Romantic Acquisition Page 0,40

all her life. The women laughed at Kate’s shyness but ordered Prince Jamil, who didn’t like being referred to as Prince, to make her a drink, which he did immediately.

The women motioned for Kate to join them on the sofas and the three of them talked fashion, a topic all three of them loved. They asked Kate’s opinion of the latest lines coming out and were genuinely interested in what she had to say. The men stayed near the bar and joked about the various nuances of ladies fashions, sending a pointed comments towards the women every once in a while.

Dinner was served exactly at eight o’clock and was an elaborate affair of five courses, each served by waiters that stood at attention beside the door, ready to jump at the slightest request by anyone. The vichyssoise was wonderful but the lobster and asparagus with a sweet and sour salad made her mouth water. Everything was cooked perfectly and was laid out so artistically, Kate was loathe to take a bite until the scent wafted to her nose. The meal was topped off by a light dessert of roasted fruit with a cream sauce but Kate was too full from the other courses to fully appreciate the delicate tastes. Each course was served with the perfect wine and Kate was feeling wonderfully warm and cozy by the end of the meal.

The conversation was lively and everyone had a comment on the latest American politics as well as the British Prime Minister’s comments afterwards. The people at the table were well informed and not afraid to challenge each other’s views. Even Melissa contradicted something Phillip said and the others agreed with her, ignoring Phillip’s feigned wounded look when they disagreed him on his response.

Kate hadn’t laughed so hard in years. She liked these people and was sorry when the couples drifted apart, leaving only Kate and Carlo sitting at the table alone.

“Want to go for a walk?” he asked when she finally looked him in the eye.

Kate nodded, thinking that the fresh air would clear her brain, fogged from the wine and cocktails.

“Let’s go,” he said and stood up to hold her chair for her.

Kate followed Carlo out to the deck, enjoying the cool, autumn breeze on her face. She smiled as she relaxed against the railing, wondering why she wasn’t angrier with the way Carlo had kidnapped her.

“What are you thinking about?” he asked from behind her, one hand coming to rest on the railing on either side of her. His voice was close to her ear and she leaned back against his chest.

She sighed as she looked up at the moon. “I’m thinking I should be angry with you.”

“And are you?” he asked quietly.

Kate nodded. “Yes, I suppose. You’re a very bad man, you know.”

Carlo chuckled. “No you’re not. You had a good time tonight. I’ve never seen you so relaxed.”

“Eh, it was the wine,” she said and shrugged it away.

“Not the company?”

“Oh, sure,” she said, waiving her hand, “Melissa and Ashley are very nice.”

Carlo growled and spun her around. “I meant me, woman!” he laughed. “You’re not going to give an inch, are you?”

Kate laughed at his grumbling. “Okay, you’re pretty charming. But you can’t take anything I say to heart tonight. I’ve had too much wine. You’ll never know if I’m telling you the truth or not.”

He raised one eyebrow at her response. “Just the opposite, I’m guessing. I think I should ask you a whole bunch of questions. You’re probably more honest now than you normally are.”

“Not true. For instance, I’d never tell you how attractive you are,” she laughed and leaned forward to poke him in the chest.

“You already have. The first time we met, in fact.”

“That doesn’t count.”

“Why not?”

“Because I was told five minutes before I met you that my company was about to be sold off to an awful, personality-less conglomerate. We had visions of hatchet men coming into the office and handing out pink slips without regard for anything or anyone. So I was already off kilter. Then I walk out to greet my new project and you turn out to be this incredibly handsome hunk and that just blew me away, with muscles in all the right places and sexy eyes.”

Carlo had his hands on her waist and he doubted she even knew about it. She was pretty toasted but he didn’t care. If she was letting him touch her, he’d take it any way he could. He wished he had