Lee Wilkinson - Unwordly Secretary, Gorgeous Boss

Laura drank it all in—the beauty, the night and the man—and the startling realisation came to her that she longed for these stunning moments never to come to an end.

IT MADE sense that she was a widow. What else but a tragedy could have put that distant yet undeniable hurt in her pale grey eyes?

The following afternoon, watching Laura from the long windows of the office as she conversed on the lawn with the catering supervisor of the company they’d hired to provide the food and drink for the concert attendees, Fabian reflected on why he had held back on the proposition he had been going to put to her. Was two years long enough to get over the death of her husband and the cruel legacy of memory he must have left her with? Had she loved him, despite his cruelty? And had her experience coloured her view of all future possibilities of another relationship?

Last night had not been the time to quiz her on any of this. But, despite all his unanswered questions, it came to him that under the circumstances she might well welcome a partnership where there was no emotional expectation involved or required other than that she be a devoted mother and the kind of respectful wife whom not a breath of scandal would ever touch to shame him. In return Fabian could give Laura many things that would help make life good for her … a sense of security and stability, for one thing, and a guarantee that both she and their offspring would never want for anything. Would that be enough to persuade her to become his wife?

‘I can’t believe the concert is tomorrow night! It feels like everything is coming together at last—fingers crossed! And I’ve a feeling it’s going to be just wonderful!’

She breezed into the room, a clutch of papers in a see-through folder against her chest, her hair slightly tousled from the welcome breeze that had sprung up that morning. Fabian glanced up from the list of phone calls he had yet to make and spied a speck of white at the corner of her mouth. Getting to his feet, he wandered across to where she stood and inspected the mark more closely.

‘You appear to have some cream at the side of your mouth,’ he told her, and before Laura could do anything about it he reached towards her and smoothed it away with his fingers. Her eyes went round as dinner plates.

‘Maria gave me some cake a while ago. I should have checked in a mirror. I’ve been standing there talking to Signor Minetti from the catering company for the past twenty minutes!’

‘It was barely noticeable.’ Smiling, Fabian reflected that he liked her confusion, and the way she blushed so readily. But right then he had other, more important considerations to contemplate. His face turned suddenly serious. ‘We will take some time out,’ he announced, catching her by the elbow and guiding her back to where he’d been working. He nodded towards the padded seat on the other side of the desk that had been left there for visitors. ‘Sit down, Laura.’

‘Did I tell you that some of the stars from the opera are coming over this evening to rehearse?’ she asked him, still clutching the sheaf of papers against her emerald-green dress and clearly nervous.

‘Yes, you did … twice, as a matter of fact.’

‘Oh …’ She pursed her lips, then blew out a long breath. It made a silky strand of yellow hair dance across her cheek. ‘Maria is organising some refreshments afterwards, and they’d like you to join them. Did I tell you that?’

‘I believe I am fully up to date with what is happening this evening, so you do not need to worry.’

‘Good … I mean bene.’

‘Why don’t you just try and relax? You seem a little agitated today.’

‘I’m not agitated! Just excited, I suppose … about the concert tomorrow, I mean.’

Resting his elbows on the desk with a sigh, Fabian linked his hands together and studied Laura for several seconds before continuing. He told himself he could wait for the right time for ever, so what he had to say might as well be now.

‘So … there is another matter I wanted to discuss with you. But first let me ask you how you like the Villa de Rosa and being here in Tuscany?’

‘I like it very much. How could anyone not like such a place? It’s as close to paradise as I can think of!’

It threw Fabian for a minute, the sheer pleasure that her ready, artless smile conveyed. Of course her affirmation was somewhat at odds with his own feelings about the place he’d grown up in—the place that his father had turned into one of the most enviable houses in Italy and been so fiercely possessive of. So much so that he had actively resented passing it on to his son—but Laura did not know that.

‘Then it would not be in the realms of impossibility to imagine yourself living here?’

‘Are you offering me a permanent position working for you?’

The idea aroused mixed feelings in Laura, although the most prevalent one that she held deep inside her heart was elation. She’d so wanted to write a new, positive chapter to her life, and maybe this was the chance she’d been praying for? Fabian’s touch still lingered at the side of her mouth, where he’d wiped away the whipped cream Maria’s cake had left behind, and an awareness had slowly but surely taken root inside her that she more than liked this man. And that was where her doubts crept in about working for him …

‘No. That is not what I am offering you at all!’

His reply was surprisingly terse. Crushing disappointment poured ice water over the joy she’d felt.

‘I’m sorry … I didn’t mean to assume—’

‘There is no need to apologise. Let me not waste any more time getting to the point. I am suggesting a proposition that I would very much like you to give your serious consideration.’ He drew his hand across the black open-necked shirt he wore, briefly distracting her. ‘You asked me last night whether I wanted children. The answer is yes … of course. I need an heir, just like any other man in my position.’

Rubbing the furrow between his brows, he sighed as if he carried the cares of the world on his shoulders.

‘Perhaps now would be an appropriate time to tell you that I was also married when I was very young—to a girl I discovered after I had wed her did not confine her favours to her husband alone. Her behaviour brought shame on me, and made me realise that I had let my lust for her blind me to other less than desirable qualities of hers. Such a woman was not fit to be a mother, in my opinion, and I had no choice but to divorce her. Since then I have been too preoccupied with work and running this estate to enter into another serious relationship. But in order to have the heir that I wish for I obviously need a wife too. What I am proposing, Laura, is that you enter into a strictly business arrangement with me to achieve both those ends. In return you will lead a comfortable, prosperous life as the mistress of the Villa de Rosa and the mother of my child. You need not ever work again, if you do not wish to—although of course I will honour whatever decision you make in that area, as long as they reasonably fit in with my own.

‘You do not have to answer me straight away … you will no doubt wish to take the proper time to think things over before telling me what you have decided. I realise we have only known each other for just a short time, but in that time you have made quite an impression on me. I have learned that you are hard-working and talented, and clearly not motivated by money or fame. You have a quiet, relaxing presence and my staff—especially Maria—are already clearly fond of you. Add to that your obvious regard for children, and Carmela’s assurance that you are completely reliable … all these things together are enough to convince me that you and I would work very well together as a couple and make a success of such a marriage.’