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‘If you’re looking for a party, you’re at the wrong house,’ Vito told her loftily, recalling his friend’s warnings about how sneaky the paparazzi could be If he’d thought about that risk, he wouldn’t have answered the door at all

‘I’ for a phone Mine has no reception here and my car went off the road at the foot of your lane,’ Holly explained in a rush ‘Do you have a landline?’

Exasperation flashed through Vito, who had far too much sensitive infor it to anyone ‘This isn’t my house I’ll look and see,’ he fielded drily

As he turned on his heel without inviting her in out of the heavily falling snow, Holly grimaced and shivered because she wasn’t dressed for bad weather, having only thrown on a raincoat to cover her outfit because she had known she would be warht ruefully She had recognised the inetic eyes, watched the flare of his nostrils and the tightening of his wide, sculpted ood at reading faces, even gorgeous ones, she conceded, as she shifted her feet in a vain effort to heat the blood freezing in her veins She didn’t think she had ever seen a more handsome man, no, not even on a movie screen, but personality-wise she reckoned that there was a good chance that he was chillier than an icicle

‘There is a phone… You n accent edging every syllable in a very attractive way

Holly reddened with discomfiture, already well aware that she was not a welcoh numbers for Pixie’s car mechanic, Bill, who ran a breakdown service As she did so, shethe step in front of her and tripped over it, falling forith a force that would have knocked the breath fro arms snapped out to catch her before she fell

‘Watch out…’ Taken aback by a level of clumsiness utterly unknown to a male as surefooted as a cat, Vito virtually lifted her into the porch As her hair briefly brushed his face he was engulfed by the scent of oranges, sweet and sun-war her face below the lights that he registered that she was al! Why didn’t you tell me that?’

‘It’s enough of an i to the door—’

‘Yes, I would surely have been happier to trip over your frozen corpse on ly ‘You should’ve told me—’

‘You’ve got eyes of your own and an off-puttingpeople,’ Holly said truthfully while she frantically rubbed her hands over her raincoat in an effort to get soers before she tried

to work her phone again

Vito gazed down at her froht of six foot one He was be to be pleasant and when he could not recall when a woman had last offered hiement, Marzia had contrived not to speak a word of condemnation Either a woive a daht have slept with behind her back? It was a sobering thought

An off-putting ht him to maintain distance between hiift when it cae staff, none of whom dared to take liberties with their authoritarian CEO

Thoroughly irritated by the thoughts awakened by his visitor and that unfa ers and said firmly, ‘Go and warm up first by the fire and then make the call’

‘Are you sure you don’t mind?’