For Gerard, Chris and Chloe. Sempre.

       CHAPTER ONE

      IT WAS her shoes that gave her away.

      Her business suit was fine. Professional. Like her pristine leather briefcase, barely there make-up and the way she wore her long hair in a simple yet elegant twist. But the heels of her shoes were much too high and much too delicate. They weren’t office shoes: they were do-me heels. And Dante Romano had known enough princessy types in his time to recognise that these were expensive do-me heels. The kind that only a rich, spoiled woman could afford.

      Closing this deal was obviously going to be much less time-consuming than he’d feared. So much for his sources telling him that Carenza Tonielli was serious about taking over the family business.

      ‘Thank you for coming to see me, Signorina Tonielli,’ he said, standing up. ‘May I offer you some coffee? Water?’ He indicated the bottle and glasses on his desk.

      ‘Water would be lovely, thank you.’

      ‘Please, have a seat.’ He gestured to the chair on the far side of his desk and waited until she’d sat down before pouring them both a glass of water and sitting down again himself.

      She picked up her glass and took a sip of water.

      Beautiful hands, he thought. And shook himself mentally as a picture flashed through his head. Oh, for pity’s sake. Yes, Carenza Tonielli was beautiful. Probably the most beautiful woman he’d ever met. But she was also very aware of it, and he wasn’t interested in doing anything other than business with a spoiled princess.

      Liar, his libido corrected.