Page 11 (2/2)

She longed for a break, and she could be in Rome tomorrow Before she could stop herself the words tuiero? If that’s convenient for you…?’

‘I’ll make it so,’ he said

‘Thank you for your cooperation’ She could hardly breathe her heart was thundering so fast Talking over the phone was easy, but when Signor Ruggiero sa plain and boring she was in person…And when she saw Rome…

‘I look forward toyou,’ he said ‘You have a lovely voice, by the way’

A lovely voice…‘Thank you…’ Playboys were expected to flirt, and Signor Ruggiero couldn’t be expected to know that her voice had been reduced to husky ashes after a fire in her student lodgings She had been overjoyed in the hospital when she found out all her friends had escaped uninjured, and devastated to discover that after inhaling too ood to a croak Oddly enough, people who didn’t know her history found that husky sound attractive But that wasn’t her only legacy froh scars on her back to ensure no one would ever see her naked When her singing career had crashed to a close, she had set about forging a new life as a lawyer This was a life in the shadows rather than the spotlight, but she wasn’t interested in the spotlight; it was the music she missed

‘Signorina Bannister? Are you still there?’

‘I beg your pardon, Signor Ruggiero I just knocked so off my desk’

Or wished she had, Katie thought, staring at thepowerhouse of hard, tanned ner suit, stared back at her froiero couldn’t even be accused of having a sed on piratical, coht-dark, emerald eyes Add to that a shock of thick black hair and a jaw even firmer than her own—

‘You haven’t changed your , I hope?’

There was a faint edge of challenge to his voice that her body responded to with enthusias across the desk, she was about to send theto the floor when she paused The cynical curve of his e, but she had to adant voice And, as if there wasn’t enough perfection in his life, the ie showed hiirl so achingly lovely she looked like a doll rather than a living, breathing woman

It would be fine, Katie told herself, straightening up She could do this The trip to Rome was business and no one could distract her from that

‘I have a question for you, Signorina Bannister’

‘Yes?’ Tightening her grip on the phone, Katie realised she was still transfixed by the iirl’s unblemished skin

‘Why you?’ he rapped

This was no playboy, but asuch a young and inexperienced lawyer toher? Because she spoke fluent Italian, thanks to her opera training, Katie reasoned, because she was plain, safe and unattached, and, as the newest recruit to the fir work

Better not let on she was so junior ‘I’m the only solicitor in the firm who could spare the time to come to Rome—’

‘You’re not ood, then?’

‘Signor Ruggiero—’

‘Piano, piano, bella…’

Piano, bella? He was telling her to calht use with a lover

Italian was sexy, Katie ree itself had a lyrical iero to the mix—

‘So,’ he said, ‘I’ll see you in Rome tomorrow—sì?’

See him tomorrow…

He was quicksilver to her caution, one ht to be suspicious about her credentials She wasn’t a great lawyer She never would be a great lawyer because she didn’t have the hunger for it She sometimes wondered if the passion she’d felt for her operatic career would ever transfer to anything else But the firm she had worked for since she had retrained as a solicitor had been good to her when her life had gone up in flaround suited her

‘I’ll expect you tomorrow’

Tomorrow…

This was exactly what she’d asked for But since she’d suggested to away The whole idea was ridiculous How could she go to Ro part of the musical life, only as a second-rate lawyer to deal with one of the most acute minds around?

The only reason Katie could think of was hard, econo redundancies, thanks to the economic downturn, and as last into the firm she was most likely to be first out There was no question this trip to Roiero would add some much-needed colour to her CV

It made sense—well, to

everything except her self-confidence How could Katie Bannister, dressed by the cheapest store in town, the girl ouldn’t know a fashion must-have if she fell over it, meet with the world’sunscathed?

The plain and simple truth was, she had to

‘I’ll book a flight,’ she said, thinking out loud

‘I’d recommend it,’ the man in question interrupted dryly ‘Mail me with the details and I’ll make sure someone is at Fiumicino Airport to meet you—’

‘That’s very—’

Katie stared at the dead receiver in her hands How rude Or look at it another way, she persuaded herself; this was a challenge, and she was hardly a stranger to that

She had laughed when the other girls at the firm had insisted that Katie Bannister had hidden fire and would master the maverick playboy in less time than it took to say hold my briefs—irls in the office hadn’t spoken to him, a man so cold and heartless he could discuss a close relative’s bequest without so ret And end a conversation without any of the usual niceties Rigo Ruggiero was clearly an indulged and arrogant monster and the sooner her business with him was concluded the better she would like it

It was just a shareed

She’d cope with that too Palht schedules to Rome Could she make it there and back in one day? She would try her very best to do so

Having replaced the receiver in its nest, Rigo settled back in his leather swivel chair In spite of the unwelcoe Katie Bannister had delivered fro lawyer had made him smile