One Passionate Night's Miracle: One-Night Baby / The Surgeon's Miracle Baby / Outback Baby Miracle. Carol Marinelli

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СКАЧАТЬ have the chef prepare some small snack … Carpaccio of scampi on a lime gelée with papaya, caviar and tequila ice crush, perhaps? Or some tagliolini with broccoli and clams…?’

      Kate had to resist the temptation to ask if it was possible to have a cheese sandwich.

      ‘Three Michelin stars,’ Santino whispered discreetly, just in time. But as his warm breath swept her neck every tiny hair on the back of her neck stood to attention. ‘Could we have something light?’ She was glad of the distraction and smiled up at Fritz. ‘It all sounds delicious, but—’

      ‘I understand.’ The hotel manager beamed. ‘May I suggest pigeon breast on warm oranges with mulled wine sauce followed by a selection of cheeses from the trolley?’

      ‘Just the selection of cheeses from the trolley would be fine for me,’ Kate assured him.

      ‘And for me too,’ Santino said. ‘We don’t want to put the chef to any trouble. I’m sure he must be fully occupied preparing for tonight’s guests …’

      Was this sudden show of consideration for her benefit? Kate wondered.

      Even though he had failed to tempt them the manager scarcely missed a beat. ‘Would you care to see the wine list, Signor Rossi?’

      ‘Thank you, no. We’ll have a glass of champagne and a bottle of San Pellegrino sparkling water.’

      ‘Certainly.’

      Franz bowed his way out of their company with a smile as warm and as genuine as if they had ordered up the most expensive items on the menu. But as he disappeared Kate grew increasingly tense when Santino seemed in no hurry to start the conversation. He was waiting for her to say something … to give something away, perhaps?

      ‘Nice man,’ Santino commented at last, settling back in his chair. ‘Don’t you think so, Kate?’

      Kate knew that was only his opening gambit. Santino hadn’t brought her here to admire the scenery. ‘Very nice,’ she agreed, having decided to confine herself to simple answers. She wished she were a million miles away. She wished she could lose the urge to stare at Santino …

      ‘In the summer you can eat out on the terrace overlooking the whole of Rome. It’s quite magnificent.’

      ‘Really?’ Kate murmured distractedly. ‘I’m sorry I won’t be here to see it …‘All the thoughts whirling through her head were making her careless.

      CHAPTER EIGHT

      OF COURSE it wasn’t just cheese and biscuits from a supermarket shelf; the waiters brought them fresh crunchy bread, succulent green olives, and a selection of fine cheeses that would have put Paxton & Whitfield, the great London cheese shop, to shame.

      Kate had to keep reminding herself to remain guarded when Santino began to share some behind-the-scenes facts with her, allowing her a brief glimpse of the man beneath the driven entrepreneur. In spite of all her self-imposed warnings she was starting to relax, even starting to like him, but that didn’t mean she judged it the right time to tell him about Francesca. She needed a lot more reassurance before she could bring herself to do that.

      ‘So, tell me about your life in England …’

      She should have known, Kate realised. Santino hadn’t risen to the top of the tree without good reason. This was how he nailed a deal … he softened up the opposition before going in for the kill. But she was ready for him. ‘As you know, I work at the agency that handles Caddy—’

      ‘Worked, past tense, if I had my way. Go on.’

      ‘I use a small apartment in town on the odd occasions when I’m forced to work late.’

      ‘And when you’re not working late?’

      She really had his attention now, Kate thought as Santino leaned towards her. ‘I live with Aunt Meredith and Caddy in the country—when Caddy’s there, of course.’ She thought he looked pleased by her answer, and maybe a little more than that. Her heart raced furiously as he stared at her.

      ‘You live with Cordelia and her mother?’ Santino’s dark eyes were probing her deepest thoughts, warning Kate to take care with her answer.

      ‘Yes, I do.’

      ‘So what’s your marital status?’

      ‘What’s yours?’ she flung back at him, totally thrown.

      ‘That’s a very personal question.’ Santino held her gaze.

      ‘And yours wasn’t?’

      ‘My question was directed at a prospective employee.’

      Kate’s cheeks fired up with embarrassment. She had walked straight into the trap Santino had laid for her. ‘I’m single and happy to remain so.’

      ‘Defensive too.’

      ‘Not at all; I’m just happy the way I am. My life is full. I don’t need a man to define me—’

      She was just getting into her stride when Santino’s phone rang.

      ‘Will you excuse me?’ He was already on his feet, frowning at the interruption.

      ‘Go right ahead.’ Kate could hardly hide her relief as Santino walked away. She was keen to learn more about him, but when the tables were turned her mouth ran away with her. She didn’t want to lie to him, but she was nowhere near ready to tell him the truth … any of it.

      Santino was smiling when he returned to the table.

      ‘Good news?’ Kate was beginning to hope he had been called away. She needed some time alone to review her tactics if she wasn’t going to make a mess of telling him about Francesca.

      ‘I think it’s good news,’ he said, ‘and I hope you agree. Our new director has arrived ahead of schedule.’

      ‘But that’s excellent news.’ And the best reason yet to put the distance she needed to think clearly between them. Kate started to her feet. ‘We should get back.’

      ‘You’re in a hurry to leave.’

      There was a warning note in Santino’s voice, which warned Kate to relax. She made a point of settling back in her chair. ‘Not at all, I just thought—’

      ‘We’re not going back to the studio,’ Santino cut across her. ‘There’s a little restaurant higher up the valley where it’s become a tradition for the studio to hold a welcome party at the start of each new project.’

      ‘And with a new director starting it’s a new project.’

      ‘Exactly.’

      The tension started to flow out of her. It wasn’t ideal, it wasn’t the solitude she had hoped for, but with people around them at a party she would be safe, because there would be no opportunity for Santino to ask her the type of penetrating questions she was sure he was leading up to.

      ‘You have two possibilities,’ СКАЧАТЬ