and large ornate chandeliers, with a sizeable balcony overlooking the terracotta rooftops of the city.
Leo guided her through the living area to a set of floor-to-ceiling double doors. ‘Your room is through here. Your bag should have been brought up by now.’
‘Already?’ She raised her brows with surprise as he opened the double doors and, sure enough, her small black case was at the foot of the bed.
‘I expect efficiency wherever I go.’ He shrugged.
Dara took in the gigantic four-poster bed, draped with deep red velvet hangings and a gold-embroidered coverlet. It was the kind of bed that demanded lovemaking and romance. Too bad it would be getting neither tonight.
It suddenly dawned on her that in a few hours she would be posing as Leo Valente’s date. And sleeping under the same roof as him. The insane urge to run screaming from the building was tempting, but she stood her ground. Remember the goal here, Devlin. One white lie and the castello was hers.
‘We leave for the opera house at seven. Will you find something to wear in time?’
‘I once sourced seven bridesmaids’ dresses the day before a wedding I was planning. In mint green, might I add,’ she professed proudly.
He didn’t respond with his usual snark, instead taking a quick look at the screen of his phone. ‘I have some business to attend to, but feel free to indulge yourself. Shoes, jewellery. Whatever you desire.’
He took a sleek silver card from his wallet and held it out to her.
‘I can pay for my own clothes, but I appreciate the gesture.’ She pushed the card back towards him.
Leo scowled at her. ‘Fine. I will have the car collect us at seven.’
He left, closing the doors of the bedroom behind him.
Dara wondered at the change in his playful demeanour. Perhaps he was edgy about the significance of tonight.
She would need to get a start on shopping, but first things first... She kicked off her shoes and threw herself back onto the bed with a contented sigh of appreciation. It was like sinking into a cloud. She briefly imagined what it might be like not to be alone in this bed. To have a warm body next to her, touching her in all the right places.
What on earth was happening to her? She was going to have to keep her guard up around him. Her usually controlled libido seemed to be coming out of its enforced hibernation.
He wasn’t even her usual type.
She thought of her ex-fiancé and his neat brown hair, his perfectly ironed shirts and slacks. Dan would never have looked at her the way Leo did. As though she was the most attractive woman in the room. Even before he’d found out she was as barren as the desert.
The ugly phrase jarred her momentarily. It was the phrase she had heard Daniel use to her father in a conversation she had never been meant to hear.
Thoughts of her past pressed through her control, filling her chest with emotion. The news that she would never have children had shaken her to her core. She had always prided herself on not being needy in her relationships, unlike most of her girlfriends. Dan was the only man she had ever slept with. Their sex life had been nothing spectacular, but she’d told herself that their mental connection was worth much more than the lack of wow factor in the bedroom. Apparently he hadn’t felt the same.
Dara shook off the irritation that always followed thoughts about their break-up. Moving to stand in front of the floor-length mirror by the bed, she frowned at her reflection. She wasn’t sexy—she knew that. But once upon a time she had felt moderately attractive...she had accepted male attention graciously.
She was by no means vain. She knew that she had a slim figure and long legs, but her features were plain and her chest far too small. Why a man like Leo would ever be attracted to her, she didn’t know. Perhaps it was the simple fact that she had made it clear that nothing would happen between them.
But the problem was the longer they were together, the more she wanted something to happen.
She walked away from the mirror, trying her best not to groan. What was it about this man that made her second guess herself? Leo Valente was trouble with a capital T, and she needed to keep her own attraction under control if she had any hope of keeping his at bay.
* * *
Leo grabbed two flutes of champagne from a passing waiter and returned to his seat in the private box.
He’d seen that Dara had taken out her phone and was busily tapping away.
‘The tech-junkie look isn’t exactly what I want in a date,’ he scolded.
‘Just give me a minute and I’ll be done.’ She tapped a few more times on the screen.
‘You’re on my time tonight, Dara.’ He took the phone swiftly from her grasp, putting it in his inner pocket. ‘You can have it back after the opera if you behave.’
She stared at him. ‘That is a very high-handed approach to regaining my attention.’
‘You don’t find it charming?’ He placed a flute of champagne in her hand.
‘Not even a little bit.’ She straightened, sipping her champagne and looking pointedly away from him down towards the crowds swarming below them in the theatre.
Leo felt more than a little irked at her dismissal. He had spent all afternoon on conference calls so he could free up some time. Only to be coolly ignored by her from the moment he’d collected her from the palazzo.
She looked spectacular, with her blonde hair swept back from her face in a neat chignon, revealing delicate diamond-drop earrings. Her gown was elegant and refined—a swathe of pale silver that formed a seductive heart shape at the front, showing just enough skin to leave a little mystery.
He moved closer to her, speaking quietly. ‘I would imagine you prefer a very docile man. One you can organise and control, perhaps?’
‘I don’t really have a preference.’ She shrugged one delicate shoulder. ‘I have a very busy career that fulfils me. Dating is not high on my agenda.’
‘Again with the agenda, Dara? You seem to have it all figured out into neat little boxes. It sounds so perfectly perfect.’
‘You’re mocking me, but there is a lot to be said for having a plan.’
‘When building a nightclub empire, definitely. But everything else is free fall to me. I enjoy surprises. If it weren’t for surprises we wouldn’t be here tonight.’
‘Back to the point: when will I be expected to sidetrack the Lucchesi’s?’
‘Not until the first interlude. Follow my lead and don’t go off script.’
Dara fought the urge to make a snappy retort, instead relaxing as the music started up. The ancient opera house was beautiful, with its iconic gold architecture and deep red velvet curtains. She had promised herself years ago that she would see a show at the Teatro Massimo—it was on her list of tourist-type things to do while she was living here. A list that she never seemed to get to with her workload...
As the curtain came down for the first interlude she felt butterflies in her stomach. Leo gestured for her to follow him out into the crowd mingling outside the doorway. This was it. The moment of truth. He laid one hand at the small of her back as they walked down the corridors towards the royal box, where the Lucchesi family was seated. The heat from his palm seared into her skin, making those butterflies flap even faster.
A group of people were gathered around the entrance, talking loudly about the performance. One woman stood out, her opulent diamond jewellery outshone only by what had to be the most eye-blurringly white fur stole that Dara had ever seen.
Leo caught Dara’s eye, gesturing for her to step forward and intercept the woman’s attention.
Dara