Susan Stephens
ONE-NIGHT BABY

ITALIAN HUSBANDS

TORONTO • NEW YORK • LONDON

AMSTERDAM • PARIS • SYDNEY • HAMBURG

STOCKHOLM • ATHENS • TOKYO • MILAN • MADRID

PRAGUE • WARSAW • BUDAPEST • AUCKLAND

For dearest Aunty Kat, with my love

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER ONE

‘HOW soon could I come to Rome?’ Kate Mulhoon’s fingers turned white as she clutched the telephone receiver. I’d go anywhere on earth for you, Caddy, but not Rome…

But even as the words played out in her mind Kate knew she could no more leave her beautiful cousin Cordelia in need of support on a film set in Rome than she could…than she could what? Take the risk that she might come face to face with Santino Rossi again?

An icy blast chose that moment to rattle the office window reminding Kate of another night when she had been working late five years before. But that night seemed like another life, another person living it…

And that person didn’t exist any longer, Kate told herself fiercely, fixing her concentration on the computer screen.

‘Kate, are you still there?’ Caddy said anxiously.

‘Just saving my files.’

It was cold in the office—the heating went off at six—and Kate wished she could be bundled up in a woolly jumper rather than her customary office uniform of tailored suit and thin white blouse. She was often accused of dressing older than she should, but Kate had her reasons.

Satisfied her work was safe Kate skipped straight to flight information. Caddy wasn’t just one of her favourite people in the world, she was the film star Cordelia Mulhoon, and as such one of the agency’s most important clients. It was Kate’s responsibility to look after those clients. She saw all types coming through the revolving doors and Caddy was no self-infatuated wimp. If Caddy called for help, then she needed it.

Without Caddy’s mother, Aunt Meredith, to take care of things at home Kate wouldn’t have considered leaving the country, but Aunt Meredith was like a rock and wouldn’t blink at the sudden disruption to her routine. Even so it wouldn’t be easy to leave Kate’s litte girl, Francesca, behind. It would have to be a short stay…

Kate brushed a strand of hair from her face as she studied the list of flight departures to Rome. It had been a long day, and a long time since she had last consulted a mirror. Kate wore her dark blonde hair pulled back for the sake of neatness rather than fashion, and the glossy waves fell almost to her waist. She might work in a so-called glamour job, but glamour had passed Kate by. She was a very private person who liked nothing more than going for long walks with Francesca or baking cakes together in Aunt Meredith’s cosy farmhouse kitchen. She would plead guilty in a trice to not spending enough time on her looks, and thought her tall, slender figure unremarkable. In fact Kate thought everything about her unremarkable. She was glad of it, because unremarkable was safe…safe from notice, safe from discussion, safe from gossip.

Kate’s eyes were her most compelling feature. They were a deceptively soft shade of grey, but it was her gaze that was so expressive, and that had been known to turn steely when there was something or someone to defend.

‘I feel bad about this already,’ Caddy said anxiously.

‘Then don’t,’ Kate murmured distractedly. She had just identified a suitable flight.

‘I wouldn’t ask you to come unless I really needed you—’

‘You don’t have to tell me that,’ Kate said gently to reassure her cousin.

Caddy’s emotional bank was always threatening to overflow, which was why she was such a remarkable actress. Kate had always been considered the steady cousin, the thoughtful cousin, which had made her break-out behaviour five years ago all the more remarkable. As far as her parents were concerned she had gone from golden girl to outcast in the time it took her to tell them she was pregnant. Only Aunt Meredith had stood firmly in her corner. And now it was Meredith’s daughter, Kate’s beloved cousin Caddy, who needed Kate’s help. There wasn’t a chance she would let Caddy down and send someone else in her place, though Pandora’s box was a kiddy’s lunch-box in comparison to the trouble Kate knew she could start in Rome. Rome was Santino Rossi’s home town, and Santino Rossi belonged to that night from the past. By some cruel twist of fate Santino was also the producer of Caddy’s latest film.

What were the chances she wouldn’t bump into Santino Rossi at the Cinecitta studios where Caddy was filming?

Zero, Kate accepted grimly.

All her instincts might scream caution and urge her to stay at home, but loyalty wouldn’t allow her to take the coward’s course and so in order to know what to expect when she arrived she delved a little deeper.

‘What’s happened, Caddy? Can’t your manager handle the problem for you?’ But even as she asked the question Kate knew it was wrong. What sort of question was that to ask someone she thought of as a sister? Only exceptional circumstances could have prevented Kate from securing the first flight she found. And Santino Rossi was exceptional circumstances.

But Caddy was her dearest friend. ‘I’m booking the flight now, Caddy—’

There was a gasp of relief from the other end of the line. ‘Oh, Kate, I’m so relieved. Marge Wilson has been a useless manager. I wish I’d listened to you in the first place and never hired her. She’s drunk all the time, and—’

‘We all make mistakes,’ Kate cut across Caddy firmly. ‘And don’t thank me. I know you’d do the same for me.’

While she was speaking Kate’s mind was racing. Taking her annual leave from the agency a month early wasn’t a problem. She had recently trained up a shadow—a bright girl with all the enthusiasm, thick skin and grit it took to take her place. She just had to keep chanting a silent mantra that Meredith would take care of everything while she was away and that Francesca wouldn’t miss her too much. It should only take a few days to straighten things out on the set and find Caddy a new manager…‘Try not to worry, Caddy. I’ll be with you in less than a day—’

‘I wouldn’t ask you to come, but it’s a shambles here. And it’s not just Marge. Without someone in charge half the crew is high on booze—’

‘What about the director?’ Kate interrupted.

‘He spends most of his time in his trailer with his girlfriend snorting coke,’ Caddy explained with disgust. ‘Santino’s out of town, and we’re way behind schedule—’

Santino’s out of town? If she had needed a deciding factor that would have been it, Kate realised, feeling instantly relieved. If Santino Rossi was out of town maybe, just maybe, she could get everything back on an even keel and return home before he even knew she had sorted out his studio. ‘Okay, that’s it,’ she said, logging off. ‘I’m on my way.’

It didn’t take long for doubt to settle over Kate’s thoughts. The film industry was only one arm of Santino’s massive empire, but it was his most public enterprise. Kate couldn’t imagine Santino would be far behind her if he got wind of the fact that things were going wrong on the set of his latest blockbuster. He wasn’t the type of man to allow rumours from the frequently scandalous world of film to taint his reputation in the wider business arena. Films might be Santino’s passion, but he was known as the Ice Man when it came to cutting deals. He left nothing to chance.

A shudder ran through Kate as she thought about it, and, as if sensing her concern, Caddy started to have doubts too.

‘I wish there was some other way, Kate. I wish I didn’t have to ask you to do this—’

‘Let me see what I can do before you build up your hopes.’ Kate was careful to make her voice upbeat and keep Caddy’s expectations within reasonable limits. ‘With the best will in the world I don’t have the authority to start throwing my weight around on someone else’s film set.’

Especially when that someone else was Santino Rossi. But Kate kept that thought to herself. This was Caddy’s first major role and she deserved her chance. If Kate had anything to do with it Caddy would get that chance. ‘Whatever happens, you’ll be all right,’ she told Caddy firmly. ‘I’ll make sure of it. And don’t worry about Santino where I’m concerned, it’s been a long time. Five years,’ Kate added needlessly as if either of them could forget.

‘If you’re sure…’

‘I am sure,’ Kate said briskly.

‘All right. I’ll leave a message at the gate. When you arrive just say you’re my new manager—’

‘Your new manager?’

‘I sacked Marge before I picked up the phone to you.’

‘You did?’ A smile of approval touched Kate’s lips. It was an unwritten rule that Caddy did any dirty work that had to be done. ‘We’ll stay in touch. Keep your phone handy and I’ll let you know when the plane lands.’

Back at the small company apartment Kate occasionally used when she was working late during the week she stuffed some clothes into an overnight bag. Everything she was taking to Rome was of the rinse-out-and-hang-over-the-bath-to-dry variety, and she didn’t plan on staying long. Time was tight if she was going to catch the flight, but that wasn’t the only reason her heart was thundering. Thinking about Santino was all it ever took to do that.

It was over five years since Santino and his film crew had breezed into the small English town where Kate had lived with her parents. Five years since the most darkly dangerous-looking men Kate had ever seen had invaded Westbury with a view to using it as a possible location for their next film. All that swarthy Italian testosterone had cut a swathe through the local whey-faced youths. What competition could Wellington boots and anoraks provide to stylish jeans and snug-fitting tops? Shifting eye-lines of uncertain boys to the fierce, full-on stare of a confident Latin male?

It made Kate shiver even now to think about it. It was as if some fabulous circus had breezed into town. It was no wonder the local girls had swooned…no wonder she had thrown caution to the wind and joined them.

Some cruel trick of fate had compounded her foolishness when the film crew had chosen to stay at Slade Hall, the manor house where Kate had been working part-time as a waitress to fund her studies. She’d had no idea that the tallest and most stunning of all the men was in fact the film producer and Italian industrialist, Santino Rossi. She knew now from the newspapers that Santino liked to remain anonymous whenever possible. That was how he had come to hear her confiding to one of her prettier colleagues at the hall that there was one luscious Italian male for each of the girls—Kate had counted them.

Her own fate had been sealed the moment Santino Rossi had walked up to her and smiled. He had chosen her? It had seemed incredible to her at the time…impossible. And how was she supposed to resist the opportunity of a lifetime? Was virginity so precious you couldn’t spend it on a man who looked as though he had been born to please a woman? It had taken Kate about two seconds to decide she didn’t want to lose hers to some spotty youth on the back seat of his car. If Santino Rossi was the only highlight in her life and no others came along she would die happy.

But she had been only eighteen, and reckless. She hadn’t paused to consider the consequences. She’d been too hungry for adventure.

Kate couldn’t even pretend to put a veil of respectability over her actions now. She had been quite shameless. She had watched Santino all night as she’d worked, and when he’d vetoed the bar after dinner in favour of going straight to his room Kate had slipped away and followed him. Snatching up a tray with a jug of coffee and a cup and saucer, she had made that her excuse to knock on his door. Widening her eyes, she had informed him that the manager had sent her up with the coffee Signor Rossi had neglected to order in the restaurant. Laughing black eyes had suggested Santino knew she was lying, but he had invited her in anyway.

Showing no more subtlety than she had, he’d told her where to put the tray down and then backed her up against the wall. Planting one arm either side of her face, Santino had kissed her in a way she had only seen in films…gently and persuasively to begin with so that her whole body ached for him, and then deepening the kiss until all possibility of stepping back from the brink had been erased from her mind.

The fire that had flared between them that night had been so great that at no time could Santino have guessed she was a virgin. And if it had hurt for a moment when they had come together, it had been worth it for the pleasure that had come afterwards. Pleasure that even now had the power to make her long for his touch…

And it was time that dangerous daydream was over, Kate told herself firmly, locking the catches on her case. Thinking about Santino Rossi’s touch was out of bounds if she stood the remotest chance of catching her flight. Taking a last glance around to be sure she hadn’t forgotten anything Kate swung her bag onto her shoulder and set off for Rome.

He’d got the word about the trouble from Carlo, the sparks on set. Santino’s hard mouth firmed even more as he pictured Carlo, a man in his seventies, making the unpalatable decision to blow the whistle on his colleagues. Things had to be bad for the old man to make the call, which was why he had cancelled all his meetings and was heading out to the film studio now.

He had Carlo to thank for the information that, on top of a negligent director and a leaderless crew, his leading lady’s new manager had turned up and thrown her gauntlet into the ring. He didn’t need a second warning that everything would descend into chaos if he didn’t get back fast.

Santino’s mouth set in a grim line as he contemplated what the next few hours held for him. As he never tired of reminding himself, artistic types were unpredictable and difficult. The director he had hired for the film was said to be the best. The best what? Santino wondered now. He would have to fire him as soon as he got to the set. Fortunately he had now been able to hire his original director of choice after the film she had been working on had finished ahead of time. So until she arrived Santino would take charge. Inconvenient but unavoidable.

Receiving the go-ahead from the control tower, Santino nosed his Gulfstream G550 into position on the runway. Opening the throttle on the twin Rolls-Royce BR710 engines, he released the brakes.

Arriving on set, he got the back view first and felt his hackles rise. The intruder was a woman, a very young woman…and dressed as if she were ready to take a pre-school class in her drip-dry blouse and neatly tailored suit. But there was something different about this ‘school ma’am’—she had that certain something that made people listen to her. But that didn’t stop indignation rising in his craw. Who did she think she was, talking to his people without his direct instruction? There was nothing to recommend her apart from a shimmering fall of honey-coloured hair. In her sensible low-heeled shoes and high street suit, she looked dowdy. She didn’t belong on a film set. She didn’t belong on his film set.

He took some pleasure from the fact that everyone else had noticed his arrival and was standing to attention while she was oblivious to him…She’d get it in a minute.

As it happened it took her less time than that to realise she had lost the attention of her audience. She couldn’t have been a day over twenty-five, he realised as she turned around. And then it hit him like a fist in the gut. He knew her!

CHAPTER TWO

SANTINO saw the recoil in her eyes as if she had recognised him in the same instant, but she quickly rallied, and held his stare.

It was a wonder he recognised her. She looked quite different now. He wondered what had happened in the five years since their last memorable encounter. He didn’t like puzzles. When things appeared different than they should he knew it was a warning.

‘This is a closed set. No visitors allowed.’ His tone was uncompromising, and he fully expected to rattle her. He expected her to frown, flinch, do something.

‘I’m here to protect the interests of my client Cordelia Mulhoon,’ she told him coolly.

Clear grey eyes stared back at him without a flicker of fear from a face that was far lovelier than he remembered, a face that made him frown as he processed the visual information. The features were chiselled now, and, however cruelly scraped back, her waist-length hair was still magnificent. Her lips were firm and full, and only her eyes might have been considered too large in the piquant, heart-shaped face, had they not been tinted such a mild grey…

Mild grey? That was a joke! The last time they’d met those mild grey eyes had been flashing fire at him, and those sculpted lips hid pearl-white teeth that could give a man one hell of a nip. Just thinking about it now made him hard. She was a woman he had never expected to see again, a woman he had never forgotten, a woman who by some quirk of fate represented the star of his film, a woman who for some reason had chosen to hide her wild side beneath the deceptively subtle shades of a mouse. Of the flighty fun-lover there was no sign…unless she was playing him like a fish on a rod, of course.

How she was holding it together Kate had no idea. Santino Rossi was Francesca’s father, a fact that made her mind reel. The father of her beautiful little girl, and he didn’t know it. Only the need to keep her thoughts and feelings hidden gave her the strength to stare him in the eyes. And they were dark, intuitive eyes that could so easily lay bare her soul.

She had never forgotten him. How could she? His face was as familiar to her now as if they had never been apart…the aquiline nose and ebony winged brows, and the thick, coal-black hair he still wore a little too long. The rough shading of stubble on his cheeks only reminded her how good it felt when he raked it against her skin, and his ridiculously sensual mouth brought back memories of pleasure so intense her whole being had started to respond.

It was dangerous to still want him so badly, and there was something in his eyes and in the tug of self-assurance at the corner of his mouth that warned her to be careful. She wasn’t the person Santino thought he knew. There was a whole world of difference between Kate Mulhoon today and the girl Santino Rossi had taken to his bed. Somehow she had to make him see that. But it wouldn’t be easy when they knew every inch of each other intimately.

‘I’m here in response to my client’s urgent request.’ Kate held his gaze, determined to keep the conversation confined to business. She wasn’t ready to tell him about Francesca, and this was hardly the time. She knew his body, but she didn’t know the man. Santino Rossi was still a stranger to her. She didn’t know what kind of father he would make for their daughter.

‘Very well.’ The tension in his shoulders eased fractionally. ‘I am also concerned, which is why I’m here.’

He sounded almost reasonable, but would that change when he discovered he had a four-year-old child?

‘I suggest we move to somewhere quieter…’ He gestured towards a group of chairs the actors used when they weren’t needed on the set. ‘We’ll be out of the way and can have a preliminary chat.’

‘Thank you.’

‘We will both need to speak to Cordelia in depth,’ he said once they were settled, ‘and get to the bottom of this problem before we hold a proper meeting.’

A proper meeting? Kate’s heart began to thunder. She didn’t want time alone with him. She couldn’t risk a question and answer session.

It was too late now to wish she had told him the moment she’d realised she was pregnant. Back then she had still been reeling from her parents’ rejection, and no sooner had she and Francesca settled in Meredith’s farmhouse than a story had broken in the press that had rocked Kate’s world. It had stoked the fires of the gossipmongers yet again, making Kate retreat further into herself.

It was said that while Santino Rossi had been in England he had fathered a child. Santino hadn’t let it rest there, and had taken the supposed mother of his child to court, exposing her as a fraud. Kate’s face had burned with the same humiliation as the woman’s family on the day the girl had been discredited, and she had been riveted to the television screen when the shamefaced young woman had been ushered out of court.

Seeing one woman exposed for a gold-digger had made Kate all the more determined to start paying her way the moment Francesca could be left. When Meredith had identified an opportunity with a theatrical agency in London and offered to care for Francesca, Kate had known it was her chance to hold her head up high again and save some money for Francesca’s future. She had also known she couldn’t risk a long-running court battle with a man like Santino Rossi, and so she had erased him from her life, if not her conscience.

Kate’s little girl Francesca was surrounded by the love of her family at Meredith’s warm and happy farmhouse where she was untouched by all the ugliness in the world, and she was growing up unspoiled the way Kate wanted her to. As Francesca was just a defenceless child it was up to Kate to make decisions for her, and so now she took the only path she could. She didn’t know the man she had slept with. She didn’t know what Santino Rossi cared about, or if he cared about anything other than himself. The world of film was a fascinating place, but not all the characters inhabiting that world were entirely stable. Until she knew more about Santino Rossi the man, she would not trust him with the knowledge that they had a child together.

After their brief chat Kate watched Santino on the set. Everyone responded well to him, and had she been meeting him for the first time she might have been impressed. He had reacted as quickly as she had at the first sign of trouble on the lot, dropping everything to come and sort it out. It made her want to trust him, but could she do that after so short an acquaintance? Could she trust her own judgement after what had happened five years ago? She wouldn’t risk Francesca’s happiness on a whim in the same way she had risked her own.

Kate could feel Santino assessing her in the same way she was weighing him up and felt her face burn when their gazes clashed. How could she ignore the fact that time had only improved upon perfection? Apart from silver wings creeping into his thick dark hair Santino appeared stronger and more virile than ever. He belonged on the big screen, rather than behind it, but she could not allow herself to be swayed by Santino’s good looks, or by his blatant sex appeal. She wasn’t eighteen now. She was a grown woman with responsibilities. She couldn’t allow herself to feel anything for him.

The crew weren’t even listening to their conversation, Santino realised, though it should have raised some interest, surely? Whatever she had been saying to them must have worked because everyone was going quietly about their business. Relieved to have the burden of decision-making taken from their shoulders, he guessed. The thought drew his gaze back to her and to her slender shoulders…too slender to bear a burden, their shape was clearly discernible beneath the cheap fabric of her blouse. A quick mental sketch of her naked body lit an old fire that invoked another strong physical reaction, and that in turn warned him to keep his gaze firmly fixed upon her face in future.

He felt like a caged lion. She made him feel like a caged lion. He was used to taking charge; he didn’t sit on the sidelines. It seemed incredible to him that a mere scrap of a girl could come in and take over his film set.

A scrap of a girl with big ideas, maybe…

Santino’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Kate. He’d had trust issues since the day his mother had gone shopping and never come back. At six years old that made quite an impression on you. Women were all the same in his experience, which was why he had never married. They all bailed out when they discovered his personal bank was closed to them. But this one was an enigma. She hadn’t put all the goods on display with a price tag on her bosom like the rest. Rather the opposite. She had made no effort whatever to remind him of the time they’d spent together five years ago, which, perversely, he found insulting. It challenged something deep inside him that suggested she should make more effort when he was around.

Santino felt a mounting sense of possession as Kate stared back at him. After the night they’d had how long did she think she could hang onto the role of buttoned-up spinster? Her ringless hands hadn’t escaped his gaze…

Which was all too much distraction when there was work to be done. Of his director there was no sign, which didn’t concern him unduly since that useless piece of excess baggage was about to be fired. But he would handle one problem at a time. His attention switched back to Kate and he couldn’t have been more surprised when she seized the initiative.

‘I think you’ll find everyone is happy with the arrangements I have made,’ she told him confidently.

And then she stared at him, waiting for his endorsement of her actions as if she already worked for him, clearly unaware that she was treading on hot cinders around the lip of a volcano.

‘It has been agreed that for the next couple of days, or until the new director arrives,’ she went on, ‘actors will use the time to work on the script while the crew takes this opportunity to hone the technical side of things—’

He was tempted to ask what the hell business it was of hers. ‘Really?’ There was a heavy edge of sarcasm in his voice, but she either missed it, or chose to ignore it, and she didn’t break eye contact with him once. Plus she was speaking to him in the same considered tone she used for everyone else, which grated on him, which made him impatient to exert his authority over her. He only held back because a purposeful air had crept over the set, and right now she had him between a rock and a hard place.

As he stared into those cool grey eyes he guessed she knew where she had him, but that didn’t mean he had to make things easy for her. ‘Don’t you think you should at least introduce yourself, Ms…?’He felt a rush of satisfaction seeing her glance flicker for the first time. The fact that he had affected not to know her, or to remember their night together, had dealt a blow to her pride even she found hard to hide.

‘I am Cordelia’s cousin, as well as her new manager.’ She had recovered and was using a brisk voice. ‘Ms Mulhoon appointed me shortly before you arrived—’

She broke off at Cordelia’s approach, and as he turned to his leading lady for confirmation he was surprised to see tension colour Cordelia Mulhoon’s customarily sunny features.

There was something here he wasn’t getting. But he would. And then Cordelia gave a small nod to confirm what their visitor had said was true.

Interestingly, as he dipped his head to acknowledge Cordelia’s response he noticed that his leading lady was carefully avoiding his gaze.

CHAPTER THREE

‘WELL, Ms Mulhoon’s new manager…’ Santino switched his attention back to Kate ‘…we’d better take ourselves somewhere private where we won’t be interrupted—’

‘We’re not disturbing anyone here.’ She held her ground and his gaze.

‘Don’t my cast have plotting and rehearsals scheduled? They should stick to them.’ His voice was uncompromising.

‘Are you suggesting the actors should work on the set without a director?’ she asked him pleasantly, but with an edge of steel. ‘Their moves might be changed, and they could become confused. My suggestion is that everyone works on their script quietly for now—’

Somehow he managed to control himself. ‘And mine is that they take the afternoon off.’ Walking away from her, he said in a louder voice, ‘Gather round, everyone. I know you’ll all be pleased to hear that I’ve appointed a new director. Diane Fox will start work tomorrow—’He had to break off as a buzz of anticipation swept the set. There wasn’t anyone who hadn’t heard of the award-winning director he had brought in to replace the waste of space, no good junkie currently sleeping off his latest hit of the white powder in his trailer. ‘Take the rest of the day off and relax while you can. See you on the lot tomorrow at five a.m…’

He glanced at Kate. ‘If that’s all right with you?’

His gaze might have been ironic, but hers was a little evasive, he thought. And what was with the no-make-up look? Was there some point in scraping back such glorious hair into an unforgiving pony-tail? The last time they’d been together her hair had flowed free and had felt silky beneath his hands…

He wanted her. He felt it like a heat running through him. She had been a revelation the first time around; to see her melt now would be sensational. And a thought was growing in his mind that maybe she could be useful to him…

The film industry didn’t respond to the usual rules of logic, which frustrated him. He had been in love with films since he was a boy when they had been the only magic in his life, but it was the finished article that enchanted him. He had no patience for the mechanics of film-making and even less for the people involved in it. This woman had proved she could handle the heat. And she intrigued him. He wanted her close; he wanted to know more about her and what had happened in the five missing years. A business meeting over dinner would give her the chance to answer some of the questions pounding his mind, and would give him the opportunity to propose she come and work for him at his film studios in Rome.

If Santino wanted to give the cast the rest of the day off that was up to him. Kate refused to be fazed by his hard-eyed challenge. As she’d said to Caddy, she didn’t have the final word on his set, and for obvious reasons she was keen to get away once Caddy’s mind was put at rest.

When Santino had asked for her name she had wondered if he was trying to humiliate her on purpose. But like the worst type of arrogant male Santino gave nothing away. Had he not been a world-class industrialist he would have made an excellent poker player. One thing was sure, the night that had made such a huge impact on her life meant nothing to him.

‘You do have a name?’ Santino prompted, breaking into Kate’s thoughts.

His lips curved in the hint of a smile, but his gaze was hard. Kate felt as if ‘humiliation’ must be branded on her forehead, hearing him coolly repeat the question a second time. Would he remember her name if she thrust her visitor’s badge in his face? Had she even given him her name five years ago?

Her face flamed red. There had been no time to exchange names on that occasion; polite introductions had been the last thing on their minds. She had only learned who Santino Rossi was later from the newspaper, by which time he had left England for Rome, having judged Westbury an unsuitable setting for his film.

Kate refocused seeing Caddy hurrying across the set. She had sensed the stand-off and was rushing to her rescue, Kate realised fondly.

‘Is it all right if I take Kate away now?’ Caddy turned her most beseeching look on Santino.

‘Kate,’ Santino repeated softly, the corner of his mouth tugging up with faint amusement. ‘Would that be wild Kate? Or conformable Kate?’

The Shakespearean reference made Kate’s cheeks fire up. So he did remember her. Santino remembered every moment of their night together and now he was taunting her with it. ‘Kate Mulhoon,’ she said briskly, holding out her hand for a formal handshake.

Santino ignored the gesture and the humour died in his eyes. ‘We’ll discuss arrangements for your client over dinner tonight, Ms Mulhoon.’

‘Dinner?’ Kate’s breath caught in her throat. A cosy nighttime meeting was the last thing she wanted.

‘Time is short. You have to eat and so do I. And you’ll want to protect your client’s interests, I presume? The only available time I have is during dinner. We’ll discuss the way forward then.’

There was no way out of it, Kate realised, and as Caddy’s representative she couldn’t afford to be indecisive. ‘I’ll need to talk things over with my client first—’

‘Eight o’clock sharp. I’ll pick you up at your hotel.’

Santino had quickly restored the balance of power, Kate realised, feeling her hackles rising. But it was too late to argue with a man who had already turned on his heel and walked away.

As the two girls linked arms Caddy drew Kate out of earshot of the rest of the cast. ‘I wanted to fling my arms around you and cheer the moment you arrived, but I thought I’d better let you establish your authority first. I didn’t think you’d want me hanging round your neck. But now you’re here—’ Caddy gave Kate a hug.

‘I don’t care what anyone thinks,’ Kate said with feeling, unable to stop herself tracking Santino’s progress across the lot.

‘Then you should,’ Caddy argued with concern, ‘because there are people in this industry who will stop at nothing to get what they want.’

‘Is that what this is about?’ Holding Caddy at arm’s length, Kate stared into her cousin’s face. ‘Has someone been unkind to you? It’s not Santino, is it, Caddy?’

‘No, of course not…’ Caddy took a quick glance around to make sure they weren’t being overheard. ‘I only hope he knows I’m not involved in the drugs—’

‘Drugs?’ Kate made an incredulous sound. ‘I doubt he’s that naïve. You’ve nothing to worry about, Caddy. If there are drugs on his set Santino will know about them and common sense will tell him you’re not involved. What would you have to gain by disrupting filming or risking your reputation? Nothing,’ Kate said, answering her own question. ‘You’re the best person for this role and Santino knows it, or he wouldn’t have hired you in the first place.’

‘He hired that scumbag director, didn’t he?’ Caddy threw a hostile glance towards the trailers parked up nearby.

‘Everyone in the industry knows he was Santino’s second choice. He’d done some good work in the past and Santino wanted the film completed on time—’

‘Are you defending Santino?’ Caddy tried but failed to hide her smile.

‘All I’m saying is that everyone is entitled to one mistake…’

Kate fell silent as her careless words hung between them, and she was glad when Caddy squeezed her arm in a silent show of support. But she had come to Rome to look after Caddy, and it shouldn’t be the other way round, Kate reminded herself. ‘Diane Fox is said to be the best director in the business,’ she said, both to reassure Caddy and steer the conversation onto safer ground. ‘You’ll be fine once you start working with her—’

‘But will you be fine, Kate?’ Caddy’s voice had turned serious. ‘If I’d only known Santino would get here so fast—’

‘Of course I will,’ Kate said firmly, cutting across Caddy. ‘The only reason I’m going to meet Santino tonight is to talk business. I want everyone here to know that you have his full support, and I want you to concentrate on what you do best, Caddy, which is acting. You’re going to light up the screen—’

‘Do you really think so?’

Caddy was easily distracted and was soon dreamy-eyed.

‘I’ve got no doubt,’ Kate said with confidence. ‘Holding a meeting over dinner is the most sensible way forward given the time constraints. All I’m going to do is speak to Santino on your behalf, relay any concerns you have to him, and—’

‘You make it all sound so easy,’ Caddy broke in, ‘and it isn’t easy, Kate. It never can be where you and Santino are concerned—’

‘But this isn’t about me and Santino. It’s about you, Caddy. You seem to have overlooked the fact that the agency I work for takes a huge chunk out of your fee and I’m responsible for you. The buck stops here. It’s my job to look after you.’

‘But what about you, Kate? Who looks after you? What about your feelings in all this?’

‘What feelings? My feelings for Santino, do you mean?’ Kate did her best to look incredulous. ‘I have no feelings for Santino, and he’s made it quite clear he feels the same way about me.’

‘Be careful, Kate. You’re taking an awful lot for granted.’ Caddy’s eyes clouded with concern. ‘And that’s a big mistake where Santino Rossi is concerned…’

His suspicions regarding the morals of the film industry had just received another ringing endorsement. It seemed he couldn’t leave the studios for five minutes without some new and potentially damaging scandal occurring. This time drugs and intimidation. Next time…? He couldn’t afford a next time. What he needed was a firm hand on the tiller during his absence…a hand not dissimilar to Kate Mulhoon’s.

Santino’s hard mouth curved in a rare smile as he thought about it. Kate’s soft, pale hands had surprised him once before with their strength and ingenuity. If she came to work for him it would be interesting to see how long the new ‘ice princess’ version of Kate Mulhoon held out.

Meanwhile he had other things on his mind. He had to wait for the police to arrive and take his director into custody. A private interview with Cordelia had revealed that the trouble on the lot went deeper than the drugs his old friend Carlo had told him about, and the humiliation of one of his cast was something he would not tolerate under any circumstances.

As soon as Cordelia had told him what had happened he had called in the police right away. His leading lady had been subjected to a raft of cruel tricks, including silent phone calls, wreaths instead of the flowers she had ordered, manure dumped outside her trailer, and, in one final play of a pervert’s repertoire, a particularly sickening brand of sexual humiliation. All of it, he guessed, designed to break Cordelia’s spirit in order for the director’s heroine-hag girlfriend to take her place. It had been an ordeal for Cordelia to go over it again with him, and it made him sick to think about it now.

An invitation to the director’s trailer for a ‘coaching session’ had led Cordelia to find her ‘coach’ on the telephone while his girlfriend was busy on her knees beneath the desk…He’d stopped Cordelia there. He hadn’t needed to hear more to know she’d been through enough.

Santino’s thoughts switched back to Kate. With the arrival of the police imminent and everything back under control he risked her changing her mind about dinner now that Cordelia had been reassured. Kate might even decide to leave Rome before it suited him. Her dedication to her work was his only safeguard. She wouldn’t be satisfied he had fired the director for incompetence and drug taking, she would want to know that proper charges were being filed on Cordelia’s behalf. He wouldn’t be surprised if she insisted on staying on until the new director arrived. But of course, there were no guarantees…

Easing back in his chair, Santino smiled. Yes, there were. Kate wouldn’t leave Rome until she was sure Cordelia was happy and working well under the new regime. He hardly knew her, but after seeing Kate Mulhoon at work he could be sure of one thing—she wasn’t a quitter.

When the two girls reached the Hotel Russie they went straight up to Caddy’s suite, which she had insisted Kate share with her. As they walked in the room Caddy was still imploring Kate to cancel her meeting with Santino.

‘I won’t do that,’ Kate said firmly. ‘I won’t put you at a disadvantage by allowing Santino to think your advisors are weak.’

‘Even at your own expense, Kate?’

‘I’ll be fine. Listen to me, Caddy.’ Taking her cousin by the arms, Kate drew Caddy in front of her. ‘This is your big chance and I’ll never forgive myself if it doesn’t work out for you because of something I’ve done—’

Caddy shook her head and pulled away. ‘Don’t do this, Kate. You’re pretending everything’s all right, but I know you’re hurting inside. Look at the tension on your face.’ She turned Kate round to face the mirror.

‘That’s my strategic planning face.’ Kate laughed, but her attempt at humour sounded hollow.

‘Do you look this strained every time you have a client meeting?’ Caddy shrugged her shoulders to show her disbelief. ‘You must really inspire confidence.’

This time Kate didn’t pretend to smile. ‘I’m not strained. I’m just not sure how this meeting with Santino is going to play out yet…’

‘You and me both,’ Caddy murmured anxiously.

CHAPTER FOUR

HOWEVER many times Kate told herself that it was only dinner; only a business meeting, she couldn’t rid herself of the hummingbird wings in her stomach. There were too many feelings competing for attention inside her: she didn’t want to let Caddy down; she didn’t want to let the agency down; she didn’t want to let herself down, or give anything away. In the end she felt quite sick agonising over the question of whether she could be forceful enough on Caddy’s behalf without antagonising Santino, and whether she could get away with sitting an arm’s reach away from him across a dinner table without blurting out the fact that they had a daughter together. The end result of all this was that she grew tense and pale and uncommunicative in spite of Caddy’s best attempts to draw her out.

‘Honestly, Caddy, what I’m wearing is fine,’ Kate protested when Caddy held up the latest in a succession of possible outfits for her to wear. Clothes were absolutely the last thing on Kate’s mind.

Sharing Caddy’s luxurious suite at the Hotel Russie was a mixed blessing, and right now Kate would have preferred to be alone rather than have Caddy see her hand shaking as she tried unsuccessfully to apply some colourless lip salve.

‘What about this?’ Caddy held out another fabulous designer outfit.

The last thing Kate wanted was for Caddy to think that the meeting with Santino was going to be an ordeal for her and so she pretended to inspect the designer jeans and delicate silk top Caddy was holding out to her. The bright jewel colours were beautiful, but not for her…they would draw attention. ‘Perhaps too casual,’ Kate suggested gently, feeling bad when she saw Caddy’s expression falter. ‘I don’t know where Santino intends our meeting to take place—’

‘It’s sure to be somewhere fantastic, and there’s a whole wardrobe of clothes here for you to choose from,’ Caddy said generously. ‘Just take your pick.’

Reaching out, Kate squeezed Caddy’s arm. ‘You’re the best friend anyone could have. And it may surprise you to know that I hadn’t even realised we were the same size in clothes.’

Caddy gave a faint smile as she picked up all the outfits Kate had discarded with barely a glance. Nothing about Kate could ever surprise her.

But it was true, Kate reflected. She had never really thought about her figure before. As long as the clothes in her wardrobe fitted she saw no reason to change them, or indeed her casual attitude to what was and what wasn’t ‘in’. Standing in front of the mirror, she smoothed down the front of her skirt and turned to check the hang of her jacket.

‘You can’t go out to dinner in the same outfit you wore for travelling,’ Caddy pointed out in a last ditch attempt to get Kate to change her mind.

‘Why ever not? I had a shower and changed my underwear and blouse.’

‘And now it’s too late,’ Caddy complained, grimacing as the doorbell rang. ‘Honestly, Kate, you’re impossible.’

Kate’s heart thundered so hard she could hardly speak. ‘But you love me?’ The question made Caddy laugh, but the truth was Kate needed her cousin’s reassurance.

‘You know I do.’ Caddy gave Kate a quick hug and then crossed to the door. Reaching it, she rested her hand on the doorknob as if waiting for Kate’s say-so before she let Santino in. ‘You can still change your mind, you know…’

‘And you know I won’t do that. Well? What are you waiting for? Let him in.’ Having assumed a bright tone to reassure Caddy, Kate kept the smile fixed to her face—she only hoped she could keep it in place long enough to last the evening.

If there was such a thing as the rhythm of life it picked up pace when Santino entered the room. Kate felt her bright smile falter. It was hard to hold onto her confidence when Santino didn’t just walk into a room, he took it over. He drew the eye; how could he not? From her place in the shadows Kate took in the impeccably tailored black trousers and expensive shoes, the chocolate-coloured suede jacket and crisp shirt in bone-coloured cotton. Even in casual clothes Santino conveyed an unmistakable air of authority and she could feel his energy lapping over her. His cologne danced in the air…warm, masculine, spicy.

She watched as Santino Rossi greeted his beautiful star. Santino held Caddy’s arms lightly, drawing her just close enough to kiss her continental-style on both cheeks, while keeping a wide separation between their two bodies. He was all male, but he didn’t take advantage of the fact. In spite of her reservations about him Kate found that reassuring. Caddy was so lovely that most men were either awestruck, or took the opportunity to slobber over her. Santino did neither. He was confident and restrained, and yet at the same time managed to transmit a warmth Kate could tell put Caddy instantly at ease. That warmth died when he looked Kate’s way.

‘You know Kate Mulhoon, of course,’ Caddy said, trying to defuse the sudden tension. ‘Or, my manager, as I should say now.’ Caddy started to look uncomfortable. ‘For the time being, at least…’

Caddy was floundering, but before Kate could step in to help her Santino made light of the awkward moment.

‘Of course,’ he confirmed, switching on the charm again, ‘Kate and I know each other.’

But he wasn’t talking about earlier at the studio, Kate realised, feeling her whole body tremble in response.

‘Oh, I’m sorry,’ Santino added, appraising Kate from head to toe as Caddy stepped back. ‘I must be early. I’ll come back when you’re ready…’

‘I am ready,’ Kate told him stiffly.

The look Santino gave her suggested he expected his women to make more effort when he took them out. But she wasn’t Santino’s woman, she was Caddy’s business manager, Kate’s steely look assured him.

‘We’d better go,’ he said, clearly none too pleased. ‘Our table’s booked. You will excuse us, Cordelia?’

‘Of course…’ Caddy glanced anxiously at Kate.

Kate gave Caddy a discreet warning glance as she walked past her. She didn’t want her cousin leaping to her defence; she wanted to handle this her own way. But Caddy was now gazing at Santino with a dreamy look on her face. Kate had to admit he did look stunning and Caddy had always been a sucker for the prince in a fairy tale. Except this wasn’t a fairy tale and there could never be a happy ending where she and Santino were concerned…

It hadn’t escaped his notice that she was the same dress size as her cousin Cordelia, and therefore had the whole of his leading lady’s extensive wardrobe at her disposal. Dio, she could have drawn on the talents of Cordelia’s hairdresser and make-up artist had she wanted to. Most women would have seized the opportunity with both hands. Most women would have thrown themselves into this ‘business meeting’ with relish. But Kate? No.

He took it as an insult. But if that was the way she wanted to play it, so be it.

He seethed all the way to the restaurant, sitting as far away from her as he could. They were being taken in a chauffeur-driven limousine to one of the best restaurants in Rome, and he was escorting a woman who looked as if she had picked out her outfit at the local charity store. It made him doubly determined to crack the façade Kate had adopted since the last time they’d met. The play-acting had gone too far. Who did she think she was kidding?

Luigi greeted them at the door with an obsequious bow, which only added to his ill temper. No matter how many times he told the maître d’, ‘No ceremony, Luigi, please—’ it fell on deaf ears. But this was the best restaurant in Rome, where he kept a business account for occasions such as this, so he just had to grit his teeth and get over it.

Naturally they were shown to the best table in the room. Only Kate’s natural dignity made up for her lack of dress sense. The restaurant was packed with every beautiful face in Rome, half of whom he was forced to acknowledge on his way to their table. In a strange sort of way the proud tilt of Kate’s head pleased him as she subjected herself to the unforgiving scrutiny of the glitterati, but that didn’t mean he was taken in by her little charade. She could play Miss Butter-wouldn’t-melt all she liked; he wasn’t buying it.

He settled back as each of them was handed a giant-sized leather-bound menu. ‘Do you have a preference for wine?’ he asked her as the sommelier approached. He glanced up when she remained silent and saw her anxious gaze darting about. She looked as if she was ready to bolt. The light thrown down by the chandeliers was cruel and revealed dark shadows beneath her eyes. She seemed strung out as if something big was worrying her. Maybe she would crack a lot sooner than he’d thought.

‘A preference?’ she said, refocusing on him.

Her eyes were beautiful and he felt a tug somewhere deep inside him when she looked at him that way. Filing it away for future consideration, he concentrated on the wine list. ‘Do you prefer red or white wine?’

‘Santino…’

‘Yes?’ He looked up, surprised at the discreet, even confidential tone of her voice. ‘What is it?’ He leaned across the table anticipating a full meltdown. His eyes filled with lazy certainty as he waited for her reply. He anticipated a suggestion they order room service instead of eating in the restaurant—the same room service he’d given her five years ago. He waved the waiters and the sommelier away.

‘I don’t like it here,’ she told him bluntly.

‘That’s it?’ He sat back frowning.

‘ I feel uncomfortable. I’d like to go somewhere else.’

He had to admit that where sheer, unadulterated front was concerned Kate took the prize. He had brought her to the best place in Rome, the most glamorous place in Rome. As a rule it was necessary to book six months in advance, and then if Luigi didn’t recognise you you were lucky to get a table near the kitchen. What was wrong with her? He was tempted to tell her just how uncomfortable she looked in her ill-fitting suit. ‘What do you expect me to do about it?’

‘Take me somewhere else.’ She held his gaze.

‘Like where, for instance?’ He gave her one last chance to redeem herself with a little softening of those steel-grey eyes.

‘Somewhere traditional and typical of the area…’

Her expression was disappointingly earnest. ‘This is typical of the area,’ he pointed out in an ironic reminder that she was staying in the best part of Rome.

‘You know what I mean,’ she insisted stubbornly. ‘Somewhere…Oh, I don’t know…where mamma cooks and papà serves—’

‘How sweet.’ He could barely stop his lip from curling.

‘There’s no need to be sarcastic.’ She gave a nervous laugh to soften the remark. ‘I thought this was a business meeting, not a—’

As her mouth clamped shut he raised his eyebrows, daring her to say date, but she fell silent. Looking down, she licked the full swell of her bottom lip. He wondered if she knew how provocative that was.

Probably not. She was as much a dreamer as her cousin Cordelia, though Kate suppressed her desires under countless onionskins of denial. But why play games when she wanted him? Forget the swollen lips. Raised nipples and flushed cheeks told him all he needed to know. And he wanted her. They were two healthy adults with healthy adult appetites, so what was standing in her way?

‘I know it sounds ridiculous…’

Wisely, he didn’t comment.

She shrugged her shoulders. ‘But I have this urge to eat home-made food…’

Urges he understood.

‘And to be truthful,’ she went on, ‘I don’t feel it’s wise to discuss Caddy’s private affairs with waiters hovering at my shoulder. You never know who’s listening. The paparazzi have spies everywhere and somewhere noisier and less formal would be safer, in my opinion.’

She talked sense.

‘When I flew into Rome I thought I might get the chance to sample some real Italian food,’ she went on. ‘And this menu…not that I’m not grateful,’ she tempered politely, ‘is all in French.’

‘I see what you mean…’ Playing along, he scanned his copy as if he hadn’t eaten in the restaurant a thousand times before.

‘What do you think?’ she pressed.

‘I think I know a better place…’

Santino dismissed the chauffeur and took Kate to a place she would never have found without him. It was at the end of a narrow alleyway, and was the sort of noisy café Aunt Meredith had talked about whenever she and Caddy had pressed her for stories from her back-packing youth.

Pushing open a narrow door with no sign over the top of it to hint at what lay behind, Santino invited Kate to go in ahead of him. The noise, heat and aroma of wonderful food hit her full in the face. The small packed space was crammed with tables covered in red gingham tablecloths, and the only light was that provided by candles flickering in wax-caked bottles. Kate started smiling right away. She could hear ‘mamma’ shouting instructions from the kitchen, while the red-faced ‘papà’ with a tea towel stuck through the ties of his white apron was yelling back to her above the buzz of conversation. Right now their moustachioed host was in the middle of executing an elaborate pirouette as he searched for the correct table upon which to unload the plates and platters wobbling on his outstretched arms.

‘I love it,’ Kate exclaimed impulsively, ‘but can they possibly find space for us?’

The answer came quickly. Having spotted Santino, the chubby restaurateur wiped his hands down the front of his apron and came to welcome them.

‘Santino!’ Dragging Santino down to his own, much shorter level, the older man kissed him robustly on both cheeks. ‘Li vedo portare un ospite!’ he added, pulling back to stare at Kate.

‘I see you have brought a visitor.’ Santino translated for her briskly. ‘For a business meeting,’ he informed the older man in English, causing the restaurateur to view Kate speculatively.

‘Of course…Capisco! I understand,’ he cried, instantly adopting a serious expression. ‘I hope you’re hungry?’ he added out of the corner of his mouth for Kate’s benefit.

‘Starving,’ she assured him with a smile.

‘Bene…bene!’ Rubbing his hands together in anticipation of another hungry customer, their host gazed around until he identified a group about to vacate their table. ‘Two minutes, and the table’s yours,’ he promised Santino with an open-armed flourish.

‘Is this all right for you?’

As Santino checked with her Kate thought both his eyes and his voice were daring her to say no. ‘This is perfect,’ she assured him. ‘And once again I apologise for putting you to so much trouble.’

‘Please…’

His manner both thrilled and frightened her. As he gave a shrug the inflection in his voice was pure charm, but his eyes were dangerous…there was far too much irony in them.

‘You’ll have to lose that jacket or melt,’ he observed as he shrugged his off. ‘Your choice.’

After a moment’s hesitation Kate removed her jacket, and then, because Santino was right about the heat, she opened a couple of buttons at the neck of her shirt too.

They were soon seated in the corner with a mound of fresh crusty bread between them and a bowl of fat green olives slicked with oil. Santino had rolled up his sleeves and the sight of his powerful forearms tanned and shaded with black hair just as Kate remembered them was a worrying distraction. She had to get started on her concerns for Caddy right away and find something safer to think about, she decided.

‘That all sounds perfectly reasonable,’ Santino agreed after they had discussed everything in detail and agreed safety measures be put in place to prevent anything from upsetting Caddy in the future.

But when the business discussion was over and Kate ran out of things to say she knew it was dangerous to attempt small talk. Who knew where it might lead?

‘We can move on to another place,’ he suggested after one protracted silence.

Where did he have in mind? There was an air of innocence about him that put Kate immediately on her guard and Santino’s eyes were asking questions she didn’t want to answer.

Her heart bounced against her chest wall as she considered the possibilities. She should have taken into account the fact that she would be pressed up hard against him in the tiny restaurant. She should have realised they would have to bring their faces very close together in order to hear each other above the noise. ‘I’m happy to stay,’ she said quickly, sitting back. ‘It was a brilliant suggestion. The food is delicious—’

Santino accepted what she said with a faintly ironic smile.

CHAPTER FIVE

THEY sipped vintage cognac with their coffee, warming the honey-coloured liquid in giant-sized glasses they held cupped in their hands. The conversation was flowing more easily now, and Santino confined it strictly to business, for which Kate was relieved. She felt relaxed in his company, which was a first. Until her phone rang…

Glancing at the incoming number, Kate blenched. ‘Do you mind if I take this outside?’ She was already on her feet.

‘No…’ Santino’s eyes narrowed as she left the table.

After the heat of the café the cool night air was a sharp reminder to Kate of the world she had left behind. ‘Meredith?’ she said anxiously. ‘Is everything all right?’

Aunt Meredith was quick to reassure her that this was just a routine call. She sounded far more concerned about Kate.

‘I’m fine!’ Kate immediately regretted the force of her claim. She suspected Caddy must have said something to Meredith and Kate knew from experience that Aunt Meredith wasn’t easy to fool. ‘Everything’s going really well…’ But by the time the call was finished Kate knew she hadn’t convinced Meredith, who knew her better than her own mother had ever done.

‘Sorry about that,’ Kate said as she joined Santino at the table. She felt a flutter of concern when she noticed that her coffee-cup had been refilled. It appeared as if Santino was in no hurry to bring the evening to a close.

‘Not a problem for me…And not a problem for you, I hope?’ His gaze was keen as he searched her face.

‘No.’ Kate laughed it off, but inside she was aching with guilty secrets. There were too many of them locked inside her, of which her daughter was just one. And now here she was, sitting with Francesca’s father. It seemed incredible, and it frightened Kate to think that Santino didn’t even know of Francesca’s existence.

And nor could he until she was sure of him.

‘You seemed concerned when you identified the number,’ he probed casually.

He wasn’t going to let it go, Kate realised. ‘It was Aunt Meredith, Caddy’s mother, ringing to check that everything is all right. You can understand her concerns for Caddy…’

She could tell Santino wasn’t convinced by her glib excuses. She had set alarm bells ringing, which was the last thing she had wanted to do. ‘So…?’ To avoid looking at him she began gathering her things together, hoping that Santino would take the hint and suggest the time had come for them to leave.

‘So…’ He mimicked her ironically, viewing her over the rim of his coffee-cup as if they were hours away from bringing the evening to a close. ‘Why don’t you tell me something about yourself, Kate?’

Kate was sure her heart stopped beating. ‘Like what?’

Such as why she was doing a good impression of a hedgehog curling into a defensive ball might be a start, Santino reflected. ‘How you first came to be interested in the film industry?’ He was prepared to take everything one step at a time if that was what it took. They had covered Kate’s concerns for Caddy and they had established that the connection between them was as strong as ever. Now it was time for the interview for the position he had in mind…

‘Working in the film industry wasn’t my idea to begin with,’ she admitted. ‘It was Meredith’s—’

‘Meredith’s? What did your parents think of that?’

He could see her thought processes clicking into the appropriate grooves. She was deciding whether or not to trust him with some small detail from her life…weighing up whether it would be worth it to distract him from some bigger issues, perhaps?

‘They were never part of the equation.’

‘I see…’ He didn’t, of course, but he didn’t want to knock her off track. She made it easy for him when she began speaking again without prompting.

‘I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do when I left school and Meredith had contacts in the film industry. She gave me the introduction I needed, and I thought, Why not? I wasn’t too keen at first, but I grew into it.’

As her face lit up he suggested, ‘And came to love it in the end?’

‘That’s right.’ She looked at him as if she hadn’t thought he would be interested in what she found good about her life, but his tactic had always been to find out what people wanted and then to give it to them. It was so simple he found it hard to understand why everyone hadn’t found the same route to success. ‘From what I’ve seen there’s no doubt you have a way with people…’ He dealt her the compliment that he knew would boost her confidence, bringing him another step closer to his goal.

‘Thank you.’

Her eyes softened to a misty grey as she looked at him and he could tell that his words were having the desired effect.

They were both trying to fathom out what each of them wanted from the other. But now something else had crept into her eyes…was it wariness, or something more? If he hadn’t known better he might have thought it a sign that he had hurt her in some way. But he had never left a string of broken hearts in his wake. He only ever dealt in adult relationships with women who knew their own mind, women just like Kate…

To reassure himself he took his mind back to the night when she had raked him with her fingernails and begged him not to stop, never to stop…It was hard for a man to forget a thing like that, impossible for him to forget a woman like Kate, unthinkable that he would let her get away a second time. ‘I’d like to make you an offer…’

When she looked at him keenly he knew the moment had come to close the deal. ‘I’d like you to stay on here in Rome and work for me.’

‘Work for you?’ She was clearly incredulous.

‘What’s wrong with that?’ He was growing impatient. No one had ever refused the offer of a job in his organisation.

‘I can’t, that’s all—’

‘You can’t?’ he cut across her. ‘Or you won’t?’

‘I’m sorry, Santino, I really can’t…Couldn’t you get someone else?’

‘I want you.’ His jaw firmed.

‘You…’

Even as the light of hope sparked in her eyes her voice faded in recognition of her mistake. She knew Santino Rossi would never want her the way she wanted him. He felt a rush of triumph as he interpreted the signs. Kate was a good actress, but not that good. She might act prim, but there were fires burning very close to the surface of this new Kate Mulhoon’s decorous manner.

‘I’m only offering you a job, Kate…’

She flinched at the put-down, but quickly recovered.

‘I already have a job…two jobs, in fact. I represent Caddy at the agency, and for the time being at least I’m her manager. Obviously there’s a conflict of interest and I won’t—’

‘Remain her manager? Stay at the agency? Well, now you won’t have to because I’m offering you a job.’

‘Look, all of this is so sudden…’

And the last thing she wanted was to antagonise him with a flat refusal, he guessed. He let her squirm for a while.

‘I don’t know what to say,’ she said at last, clearly thrown.

‘You don’t have to say anything right away. Think about it. You’ve got until tomorrow morning to decide.’ He liked deadlines. When he put one in place something had to happen. Inactivity killed him.

‘Why me, Santino?’ She looked at him curiously.

Because the window of opportunity was open and he had never been one to walk on by. ‘Because after this debacle on the set I know I need to hire someone who understands the business, someone who works well with my team, which you’ve already proved you can do, someone who can liaise between me and my people on the ground. It would be a vast improvement on your present position back in London. You’d have your own department. You’d report directly to me—’

‘This is all going way too fast—’

‘Really?’ He angled his head to stare at her. ‘I’ve never had the impression that you’re slow…’

No response.

‘My organisation needs someone like you.’ He threw her a smile. ‘Just think about it…’

‘You don’t hold back, do you?’ she whispered, fixed on his gaze.

‘Salary wouldn’t be a problem—’

‘No…Sorry…I can’t stay on in Rome.’

Her voice was flat as if reality had kicked in, extinguishing the fantasy he had spun for her. He was disappointed, of course. But defeat wasn’t in his lexicon and he wasn’t about to back off now.

‘I have to be back in the UK by this weekend at the latest,’ she went on, voicing some inner thought and unwittingly handing him a compromise.

‘Okay…’ He eased his shoulders in a shrug as if it didn’t matter to him one way or the other what she did, but his mind was scrutinising the facts—she was an intelligent woman, and he had just given her the opportunity of a lifetime. There had to be something else. Someone else? Was this feeling jealousy? If so, it had to be a first. He kept his face impassive as he delved a little deeper. ‘Of course, if you have personal reasons—’

‘I don’t. At least…’

‘Go on.’ He could hardly hold back the bite in his voice.

She clammed up. She retreated into herself leaving only the prickles on show. He eased off too. Like all good negotiators, he knew when to take his foot off the gas. ‘Well, if you could just stay until the weekend, by which time the new director should have settled in, I’d appreciate it. And of course I’d pay you well for your time…’

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