Hold On to Me (16 page)

‘I need to talk to you about your …' he paused ‘… official reopening.'

‘You did get my invite, didn't you? I sent a whole bunch on Saturday afternoon and I've already had so many RSVPs. It's going to be a fantastic party.'

Luca planted his hands on top of his head, linking his fingers together and pressing down. He looked like he was trying to stop the top of it from blowing off. ‘What the fuck, Stella?'

‘I don't understand.'

‘Really? You went ahead and picked the day without even asking me. I'm the project manager here. We've got a million things still to do not to mention, you know, me having an actual life of my own and buying a house: you can't expect me to cancel all that just so you can throw some kind of fucking party.'

Stella hesitated. ‘It'll be done by the 19th, won't it?'

‘You know how much pressure this puts on me?' He dropped his hands, started pacing the empty space. ‘Look at all this. It's still a mess. What if I don't get the job done on time? What if there's a delay with one of the other tradies? What if it isn't finished and we get to the date and people are queuing up outside to come in and drink champagne? What are we going to do then?'

Stella remembered why she'd sent the invites out on Saturday night. She'd been trying to keep herself busy to avoid thinking about him. She'd needed a distraction from Luca and his invitation and his eyes and his body and his youth and from the way she was feeling about him. Hot and bothered feelings. Longing feelings. Completely inappropriate feelings.

She clasped her hands together. Her stubborn independence had blinded her to the fact that she and Luca were a team. ‘You're right and I'm sorry. I should have checked with you.'

Luca's expression transformed from indignation to something else. Something plaintive, almost pleading. When she realised what it was, she felt sucker-punched. He didn't want to let her down. That's what his anger was about. He had pride in his work, in his commitment to her to make the new Style by Stella better than the old one. And her hasty party-planning had thrown a spanner in those works.

‘Yeah, you should have.'

How could she explain to Luca why she'd done what she had?

She went to him, put a hand on his shoulder, meaning it as a reassuring gesture. ‘I'm really sorry. I've just been so buzzed about how fast things are coming along here, how fantastic your work is, that I got a little ahead of myself and forgot to check with you. I'm so used to doing things on my own, that sometimes … sometimes I find it hard to get out of the habit.'

She removed her hand when he glanced at it.

Luca let out a long slow breath and rubbed a palm over his chin. ‘When I took on this job, Stella, I told you I wanted it to be a partnership. I can't do it unless you remember that. We have to act like a construction crew on a building site. We both have to know exactly what the other person is doing or we'll fuck it up and it won't be finished. And that will ruin my reputation in this town and hit your business.'

Her business. Stella pulled herself up. It was good to remember that. She felt chastened and she hated that. But she deserved it. She'd let her excitement about progress on the shop get in the way of what was safe and what was practical. And, most importantly, what was doable. She'd let herself down and it ached.

‘I get it, Luca. Thank you for thinking about my business. That means a lot to me.' She smiled at him and his eyes softened. That wasn't hard, was it? she thought. Owning up to her mistake? Stella felt like they'd jumped a hurdle together and survived.

She scuffed her sandal against the concrete under her feet. ‘We haven't even thought about what we're going to do with the flooring. What do you think?'

Luca glanced around at the shop, from front door to the rear wall. ‘We could paint the concrete, maybe. It'd be cheap and simple. What colour do you think would work with the stone wall?'

‘Maybe a deep cream colour, or a taupe to highlight the sandstone. It wouldn't show as much sand that way. You wouldn't believe how much of the stuff gets trekked in here.'

Luca inspected the floor. ‘That could work. Shall I suss it out and see what finish might work best in a high-traffic area like this?'

‘That would be great,' Stella replied. ‘I was actually on my way to get coffee. Double espresso, right?'

Luca rubbed the back of his neck. ‘Yeah, thanks.'

She had reached the doorway when he called her name. She looked back over her shoulder nonchalantly.

There was the slightest hint of a smile in his eyes. ‘About the wedding.'

‘Did you have a good time?'

He held her eyes for a long moment. ‘Just for the record, I went home alone.'

Stella opened her mouth but couldn't think of a word to say. She got out of there as fast as she could.

The next two weeks flew by for Stella. Every day was a blur of second and third fix on the construction work: tradies, painting, electrical, fittings, stock placement, nervous exhaustion and sheer, thrilled-to-her-toes excitement.

Finally, after all their hard work, it was done.

Stella stood in the middle of her shop, directing traffic. It was T minus two hours and she'd roped in everyone available to help with the official reopening of Style by Stella. The Middle Point pub had donated the champagne, wine and beer, courtesy of Ry and his manager Lizzie. The bottles were sitting in tubs of ice, chilling. Anna had prepared enough canapés and hors d'oeuvres for a hundred people and they were set out on long narrow tables on either side of the shop. Her stock was hanging stylishly, set in colours and hues around the room. Jewellery was displayed under lights and beautiful shoes and handbags had been strategically placed around the room on low shelves.

Stella couldn't believe what she was seeing. In just three weeks, her shop had been transformed from a waterlogged mess into this. She wanted to pinch herself. The best thing was it was so much better than the shop she'd had. With a final glance around the room, Stella decided it was finished.

Now, she had to get ready. She'd been adding all the final touches and overseeing all the deliveries in a pair of boyfriend jeans and a simple white T-shirt. With a glance at the time, she determined she had just enough time to go home, shower and change into something befitting the owner of a fabulous beachside boutique, and be back when the guests were set to arrive at seven. But before she did, she couldn't resist one thing. She flicked the switch at the power point near her front counter and the room was lit up with decorative globes strung from wall to wall.

‘Check that out,' Stella whispered to herself in awe.

The place looked like a wonderland. Spotlights were trained on her displays and in the front window strings of fairy lights made it look like it really was Christmas. They'd done it. She'd set a crazy deadline for herself and Luca to get the work done and they'd risen to the challenge. We make a fantastic team, she thought, not for the first time during the past month. He wasn't just the brawn to her brain, either. His ideas had been strokes of genius and the shop wouldn't be looking like it was without him. There had to be a special way to thank him and she'd been doing a lot of thinking about what that might be.

Behind her, the front door opened. There were footsteps on the freshly painted floor—they'd decided on taupe—and Stella gripped her keys tighter in her fist. She knew that stride. She didn't have to turn around to know who it was.

‘Hey.' His smile was brighter than all the lights in her shop and the look of pride in his face at what he was seeing set her heart thumping.

‘What are you doing here?' The more important question was how on earth was she going to keep her hands off him when he looked like that? Luca was wearing a black, slim-cut suit, with a shirt as white as his teeth and a black tie highlighted against it. His hair was pushed back from his forehead and he was clean-shaven for a change. His dark eyes shone at her. She really wanted to run her fingers across his jawbone and touch his lips.

Or perhaps put him in the window display.

‘This looks incredible.' He took slow steps inside and looked around. ‘The way you've arranged the racks, the clothes, the mirror behind the counter. Stella … this is …'

‘It's Style by Stella, Luca.'

He laughed. ‘It really is.'

She was so glad to see him she had to hold herself back from throwing her arms around his neck. ‘You're a little early.'

‘Thought I'd see if you needed a hand with anything. Here. Congratulations.'

Luca held a cellophane-wrapped bottle towards her. The clear wrapping couldn't disguise the label underneath. It was expensive, wonderful champagne.

She gasped. ‘Oh, you shouldn't have.'

‘Yes, I should have. It's to celebrate.' Luca went to her, looked into her eyes. He kissed her on each cheek. ‘You're back in business. That's definitely worth celebrating.'

Stella shivered. Her shop was about to have its official opening. She'd had so much love and support from her friends and the whole town. And this man. The one who'd made it all possible. Luca in a suit. Champagne. The whole night in his company when he looked like that, when he was looking at her the way he was.

‘Thank you. This is just lovely. I'm going to take it home and keep it safe from everyone here tonight.'

‘Maybe we can share it later, just you and me,' he said, his voice deep and low.

She didn't answer. Was she ready to go that far with Luca? To give in to it? She compromised with: ‘I'm glad you're here.' She touched his forearm. ‘Look what we did.'

Luca glanced around the shop. Although he'd been there every step of the way for the rebirth, he hadn't seen it finished, ready for business, with the stock hung and the stylish touches Stella had used to finish the displays.

‘You've got such an eye for this.' Though he was talking about the shop, his eyes were fixed firmly on her.

She shivered with the awareness of his attention, and rubbed her hands up her arms to smooth away the goose bumps. ‘I'm exhausted but so thrilled with everything we've done.'

‘This really is your baby, isn't it?'

‘Yes.' And that simple admission was far more emotional than her one-word answer suggested. It was her baby, her life, her obsession, her seven-days-a-week passion. Her shop was never cruel or neglectful or unfaithful to her. It had been her constant, her place in the world for the past four years, her partner in rebuilding her life back in South Australia.

‘And a beautiful baby it is too.' Luca chuckled and she smiled up at him.

‘Well … if I want this party to be a success, I'd better get home and clean up. I have to look the part, you know.'

Luca reached out and slipped the keys from Stella's hand, and their fingers brushed against each other's as he did it. ‘I'd better lock up then.'

She flicked off the lights and he locked the door behind them. His truck was parked out the front of the shop and he opened the passenger door, motioning for Stella to get in.

She laughed, propped her hands on her hips. ‘You know I live just around the corner. Precisely two minutes' walk away.'

‘I've heard. Not that I've ever been invited round.'

Stella opened her mouth to protest but realised it was true. She'd purposely put a very clear boundary between her shop and her home. She hadn't wanted him in her private space. Having him in her shop for three weeks straight had almost blown her resolve. The best way to keep their relationship strictly professional was to keep it strictly professional, wasn't it?

Luca raised his eyebrows. ‘You getting in?'

She glanced up the street. ‘I can walk.'

‘I know that but I figured you wouldn't want my truck parked out the front of your shop for the party. It'll block the view of the window display, right?'

‘I see that I have taught you something about retail.'

‘I've learnt a lot from you, Stella.'

She averted her eyes from his burning gaze and climbed into the passenger seat.

Stella was so conscious of Luca standing close behind her, so aware that he smelt of sweat and dust, that she could barely get the key in her front door. When it finally flew open she almost tumbled inside, needing to put a distance between herself and the temptation of him, so close and untouchable at the same time.

‘So, this is it. Home by Stella,' she announced with a whirl and a dramatic outstretched arm.

She dropped her bag on the kitchen bench and threw a smile over her shoulder at Luca. He was still at the front door, taking it all in. Or, actually, staring at her arse.

‘From the outside, I was expecting … I don't know, old school. But this is modern.'

‘Modern can work if you blend it in properly with the heritage and character of these old places.' She smoothed down her hair, nervous at having Luca in her house. Jittery about how damn much she wanted him and totally terrified that her resolve was crumbling.

‘You've got a real eye for this.'

‘Thanks. I've got to …' She pointed to the short hallway that led to the bathroom at the back of the cottage.

‘Don't mind me.'

‘Make yourself at home. There's wine in the fridge if you'd like a glass.'

Stella quickly detoured to her bedroom, where she stripped off her clothes and slipped into her kimono, pulling it tightly around her. She didn't have much time to get ready and she simply couldn't spend any more precious minutes thinking about Luca being in her house while she was naked in the shower.

Luca found a bottle of white wine in the fridge, poured himself a glass and sat down on the sofa. He admired the stylish sitting room. It all looked designed but lived in. Elegant and peaceful, which was in direct contrast to his city fixer-upper.