The Best Of The Year - Modern Romance 2016. Кейт Хьюит
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called Sergio.
He didn’t answer for several rings, by which time Bella’s heart was racing.
‘Bella!’ he said at last, anxiety in his voice. ‘What is it? What’s happened?’
‘Nothing’s happened,’ she reassured him. ‘Nothing bad, that is. I went into the village to buy a few things and when I was there, I had this idea I thought might be helpful for the business. I would have rung you then and there but I didn’t have my phone with me. Anyway, I got so excited that I practically ran home so that I could call you ASAP. I haven’t rung you at a bad time, have I? You sound stressed.’
‘If you’d seen our sales figures you’d be stressed too. You’re going to have to be a miracle worker, my darling, to turn them around. But I’m all ears.’
Bella was so taken aback by his calling her his darling that she was speechless for a few seconds. Not that he’d meant anything serious by it. But it had thrilled her all the same. Thrilled her to pieces. The possibility that she was falling in love with him worried the life out of her. Not that Sergio wasn’t a man worth falling in love with. He was, his concern for his employees very touching. His spirit was generous, not greedy. Caring, not selfish. As Luigi had said, he was a good man.
But if she did fall in love with him, there was no use fantasising that he might fall in love with her in return. That would be too good to be true. It wasn’t going to happen. Sergio would never let himself fall in love with the daughter of the woman who’d ruined his father’s life. The truth was he fancied her for the reason men always fancied her. Because they found her beautiful and sexy-looking. Love had nothing to do with his feelings for her.
Best you concentrate on just being his friend with benefits, that sensible inner voice warned her. Because to start hoping for more is the way to a broken heart.
‘Bella?’ Sergio prompted. ‘Are you still there?’
‘Yes, yes. Still here. Just assembling my thoughts.’ And trying to be sensible.
‘Is this idea of yours complicated?’
‘Not really. Just hard to put into words.’
‘What’s the basic thrust of it? Try to use as few words as possible.’
‘Well, the bottom line is your products are too cheap.’
‘Too cheap! Are you mad? We can’t compete, price-wise, as it is.’
‘Then don’t. You’re on a losing battle to nothing trying to compete with imports from countries that can make things for a fraction of what you can. You should do what Italy does best, Sergio. Produce stylish, super-quality products for which you can charge a premium. People will pay over and above for true quality. Trust me. I know. I’m one of them.’
Sergio was silent for a long moment before he answered. ‘Yes, I see what you’re getting at,’ he said slowly. ‘My God, Bella, I think you’re right. We should be putting our prices up, not down. What a clever girl you are!’
‘But only if you lift the quality,’ Bella pointed out, glad Sergio couldn’t see how her heart had squeezed tight at his compliment. ‘You might also have to rebrand and advertise extensively. People need to look at your products with new eyes.’
‘Sounds good but that’ll take a lot of money, Bella. Money and time.’
‘Well, you have plenty of both, don’t you, Sergio? It’s not as though you have anything else to do.’
His laugh struck an odd note to Bella’s ears. ‘I dare say you’re right again,’ he said. ‘I don’t have anything important on my agenda in the near future, other than flying over to New York occasionally to see a certain person.’
‘Oh? And who might that be?’ she asked playfully. Yes, this was the way to handle things. No point in putting your heart on your sleeve.
‘A very beautiful lady with a very brilliant mind.’
Bella couldn’t help flushing with pleasure. And feeling exasperated with herself at the same time. ‘You don’t have to flatter me, Sergio,’ she said a bit tartly. ‘I’m a sure thing.’
‘Now that, my darling Bella, is something you’ll never be. Look, I’d better get off this phone and have a chat with some of the designers. See what they can do about creating a new top-of-the-range line of shoes and handbags. I suspect they’ll be quite excited.’
‘That’s excellent. Before you go, Sergio, could you bring home some samples of your shoes and handbags so that I can have a look at them and compare them with what I buy?’ In truth, she was genuinely curious. And very keen to help.
‘Will do.’
‘What time do you think you might be home?’ she asked.
‘Not early. I have a lot to do here. Possibly around seven, seven-thirty. Ciao.’ And he hung up.
The abrupt termination of the call, plus the realisation that it would be hours before she saw him again, left Bella feeling rather deflated, her brilliant idea having backfired on her a little. Clearly, Sergio was fired up by her suggestions and couldn’t wait to get to work on them. Making that scale of changes would be a huge project, however, and would mean his working long hours. She would miss him terribly. At the same time, Bella was glad that she’d been able to help him. She’d seen how worried he was, not just about the fate of the family company, but the people who worked there.
Her sigh carried resignation to the fact that she wouldn’t have as much of Sergio’s company as she would have liked. And she wasn’t thinking just about sex. She loved talking to him as well. Loved just being with him.
And the reason for that, she told herself firmly, is that you’ve definitely fallen in love with the man.
Bella groaned, any happiness this realisation brought—she much preferred love to lust—tempered by the reality that it was a one-sided love. Sergio did like her. And he desired her. Maybe, after today, he even admired her. But that wasn’t the same as love.
Frowning, Bella stood up and wandered out onto the balcony, wondering how she could get Sergio to fall in love with her. Despite being a confident girl where her career was concerned, she wasn’t at all confident when it came to men, her past relationships having battered her self-esteem in that regard. Also, there was still the problem of whose daughter she was. That could be a huge hurdle in Sergio’s mind. It was a dismaying thought.
* * *
In the end, Bella decided all she could do was love him to the best of her ability and hope he eventually reciprocated. She dismissed the idea of telling him she loved him. That would make her sound needy and clingy. A long-time bachelor like Sergio would not respond to a woman who was either needy or clingy. No, she would have to be patient.
Patience, however, was not one of her virtues. Neither was not getting what she wanted. Dolores had unfortunately passed along a degree of stubbornness to her daughter, plus a determination to win. Bella had never wanted to win a man before. In the past, it had all been about men trying to win her.
Bella was mulling over lots of various thoughts when her phone rang.
Her groan carried exasperation at the realisation that she hadn’t turned it off after talking to Sergio. She knew who it would be. Who else but her mother? Dolores didn’t have the patience to wait for someone to ring her back.
Bracing herself, Bella walked back into the bedroom and over to where she’d left the phone on the bedside table. Picking it up, she checked the caller ID then lifted it to her ear.
‘Hello, Mum,’ she said calmly. No point in getting herself in a twist. After all, she’d already decided earlier to give her mother a call.
‘At last she deigns to turn her damned phone on and answer me!’ came the snappy retort. ‘What on earth have you been thinking, girl? You have responsibilities. And a career. Or you did have one before you disappeared off the face