Page 43 of On Her Terms

“I agree.”

He nods like he’s happy we concur on that. “Once you two are married and have a dozen kids, she’ll want to cut her hours.”

“That’s up to her,” I say and drive the narrow road until I’m in front of Raydolins. I park, and James doesn’t make a move to leave the vehicle.

He turns to me, his cloudy blue eyes serious. “You won’t hurt her, will you, Luca?” he asks, his voice low, troubled as he zeroes in on me.

For a minute I’m sure the man can see into my soul, see our lie. Does he know we’re pretending? If so, wouldn’t he call us out on that, or is he hoping something more will develop between us?

“I’d never purposely hurt her,” I say truthfully, and James nods his head and reaches for the door handle. I jump from the car and circle it to help him get inside. The front door of the hotel opens and the cool air-conditioning falls over us. I slow my pace to match his as we go to the elevator and take it to his suite.

He uses his key card to open the door and waves me away. “I’ll see you on the golf course tomorrow,” he says. “Don’t be late.”

I wait until he closes his door, and then I hurry back to my car. I drive the vehicle to the rental shop to return it, and then I jog back to the chalet. I let myself in, lock the door behind me, kick off my shoes and then quietly pad down the hall, not wanting to wake Brianna if she’s already fast asleep.

The light over the sink is on, giving me enough light to walk past the sofa and find her curled up in the bed. I peel my shirt off, kick off my pants and then lift the sheets to slide in next to her. A soft moan crawls out of her throat as I settle in behind her and wrap one arm around her to hold her to me. Being with her like this is definitely something I could get used to. While I’d like nothing more than to make love to her tonight, we both need sleep. I let my lids fall shut and when I open them again, Brianna’s side of the bed is empty.

I jackknife up and rub the blur from my eyes as I glance around. “Brianna?” I call out, my gaze going to the open bathroom door. I listen for a moment but the place is silent. What the hell? I kick the sheets off and that’s when I see her note.

Gone shopping with the girls before we hit the spa. You were sleeping so soundly, I didn’t want to wake you. Enjoy golfing with Granddad.

The note brings a smile to my face, but I still wish she had woken me up so I could at least have given her a good-morning kiss—and hopefully a little more—before she left. As I think about having her in my arms again, just holding her next to me, my heart beats a little faster.

I am in so much trouble here.

I throw my legs over the side of the bed and work to get my shit together. I take a couple of fueling breaths and check the time. After hurrying to the bathroom, I take a fast shower, pull on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, grab an apple from the fridge and then head outside. The warm morning sun beats down on me as I walk through the Alpine town and make my way to the golf course. I finish the apple by the time I get there, and find Tate and James loading their clubs into a cart.

“I need coffee,” I say. “Got up later than I meant to.”

Tate gives me a knowing look, but there is concern in his eyes. “Come on, let’s go get you some clubs, and we’ll grab a coffee in the lodge.”

I shove my hands into my pockets and we make our way inside. He keeps casting fast glances my way, like he’s got something on his mind.

“What?” I finally ask when we reach the rental counter.

“Have you talked to Bri? Told her you’re going back to Italy?”

“No.” Would it matter? Would she even care? She’s not talked about extending this pretend engagement past this week, and even if she wanted to, no way can I go back to New York and turn my back on my family and obligations. Torn between love and duty, I nod to the man behind the counter.

Wait!

Love?

I love Brianna?

“Clubs?” the man behind the rental counter asks.

I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Yeah, thanks,” I say and sign my name and room number on the sheet of paper he slides my way.

He comes around the counter and gives me a bag full of clubs, which I hike over my shoulder. As we leave and head to the restaurant inside the lodge, unease takes up residency in my gut.

“You’re falling for her,” Tate says, taking me by surprise.

“Look,” I begin. “I’m doing he

r a favor, and she isn’t looking for anything more. Even if she was...”

Tate puts his hand on my shoulder. “I think you two need to have a long talk.”

---