“He’s made something beautiful out of a monstrosity,” remarked Andrea, still wide-eyed with amazement as she walked around the grounds of the Cazale Ravenna.

This new hotel and spa center was the latest business venture of Nico Cazale, the husband of one of her closest friends. An old flame of hers, Nico was now the sole heir to the Cazale hotel empire.

“It’s not bad,” Dino remarked, placing his hand gently around the small of her back. She shivered, not because his touch electrified her, but because it felt like an invasion of her privacy, and she wasn’t ready for him to invade it. Not yet.

“Nico has an eye for these things,” she said softly. His father would have been proud of him.

“He’s put Ravenna on the map but it will be interesting to see how many people will want to come here. It’s never been a go-to destination for me.”

She wasn’t sure if she detected a hint of jealousy in Dino’s voice. It certainly didn’t sound like admiration. “No? You don’t like it here?” she asked. “Nico is a savvy entrepreneur. I’m sure he knows what he’s doing. He wouldn’t have staked so much on this development if he didn’t believe in it.”

“I hope for his sake that it works out, especially now that he doesn’t have his father’s guidance to fall back on.” Dino’s brows knitted together. “Weren’t you both an item?”

She was surprised that he knew for theirs had been a low-key and short-lived romance many years ago. In the time it took her to formulate her reply, Dino beat her to it. “He was always a ladies man. Always being seen with the flashiest of cars and the most beautiful women on his arm. I wonder if his wife knows what she’s gotten herself in with.”

“I don’t like the way you’re talking about my friends,” answered Andrea, defensively. “You don’t really know them.”

“I’ve been reading about them, hard not to when they’re always in the papers these days. Some people love the fame.”

“They don’t,” she replied, stony-faced. “They don’t seek it out, and I wish the press would leave them alone. You’re naïve if you think everything the press prints is true.”

Dino looked at her with astonishment. “You’re always so defensive about them.”

“Nico and Ava are good friends of ours.”

“Ours?”

“Mine and Leo’s.” Saying it like that made it sound as if she and Leo were an item. They were so not. “They’re real people, lovely people, they make a wonderful couple and now they have a baby. I wish everyone would leave them alone.”

“Sorry.” Dino’s eyebrows lifted. “It’s not that I don’t like him. The man’s nice enough—”

She knew what it was. “It’s natural to be jealous of someone who’s better looking, well known and—”

Dino roared with laughter. “Okay,” he put his hand up. “I’ll stop. You don’t have to humor me.”

“I wasn’t joking.”

“I’m not jealous. The Massari brothers have plenty of good looks, charisma and family money behind them and a lot of heart. It all depends on what you’re looking for.”

She stayed silent.

“Talking of Leo,” Dino continued, completely oblivious to her hardened expression, “you never told me he was with someone.”

“With someone?”

“Over there.” Dino jutted out his chin, indicating over her shoulder. But when she turned to look, she saw him walk into the hotel’s main entrance and then disappear out of sight. “Who was he with?” she asked, suddenly intrigued.

“Someone tall and very pretty.”

He must have been mistaken. Leo hadn’t mentioned anything to her about coming with a partner.

“It’s still light outside,” she commented. And it was. The days were getting longer, spring was here and soon it would be summer. Caprice’s wedding wasn’t that far away.

It had been pleasant, the long drive all the way here and she was grateful to Dino for offering to give her a lift there and back. Some of the guests had chosen to stay at the new hotel tonight but she was happy to return home. She doubted if Leo and his friend would be staying, not with work the next morning.

It was the same excuse she’d used when Dino had asked her if she wanted to stay. She cried off with work commitments. Dino was good company, easy to be around, easy to talk to, though her friend Ava begged to differ. His company, d’Este, made cribs which Andrea’s company supplied to Ava to sell in her online store. A charming business man, he and Andrea had had a lot of dealings over the past few months. Consequently, their business relationship had developed to a flirtatious friendship that hadn’t quite made the leap to any type of commitment. Yet Dino was clearly interested in her and that sexy way he had of looking at her, did something to her heart. Made it flutter. Sometimes.

When he’d come to pick her up, his admiring glances had said more than words could have. His gaze lingered a little too long, a little too slowly, over her face and body, heating her skin with its intensity. She already knew she looked good because she had made an effort to dress up, but it still took a man’s validation to convince her.

Ever since Riley had disappeared, the humiliation of her last relationship had cut deep and the scent of betrayal still lingered. It had been months since she had last seen or heard from him. Her romance with the American had left her extra wary around men and had it not been for her bad experience, she would probably have given in to Dino’s advances long ago.

Not that Dino was sleazy, or forceful, but he wasn’t cool and laid back like Leo, her business partner. A friend of her brother’s for many years, Leo had come on board to invest in her company and to help her expand it.

She had now come to rely on him as her right-hand man. There were days when she wondered how she had ever run her business alone because things were so much better now that there were two of them. And the last six or more months had been especially trying. From the corner of her eye she saw Leo again. He and Nico walked out and looked to be deep in conversation.

“Are you cold?” Dino asked, touching her bare arm lightly with his fingers but her eyes were fixated on the woman next to Leo. Tall and striking, she wore a full-length figure hugging black strappy dress. Andrea’s heart fell to her toes and the ground all of a sudden felt unsteady. She wished she’d worn something more elegant. The short and off-the-shoulder glittery dress had certainly caught Dino’s attention but she wished she had worn something longer, something more elegant and stylish.

“Andrea?”

She dragged her attention back to Dino and moved her arm away.

“Are you cold? You’ve got goosebumps on your arms.”

“No,” she replied. She had to force herself not to look over at Leo again even though she was itching to. She wondered if Dino had noticed. He seemed so keen, and yet she didn’t feel the same way. The truth was, she wasn’t sure why she wasn’t more attracted to him. He was handsome in a boyish kind of way. Olive skinned, slicked back hair, sexy eyes. At another time, a pre-Riley time, she might have fallen for him in a heartbeat. But post-Riley, things were complicated.
Leo had been a good friend who had been sympathetic but still, she was confused, and as wary as ever. She was terrified of making another bad judgment call when it came to men.

“I don’t understand, Andrea.” Dino stood directly in front of her, blocking her easy view of Leo and the woman. “I like you, you like me, we’re both single, so what’s the problem?” Away from the crowds and the rush of the evening, alone here in a tranquil corner of the grounds, she didn’t have an answer for him. At least not one that would make sense to him.

“There isn’t a problem,” she said slowly, struggling to find the right words. “I’m sorry that you think something is wrong.”

“Don’t apologize, Andrea. You don’t need to be sorry but I’m trying to be patient.” He shrugged, with his hands in his pants pockets. “At times it’s impossible to know what you want.”

“Time,” she said, hugging her clutch bag to her chest. “I need more time.” How much more, she didn’t know.

She saw him flex his knuckles. “I can wait,” he said, and the weight on her shoulders slowly shifted. “This is fine. Being able to walk in with you on my arm is good enough for me. For now.” He smiled at her and the awkwardness of the moment disintegrated. “I like you, Andrea Brunelli. I like you a lot and I’m going to wait patiently until you decide that I’m the one for you.”

He was boyishly good-looking, if more than a little full of himself.