The Accidental Engagement (15 page)

She was heading back toward her room, when a hand snaked out of the darkness and yanked her into a room. Before she could utter a cry of alarm, a hand covered her mouth.

“Hello, beautiful.” Daniel’s low voice sent shivers down her spine. He let his hand drop from her mouth and she sagged against him. “Miss me?”

His lips closed over hers before she could respond. Sweet relief washed over her. Lord, how she’d missed his kiss. She responded hungrily; unable to restrain the instantaneous heat and desire only this man had ever tapped.

He seemed to share the feeling. “God, I’ve missed you,” he whispered as he lifted her into his arms and carried her toward his oversized canopy bed. “I don’t know what you’ve done to me but I can’t stop thinking about you.”

She thought her heart might burst with pleasure. The words thrilled her nearly as much as the touch of his fingers against her skin. She pulled back an inch, just far enough so she could look him in the eyes.

I love you.
The words were there, ready to tumble out of her mouth but she bit them back. It was too soon. And maybe she was wrong; maybe this was just infatuation. A little voice in the back of her mind mocked her as a coward but she shushed it. Instead, she said, “I’ve missed you too.”

His lopsided grin made her smile in return. “It’s crazy, isn’t it? I just held you this morning. And you’ve been by my side all day. But I’ve missed this.”

He lay down so his body covered her own and she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him down even closer so she could nibble on his ear, payback for the sweet torture as his hands moved over her breasts.

“It’s crazy,” she agreed with a sigh.

* * * *

A little while later, she lay curled up against his side, more content than she’d ever been before. “I don’t want to go,” she whined.

He dropped a kiss on the top of her head and squeezed her tight. “Believe me, I don’t want to let you go.”

Ivy snuggled up against him. This was it. She’d found her home and it was right here at this man’s side. Preferably naked. Was it possible to explode from sheer happiness? Her fingers trailed over his chest and his contented groan made her heart ache with contentment. It wasn’t like she’d been completely inexperienced before she met Daniel but in so many ways this felt like her first time. She’d never known being intimate with someone could be like this. So…
intimate
.

She could feel her eyes growing heavy as her breathing slowed and her body seemed to melt into the bed. If she didn’t rouse herself soon, she’d be fast asleep in minutes. She sighed in resignation. “I guess I have to go.”

“Well, it wouldn’t be great for our cover story if anyone caught you sneaking out of my bedroom in the morning,” he agreed.

“Yeah yeah.”

He tilted her chin up so she was looking at him. “When this is all over, and we’re back in New York, I promise you’ll not only stay until morning, but I’ll wake you with breakfast in bed. How does that sound?”

Ivy’s face lit up with a smile but her voice was teasing. “Well that depends. Does breakfast include French toast?”

“But of course.”

Ivy pushed herself up and planted a kiss on his lips before grabbing her clothes from the ground. “That French toast better be pretty damn delicious,” she added as she walked to the door.

She left with the image of a fantastically sexy and naked Daniel laughing as she shut the door behind her.

Creeping down a stranger’s hallway like a burglar hoping desperately that she wasn’t caught was not one of Ivy’s prouder moments in life. But even her midnight walk of shame couldn’t dampen the overwhelming joy she felt when she reached her room and replayed Daniel’s remarks.

He cared about her, that much was obvious. This was definitely not some fling, as he’d called it. She grinned at herself in the mirror as she thought of Daniel waking her with breakfast in bed. In his bedroom. In his home. In their future.

She grabbed a pillow and pulled it over her face so no one could hear her squeals of joy.

* * * *

Ivy wasn’t the first one at the breakfast table the next morning, but she also wasn’t the last—a fact she found vindicating. Daniel, Brunelli, and Jack were all there, as well as most of the younger children and their parents. The teenagers were the last to rise.

If Daniel had harbored any hopes of getting business done on their first day in Tuscany, Brunelli quickly quashed that idea. “I have a bit of a surprise for our visitors today,” he announced over a platter of scrumptious looking baked goods. Even Jack looked up from his meal at the proclamation.

“Work?” Daniel suggested mildly.

Brunelli waved away that suggestion with a look of disgust. “There’s plenty of time for that. But today, we shall have fun. Show our visitors a good time, eh?”

He looked to Ivy and Jack for approval and found an agreeable audience. “Sounds great,” Ivy said.

“So what’s the plan?” Jack asked.

“It just so happens that today there will be a festival in town to celebrate the feast day of Saint Castorius. There will be music and food. Our little town puts on quite a celebration.”

Ivy clapped her hands in excitement. “How fun! And how lucky that we happened to be here for a festival.”

“Not really,” Daniel muttered. When she glanced over at him he added, “There are a lot of saints and this town celebrates them all. Every. Single. One.”

Brunelli laughed. “It’s true. Any excuse to party.” He turned to Ivy and Jack. “So what do you say? Shall we celebrate in the true Italian style?”

Ivy and Jack were sold and his grandchildren were just as eager. Lucia, the eldest of the grandchildren by at least ten years agreed to go along to help babysit the youngest. Even Daniel grudgingly agreed to go along.

It only took one hour at the festival before Ivy’s stomach was ready to revolt. “Why didn’t you tell me there would be so much food?” she groaned. “I wouldn’t have eaten such a huge breakfast.” Jack’s agreement came in the form of an unattractive and absurdly loud belch. “I can’t eat another bite.”

“But it’s all so delicious.” Ivy was eyeing a cannoli stand with painful longing.

“Easy, tiger,” Daniel said. “Maybe I should have warned you guys about this.”

Brunelli was watching them with a look of amusement. “But this is half the fun.” He beckoned to them to follow him and his grandchildren to the cannolis but they all declined.

The youngest girl, the one who had been smitten with Jack since he first arrived, tugged on his hand and pointed toward the rides that had been set up on the fairgrounds.

He looked to Daniel and Ivy for help but was met with shrugs. “Okay, fine. One ride. One.” He held up a finger to the giggling little girl and she flashed him a toothless grin before dragging him away.

“Oh, poor Jack,” Ivy said. She felt a little nauseous just looking at the metal contraptions.

“Poor Jack, but lucky us,” Daniel said. He’d moved so he could speak softly into her ear. “Alone at last.”

Ivy felt shivers up and down her spine. “And what, pray tell, shall we do to kill the time while Brunelli and his family are away?”

She had to laugh at Daniel’s tortured look. “Now, now,” she said. “We’re on our best behavior, remember?”

“Right. No inappropriate touching. No matter how sexy you may look in that dress.”

Ivy felt a flush steal over her skin. “You like it?”

His eyes moved over the thin, simple sheath in appreciation that spoke louder than words. She’d bought the dress in Rome because the salesclerk had told her that the pale blue color and the cut of the fabric was flattering.

“Irresistible,” the sales clerk had said. And even though she knew better than to believe a sales clerk who was working on commission, the dress had indeed made her feel feminine and sexy. And yes, she admitted to herself, she had bought it with Daniel in mind, long before he’d kissed her.

She had to stop herself from reaching out and grabbing his hand. They were still in public, even if they did have a brief respite from Brunelli’s prying eyes.

“So what shall we do with our precious alone time, considering we can’t—you know,” Ivy finished with a blush.

“Can’t what, Ivy?” he teased. “I have no idea what you mean.”

She swatted his arm. “Cut it out.”

He pretended to be serious, rocking back on his heels with his hands in his pockets as he feigned deep thought. “Let’s see, what could we do together?” He raised his eyebrows. “How about we go for a walk. Burn off some of the food you just scarfed down.”

Ivy nodded in agreement. “Great idea.”

He led her to a path that ran along the fairgrounds but was behind the vendors and games, off the heavily trafficked main stretch. There they could stroll leisurely without bumping into people left and right.

She took a deep breath and exhaled. “This is nice.”

“It is nice, isn’t it?” He was watching her with a tender look that made her forget all about the cold, slick tycoon she’d first met. How could she ever have been fooled into thinking this man was heartless?

“So, Miss Sinclair. What do you plan to do with your share of the merger money? Travel the world? Throw some world-class parties? Buy a new wardrobe?” Ivy had to laugh at his game show host impersonation. She was still getting used to this new, playful Daniel and it thrilled her every time he let his guard down around her. Dealing with Daniel was like peeling an onion; there seemed to be no end to his layers.

Ivy pretended to weigh her options. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe buy a yacht?” The thought was so ludicrous, she made herself laugh and he laughed along with her.

“No, seriously,” he pressed. “What do you think you’ll do? You won’t need your hotel job. The world’s your oyster.”

She glanced over at him in surprise. Somehow she thought he’d known her circumstances. “I’ll keep my job, mainly because I like the career path I’m on but also because I’ll still need the money.”

Now it was his turn to look surprised. “Your portion of the deal isn’t enough for you? I would think that would be enough money for a fresh start at the very least.”

Ivy hesitated. She wasn’t used to discussing her family’s troubles with anyone, not even her closest friends. But this was Daniel. She had already given him her heart; it was too late to keep him at arm’s length now.

“I’m giving the majority of the money from this deal to my parents.”

He stopped in his tracks, the very picture of surprise. “That’s very generous of you.”

She shrugged. “Not really. They need it more than I do.” And then she explained about the hard times her parents had fallen into and how they were close to losing their house.

“So you’re handing over all the money you’re about to make to save their home?” He didn’t sound judgmental but she still felt uncomfortable with the way he was studying her.

She shifted a bit and kept walking so he was forced to follow. “It’s my home, too. Why shouldn’t I help to keep it?”

“No, of course,” he murmured. “I think that’s....” She looked over to see him struggling for the right word. “Admirable.”

Ivy rolled her eyes at that and they kept walking. “What about you?” she asked. “What are you going to do once this merger is done?”

She tried not to get her hopes up, she really did. But she couldn’t pretend that there wasn’t a little part of her that was hoping he’d say something romantic. Something about their future together. Instead she got a pragmatic response. “I’ll move on to the next deal.”

“Oh.” She forced a smile to cover her disappointment.

He went on to tell her in great detail about his next project, which involved traveling to the Middle East on a regular basis. She tried not to let her disappointment show. He wouldn’t be halfway across the world
all
the time, she reminded herself. And he had promised her breakfast in bed once they returned to New York. She knew it wasn’t much of a commitment but it was enough. For now, at least.

Daniel was explaining the trade barriers he would soon be faced with when he was interrupted by a woman’s voice. “Danny! Danny!”

The woman who had shouted was Italian, with long, flowing black hair and pretty features. She towed two children along behind her as she made her way to them.

“Who’s that?” Ivy glanced over at Daniel when he didn’t respond. “Are you all right?” The blood had drawn from his face, leaving him ashen. Like he’d seen a ghost.

“Angela?”

The woman laughed and walked even faster, a broad smile on her face. “Danny, is it you?” The woman ran up to him, ignoring Ivy, and planted two big, wet kisses on his cheeks. She and Daniel held a conversation entirely in Italian and Ivy was left to stand there, watching them in complete bewilderment.

Once Daniel’s initial shock passed, he seemed genuinely happy to see the woman before him. Ivy waited for him to introduce her. And waited. And waited. The Italian woman was highly animated, her arms flailing as she rattled off an endless stream of words. Daniel seemed to have forgotten about her.

When at last the two children dragged the woman away, insistently tugging her toward the rides, she kissed Daniel again and called back her goodbyes.

Ivy stood next to Daniel in silence as they watched the woman depart. She glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. He was still staring after the woman even after she disappeared into the crowd.

“Who was that?”

He looked as though he hadn’t heard her. Maybe he hadn’t. Or maybe he was ignoring her. She didn’t want to be jealous, she really didn’t. She was not the jealous type. But then, she’d never felt a lot of things until Daniel had come along.

“Shall we head back to meet the others? We wouldn’t want them to notice our absence.” He was already walking back toward the cannoli stand to meet up with Brunelli and she hurried after him. Once they were surrounded by Brunelli’s family she would never get the truth from him.

“Daniel, who was that woman? How do you know her?”

He scanned the crowd for the Brunellis’ familiar faces. “Hmm? Oh, she’s an old friend.”

That was it. That was all she was going to get from him.

* * * *

It was all Daniel could do not to strangle Brunelli when he caught sight of the old man, laughing over his grandchildren’s antics. Meddling old fool. He’d known all along that Brunelli was up to something. He knew it was more than just Jack and Ivy’s relationship that had led to the invitation to stay with his family in Tuscany. But never in his wildest dreams had he guessed that the true reason was to lure him home.