Give a Little (10 page)

“No, it’s easy,” her sister said. “You have two choices. You could let this deal slip by you. What’s one deal? You have more money than half the city combined. You were named in the top ten most successful people in London.”

“I like to win.” More importantly, she liked Fraser
not
winning.

“But you of all people know that you can’t win everything. If this thing with Luca is disturbing you so badly, don’t go.”

“I have to go,” she said softly, hating that it was true on so many levels.

“I thought so.” Her sister’s smile was both knowing and sympathetic. She hugged Bea tight. “Then just go, love. It’s one week. Don’t you owe it to yourself to see what it could be like? What’s the worst that could happen? You two fizzle and all you get is an introduction to the auto company.”

That wasn’t the worst, by any means. “I suppose.”

“Remember when you told me I needed sex? Well, I’m saying that to you now.”

“It’s not the same situation at all,” she protested. “I had had sex more recently than you had.” It wasn’t important to say that it’d been with the devil himself.

“I think with Luca it’ll be a different experience.” Vi squeezed her. “Justify it however you like, but you have to go.”

“I hate that.”

“I know,” her sister said too cheerfully. “So does Luca, which is what makes all of this so much more entertaining. When do you go?”

“He wants me to meet him right away. Now, if he had his way.”

“Have you packed?”

She frowned. “I’m not even certain I’ve decided to go.”

“Love, you’d decided to go before you came to see me.” Vi rubbed her back. “You just needed assurances.”

“This is mad.” Shaking off her sister’s hand, she began to pace. “I have business to take care of. I shouldn’t be running off to another country with a man I barely know.”

“Really, Bea?” Vi raised her brow. “A man you barely know? I’d wager if you thought about it, you know more about him than you do Titania.”

“Yes, but Titania is an enigma.” Not to mention that she made a point to know everything about her sisters. Vi didn’t need to know that she knew that Luca drank beer at home and preferred crisp white linens on his bed, or that he had a scar low on his abdomen from a racing accident years ago.

Her sister huffed, obviously exasperated. “Do you know what I think?”

“Do I want to know?”

Vi ignored her. “I think you want to go. You want Luca, but you’re scared, and you want to go, so you’re asking for permission so you can blame someone else later.”

Bea arched her brow. “That’s some serious psychoanalysis.”

“But you aren’t denying it.” Vi grinned. “Look at it like a pleasant holiday with a lovely man, where at the end you hit a jackpot of gold.”

“Luca Fiorelli is many things, but lovely isn’t one of them.”

Her sister rolled her eyes. “Everyone knows you’re attracted to him. When are you going to admit it?”

“Being attracted to a person isn’t a reason to act on it.”

“No, but liking a person is.”

She didn’t want to like Luca. She leaned forward and kissed her sister’s cheek. “Thank you for your advice, even if it was awful.”

“It was only awful because you didn’t want to hear it.” She followed Bea to the door to unlock it. “Just have sex with Luca and get it out of the way. You two have all of us on edge. A couple times and you’ll likely get bored, right? And then we can all move on.”

She nodded, but sex with Luca would never get boring. She already knew that without a doubt.

Luca rang the doorbell of the South Street house and waited. Hopefully Fran would answer, or Sebastian, who he quite liked.

Instead, Lady Jacqueline opened the door.

Of course. Luca smiled without humor. Not that he didn’t like the Countess of Amberlin. Quite the contrary—he’d lay down his life for her and her daughters. It was just that she looked exactly how he imagined Beatrice would look in twenty years, and the fact that he wasn’t going to be privileged enough to witness it broke his heart.

“Luca, this is a lovely surprise.” Jacqueline took his arm and coaxed him inside.

If only her eldest daughter would look upon him so fondly. He tried not to frown. “I picked up Nico’s suit from the tailor, but I cannot find him, and I’m leaving town, so I thought I’d leave it here for Rosalind to take.”

“You’re leaving town? Before the wedding?” Jacqueline gazed at him with concern.

“I’ll be back before the ceremony,” he assured her. There was no reason to be here otherwise.

She studied him, shrewd knowing in her expression. She wound her arm through his. “I’m having a spot of tea with Sebastian. Would you care to join us?”

“I—”

“I would love for you to join us,” she said with a warm smile, drawing him inside.

What he’d give for Beatrice to smile at him that way. He tipped his head in assent, unable to say no to her.

“Good.” She led him down the hall to the study. “We haven’t seen you in a while.”

“Business has kept me busy,” he said simply, not wanting to tell her that her daughter had him twisted.

“Is it for business that you’re going out of town?”

“Partly.” They entered the study.

Sebastian stood up, hand extended and a welcoming smile lining his face. “Luca, you joining us for tea?”

“He had no choice,” Lady Jacqueline replied with a smile, as she poured a third cup of tea. Handing it to Luca, she kicked her shoes off and tucking her feet under her as she nestled into the couch with her own cup.

Luca shrugged at the other man. “It wasn’t a hardship.”

“Especially since Bea isn’t here,” Sebastian said with a knowing look as he retook his seat.

“Beatrice has made her feelings clear.” It pained him to say it, but he didn’t need someone in his life who couldn’t imagine a fate worse than spending a week with him. He sipped his tea, tolerating the burn of the heat as it went down his throat.

Sebastian shook his head. “For the record, Bea’s a fool.”

Jacqueline raised her brows.

“What?” The man shrugged. “I’ve said it to her face, and it’s clear that Luca likes her despite her flaws.”

“Her
many
flaws,” Luca clarified.

“You don’t have to tell me.” The man reached for a shortbread. “She’s a tough cookie, and she’s unrelenting.”

“But she has a warm heart for those she loves,” Luca said, frowning at his cup. He envied those people—he wanted to be one.

“And she’s smart and accomplished, not to mention beautiful,” Sebastian added. “But she’s uncompromising, and get on her bad side and you’re banished forever.”

Luca frowned. “I started on her bad side.”

Sebastian nodded. “You were doomed from the start.”

“Not that I’m not enjoying this analysis of my firstborn,” Jacqueline said with a wry smile, “but perhaps you two would find yourselves more in her graces if you approached her differently.”

Luca exchanged a look with the other man, and they both shook their heads at the same time. “Not a chance,” Sebastian said.

Jacqueline faced Luca. “Maybe when you come back from your trip—”

“I only come back for the wedding,” he said. “Then I return to Italy.”

Jacqueline pursed her lips. “But you’ll come back to London at some point.”

There was no reason to return. “I don’t think so. I have a new endeavor based there, and my family is there as well. There’s no reason for me to be in London. I’ll come back for Nico’s stag night and the wedding, and then …” He let the sentence trail in the air, because the thought that he wouldn’t return to London and Beatrice broke his heart.

Sebastian cleared his throat. “Since we’re talking about leaving, I should mention that I’m heading back to the states after the wedding.”

Jacqueline sat up. “What are you talking about?”

“I have something to take care of, and it’s time to go back to life, isn’t it?” The man smiled. “You should be happy to get me out of your hair. You admitted to me that you’d never had a fondness for the Amberlin earls.”

“Yes, but you’ve changed that, haven’t you?” She shook her head. “I can’t believe you’re both leaving.”

“You’re hardly spending time here these days,” Sebastian pointed out. He gave her a knowing look. “You should tell Declan that he only has a couple weeks left to ask me for your hand in person.”

Her face blushed delightfully, giving her a youthful glow. Jacqueline Summerhill was a beautiful woman, but since she’d found love she was stunning.

Luca wondered what Beatrice would look like in love.

He wondered if Beatrice was capable of love.

Frowning, he set his cup down and stood. “Sebastian, I’ll see you at Nico’s stag night, yes?”

“Wouldn’t miss it.” The man stood and shook his hand. “It’s like my last hoorah in London.”

“I’ll walk you out.” Jacqueline hooked her arm through his and led him out of the study and down the hall. Instead of letting him go when they reached the front entrance, she faced him, her gaze serious. “You can’t give up on her, Luca.”

“It’s not me who’s given up,” he replied with a small smile. Leaning to kiss the lady’s cheek, he let himself out into the London gloom.

Rowdy’s cell phone rang a block away from Jasmine’s house. He pulled out his phone from his pocket, smiling when he saw it was his mom. “Hey, Mom.”

“Gary Stimson, didn’t I tell you to text me a picture of your lady friend?”

He grinned, wondering how Jasmine would feel about being called a
lady friend
. “You did, and I didn’t. I’m a bad boy.”

“Humph.” His mother sniffed audibly for good measure. “What are you going to do about it?”

“I’ll take care of it right now,” he said, striding up her walkway. “Do you want to say hi to her?”

There was a pause on the other end. “No, that’d just be weird.”

Laughing, he hung up as Jasmine opened the door. She smiled inquisitively. “What’s funny?”

“My mom.” He activated his camera and held it up as he leaned toward Jasmine. “Say cheese.”

He took the selfie before she could really do anything and checked it out, figuring he’d have to do it again. But she looked happy, if a little startled, and he was always handsome, so he held it out for her approval. “Is it okay?”

“What are you doing with it?” she asked, leaning closer to look.

“Sending it to my mom.” At her raised brows, he shrugged. “She wanted to make sure you were as pretty as I am.”

She grinned. “Am I going to pass inspection?”

“Barely, but not many people are as blessed as I am.” He kissed her quickly, decided it was a good idea, and did it again slower. He hummed, twining his fingers in her hair and holding her close. “That’s nice,” he murmured against her lips.

“Hmm.” She lifted her head, her eyes half-masted and sexy. “We’re putting on a show for my neighbors.”

“Are they going to tell Daddy?”

She stepped aside so he could enter. “Does it matter?”

“I don’t know. Does it?” He watched her as he got out of his coat.

She shrugged. “Are you going to send that picture to your mother?”

“Oh, right.” Knowing she diverted him on purpose, he played along, texting the photo along with
Don’t hold it against her that she’s not as pretty as I am
.

His mom replied instantly:
If that’s what you think, you need a new mirror
.

Chuckling, he put his phone away and looked around her place. “Cool digs,” he said, poking his head into a front room that was colorful and a little disorganized.

“I thought we’d have dinner in a little while,” she said, watching him look at her things. Her fingers played with the side seam of her sweater. “I thought we’d have a glass of wine and chat for a bit.”

“Are you nervous?” he asked, surprised.

She pursed her lips. “A little. You can tell?”

“I’m a keen student of human nature.” He reared back with a sudden thought. “You don’t think I’d try anything against your will, do you?”

She gaped at him. Then she burst into laughter. “Rowdy, if there’s anyone who’s likely to try something, it’d be me.” Still laughing, she sashayed down the hall.

He stared after her, enchanted. Do not follow her, he told himself, steering himself into the first room to the right.

It was like the other room, colorful and crammed with stuff. The other room had had a lot of knickknacks and stuff—this room had stacks of books on every available surface.

He went to one pile and looked at the titles. Charles Dickens, James Patterson, Dorothy Dunnett, and Kate Perry. Recognizing the last author, he picked that book up and looked at the cover.

“Interested in romance, are you?” Jasmine asked, entering the room with a wine glass in each hand.

“I love romance.” He waved the book. “My buddy, Mac, likes this author a lot.”

She raised her brow as she set his glass on the table and sat on the couch. “Your friend reads romance novels?”

“He started when he was laid up in the hospital.” Rowdy brought the book and set it on the table before picking up his wine and sitting next to her. “If we get bored, I’ll read you the sexy scenes later.”

Her lips curved. “Are we going to get bored?”

“I doubt it, but it’s always good to have a plan.” He raised his glass. “Thank you for inviting me to your place for dinner.”

“I like to cook,” she said mildly as she touched her glass to his.

“You must have dinner parties a lot. Daddy bought you a nice place.”

Looking away, she swallowed her wine.

He frowned. “What?”

She began to fidget with the edge of her sweater again. He didn’t think she was going to reply when finally she said, “I bought this place.”

“Okay.” He shrugged.

“No, I mean I paid for it with my own money.” She faced him, her expression serious. “I don’t live off my father’s money. I got an inheritance he didn’t know about from my maternal grandmother when I was twenty. I found a real-life Midas to invest it for me. It’s not as though I slaved for my earnings, but at least I don’t have to rely on his money. My father thinks I do, but I donate everything he gives me to the literacy program I volunteer with.”