DONNA ALWARD - Hired - The Italian's Bride

 “Kiss me, Mariella.”

Their gazes held for a second. Luca was waiting for her, she realised. He understood she’d been hurt and he was letting her make the first move. It was unexpected. She was used to him bossing her around. Now he was giving her the power, and it made him even more difficult to resist.

She leaned into his hand, tilted up her face, and with her heart in her throat touched her lips to his. The connection between them was so strong it rocked her core.

For the first time since leaving her old life behind she threw caution to the wind, wrapping her arms around his torso and pulling him closer.

The moment she did it, everything changed.

A busy wife and mother of three (two daughters and the family dog), Donna Alwardbelieves hers is the best job in the world: a combination of stay-at-home mum and romance novelist. An avid reader since childhood, Donna always made up her own stories. She completed her Arts Degree in English Literature in 1994, but it wasn’t until 2001 that she penned her first full-length novel and found herself hooked on writing romance. In 2006 she sold her first manuscript, and now writes warm, emotional stories for Harlequin Mills & Boon’s Romance line.

In her new home office in Nova Scotia, Donna loves being back on the east coast of Canada after nearly twelve years in Alberta, where her career began, writing about cowboys and the west. Donna’s debut Romance, HIRED BY THE COWBOY, was awarded the Booksellers Best Award in 2008 for Best Traditional Romance.

With the Atlantic Ocean only minutes from her doorstep, Donna has found a fresh take on life and promises even more great romances in the near future!

Donna loves to hear from readers. You can contact her through her website at www.donnaalward.com, or visit her myspace page at www.myspace.com/dalward.

Recent titles by the same author:

THE RANCHER’S RUNAWAY PRINCESS

FALLING FOR MR DARK & DANGEROUS

THE SOLDIER’S HOMECOMING

MARRIAGE AT CIRCLE M

HIRED BY THE COWBOY*

*Winner of the 2008 Booksellers Best Award

Dear Reader

For nearly twelve years I lived in Alberta, Canada, with my husband and children. My mum would come to visit us annually, and her visit always included a trip to the Rocky Mountains and, more often than not, lunch at the fabulously decadent Banff Springs Hotel. I always thought there was something magical about it. It’s perched at the pinnacle of town, a great stone castle looking up at Cascade Mountain and down the Bow River Valley. At Christmas there’s a replica of it made of gingerbread on display inside. The food is excellent, the atmosphere even better. When I thought of putting a heroine somewhere to reclaim her life, the townsite of Banff simply fitted the bill.

Of course I needed a hotel, and a to-die-for handsome hero. I found him in Italian Luca Fiori. Luca is heir to the Fiori hotel empire, and is sent to Banff to oversee the newest company acquisition, the Fiori Cascade. The Cascade is a place for relaxation, and rejuvenation, for a bit of decadence and specialness. Luca says it is to ‘remember the romance’.

As I write this letter, I’ve just returned home from a wedding…my mum’s wedding, after many years on her own. I couldn’t be happier that she has ‘remembered the romance’, and that she and her new husband ‘found’ each other. It just goes to show that there is always, always , room for love.

I’d love to hear from you… You can e-mail me at donna@donnaalward.com, or write to me in care of my publisher.

With my very best wishes

Donna

BY

DONNA ALWARD

www.millsandboon.co.uk

For Mum and Harold

CHAPTER ONE

“MS. ROSS? Mr. Fiori has arrived.

He was here.

“Thank you, Becky. Show him in.”

Mari ran a hand over her already smooth hair, trying hard not to resent a man she’d never met. Luca Fiori, golden son of the Fiori Resort empire. Rich, powerful, and according to her online research, a bit of a playboy.

Just what she—and the hotel—needed. Not.

She could just make out the sound of his voice, smooth and warm, coming from the reception area. The sound sent a flutter through her tummy. Becky would be bringing him back any moment. Perhaps she should go out to meet him. Yes, that would probably be the genial, professional thing to do. But her feet wouldn’t move. Instead she turned her head to both sides, assessing the office as if through a stranger’s eyes. Her new office, though she couldn’t help feeling a bit of an interloper. What Fiori needed to see was a woman confident in her new position. Even if she wasn’t, she had to give that appearance. She made sure everything was in its place. Not a speck of dust or scrap of paper. Everything had to be perfect. The only thing that revealed she’d even been there that morning was her mug, half-full of cold tea, a faint half-moon of lipstick marring the cream-colored ceramic.

Mari inhaled, then let it out slowly, trying to relax her shoulders. She carried all her tension there and right now they were sitting close to her ears, she was so nervous. She pushed them down and attempted a smile. She had to show him she was up to the job…the job she’d had for exactly two weeks and three days.

Seconds later Becky returned, extending a hand and showing Luca into the office.

All Mari’s practiced greetings flew out of her head.

“Mr. Fiori.”

The pictures didn’t do him justice, she realized, as her heart gave a definitive thud . He was taller than he seemed from the online pictures. He was wearing a suit, but with such a casual flair she wasn’t sure it actually could be called a suit at all. Black trousers and shoes and a white shirt, open at the collar, with a black jacket worn carelessly over top. The unbuttoned collar revealed a slice of tanned skin and she saw his hand tuck into his trouser pocket just before she lifted her eyes to his face.

She’d been caught assessing. His twinkling eyes told her so and the crooked, cocky smile confirmed it. Her cheeks flushed as her gaze skittered away.

“Ms. Ross, the acting manager, I presume?”

She wet her lips and pasted on a smile, trying hard to ignore the heat that blossomed anew in her face at the sound of his smooth, rich voice. She extended her hand. “Yes. Welcome to the Bow Valley Inn.”

“You mean the Fiori Cascade.”

Mari went cold. Of course. She’d received the memo about the name change and had simply forgotten it in her nervousness. She looked up at Luca’s mouth. He was smiling, at least, not angry with her for the slip.

She pulled her hand out of his, attempting to keep the polite turn of her lips in place. “Yes, of course. Old habits.” She gestured to a small seating area. “Come in and sit down. I’ll ask Becky for some refreshment.”

“Why don’t we go to the lounge, instead?” He raised one eyebrow at her. “I passed one as I came through the lobby. It’ll help give me a feel of the place. And the lounge will be much more intimate, don’t you think?”

Mari’s hand froze on the handset of the phone. This wasn’t what she’d planned. Her pulse drummed at the word “intimate.” She’d wanted coffee and the chef’s signature scones, followed by a brief presentation of what she considered the Inn’s finest points and some basic proposals for changes and upgrades. She’d spent hours getting it the way she wanted—flawless. And with an appropriate amount of distance between them.

“Is something wrong, Ms. Ross?”

She rubbed her lips together. “No, not at all.” Her voice came out thin and reedy and she cleared her throat, stretching her lips in a smile again. “Coffee in the Athabasca Room would be fine.” She’d simply have to remember what she’d put in her report and make her points as they went along.