched white napkin. Even that was luxury. The damask was so thick and perfect. She folded it neatly and dropped it beside her plate as her host summoned the waiter.

      ‘But you can if you want to, signora,’ Garett said softly as he paid the bill.

      She looked up at him. Was this the moment he closed in on her? What would she say? What could she do? Resistance would be useless—but how could she possibly square it with her conscience, or keep it a secret, or—?

      ‘All you have to do is get yourself a dream, then go all-out to seize it with both hands,’ he went on smoothly.

      Sienna might have been relieved—if she hadn’t been so disappointed.

      ‘That’s easy for you to say, signor. Dreaming isn’t going to pay my bills or put food on our table, is it?’ She spoke quickly, trying to cover her confusion.

      ‘It’s worked OK for me.’

      ‘Yes, but I live in the real world, signor.’

      ‘So do I.’

      He stood up to take possession of Sienna’s wrap and draped it around her shoulders. As he did so, he half-turned to thank their waiter for his service. The movement threw her against Garett—their bodies touching and her lips only inches from his.

      What happened next was almost too much for Sienna to bear. With a gentle smile he lifted his hand and caressed it softly against her hair. This was the moment. The moment she had wished for, daydreamed about in the marketplace. For a heartbeat Sienna was paralysed with fear. She had been terrified that this might happen. She didn’t know what to do or how to react. Instinctively she leapt away from him and ran like a frightened rabbit.

      Garett watched her go, stunned. What was all that about?

      ‘Well, that’s a first!’ he joked to their equally astonished waiter. ‘I’ve never been abandoned by a girl before.’

      ‘Don’t take it personally, signor,’ the man confided. ‘Women don’t like insects. It was just a reaction to feeling that butterfly on her head, that is all. She will return.’

      But she didn’t.

      

      A few hours later, Garett was revelling in the amusement the tale of his lunchtime adventure was giving his hosts.

      ‘I tell you, Kane, it was such a pity you couldn’t make lunch today. You should have been there. All through the meal that girl looked at me as though I was trying to buy her soul. I had no intention whatsoever of coming on to her, but watching her wondering how on earth she was going to say no to me was priceless. And then I just moved to brush that butterfly away from her, and she vanished.’

      ‘And when did any woman last say no to you, Garett?’ Kane Bradley nudged his guest confidentially.

      ‘I don’t remember.’

      ‘That’s because it’s never happened.’ Kane’s wife Molly chuckled indulgently, then stood up. ‘But if you two are going to start talking dirty, I’m off to check on dinner.’ She moved smoothly to the dining room door.

      The moment she was out in the hall, she called for her butler.

      ‘Is Sienna here yet, Luigi?’

      ‘Sì, signora—I showed her straight upstairs to your dressing room.’

      ‘Good. Did she manage to smuggle a decent dress from home to change into, do you know? Or will she be borrowing one of mine?’

      Molly did not need an answer. The sight of her second dinner guest appearing on the first-floor landing СКАЧАТЬ