VITTORIO'S LOVER (Vittorio Series) (19 page)

Raffaele secretly pled guilty to that offense; he rarely made reservations himself and often left it up to his as
sistant to choose the restaurant. The type of women he dated didn’t particularly care where they dined as long as the patrons were among the rich and famous, which usually meant paying excessively high prices for portions of food so meager they couldn’t sustain a bird. He was used to it and had grown indifferent to the underlying motives of his female companions because they didn’t expect an emotional entanglement and that suited him. Raffaele was merely the key that opened the door to high society, and they were all too willing to accept a purely sexual relationship in return. 

He’d almost forgotten how
pleasant it could be to have a woman’s undivided attention. Hell, most of the time he wondered whether it would have been more enjoyable to dine alone. After numerous fruitless attempts to engage his date in an intelligent conversation, Raffaele generally lapsed into silence when she ignored him in favor of nodding and smiling at people who only acknowledge her because they recognized
him
. Somehow he knew that wouldn’t hold true with Jenesa.

“
So,” he said with a grin, “am I to understand you prefer a man who is as skilled in the kitchen as he is in the bedroom?”

                                                      ***

It was fortunate they were on the last step when Raffaele broadsided her with his sexually loaded question, otherwise Jenesa might have taken a nasty spill when she stumbled and pitched forward. As it was, she was saved from a graceless fall onto the smooth marble floor when he twisted around to slant his body in front of her. Flustered as much by the close proximity of his body as by what he’d said, she was nonetheless determined not to show it by making light of her clumsiness. 

She
lifted her eyes to Raffaele’s, the laughter dying in her throat when she saw the lines of a frown forming on his face. Honestly, the man’s mood changed faster than the speed of light! And what right did he have to be uptight about her lack of poise when he scrambled her brains and threw her emotions into an upheaval with the things that rolled off his silver tongue? Never mind that the deep, sexy timber of his voice sent her pulse skittering or the merest touch made her go weak in the knees. If she morphed into a bumbling disaster-in-waiting, it was
his
fault.

“
I’m sorry,” her apology was as rigid as her spine. “I’m sure the women you usually keep company with don’t trip over their own feet or become blithering idiots every time you look at them.”

“
You shouldn’t be so quick to jump to conclusions,
mio bello
. I was not put off by your lack of agility; I was annoyed with myself for being the cause of it.” Raffaele leaned closer, replacing the frown with a sexy smile. “Do I really have the power to reduce you to a blithering idiot?”

What in the world had possessed her to blurt out a revealing statement like that?  And w
as it her imagination, or had the temperature jumped about twenty degrees in last few seconds? Gauging by the cocky expression he wore, one thing was certain; there would be no back peddling now or pretending her insides didn’t turn into liquid goo whenever he was near. The wretched man knew full well what he did to her, but Jenesa wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of hearing her admit it.

“I’m starving and you promised me breakfast, Mr. Vittorio.
”

His grin broadened. “So I did. Follow me to the kitchen, Miss Harding, and allow me to
dazzle you with my cooking.”

                                                     ***

Jenesa watched him move around the kitchen with the confidence of a man who was used to fending for himself. No, that wasn’t entirely accurate. Most of the single men she knew considered themselves pretty self-sufficient if they can throw a bologna and cheese sandwich together and manage to scrounge up a bag of chips that hasn’t gone stale. What Raffaele was whipping up required a multitude of ingredients and smelled delicious. He insisted it was a simple breakfast pie, except she’d help chop enough of the fresh vegetables going into it to conclude it was anything but simple.

While the pie was baking, he made coffee from freshly ground beans, setting a steaming cup in front of her on the breakfast bar before pouring another cup and settling in the seat across from her. He looked good
– really good in a black t-shirt identical to the one she was wearing and a pair of snug jeans that rode low on his lean hips.  He was clean shaven, his hair still damp on the ends from a recent shower, and he smelled of soap and sandalwood and something else intensely male.

Butterflies
danced a wild jig in her stomach when he smiled at her over his coffee cup.

“Have I sufficiently impressed you with my proficiency in the kitchen?”

Jenesa smiled back. “As a matter of fact, you have, but I imagine you excel at everything you do.”

“Not everything,” he shrugged, “although not from lack of effort. What is the purpose of attempting something if you don’t intend to give it your all?”

“Oh, I agree, I just wouldn’t have expected this to be among your list of accomplishments to conquer. Was it self-taught or did one of your nanny’s take you under her wing and teach you the fine art of cooking?”

“It seems you
are working under many false assumptions about my family,” Raffaele said, drawing a blush of embarrassment from her. “My parents did not believe that being wealthy entitled them to leave our upbringing to their employees. How do you instill values in your children if you are not there to teach them yourself?”

“I’m sorry. That was very unfair of me.”

Raffaele acknowledged her apology with a nod. “This island is a retreat for all of us; a place we can go to be with family or find the solitude needed for self-reflection. We spent a lot of time here when we were growing up. Of course, my father could not be with us as often as he would have liked, but he always made sure holidays and vacations were not interrupted by business matters.”

“It must have been difficult running an empire and still meeting the demands of being a husband and father.”

Again he nodded, the corners of his mouth tipping upward. He was pleased that she recognized the demands on his father, which sent a surge of happiness through Jenesa’s heart.

“It was my mother who insisted all her children learn to cook, along with the other necessities of keeping house. She was fond of saying that no one f
alls harder or faster than the rich and powerful because they live with the illusion it cannot happen to them.  Such self-deception can be devastating and she refused to let us venture into the outside world without being prepared.”

“She sounds like a very strong and determined woman,” Jenesa commented.

“She is. Being married to my father, she has to be.”

“
Did he agree with having his sons tutored in domestic duties?”

Raffaele chuckled.
“As long as he was not expected to participate. My father is very traditional in his belief that the wife manages the…domestic duties, but Mother convinced him that running a household was very much like running a corporation and would provide a solid a base for us when it came time to learn the family business.”

“Was your mother content to stay at home
and not pursue a career?”

“Being the wife of Caesar Vittorio meant fulfilling social obligations and taking charge of the hired help at home, as well as being a dutiful mother. She knew this when she married him and had no desire to do anything else.
My mother is not the type of woman to simply be
content
at doing anything; if being a wife and mother did not satisfy or make her happy, she would have done something about it. She chose the path she took in life and has never expressed any regret for having done so.”

“What about you?” she asked softly. “Do you expect your wife to
give up everything to take care of your home and children?”

“I do not believe my mother feels as though she gave up anything. My father, brothers, and sister…we are more important to her than anything in the world and she finds great joy in providing love and security for all of us. Should my wife desire a career, I would not object
, I would be happier if she found satisfaction in devoting herself full time to me and our children.”

Jenesa’s eyes followed Raffaele as he rose from his chair and crossed the kitchen to pull the pie from the oven.
She loved her job and working with her sisters, and was proud of what they had accomplished together, and yet it was easy to envision relinquishing her career to marry a man like Raffaele and be a mother to his children.  To be waiting for him when he came home each evening. To share his bed at night.  No, it wouldn’t be a hardship to spend her life with someone who stirred her blood the way he did.

“Your turn,” Raffaele said when he returned to the table with two plates.
“What type of family life did you have growing up?”

Leaning over the generous portion he’d served her, Jenesa drew in a deep breath. It smelled divine, and she eagerly spooned
in a mouthful of the heavenly concoction. The egg was firmer than a soufflé and encased Italian sausage, bacon, onions, peppers, and various spices into an explosion of appetizing flavors. She couldn’t help taking a couple of bites before replying.

“A lot like yours, minus the mansion and fabulous island
, of course. My dad makes a comfortable living as an accountant and Mom is a secretary at a marketing firm. They met in Dad’s second year of college when she delivered a pizza to the wrong dorm. He offered to walk her across campus to the right dorm, asked her out on a date before she left, and they were married six months later. Love at first sight, according to my parents.”

“Do you believe in things like that – destiny, finding your soul mate…love at first sight?”

Caught off guard by his question, Jenesa spoke straight from the heart. “I suppose it’s idealistic and a bit naïve but, yes, I believe there’s only one true love we are destined to be with. Unfortunately, I think some people are so desperate to find their soul mate, they continue to fall in love with the wrong person; or they get tired of waiting and delude themselves into believing they’re not settling for something less.”

“
What about love at first sight?”

Jenesa glanced up f
rom her plate and felt her chest tighten as his dark eyes met hers. “I think it’s possible to feel an instant connection and recognize there’s something special about the other person that you’ve never experienced with anyone else. Maybe…” she bit down on her lip, reluctant to share any more of her school girl romanticism.

“
Maybe what?” he coaxed.

“I don’t know,” Jenesa shrugged. “I know it sounds silly, but
if you truly are destined to be together, maybe your heart already knows and that’s why you feel such a strong bond before a relationship has even begun to form. It requires a leap of faith that most people aren’t willing to take because it’s been drilled into our heads that there’s no such thing as love at first sight. Perhaps it only exists for those who believe it does.”

“
What do you think happens to those who don’t believe?”

“
If they walk around with blinders on their hearts, I guess they never find each other.”

Raffaele nodded thoughtfully and then, much to her relief, changed the subject.

                                                      ***

Talking about love made him uncomfortable.
It wasn’t that Raffaele thought he was incapable of loving one woman for the rest of his life; he only knew for certain it wasn’t going to be
this
woman. He’d already deceived her into believing they had a shot at a relationship, and to Jenesa that meant romance and the type of emotional intimacy that led to love and marriage. Raffaele was prepared to give her his name if necessary, but he could never give his heart to someone who had deliberately set out to harm his brother.

He had to be cold and calculating; t
he situation mandated it, and he couldn’t allow himself to develop any sort of affection for her without jeopardizing the plans he was carefully laying. It was crucial that Jenesa remain in the dark until he manipulated her into a position that would prevent her from causing any trouble for Luca or the rest of his family. Raffaele wasn’t proud of the way he was using her, or that he was prepared to use her in the future, but saw no other way to procure the results he wanted. No, not what he
wanted
, Raffaele amended. More accurately, he now viewed it as his
obligation
to see it through. 

What difference did it make if he employed fair or fo
ul means? It wasn’t as if he was setting her up for a raw deal. Just because he couldn’t offer Jenesa his love didn’t mean she would be treated poorly. She would never want for anything; he would be kind and attentive, lavish her with nice clothes and expensive jewelry, and provide her with an enviable place in high society. Wasn’t that what most women wanted? And they’d already proven how compatible they were in bed, so he knew their physical needs would be met.
And then some
, Raffaele mused, as he mentally replayed the incredible experience of making love to Jenesa.