The Moretti Arrangement (8 page)

She liked Nathalie a lot. They had become friends over the long weeks that Nathalie had spent in Milan negotiating with Antonio.

She knew that both Moretti Motors and Vallerio Inc. were in talks to release the coupe version of the car next year as well.

“
Bonjour,
Nathalie. Congratulations on your engagement,” Angelina said, moving to where the woman stood near a tall cocktail table.

“Thank you,” Nathalie said. “I still can’t believe I’m going to marry a Moretti. My grandfather is either laughing with delight that I caught a Moretti or spinning in anger that once again a Moretti caught a Vallerio.”

“Wasn’t your grandfather good friends with Lorenzo Moretti?”

“Yes, until Lorenzo broke my
tante
Anna’s heart. Very tragic…I’m making light but it was sad. It seems like Lorenzo Moretti was doomed when it came to women.”

“Cursed,” Dominic said, coming up behind the two women. He held a champagne flute in each hand. He looked dashing in his tux as he handed one of the glasses to her.

She took it, lifting it toward him in a salute. “To Moretti Motors continued success.”

He clinked his glass to hers and they both took a drink.

“You don’t believe there is still a curse, do you?” Nathalie asked. “I thought that Marco and Virginia broke it when Enzo was born.”

Angelina had only heard rumors about the Moretti curse. The gossip was that the Moretti men could either be lucky in business or lucky in love, but never in both. Lorenzo Moretti, the founder of Moretti Motors, had been lucky in business turning the small company he started into one of the world’s top luxury automakers. His son Giovanni had been lucky in business until he’d fallen in love with Philomena at which time Moretti Motors started to fail. Dominic, Antonio and Marco had decided that they would be the generation to be lucky in business again.

“How could the curse be broken?” Angelina asked.

“Virginia is the granddaughter of Cassia Festa, the woman who cursed my
nono.
And she had access to the original language that Cassia had used to cast that curse. She read over the words and figured out the meaning behind the curse and then deemed that if Moretti and Festa blood were mingled the curse would be broken,” Dominic said.

“So now there’s no more curse?” Angelina asked.

Dominic shrugged. “Who worries about curses when they are as successful as I am?”

She smiled because she knew he’d meant her to. But she wasn’t feeling it. Instead she was worried that Dominic didn’t seem to care that his family’s curse meant that the men were destined for either fortune or love.

Though to be fair, Marco and Virginia seemed very happy. Marco’s fortune hadn’t changed and he was still winning F1 races. Antonio and Nathalie hadn’t been together that long, but Angelina didn’t see any signs that either Moretti Motors or Vallerio Inc. was going to face financial hardship.

“Dominic, you are never going to convince a woman to stick around with that kind of attitude,” Nathalie said.

“I have other attributes you might not be as aware of.”

“She better not be,” Antonio said, coming up behind his fiancée. He hugged her close and dropped a quick kiss on Nathalie’s lips.

“
Buona sera,
Angelina.”

“Good evening, Antonio.” She wasn’t too certain what Antonio thought of her. She knew that all of the Moretti brothers were aware she had been spying on the company and that made her feel as though she didn’t deserve the happiness she had found with Dominic. Maybe she was starting her own bad luck.

“I don’t mean to hurry everyone away, but we need to mingle. Marco and the rest of Team Moretti should be arriving any minute and many of the guests will want to talk to him and Keke,” Dominic said.

Keke had been a Team Moretti F1 driver who had been injured in a car accident; actually he’d almost died. And Angelina remembered how upset the Morettis had been about it. They treated everyone who worked for the company like family.

Like a real family, she realized. Not at all the way she and Renni had been because it was just the two of them. But a big extended group of people that she could rely on. It was a different kind of feeling and she liked it.

“Angelina?”

“Hmm?”

“I need you to entertain the press group,” Dominic said.

“Certainly. What do you want me to do?” Angelina asked.

“Just the tour of the factory like we discussed earlier,” Dominic said.

Everyone at the reception would be taken on a factory tour in small groups. Angelina was happy to be included as one of the Moretti Motors representatives. She knew it wasn’t so much due to her being Dominic’s mistress but more because he was starting to trust her again.

Dominic hadn’t promised her any more than he’d given her. He treated her well. She unlocked the door to the apartment he’d insisted they live in. The welcoming scent of orange blossoms greeted her as she put her keys on the hall table and walked into the living area. There was a crisp breeze blowing in from the balcony.

“
Sì,
Angelina. I’m sorry I didn’t call. I got an earlier flight back.”

“I’m so glad,” she said. “I missed you.”

“Good.”

“You can be very arrogant at times.”

“You’re right I can. Did you miss me in bed?” he asked, crossing the room and taking her in his arms.

“Yes,” she said. She had missed his arms around her during the night and the comfort she took from knowing he was there next to her.

“Me, too. I didn’t expect to miss you,” he said, his confession coming quietly from him.

“Me either,” she said. He led the way to the couch and sat down, pulling her down on his lap.

He kissed her passionately and she pulled back. “Can we pause for a bit?”

“Why?” he asked.

“It’s…it’s been a long day,” she said, holding herself stiffly. “I think I’d be happy to have your arms around me.”

She knew she was being needy, and a part of her wanted to push hard to see exactly what she meant to Dominic. If he pushed her away, then she would simply try to stop caring for him. Try to keep herself from falling for him.

“I’d love to hold you. Go change into something comfortable and get into bed. Have you eaten?”

She shook her head. “But I’m not hungry.”

“I will join you in a minute.”

Angelina left Dominic in the living room to go and get changed. She took her time washing her face, and tried not to read too much into Dominic’s actions. He was a kind man—she shouldn’t be surprised that he’d take care of her when she didn’t feel well.

But what did surprise her was that he’d do something so unselfish for her. There was nothing for him in his comforting her. Nothing at all. And she knew she hadn’t been able to get any further information from Barty or ESP Motors, but tonight it didn’t seem to matter.

Tonight it felt to her as if Dominic cared about her simply because she was his woman.

She changed into the silk pajamas she kept on a hook on the back of the bathroom door and came out to find the covers turned back on the bed. Dominic had stripped down to his boxers and a T-shirt.

He held his hand out to her and she went to him. She climbed into the bed on his side and then slid over. He got in after her and pulled covers over her before drawing her close to his side. She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, relaxing for the first time…since her mother had died. No one had held her like this since her parents had died.

She sniffed, trying not to cry thinking about the hugs that she missed.

“What’s the matter?”

“Nothing. I was just thinking of the past,” she said.

“What about it?”

“My parents. I didn’t realize until this moment how much I missed the simple things they did for me.”

He hugged her closer, dropping a kiss on the top of her head.

“You lost someone to share your life with,” he said.

“Yes, and my dreams.”

“What are you dreams,
cara mia?
Share them with me,” he said, stroking his hand down her back.

She shifted in his arms until his hand was rubbing right where she ached. “I don’t know what my dreams are anymore. I think I’ve always wanted to live in the countryside, have a family of my own.”

“Would you stay at home with the children?” he asked her.

“Yes, I’d like that very much. I know that might not be possible, but I’d be willing to sacrifice material things if I had to. What about you?” she asked, meeting his dark gaze with her own.

“I think I’d like my wife to stay home with the kids. My mother was there for my brothers and me after school. She had her own life during the day, but we knew she was there…I think that’s very important for children.”

“I agree,” she said. She tipped her head down and closed her eyes. She didn’t like to think of Dominic married and having children, because she had started thinking of him as her man and now she knew that he probably wouldn’t be.

It was the kind of press they could use. Nathalie was charming a group of investors from France and Antonio was scowling each time Nathalie laughed at something one of the men in her group said. Dominic thought it was funny that his brother, who had never been tempted by any one woman, was now so tied in knots over his fiery redhead.

He escorted the last group through the factory and noticed that Renaldo De Luca was still in the work area. He should have been at the reception and not back here. Renaldo smiled at Dominic when he saw him and waved, then gestured to the pretty girl with him.

Dominic took out his mobile phone and sent a quick text message to Angelina asking her to get her brother and his date out of the factory. This wasn’t the place for romance—especially tonight.

She immediately responded that she would take care of it. Dominic wondered if she would ever really be able to get her wayward brother under control. He doubted it, because for some reason Renni cared only about himself.

“That concludes our tour. Tomorrow starting at ten a.m. we will be offering test rides in the Roadster out at our track. You can sign up for a ride at the desk near the far side of the room. I hope you enjoy the rest of the evening.”

As his group dissipated, Dominic saw Ian moving toward him. The other man looked as though there was something important on his mind.

“Got a minute?” Ian asked as soon as he was close enough to be heard.

“Yes. Here or in my office?”

“Office would be better,” Ian said.

“Should I get Marco and Antonio?”

“I think you might want to hear this first.”

Dominic didn’t like the feeling generating in the pit of his stomach. He glanced around the reception area and didn’t see Angelina. “Give me a minute.”

“No problem.”

Dominic left the reception area to go back to the factory. The last of the tours had moved through and the factory was eerily empty.

He heard the sound of voices and wasn’t surprised to find that Renaldo and Angelina were the source. “I told you not to mess this up.”

“I didn’t, Ange. I just wanted to be alone with Penni. I’m sorry, it was stupid to come in here.”

“It was stupid to bring her in here. Everything in this room is still under wraps.”

“I said I’m sorry. What more do you want?”

She shook her head. “I want you to be a man, Renni.”

“I have been since Dad died.”

She shook her head. “No, you haven’t. You say that, but not one time have you stepped up and taken care of something for me. Or taken care of me, your only sister—that’s what men do.”

“I can’t live up to the standards set by your precious Dominic.”

She shook her head. “I’m not asking you to. I want you to be your own man. To think before you act and for once handle something on your own.”

“I am trying, Ange. I really am. I will find Dominic and tell him I’m sorry about being in here.”

She took a deep breath. “Okay, you do that. But he might not want you to keep working for him.”

“Then that’s the price I’ll have to pay.”

Dominic heard something in Renaldo’s voice he’d never heard before, and it sounded like responsibility. He didn’t expect anyone to be perfect, and Renaldo’s actions tonight were harmless.

“There you two are,” he said, stepping out of the shadows.

Both of them turned to face him. Angelina took a step forward, but Renaldo stopped her with his hand on her shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Signore Moretti. I didn’t think tonight when I brought Penni back here.”

“No, you didn’t think. Apology accepted.”

“It won’t happen again,” Renaldo said.

“I know it won’t,” Dominic said. He believed that Renaldo was starting to grow up. Maybe it had been his sister’s tears or the fact that she’d almost had to go to jail for him, but something had woken Renaldo De Luca up.

“Go and enjoy the rest of the party,” Dominic said.

“Yes, sir.”

Renaldo left and Angelina still didn’t look at him. She was beautiful tonight in her formal dress. It was black—as most of her clothing was—and formfitting. Her shoulders and neck were bare and as she kept staring at the floor he couldn’t help but notice how vulnerable she looked.

“What are you thinking?” he asked.

She lifted her head and he saw the glitter of tears in her eyes. “Thank you for going easy on him.”

“No need to thank me. I know that mistakes happen, and owning up to them like he did shows me the kind of man he’s becoming.”

She nodded. “I…I’ve been so worried about him.”

“Why?”

“Because I haven’t let him fight any of his own battles. He was devastated when Mom and Dad died…you can’t imagine what it was like that first year.”

Dominic crossed the space between them and drew her into his arms. He wished he’d been there for Angelina then. Wait a minute. What was he thinking? If he’d been there for her, he probably wouldn’t have any of the things that he called his own today.

Angelina was a distraction to him, and though he’d never lose his business focus, if he’d met her before he’d gotten involved in the day-to-day running of Moretti Motors, he’d easily have been content to let himself fall in love with her. Damn, was that what he was doing?

That couldn’t be right. And if it was, it meant she was too much of a distraction. If he let her take over any part of his life, Moretti Motors would fall back into the hands of outsiders. One thing that Dominic promised himself he’d never let happen.

Would he, though? He’d had a chance at love and had blown it. In college he’d fallen hard for a pretty American named Kate, and they’d become engaged after one semester. Dominic had thought that Kate was his world and expected her to feel the same about him. But she’d returned home to Texas for the summer while he worked in Moretti Motors as a management trainee. When it was time to return to school, Kate had called him and said she wasn’t coming back. She missed the States and her home there too much. Dominic had thought about leaving Moretti Motors and going to her, but she’d discouraged him from doing so.

Why then did his heart feel as though Angelina was the missing piece?