LITMIR.BIZ

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it be easier to simply announce me as the new face of Mondelli? It will generate a huge amount of buzz in its own right.”

      His gaze speared hers. “This is more than a publicity stunt, Olivia. This is the joining of two of the world’s great brands. The creation of a dynasty, so to say. It will be a far more powerful story than you simply becoming the face of Mondelli.”

      “And when we end our engagement?”

      “That will only increase the buzz. Everyone loves a heartsick, broken couple. It’s great photography.”

      She looked at him as if he had an answer for everything. He did, in fact.

      “I will have your belongings transferred to Villa Mondelli this week. I spend most of my time there commuting back and forth so it makes sense you are there with me. But we’ll delay your actual move date until after we get back from New York. I have meetings in London later this week, and you likely won’t want to spend your first days in the villa alone.”

      Her face lost the remainder of its color. “We’re to live together?”

      His mouth curved. “We’re madly in love, Olivia. Of course we’re living together.”

      “Yes, but—” she waved a hand at him “—we could position it as we’re both so busy, I’m going to be traveling a ton, it just makes sense to keep it separate until we marry. I mean, living apart doesn’t preclude...”

      “A wild night in bed?” He shook his head. “Sorry to disappoint you, bella, but I’m not sleeping on your sofa to make this look real. You will move into Villa Mondelli when we get back.”

      She gave him an agitated look. “The apartment...”

      He shrugged. “It’s a good investment. If you can manage not to blow your money this time, maybe I’ll allow you to buy it back.”

      Her mouth tightened. He plunged on relentlessly, “We have a lot of work to do before New York. Alessandra will be all about the big eyes for each other, but my Sicilian friend Stefan, who will undoubtedly want to toast us in New York, will be tougher. We’ll need to know each other inside out.”

      She scrunched her face up. “What do you mean by tough?”

      A wry smile twisted his mouth. “I went to Columbia with three other men I became very close with. We are all confirmed bachelors. For me to announce my engagement, to make such a quick, one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn, we’re going to have to make our feelings for each other convincing.”

      She slid a perfectly manicured nail in her mouth. “What will our story be, then?”

      “I think we should say we met in a café and it was love at first sight.”

      She arched a brow at him, the humor of it all lost on her apparently. “And this was when?”

      “A month ago. We’ve been staying out of the limelight, but now with your return to the modeling world, we’re making our engagement public.”

      She chewed on the fingernail. That would have to stop, but he wasn’t about to antagonize her further tonight. “Is there anyone you need to tell about the engagement?”

      “My parents, eventually. I can do that in New York.”

      “You don’t want to give them a heads-up?”

      “We’re not close,” she said flatly. “It can wait.”

      “Siblings? Close friends? Anyone we should invite out the night we see Stefan?”

      A shadow made its way across her face, intensifying the dark bags under her eyes. “No siblings,” she said quietly. “And there are just the friends I’ve made here in Milan.”

      He nodded. “Any other details I should know?”

      “No.” She took a sip of her wine and lifted her gaze to his. “What else should I know about my fiancé other than the fact he is cynical and arrogant?”

      “I work. A lot. Christian Markos and Zayed Al Afzal are my other two close friends I went to Columbia with. Christian is a financial genius based in Athens. Zayed has recently gone home to take the throne in his home country of Gazbiyaa.”

      “He’s a king?”

      “A sheikh. Gazbiyaa is in the heart of the Arabian desert.”

      “Okaaay.” She rubbed a palm against her temple. “And Stefan? What does he do?”

      “He’s in high-end real estate. As in the deals that make the Wall Street Journal... He doesn’t touch anything under ten million.”

      She shook her head. “Quite the group of underachievers.”

      He lifted a shoulder. “We are all driven. But very different. More like brothers than friends. We even argue that way.”

      She smiled, and, Dio, when she did, it made the night sky light up. He’d have to make sure she didn’t do that often. “You should know we run a charity together. It’s a big thing for us. The Knights of Columbia was created to help disadvantaged youth overcome their backgrounds and succeed in business. It’s based in New York, but we all do work in our home countries and funnel the kids through to various business programs in Manhattan.” He took a sip of his wine. “We also personally mentor some of the kids.”

      Her eyes brightened. “It sounds amazing. Whose idea was it?”

      “It arose out of work Christian was doing. He grew up on the streets of Athens, the child of a single mother. He never knew his father, had to fight his way out of poverty to take care of himself and his mother. It has defined him as a man, and he wanted to give back. We all loved what he was doing and wanted to be a part of it. Thus, the Knights of Columbia was born.”

      “I did charity work when I worked for Le Ciel,” she murmured. “I miss it.”

      “We have a charity for young female designers who have suffered at the hands of men and have been forced to resort to shelters. It would be a great thing for you to get involved with if you have time.”

      “I would love to.” She pressed her fingers against her mouth, her gaze uncertain. “You are so close to these men. How ever are we going to convince them this is real?”

      An image of her plastered against the door of her apartment begging for more of him flashed through his head. His lip curled. “Act like you did that night in Navigli—act as if you want to devour me, as if you can’t wait to get your hands on me. It doesn’t get any more convincing than that.”

      A flush filled her cheeks. “That might be difficult,” she drawled in response, “now that I know what kind of a man you are.”

      The insult bounced off him like the most ineffective of feints. “Fortunately, cara, pheromones aren’t ruled by the brain. I’m sure you’ll do just fine.”

      Her fingers tightened around the glass. He could tell she wanted to slap them across his face and tell him what to do with his deal. But she restrained herself because they both knew how important this was. For him, it was his chance to solidify control of House of Mondelli. For Olivia, her chance to take hold of her dream.

      He only hoped he hadn’t taken too big a risk on an asset that was a complete unknown. Because Olivia Fitzgerald was undoubtedly a wild card. She would either be the most brilliant play he’d ever orchestrated, or the one that would bring him down.

       CHAPTER SIX

      IT WAS A New York press frenzy at its finest, camera people crawling over one another to get a better position, journalists jockeying their way to the front of the room, extralarge coffee cups clutched in their hands. The buzz of a big story was in the air.

      “No doubt way over the fire code,” Savanna

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