She needed Marco Moretti, and it seemed that he wanted her tonight. And that was all she needed. She repeated that in her head as she stepped out onto the balcony and let the warm air wrap around her.
Three
Marco poured a glass of champagne for each of them. He wasn’t inept when it came to taking care of the women in his life, despite the fact that Allie had often complained he paid no attention to her. The fact was, he was careful to pay only a certain amount of attention.
He was careful not to let his emotions get involved, always leery of falling for a woman and thereby ruining his life.
His mobile rang and he cursed out loud as he saw from the caller ID that it was Dominic.
“What do you need now?” he asked in Italian.
“Just wanted to remind you to be careful with Virginia. We can’t risk anyone falling in love, especially now.”
“Mordalo,” he said to his brother.
“I’m not jerking your chain, Marco. You know that falling for a girl isn’t something we can do.”
He glanced across his penthouse apartment to the balcony where he could see Virginia leaning against the railing. She didn’t look dangerous. He saw nothing in the woman to indicate she could bring about the downfall of Moretti Motors.
“She’s just a woman, Dom,” he said, even as, deep inside, a part of him protested. But the truth was, his priorities were simple—racing and winning. Moretti Motors and then enjoying life. And Virginia was a woman who would make his life very enjoyable tonight.
“Make sure you remember that.”
“I always do. I think you’re afraid that Antonio and I are too much like you.”
There was silence from his usually loquacious brother. Dom had fallen in love in college, and that one, brief lapse in his vigilance served as a constant reminder to Dom that all women had the potential to tempt any of the Moretti men.
“I don’t know what I fear. Just be careful, Marco. This is the year that everything will change. We have worked hard to get to this point. We are launching the revamped Vallerio model. You will surpass the Gran Prix record for most wins…”
“I am aware of that. Buona notte, Dom.”
“Buona notte, Marco.”
He hung up the phone, thinking of his oldest brother. Antonio often complained that Dominic needed to get laid so that the old boy would relax. But Marco suspected that Dominic’s heart was the most vulnerable of all of the Moretti men.
“Marco?”
“Coming, mi’ angela.”
A warm, gentle breeze stirred the air around the balcony as he approached Virginia. Her hair lifted in the wind and for a minute it seemed as if she were part of the night. As if this was the only place she could exist. Almost as if she were a fantasy. But she was a flesh-and-blood woman, as he’d ascertained by kissing her and holding her in his arms.
“I thought you’d changed your mind,” she said.
“Not at all. I just wanted to make sure I had everything perfect,” he said, handing her the glass of chilled champagne.
“Is this part of the charm you promised to show me earlier?”
“Do you think it is?”
She laughed, and the sound was like music on the wind. He closed his eyes and let the worries that his brother always reminded him of disappear. For tonight he was nothing more than a winning driver with a beautiful woman.
“I’m not so sure.”
He arched one eyebrow at her. “What will it take to convince you?”
“I’m reserving judgment until morning.”
He handed her the champagne flute, which she took.
“To your victory on the track today,” she said.
He tapped the lip of his glass against hers. “Grazie.”
He kept eye contact with her as he took a sip of the sparkling wine.
“To mysteriously beautiful women,” he said, lifting his glass toward her.
“Grazie,” she said with a shy smile. “But I’m not beautiful.”
“Let me look again,” he said.
She stood still, a hesitant, almost fragile smile on her face as he stared at her features. Her wide brown eyes seemed luminous and filled with secrets. The thick eyelashes that surrounded them and the light dash of makeup on her lids made them look exotic.
Her high cheekbones and creamy skin were next. He lifted his free hand and traced the line of her brow and then down the side of her face. Her nose was thin and long, marking the elegance of her face, but it was her mouth that entranced him.
Her upper lip was a bit fuller than the bottom one, and both were rosy red and so soft to his touch. He ran his thumb over her mouth, tracing the bow at the top and then stroking her bottom lip.
“I see nothing to change my opinion,” he said.
“Maybe in your eyes I’m beautiful, but I promise you other men don’t see me that way,” she said.
“The eyes of other men don’t matter, mio dolce.”
“No, they don’t…I just…I’ve never done this before,” she said suddenly, her words coming out in a rush.
“Come back to a man’s apartment?” he asked, unable to help feeling a bit honored and possessive of the fact that he was the first man she’d felt this strongly attracted to.
And he couldn’t deny the attraction between them. He hoped she’d never know how much he wanted her and how much power that gave her over him. He needed her in ways he was only beginning to realize.
“Yes…I’m a bit nervous.”
“It’s not too late to leave. We can finish our drinks and I can take you back to your hotel.”
Virginia realized that Marco was making very sure she couldn’t say he coerced her into anything. Or perhaps he was just being a gentleman. What did it say about her that her first thought was that he was protecting himself?
But there was little he could do to protect himself against her. She wanted nothing more than this night in his arms—and his sperm.
She felt cold and calculating, thinking the words. She knew that every night millions of people had one-night stands and it meant nothing.
But she didn’t. She had been pretty sheltered all of her life. After being told early on that love and romance were not in the cards for her, she’d become determined to find a way to make her romantic dreams come true.
She knew that her motivation for being here was breaking the Moretti curse. But when he’d described her just a moment ago, talked about a beauty she just couldn’t see when she looked in a mirror, she felt as if this encounter meant more than she knew.
She felt as if Marco wasn’t just the means to an end. That he wasn’t just another victim of a long ago, bitter love feud between their families…felt as if he could be the man who would make her fall in love with him.
And love for Festa women wasn’t a good thing.
“Virginia?”
She shook her head to clear it. Glanced up at the moon and gathered the strength she needed to forget about consequences and right and wrong. For this one night, she wanted to just enjoy the moment with this man.
“I’m