Free Happy Mother's Day! by Sharon Kendrick

narrowed thoughtfully. ‘You sound doubtful,’ he observed.
    ‘Well, it’s a bit of a departure for you. You usually deal in smaller, boutique hotels.’ She poured him a cup of coffee and pushed it across the desk in front of him. ‘Biscuit?’
    He shook his head.
    Aisling poured her own. ‘Won’t this affect the industry’s view of you? Isn’t it a slightly risky strategy?’
    Gianluca stared at her with something approaching admiration—at her icy blue eyes which gave away precisely nothing. Had he been expecting her to be cowed by his insistenceon this meeting? Perhaps for her to display irritation towards the secretary who was so obviously flirting with him? Or maybe to gush just a little, recognising that a man who could afford to buy the Vinoly must be a very rich man indeed—and he knew only too well how most women responded to wealth.
    And hadn’t there been a tiny part of his mind which had wondered whether she might behave as other women in her position might have done? That, having known the pleasures of his body, she might lock the office door and slide off her panties and come over here and sit on his lap.
    But no—the expression she presented to him was completely professional and the objections she voiced were exactly as they should be. And the cool expression on her face was starting to make him wonder whether he’d actually dreamt the whole seduction.
    As a client he applauded it, while as a man, it irritated the hell out of him. There had been not one intimation—not a single hint—that they had shared a night of passion in his bed, and in truth he found that deeply insulting. Did she have no
feelings?
    His mouth hardened. Perhaps she imagined that by remaining so composed in his presence she would make him want her even more.
    And she was right, damn her!
    He
was the one who usually compartmentalised—and it was not a trait he particularly admired in the opposite sex. He liked his women warm and soft and available—ready to juggle their schedules to fit in with
his
busy life.
    He sipped the coffee, which was surprisingly good, finding himself in the curious position of having to force his mindback to work instead of the memory of her pale, curving body revealed by his removal of that rather plain underwear.
    ‘You are doubting my ability to expand into this particular market?’ he demanded.
    ‘No, of course I’m not. And I can find whoever you need to staff it. I assume you’ll want a new general manager—someone who will put your own particular stamp on the place?’
    ‘Sì. But I don’t want to change too much, too quickly.’ His eyes narrowed thoughtfully. ‘I want to be able to observe what works and what doesn’t, before I decide.’
    Aisling hesitated. ‘You’ll be careful not to change
too
much, won’t you, Gianluca? One of the place’s biggest selling points is its very Britishness—the tourists love all that.’
    She was unbelievable! ‘You think that I’ll serve only pizza in the restaurants from now on and start playing loud Italian opera?’ he queried sarcastically.
    ‘And plastic gondolas on sale in the foyer,’ she agreed, deadpan.
    His mouth twitched as he tried to hold back a smile. ‘Ah, Aisling,’ he sighed. ‘What is it that you object to in this deal?’
    He paid for her judgement and her perception, didn’t he? And for the truth, too.
    ‘It’s just that this a departure from the Palladio brand,’ she said softly. ‘That’s all.’
    ‘A
brand?’
he echoed. ‘You think that Gianluca Palladio is a
brand?
What kind of a word is that? You are comparing me to a can of beans, perhaps?’
    ‘Oh, don’t be so melodramatic, Gianluca—of course I’m not! I’m just telling you not to lose that special something for which you’re known.’
    ‘Ah!’ His eyes narrowed and a sudden sensation of friction became almost tangible in the air around them. His voice dipped. ‘And what special something would that be?’
    Feeling as if she’d walked