Dreaming Of... Italy: Daring to Trust the Boss / Reunited with Her Italian Ex / The Forbidden Prince

“Me?”

“Hey, Constanzo wanted you here. Maybe this is why.” Which was the reason he couldn’t put her on his plane and send her back to the accounting department in the Inferno corporate offices in New York. Constanzo might pretend to be an easygoing, open book, but like any clever businessman he had his secrets, his ways of reading people. He’d seen something in Olivia that made him want her here. Tucker wouldn’t argue that. He’d use it.

She sighed and eased herself back to her seat. “I agree about kicking your shin, but if I do, you should just shift gears.”

“Let me assure you, Miss Prentiss—” he paused and sighed “—Vivi, if you kick my shin, you had better have a plan.”

The rest of the drive passed in silence until an isolated farmhouse came into view. Not renovated as Constanzo’s had been, Antonio’s run-down house had seen better days. The manicured grounds of Constanzo’s estate were replaced by fields teaming with tall grass and wildflowers.

“Obviously, the guy doesn’t own a lawn mower.”

“Or he likes nature.”

Tucker sniffed a laugh.

“What would you rather paint? A mowed lawn or a field of wildflowers against a blue, blue sky.”

Cutting the engine, Tucker rolled his eyes and shoved open his door. Vivi quickly followed suit. Behind Tucker, she picked her way up the loose stone walk. When they reached the door, he knocked three times in rapid succession.

Inhaling a big breath of fresh air, he glanced around. It really was quiet, peaceful, beautiful. He supposed he could understand why an artist would choose to live here. Especially if he’d come to Italy to get to know his mother’s country, to meet his extended family, and still have privacy.

The wooden door swung open. A man about as tall as Constanzo, wearing jeans and no shirt stood before them. “Yeah?”

“I’m Tucker Engle and this is my assistant, Olivia Prentiss.”

Vivi reached forward and extended her hand. “It’s nice to meet you. You can call me Vivi.”

The man cautiously took her hand, his dark eyes narrowing.

“Are you Antonio Signorelli?”

“Yes. Who are you?”

Tucker said, “Can we come in a minute?”

He started closing the door. “Actually, I’m very busy. And I don’t have time for sales people.”

Wedging his shoe between the door and its frame, Tucker laughed. “We’re not sales people. We’re here representing—”

Olivia kicked him in the shin. He yelped and jumped back.

She smiled sweetly at Antonio. “We’re representing a private collector who’s interested in sponsoring a showing of the artwork of someone new and fresh.”

Antonio visibly relaxed. “Really?”

“Look how he’s dressed?” She angled her thumb at Tucker and he glanced down at his suit coat and green tie. Sure he was a bit overdressed for the country. But he was a businessman not a hippie.

“I’m okay.” She rolled her eyes dramatically. “But he’s obviously not a tourist and his clothes are too expensive for him to be a salesman. As I said, we represent a private collector.”

“And you want to show my work?”

Vivi stepped forward. “Well, we haven’t seen your work. Our client is an art patron, but he’s not a sap. Your work would have to meet certain standards.” She smiled. “We’d love to see it.”

As they waited for Antonio to take Vivi’s hint and let them in, Tucker scowled. She’d made fun of his clothes? Antonio had no shirt. Bare feet. Jeans that hung low on his hips. Sheesh. With his black curly hair tousled, the guy was a walking cologne ad. At least Tucker was fully covered.

Finally, Antonio opened the door wide enough for them to enter. “The place is a mess.”

Vivi put her hand on his forearm. “We’re not here to see the place. We’re here to see your work.” She glanced around. “I understand your primary venue is painting.”

“Yes.”

They entered a house desperately in need of updating. Lines in the plaster and a cracked window were the highlights of the room Antonio led them to. A half-finished painting sat on an easel. But many canvases leaned against the back wall.

The paintings lured Tucker into the room. Vivid colors and stark images dominated. He turned his head slightly and caught Antonio’s gaze.

“You have a unique way of looking at the world.”

Antonio laughed. “I had a unique upbringing.”

Tucker swung his gaze to Olivia. If ever there was an opening to tell him about his father, this was it. But she quickly shook her head.

He sucked back a sigh. She had better know what she was doing.

She turned to Antonio with a smile. “What was unique about your upbringing?”

He shrugged, walked to the stack of paintings where Tucker stood and flipped the first away from the second. “My mom died when I was young.” He took painting one and slid it aside so Tucker could more clearly see painting two. “I was raised in foster care.”

“So was I.” This time he didn’t look to Olivia for consent. This was Business Conversation 101. Identify with your client and have them identify with you. “Someone left me in a church.” He focused attention on the painting Antonio had bared for him. It was the proverbial field of wildflowers Vivi had talked about. Antonio had painted his backyard and it was stunning. He could almost feel the warmth of the sun, smell the flowers.

Antonio removed painting two, displaying painting three.

Olivia said, “So tell us more about yourself.”

“As I said, my mom died.” He slid it aside and stood beside Tucker again, patient, as if he’d had others view his work before and knew the drill. “I don’t know who my father is. But my mom was from around here. When I got old enough and had saved a few bucks, I came here to meet my relatives.” He laughed lightly. “And with landscapes like this to paint, you can see why I never left.”

Tucker reverently said, “I can.”

Olivia hung back. She didn’t have an artist’s eye, but she knew the paintings were good. Tucker, on the other hand, clearly thought they were magnificent. But it didn’t matter. Her brain had stalled on his quiet statement that he’d been left at a church, didn’t know his parents. Her heart broke a little bit picturing a tiny baby, wrapped in a blue blanket, alone for God knows how long in an empty church that had probably echoed with his cries.

But she forced herself to think about business. They’d opened a door for discussions about his parentage and one for displaying his work in a showing. She didn’t want to push too hard, too fast. It was time to go.

She stepped forward. “Mr. Engle will give you his cell phone number.” She smiled at Antonio, then Tucker. “And you can give us yours.” Antonio quickly tore a sheet from a drawing pad and scribbled his number before he handed it to Tucker. He tore off another sheet and offered it to Tucker to write his number too.

Instead Vivi’s boss pulled a business card from his jacket pocket.

“You’ll be hearing from us.”

Antonio beamed. “Great.”