breathe. It’s who I am.” Who he was… He swallowed hard to prevent a mocking laugh. The irony. If she only knew…
Viola assessed him like she was seeing him again for the first time. “Fair enough. Well then, come for the weekend, and we’ll see what happens. You and…” Viola turned to Alice. “What’s your name again, dear?”
Alice put Nibbles back in the cage and closed it behind her. “Alice Sommers.”
“You and Alice Sommers.” Viola offered her hand, and Alice took it. “Nice to meet you.”
Lorenzo inhaled all the oxygen available in the room. “Grazie. We’re looking forward to it.”
“This way you can go over your plans for the paintings, and, well, we can discuss everything.” She headed to the main door. “I’ll be waiting for you this weekend in Capri. My assistant will call you with all the details. We’re having costume parties, and you will need to dress accordingly. Arrivederci.”
Viola’s strong perfume lingered even after Lorenzo had closed the door. He turned to Alice.
“Well, that could have gone a lot worse, right?” she said, her fidgeting hands sweeping over the fabric of her dress.
Beneath the damp dress and the towel…she was naked. How inappropriate and…enticing. A wave of heat poured through his chest. He looked away. He’d seen her as nothing but a reliable nanny the past year, and that’s how it had to remain. Having no family in this country and with a crazy schedule, he needed Alice and her somewhat unorthodox yet warm style of caring for his daughter to pursue his dream and abandon himself in work. Jeopardizing that would be beyond stupid. It’d be fatal.
“Which part? When you almost ran off a prospect I’d been working on for the longest time, or when you agreed to go to Capri together under the assumption we’re about to get married?”
She fixed her dress. “Calling me your fiancée was your idea.”
The warmth from his chest arrowed down his body, and he paced to shake himself loose from the intrusive surge. He didn’t have time for this crap.
Undoing his top button, he felt a trickle of sweat forming on his neck and spreading down his back. He toyed with another button. He needed to call the concierge and have someone take a look at his unit. The air conditioning was clearly not working.
Alice crossed her arms and then uncrossed them. “W-what are you doing? Are you taking your clothes off?” The vein in her soft neck pulsed.
“No.” He came to a halt and faced her. “Why would I do that?”
“Who knows?” She threw her hands in the air. “Maybe you want to get even, since you saw me naked.” A cheeky glint flared in her chestnut eyes.
Taking a step toward her, he pushed the words out. “You should be ashamed.”
Her eyebrows flung almost to her hairline, and she jerked back like he had punched her. “Of my body? Why?”
Not of your body. Most definitely not. The answer got trapped in his throat. “Why did you take your clothes off?”
She licked her lips. “I’m sorry. I had a crappy day, Mr. B, and I felt like throwing caution to the wind, which I totally agree shouldn’t have happened at your home.”
He studied her face, and he couldn’t believe she was so nonchalant about nudity. Exposure. Vulnerability. His stare dropped to her soft neck, then to her full breasts. “Couldn’t you just…take a bath if you needed to relax?” Like a regular person.
A nervous laugh filled the room. “There is a difference between taking a routine bath and skinny-dipping.”
Oh, he knew the difference. Discussing it with his employee, however, was out of the question. He headed to the console and poured himself a shot of whisky. Neat. “What I know is that we’re going to go to Capri and pose as a couple. Whether we want to or not.”
“Is this an order?”
He lifted the square glass to his lips and drank the contents in one clumsy gulp. The alcohol burned his throat but didn’t smother his chuckle. “Yes. One you can’t decline. Has it occurred to you I can fire you like that?” He snapped his fingers.
She drew back and concern flickered in her eyes. “But you are not?” She pronounced each word carefully.
“I’ve been trying to get a hold of Viola for months. I finally got twenty minutes of her time, and guess what? She likes you. For whatever reason,” he said, running his hand into his hair.
She batted her eyelashes and smiled. “Thanks, Mr. B. I don’t mean