HELEN BROOKS - One Christmas Night In... - A Night in the Palace / A Christmas Night to Remember / Texas Tycoon's Christmas Fiancée

She turned and looked at him guiltily. ‘Would that be very ungrateful of me?’

Dmitri felt his displeasure evaporate as he saw the uncertainty in her expression. ‘Not at all,’ he assured her. ‘Except it would rob me of the pleasure of knowing that you are safe here, as well as comfortable.’

Her eyes widened. ‘It would?’

He looked down at her from beneath hooded lids. ‘Yes.’

Lily’s breath seemed to have caught in her throat somewhere and it refused to be budged. The lack of oxygen was making her feel slightly light-headed as she continued to gaze up into Dmitri’s pale green eyes. In fact, she wasn’t sure she could have looked away if her very life had depended on it!

Not good. So not good. Dangerous, in fact.

Dmitri’s only reason for being concerned about her welfare had to be because Felix wasn’t here with her as originally planned. Didn’t it?

‘I have some work to do at my office this afternoon, before we close for the Christmas holiday,’ Dmitri continued before Lily could repeat her wish to leave. ‘But I should like to return here at seven o’clock, if you would care to have dinner with me this evening?’

‘What?’ Lily just stared at him now, dumbstruck by his invitation and the possibility it opened up for her not to have to say goodbye to him just yet after all.

Dmitri smiled slightly. ‘I do not believe I have ever before had that reaction to a dinner invitation.’

Probably not, Lily conceded dazedly, but she also doubted that any of the other women Dmitri had invited out to dinner were sisters of a man his own sister had eloped with!

She shook her head. ‘You can’t really want to waste your evening having dinner with me.’

‘I would not consider it a waste of my evening.’ He frowned darkly.

‘I appreciate the offer, Dmitri—’

‘Do you?’

‘Yes. Yes, of course I do,’ Lily repeated firmly, in the face of his obvious scepticism. ‘But I’m sure you must have family—other than Claudia, of course …’

‘Of course.’ His mouth had firmed.

Lily nodded as she hastened on. ‘Family, then—or possibly friends that you would rather spend Christmas Eve with?’

Dmitri shrugged those incredibly wide shoulders. ‘I cannot think of any, no.’

‘But—’

‘Lily, it is, as you said, Christmas Eve, and I see no reason why either of us should spend it alone.’ Dmitri was too irritated to attempt to hide his emotion. With both Lily and himself. Her for her hesitation in accepting his invitation. Himself for having made the invitation at all …

It would have been so much easier to rid himself of all responsibility by leaving her at this hotel and going to spend several hours in his office, before returning home to continue his search and await news of Claudia and Felix.

Easier but not, as it now turned out, what Dmitri wished to do at all.

The covetous interest of those men downstairs in the hotel lobby earlier had seriously annoyed him. Men who would no doubt approach this beautiful woman with the stunning platinum coloured hair if she were to venture downstairs alone this evening. To invite her to join one of them for a drink, perhaps. Or maybe even dinner. Invitations that the now cautious Lily would no doubt refuse, but even so …

Better by far that she have dinner with him, thereby saving her from the awkwardness of having to make those refusals.

Better by far that Dmitri did not sit at home alone this evening tormenting himself with the image of her talking and laughing with any other man!

He straightened. ‘Obviously if you would prefer to be alone—’

‘I didn’t say that,’ Lily cut in quickly, over her shock now, and certain she would prefer to spend the evening with Dmitri than anyone else. And it was Christmas Eve … ‘But I haven’t agreed to stay at this hotel yet,’ she reminded him teasingly.

He quirked one dark brow. ‘But you will?’

‘Well … maybe for one night,’ she agreed reluctantly. ‘But only because I don’t want to delay you any longer by putting you to the trouble of finding a less … opulent one,’ she added firmly.

‘Of course,’ Dmitri said, secretly pleased at her capitulation. ‘Is seven o’clock agreeable to you?’

Lily smiled wryly. ‘I’m pretty sure I don’t have any other engagements this evening.’

‘Good.’ He nodded his satisfaction with her answer.

‘Will we be eating in the hotel or going out to eat?’ Lily was frantically trying to think what she had brought with her that was suitable to wear to have dinner with Dmitri—in or out of the hotel. Nothing very exciting, that was for sure; she had packed with the idea of spending all of her time with Felix, not going out to dinner with gorgeous titled Italians!

Dmitri gave it some thought. ‘I believe, as you have been in Roma for a day and a half now and seen nothing of the city, that we should go out to eat. In which case, I advise that you dress warmly.’

Which meant the little any-occasion black dress Lily had packed at the last minute, on the assumption that Felix would take her out to dinner one evening in order to introduce her to Dee, was out of the question. Or was it? Lily had also packed a warm red—very seasonal—woollen cardigan to wear over the top of it. Besides, so far in their acquaintance Dmitri had only ever seen her in jeans or tailored trousers. It would be nice if he were to realise she actually had legs. And not bad ones at that, according to some of the men she had previously dated.

Dated … ?

This evening with Dmitri wasn’t a date! He just felt sorry for her, being alone in Rome, that was all.

‘Until later, then, cara.’ Dmitri reached out to take one of her hands in his and lift it to his mouth. The firmness of his lips grazed the back of her knuckles, intent green eyes holding hers captive for several seconds before he released her and turned on his heel to go back inside the hotel room. The outer door closed softly behind him only seconds later.

While Lily remained standing on the balcony, no longer looking out at the spectacular scenery but down at her hand, where Dmitri’s lips had just touched her now tingling skin …

‘This is amazing!’ Lily savoured a spoonful of the sharp lemon-flavoured ice cream Dmitri had just purchased for her. In a tub. Because, the vendor had informed them, cones detracted from the flavour of his magnificent ice cream.

Dmitri inclined of his head. ‘I am pleased that you like it.’

Lily had enjoyed everything about this evening so far. The little restaurant where they had eaten dinner had been lovely, and Dmitri had been greeted warmly by name by the rotund proprietor. The company had been amazing and their conversation easy, the food absolutely delicious, and the red wine that accompanied it had brought a warm glow to Lily’s cheeks before they had stepped back out into the enchantment that was Rome on Christmas Eve.

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