The Billionaires' Club: Return of Her Italian Duke (The Billionaire’s Club) / Bound to Her Greek Billionaire (The Billionaire’s Club) / Whisked Away by Her Sicilian Boss (The Billionaire’s Club)

When she gave her mother the news, she’d tell her it was only for a three-month period. But she’d wait to tell her mamma anything until Mirella got back from her vacation. By then Gemma would have lined up another job so that when the three months were up, they’d leave Lombardi and the castello behind.

With a top recommendation, she would be set up to find a great restaurant in the South of France that would hire her. In time she could accrue enough savings to put down roots.

Gemma had dreamed of buying a little villa in Vence or Grasse with a garden and some fruit trees overlooking the Mediterranean. She’d won an award for her jam. Since her mother would be living with her, maybe they’d make their own and sell it locally. Anything could happen. Filippa had made her see that.

For now she would have to trust Vincenzo to keep their bargain. As she’d told her friend, she’d trusted Vincenzo in the past. It would be her own fault if she couldn’t remain strong and stay away from him.

* * *

Grateful for her friend’s advice, she woke up early the next morning and got busy house cleaning. When her mother and aunt returned from England, they’d find the place spotless. At four that afternoon, she left with her large suitcase and went down the steps to her car parked in the alley. It was best her cousin didn’t know where she was going until Gemma had told her mother everything first.

When she reached Sopri, she called on the padrona di casa and told her she would like to stay at the pensione for a three-month period because she’d be working at the new hotel. Would that be possible?

The older woman couldn’t have been more delighted and they settled on a good price. “You’ll be working for the duca. Any arrangement you want is fine.” On that note she let Gemma into the room she’d had before with a huge smile. Such was Vincenzo’s effect on every female, young or old.

Gemma got settled in and pulled out her laptop. She needed to send emails to London and Barcelona and thank them for setting up appointments with her. In her note she told them she was sorry but she’d found another position. If by any chance it didn’t work out at the castello, she wondered if they would allow her to reapply?

Once that was done, she got ready for bed and lay back against the pillows. Tomorrow morning she’d be meeting with Signor Donati at nine for the orientation meeting. The newly hired kitchen staff would also be present. Being part of a hotel, the restaurant would serve meals throughout the day and evening as well as provide room service. Such organization required a genius at the head.

Vincenzo.

Because he was the one who’d masterminded everything, he would always have input. She expected that. Naturally they’d see each other coming and going, much the same as they’d done ten years earlier. But this time everything would be different. In order to survive, she was forced to put on her armor and leave the sweet innocence of their youthful love in the past.

* * *

After confiding in Dimi the evening before, Vincenzo had worked through the night on his personal business affairs here in Italy. Establishing Nistri Technologies in the south of the country consumed a lot of his spare time, but that was good. He existed on coffee, trying not to think about what would happen if Gemma didn’t show up today. He hadn’t told the guys anything, not wanting to alarm them.

His cousin didn’t have great hopes where Gemma was concerned. She was an unknown entity at this point. Vincenzo didn’t like hearing Dimi’s opinion but appreciated that his was the voice of reason.

After a shower and shave, he put on a business suit and tie before leaving his tower room to go downstairs. His watch said it was ten to nine, and already the ballroom appeared full. But as he looked around, his worst nightmare was confirmed, because Gemma was nowhere in sight.

His fear that she’d left Florence and he’d never see her again came close to paralyzing him, but for the guys’ sake, he had to pull himself together. He’d wanted to hire security to keep an eye on her but had resisted the impulse. That’s what his father had done to him and Dimi. He knew Gemma had already accused him in her heart of being like his father. He didn’t dare make that mistake.

At their first break in the morning schedule, Vincenzo would take his partners aside and give them the bad news. While they ran the next segment without him, he would have to go to his office and contact their other applicants. If none of them were available, there was more work to do.

A blackness had descended on Vincenzo as he joined Takis in front of their awaiting audience. He was on the verge of asking him about Cesare when the Sicilian entered through the tall double doors. Gemma followed him in. At the first sight of her, Vincenzo’s heart kicked him in the ribs so hard he almost moaned aloud. Somehow she’d managed to put aside her hurt and anger enough to accept his proposition.

She’d come dressed in a fabulous peach-colored suit. It was a miracle he had any breath left. He couldn’t take his eyes off her as she found a chair on the end of a row halfway toward the front. Vincenzo was still in a state of shock when Takis stood up with the microphone in hand.

“Welcome, everyone! Take a look around. The success of the new Castello Supremo Hotel and Ristorante di Lombardi is in your hands. By the end of the day it’s our hope you’ll feel like family. It’s the only way our enterprise will work.”

Vincenzo had hoped everyone they’d hired would feel like family. After all the work he and his partners had done over the last six months, he couldn’t help but be proud of what they’d accomplished so far.

He was happy that he’d asked the guys to employ as many local staff as possible, especially those who hadn’t been able to find work lately. It was a way to give back to the community that had been harmed because his father and uncle had been such bad people.

For a long time he’d been worried that he’d involved his friends in a project that could have professional as well as personal repercussions if things didn’t go well. But Gemma’s appearance a minute go went a long way to help calm some of those fears. With both of them together again in the same room, he felt an odd sense of rightness.

“At your interviews, you were given a small history of the castello. For as long as you work here, guests will ask you repeatedly about this iconic hundred-years-old structure. As you’ve learned, it was the home of the first Duca di Lombardi of the house of Gagliardi in the eighteen hundreds.

“Today I’m honored to introduce one of the owners and chief operating officer for the estate, security and publicity, Vincenzo Nistri Gagliardi, seated on my right.”

A collective sound of surprise was followed by resounding applause that filled the room. With the media calling for information at this point, Vincenzo had given Takis permission to offer public disclosure of their three-owner enterprise. He’d felt it was time he embraced his name again. But there’d be no mention of the family title.

“I’m Takis Manolis, one of the owners and general manager of the hotel. On my left is Cesare Donati, the other owner and general manager for the restaurant.” More clapping ensued.

Takis finished talking and handed Vincenzo the mic.

Vincenzo only intended to say a few words that would put the floating rumors to rest. “Some of you may know this was my home for the first eighteen years of my life. Though I’ve spent the last ten years in New York City, my roots are here.”

The girl who made it my own private heaven is seated among you.

“My business partners and I hope this will become a desired destination for locals and tourists from around the globe. If we all work together, I know it will be a great success. Thank you.”

This time everyone got to their feet and kept clapping. He handed the mic to Cesare and sat down.

His friend took over the reins. When the noise subsided, he introduced their head chef, Monsieur Maurice Troudeau. Then he turned to Gemma.

“In the words of Schiaparelli, ‘a good cook is like a sorceress who dispenses happiness.’ That would describe the Italian desserts of our executive pastry chef, Gemma Bonucci Rizzo. Please stand, signorina.”

There was more applause.

Vincenzo’s pride in her accomplishments brought a lump to his throat. At the same time he couldn’t stop his eyes from fastening on the lines of her beautiful figure.

Cesare continued to introduce the entire kitchen staff that also included the sous chefs, dishwashers, and front of house staff. Takis followed by introducing the front desk group, the head of housekeeping and the laundry staff. Then it was Vincenzo’s turn once more to present the estate manager and gardeners. The security men made their own presentation.

After a ten-minute break, his partners met with the employees under them to get down to specifics on the job, including the hours they would work. That left Vincenzo to circulate.

He visited Takis’s group first and added a few words. Then he walked to the kitchen, where Cesare laid out the hours for each shift and their duties, which included room service and the dining room. Vincenzo refused to look at Gemma. After saying a few more words of greeting, he made certain he stayed on the far side of the room away from her.

Gemma and Maurice had been asked to make out a day’s worth of sample menus for the three meals they’d serve the day of the grand opening. Cesare looked them over before passing them to Vincenzo for his opinion. Since he didn’t want to give Gemma any fuel to leave and never come back, he took the menus and walked to his office.

After sitting at his desk for a few minutes, he realized that having to distance himself from her was going to be the hardest thing he would ever have to do in his life. The key was to focus on work.

He spent the next few minutes studying her dessert choices, including the rolls, breads, preserves and jams she’d suggested to accompany Maurice’s entrées and specialty dishes. They were both masters at what they did. He put his seal of approval on them.

But thoughts of Gemma made it impossible for him to stand his own company any longer. He walked to Cesare’s office to give him the menus. His friend wasn’t around. Vincenzo left them on his desk and went in search of Takis, who was still in the ballroom directing some of the newly hired staff to put the chairs away.

He waved. “Ehi, Vincenzo—all in all, I think it went well.”

“I agree.” But it would have been a disaster if Gemma hadn’t shown up.

“Want to have drinks on the east patio later?”

“Sounds good, but I’ll see. I have to run an errand, but I should be back soon.”

Vincenzo hurried out of the castello to his car, too restless to stay put. After getting behind the wheel, he took off and drove aimlessly. He had a hunch Gemma had spent last night at the same pensione as before. If he returned by way of Sopri later, he assumed he’d see her car parked in front. But much as he wanted to find out where she was staying, he didn’t dare.

Instead he ended up in the little village of Cisliano, only three miles from Sopri. He passed in front of the Rho Bistro. The owners had had the unique idea of waiting for all the customers to arrive. Then they started cooking the same menu for everyone and served it at one time.

Vincenzo had eaten there several times in his youth after a bike ride with Dimi, always being followed by a guard his father had hired. On his eighteenth birthday, he and Dimi had slipped away from their tutor and the guard. They’d arranged to meet Gemma and Bianca here.

He remembered that Friday as if it had been yesterday. Bianca’s mother had taken pity on him and his cousin. She’d dropped the girls off and come back for them two hours later without telling Gemma’s mother, who would have been upset.

The memory of that red-letter day had taken hold of him. Wanting to relive it, he decided to go in, but parking was difficult. He ended up driving around the corner to find a spot. For the moment all he cared about was soaking up those moments when he knew they’d been crazy in love with each other.

As usual, he discovered the noisy, unpretentious place was filled with summer customers at the dinner hour. There was one empty table in the corner partially separate from the others, probably available for any overflow. He grabbed it and was served coffee while everyone waited to be served.

CHAPTER FIVE

AFTER HER LAST meeting for the day, Gemma left the castello experiencing so many emotions, she didn’t know where to go with all her feelings. Cesare’s comments about her in front of the whole assembly had been very touching. She’d enjoyed the various sessions and had gotten on well with Maurice. But overriding everything was the realization that Vincenzo was back in Lombardi.

Along with his partners, they’d turned the castello into a hotel and restaurant that would definitely be the envy of other resorts in Italy. She’d felt the camaraderie among the people hired and had heard their praise for the new owners. The favorable whispers about Vincenzo would have pleased him.

Part of her had wanted to go to his office and thank him for this opportunity, but it was too difficult for her to be in such close proximity to him. She feared she wouldn’t be able to fight her attraction to him. But the other part of her would always struggle, because he hadn’t felt she was good enough to confide in before he’d disappeared. He’d created a deep wound that would never heal.

Where was the Vincenzo she would have done anything for? On his eighteenth birthday, she’d dared to eat a meal with him at a restaurant outside the castello, even knowing they could both get into terrible trouble.

Caught up in the memory, she drove to Cisliano and found a parking place at the end of the street near the Rho Bistro. She and Bianca had spent two divine hours here with Vincenzo and Dimi. The need to recapture that moment took her inside, but the place was packed. As she looked around, her gaze suddenly collided with a pair of silver eyes staring at her between black lashes.

Vincenzo—her heart knocked against her ribs. He was here?

She watched as he got to his feet and walked over to her. “It appears you and I had the same idea this evening. As you can see, the whole world is here. You’re welcome to join me at my table. I think I have the only free one left.”

Gemma couldn’t believe this had happened, but to turn him down would be churlish at this point.

“Thank you. I have to admit I’m starving.”

No sooner had he held a chair for her to sit down than the waiters started bringing the food. The menu included antipasto, risotto, sautéed mushrooms, roasted polenta and potatoes, with a dessert of limoncello and iced cookies.

After a few bites she said, “I had no idea you were here.”

“That works both ways.” He sipped his coffee. “Seeing you again has made me nostalgic for my happy past, and I found myself driving here. The meal we enjoyed on my birthday will always stand out in my mind.”

“Truthfully, I’ll never forget it, either,” she confessed. “On the way back to my flat, I decided to drive by and see if this place still existed. We were fed so much food, I didn’t think I would ever eat again.”

“You’re not the only one.”

“I was frightened someone from the castello would find out and word would get back to my mother. She would have grounded me forever.”

“Three weeks after my birthday, I was in New York, ending our one and only over-the-castello-wall experience.”

Over the wall was right! But Gemma didn’t want to think about the past and changed the subject.

“After the last meeting in the kitchen, Cesare told us to go home and get a good sleep before we report in the morning ready to dig in. I didn’t expect to see you here, but since we have bumped into each other, I’d like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to be the pastry chef. It is the chance of a lifetime.”

“If anyone should be doing the thanking, it’s me,” he came back unexpectedly. “When I saw you walk into the ballroom this morning, I was able to breathe again. Later in my office I started looking over the menus. You and Maurice stimulate the brilliance in each other. There’s no doubt in my mind the food at the Castello Supremo Ristorante will bring the world to our door.”

“Coming from you, that’s a great compliment.” But Gemma wished he’d stop being so...so nice and charming the way he’d been years ago, the way he’d been today during the orientation meeting.

He kept talking. “Cesare is the true expert. The light in his eyes after he’d studied the menus and handed them to me told me all I needed to know about how excited he is about our new chefs.” He drank more coffee.

“That’s very gratifying to hear.”

He flashed her a penetrating glance. “I can’t believe you aren’t married.”

She drank her limoncello too quickly and started coughing. Had he been hoping she’d found a man? Would it make him feel less guilty for disappearing from her life? Why not turn things around on him?

“What about you, Vincenzo? You’ve been in New York all this time. I don’t see a ring on your finger.”

His mouth tautened. “I’ve been too busy conducting business to think about getting married.”

No woman could resist him, so he couldn’t have suffered in that department. But there probably weren’t that many available princesses on the East Coast of the US to consider marrying. For that, he’d have to return to Europe. No doubt there’d been a short list compiled years ago for Vincenzo to consider.

She cleared her throat. “Labor-intensive work does have a way of interfering. Being an apprentice at the school hasn’t allowed me the time to consider marriage. They require nine to ten years from you. That doesn’t give you a spare moment to breathe.” Except for that one month with Paolo, which was a mistake.

“Understood. As long as we’re together, would you be willing to answer a question for me? Your last name is Rizzo, yet you used Bonucci on your application. Why?”

They were wading into dangerous waters now. “That’s a long story.”

“Is there some secret?”

Her eyes closed tightly. If he only knew.

“Bonucci is mother’s maiden name. When we moved to the apartment above my aunt’s bakery, Mamma told me to put Bonucci on my application. That way when I attended pastry school, it would be an easy identification with her family’s bakery.”

“Mirella was an intelligent woman and was always very kind to me and Dimi.”

Just hearing him say her mother’s name made her eyes smart. She nodded. “People love her. I love her terribly.”

“Gemma,” he murmured. “Don’t you know I’ve missed that old life more than you can imagine? I know she’s your whole world and you are hers. Interesting that after you left the castello, no one knew you as Gemma Rizzo. That’s why neither Dimi nor I could find you.”

Oh, no. She clenched her fists beneath the table. “Mamma would have done or said anything she could to—” Gemma stumbled “—to increase my chance to succeed.”

She knew by the flicker in his eyes that he’d caught her correction. Vincenzo was a shrewd, brilliant businessman, and she was afraid he wouldn’t let it go. “Your mamma got her wish. My colleagues have been praising your expertise.” Heat crept into her cheeks again, but this time anger wasn’t the culprit.

“That’s very nice to hear. Now I’ve got to go so I’ll be fresh for tomorrow.”

“Gemma,” he whispered. “What aren’t you telling me?”

The tone in his voice reminded her of the old Vincenzo. Slowly, steadily, he was breaking her down. His magic was getting to her. Damn, damn, damn. Her heart pounded so hard, she was certain he could hear it. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“You forget I’ve known you since you were four years old. When you’re nervous or afraid, your voice falters. You did it just now. You said that your mother would have done or said anything to...to what, Gemma? You left out something of vital importance. What was it?”

She felt sick inside. “You’re wrong.”

“Now your cheeks are red. They always fill with color when you’re not telling the truth.” He wouldn’t stop until he’d wrung it out of her.

Vincenzo, Vincenzo. “Mamma said I had to say my last name was Bonucci in order to...protect me.”

His handsome face darkened with forbidding lines. “From whom?”

“I—it was a long time ago and doesn’t matter.”

He let out an oath, and his brows formed a black bar above his eyes. “Did you get into trouble that night after you left my room? I still had to stay in bed the next day, so I didn’t see you.”

Gemma was thrown by the haunted sound in his voice. “No,” she answered honestly.

“Why don’t I believe you?”

“Vincenzo, I promise. After looking out the door that night, I snuck down the back staircase when I knew a guard wouldn’t be there. No one saw me.”

“Do you swear before God?” A vein stood out in his neck.

She sensed an unfathomable depth of anxiety here. It wasn’t something he could hide. “Why have you asked me that?”

His body tensed. “Because if I thought my father had been waiting in the hall and did anything to you...”

“No one saw me.” It was her turn to shudder at the degree of his concern. “I swear, nothing happened to me, Vincenzo.”

“Keep talking to me, Gemma. There’s still something else you haven’t told me.”

She stirred restlessly. Now was her chance to reveal every single cruel thing his father had done to her and her mother. But looking into his eyes and seeing the pain, she found she couldn’t.

“Did you get questioned after my father found out I’d gone missing?” he demanded.

Give him some of the truth so he’ll be satisfied.

“He and the police commissioner interrogated everyone at the castello, one at a time. No one knew anything about your disappearance. At that point they looked elsewhere for answers.”

“Grazie a Dio.”

She heard the tremendous relief in his voice, but by the way he was staring at her, she could tell he was far from finished with her, and she started to be afraid.

“When were you let go at the castello?”

Her pulse raced. “Does it matter? It’s all in the past.”

He shook his dark head. “Did it happen after my nonno died?”

“Yes,” she said quietly, because with that question Gemma realized he really didn’t know anything that had happened. Neither did Dimi, otherwise his cousin would have told him.

His sharp intake of breath was alarming. “You’re lying to me again.”

She jumped up from the chair. “I can’t do this anymore. Thank you for letting me eat with you. Now I have to leave.”

He looked up at her. “Where are you going?”

“Back to the pensione.”

“If you leave now, you’ll never know the true reason behind my sudden disappearance and why it had to be carried out in complete secrecy.”

Stunned by what he’d just said, Gemma clung to the back of the chair. The true reason?

“On the strength of the years you and I spent together as children and teenagers who fell in love, isn’t learning the whole truth worth something to you?”

“I thought you said you left to make your own fortune and name.”

“That was a by-product of the real reason I left, but I didn’t tell you the truth in order to spare you more grief. I can see now that I’ve been wrong to do that.”

Along with everything he was saying, his confession that he’d been in love with her a long time ago was almost too much to bear. Gemma couldn’t talk, couldn’t think.

“I don’t ever remember you running out of words before, so I’m following you home.” He put some bills on the table. “We need privacy because we’re not finished talking, but we can’t do it here. People are watching.”

“You made a promise.”

“I would have kept it, but you’ve just told me another lie. If you don’t want to work at the castello then I’ll have to live with it, but I need the truth from you first. Let’s go.”