He pulled out the cork with a minimum of fuss and put the bottle down briefly. “You haven’t said anything.”
“I’m waiting to get to the business portion of the meal.”
She set her lips and looked him dead in the eye. A deal was a deal. As long as he kept it about the Cascade they’d have no problems.
He chuckled as he poured wine into two glasses. “Single-minded. I like that. It means you’re focused, driven.”
“A compliment.”
“Perhaps. I’m reserving judgment. Waiting to see if you’re also rigid, stubborn and always need to be right.”
Mari grabbed her tonic water as her face flamed. Of all the nerve!
“I don’t apologize for being organized or efficient.”
“Nor should you. They’re admirable qualities.”
Mari looked out the window and away from him. She’d never met a man like him. She couldn’t quite pin him down and that threw her off balance. Normally she could typecast a person within moments of meeting. She put them in a file in her mind and dealt with them accordingly.
But not Luca. There was something different about him that she couldn’t put her finger on. He was very urban with his carefully messed hair, the way he left his collar open so that Mari was treated to a tempting glimpse of the tanned hollow of his throat. As he lifted his glass she spied a ring on his right hand…plain, not ostentatious at all. It almost looked antique. In the centre of the flat gold oval was the imprint of a lily. The same imprint that she recognized from the company logo. It was the only jewelry he wore. His entire demeanor suggested playboy, but there was something more.
“Let’s order,” he suggested, his voice drawing her eyes away from the ring. “We’ll talk about the food and brainstorm about what the Cascade will become.”
He flipped open his menu, skimmed it and shut it again.
“Just like that?”
“Absolutely.”
Mari looked down at her own menu, though she could recite it without seeing the words. Everything about him threw her off her stride. Just when she credited him with not making decisions, he surprised her by being annoyingly definitive.
“We should switch tables. There’s usually a wait for this one and our guests do come first.”
Luca regarded her over his glass. “No need. I took care of it.”
“And how, may I ask, did you do that?”
His smile was disarming. She noticed again the sensual curve of his lips and wondered what cruel joke the universe was playing, sending such a man for her to deal with. She was completely out of her depth and drowning fast.
“I called the room, spoke to a lovely gentleman who is here celebrating his twentieth anniversary with his wife. I explained who I was and said that the hotel would be happy to treat him—and his wife—to a five-course meal in their room, along with a bottle of champagne.”
Mari’s lips dropped open before she could help it. Mentally she added up the cost of such a thing. It was selfish. Indulgent. All so he could have the best table.
“It would have been easier, and cheaper, for us to simply eat at a different table.”
Luca ran a finger down the leather spine of the menu, a smile playing on his lips. “Perhaps. But they get an anniversary to remember and I get to enjoy the sight of you at the best table in the house. It is…how do you put it? A no-brainer.”
She ignored the compliment. “It’s self-indulgent.”
“Of course. Shouldn’t the Cascade be about indulgence?”
She lowered her voice to a whisper that hissed across the table. “You’re going to indulge us right out of business!”
A waiter came to take their order. Without missing a beat, Luca ordered the Harvest Squash Soup and Pancetta Salmon, while she scanned the menu once more. In the heat of the discussion, she’d forgotten what she wanted, and the gap of silence was awkward.
“The pasta, Ms. Ross?” the waiter suggested. She closed the leather cover and nodded. When the menus were taken away, Luca leaned forward, close enough she could smell the light, masculine scent of his cologne. Exclusive, expensive and somehow perfectly Luca. Her pupils widened as he took the finger that had caressed the menu and ran it lightly over her wrist. The action surprised her so much she couldn’t even think to pull away.
“Mr. and Mrs. Townsend will have an incomparable anniversary night. Mr. Townsend is a prominent attorney, did you know that? His wife is involved in several charities. What do you think they’ll say to their friends when they return home? That the room was lovely? That the mountains were splendid? That could be said of nearly every hotel in this area.” He withdrew his finger from the delicate skin of her wrist and looked in her eyes. “They will remark at how special they felt. The delightful meal served in their room by attentive staff. The complimentary champagne and the single red rose presented to Mrs. Townsend.”
He sat back, satisfied. “Don’t underestimate the power of a happy customer, Mari. We’ll more than earn back what dinner cost. The Townsends will come back. And they’ll likely bring a trail of friends and associates with them. They’ll remember the romance.”
His eyebrows lifted as it dawned. “That’s it. That’s what the Cascade needs to become. Get out your day planner, Mari.”
He changed tack so often she was having difficulty following. “What on earth are you talking about?”
“The Fiori Cascade. Remember the Romance.” He clapped his hands together then reached for his wine. “This room—the Panorama. It’s romantic, don’t you think?” He didn’t wait for her answer. “Look at the color, the furnishings. Timeless, nostalgic, reminiscent of a golden age. Gleaming wood, rich scarlet and gold. A place where women feel beautiful and wooed. A place to slow down, be indulged, pampered. Chandeliers and fine wine and…”
He paused.
“You’re not saying anything.”
“I can’t get a word in edgewise.” Mari left her planner right where it was. By tomorrow his ideas could have changed a half dozen times, for all she knew.
“You don’t like it? You don’t agree?”
“I think you’re getting carried away with an idea.”
“Oh, but, Mari ideas are the best part.” He reached out and clasped her hand. “There is nothing more exciting than looking and seeing all the possibilities.”
She pulled her hand away, cradling it in her lap. Luca carried on as if he hadn’t noticed her abrupt withdrawal. “Taking a vision and making it reality is the best part of my job.”
Their first course was served. Mari watched as Luca tried the soup, closed his eyes and murmured, “Mmm.”
She stared at the full curve of his lips, shocked to feel the stirrings of attraction in the midst of such animosity. Instantly those stirrings were followed by numbing fear. It wouldn’t matter. She wasn’t capable of relationships. She was done with trusting and taking risks. That she’d suddenly gone from physical appreciation to attraction startled her sufficiently to keep her on task. She stabbed at her greens like she was wielding a pitchfork.
He looked around and Mari tried to see what he was seeing. People enjoying fine food in an elegant setting. It’s what they paid for, what they expected. How would the rest of the hotel look, if it followed in the tradition of this room?
“What