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‘You look worried,’ he said, glancing across. ‘Do you want me to turn around?’
‘I’d be mad to let you, when this is such a good career move,’ she admitted frankly. ‘Your father’s collection is reputed to be second to none.’
‘When it comes to hoarding, he does have the edge,’ Luca agreed with irony.
‘If that’s all this trip is about—’
‘What else would it be about?’
His brief glance plumbed deep, and her heart raced in response. ‘I have no idea.’ But if Luca thought that because she didn’t have a fancy degree, or some proud family name, she wasn’t clued up when it came to tricky situations, he was wrong. She might be inexperienced, but she had worked at the club long enough to know trouble when it came looking for her.
‘I can still take you back,’ he offered, slowing the car as he prepared to take the slip road off the motorway. ‘I’ll just keep going around the roundabout until you make up your mind—’
‘My mind is made up.’ Having him think that she was indecisive and weak was the last thing she wanted, professionally, or personally. She would see this through, and with all flags flying. ‘I’m coming with you.’
‘Good. We’ll talk more on the plane,’ he promised.
She was counting on it.
Luca relaxed. She didn’t. How could she? Lyddie would have loved an adventure like this, Jen reminded herself. Her effervescent sister would have dived straight in, regardless of potential pitfalls. Jen had always been more circumspect in her approach, and had committed herself to something that still didn’t quite ring true. To add to her concerns, she’d indulged in plenty of fantasies involving journeys to exotic shores with handsome men, but in reality she hadn’t travelled out of London more than half a dozen times, and now she was going to Sicily with a man who was practically a stranger? It would be more of a tribute to Lyddie to seize this opportunity, rather than scuttle back to the auction house with her tail between her legs, she concluded. Plus, practical experience counted towards her degree, and it would never get better than this.
‘By the way, where is the Emperor’s Diamond?’
‘Safe in the cargo hold of my jet.’
She had entered a billionaire’s world, where anything and everything was possible, even spiriting away a priceless jewel into the hold of Luca’s jet.
‘I hope you’re not frowning because you’re worried about flying in the same jet as the cursed stone?’
‘I don’t believe in superstition,’ Jen said frankly. ‘I hope you don’t?’
‘I only deal in hard, cold facts,’ Luca assured her.
This forthright Jen was as attractive to him as the Jen he’d first seen in a bunny suit—almost, Luca allowed with amusement. He was like a youth with a hard-on. Each time he thought he’d got the measure of Jen, she proved he’d underestimated her. It would take quite a stretch to imagine his brother having an affair with Jen, which reassured his male pride. Raoul had liked everything just so, and Jen was a little too much off the wall for Raoul, as Luca’s brief glimpse into her colourful home had shown him. Quiet and circumspect at work, a glimpse into her private life had been enough to tell him that Jen was a homemaker, however individual that home might be. Like her off-duty dress sense, her style was quirky, and in a world of bland sameness he liked that. He liked her. She was refreshing. Jen didn’t follow trends, she set her own. But Raoul had liked everything easy, and Jen was hardly that. Sexually, she intrigued him. Was she as experienced as her assurance implied? His best guess was no. With her milky skin, red-gold hair and clear green eyes, she was certainly siren material, but Jen wasn’t even remotely self-conscious about her looks. She had an alluring innocence beneath her quirky shell, and she challenged him, when no one challenged him. He liked that too.
Having turned into the airfield, he headed for the jet, and drew up alongside the steps. It was only now that Jen the bold, the wary, the unpredictable, the woman who had won his brother’s trust when he had lost it, now hesitated with her knuckles turning white on the door handle.
‘My take on the Emperor’s Diamond is this,’ she said with a slight shake in her voice.
He guessed she was playing for time. ‘Go on,’ he prompted, settling back. They had a little time to play with before his take-off slot became non-negotiable.
‘I think it’s considered unlucky because those who own it have too much, and they still want more, but for all the wrong reasons.’
That was exactly what he had always thought. Amassing more and more wealth and treasures had been the only thing his father had cared for, and Luca had always believed his father’s coldness had hastened his mother’s death. Now he thought his father’s bitterness had grown over the years because he had loved Luca’s mother, but hadn’t known how to show it, and when he’d lost her his father had been lost too. Jen had made him think of things he hadn’t thought about for years, and when she stared at him now he felt that clear green stare like a dart that refused to settle for anything less than the truth. ‘It’s an interesting theory,’ he said.
‘It’s a fact,’ she argued. ‘There’s nothing wrong with the Emperor’s Diamond. It’s people’s lives that need adjusting. The gemstone is flawless and beautiful, and maybe some of those who come into contact with it are striving for that same perfection, but they’re bound to be disappointed, because life is always more complicated than that.’
He gave her a long, amused look. ‘Are you ready to go now you’ve got that off your chest?’
She gathered herself, and said, ‘Yes, I am.’
‘You’re really invested in the work you do,’ he observed as he helped her out of the car. ‘Passionate, some might say.’
‘They’d be right. I might not be fully qualified yet, but I’m good at what I do. It runs in the family. My mother was a highly respected gemologist, and I’ve been studying minerals and precious stones since I was old enough to read, and not because I had to, but because I wanted to.’
Just as she had determined to be the best when Lyddie died. The type of grief Jen had experienced, had demanded nothing less than positive action, otherwise she’d have given up, and that would have been an insult to her sister’s memory.
She turned to Luca at the foot of the steps. ‘When can I expect to return to the UK?’
‘As soon as you’ve finished your work.’
Jen stared up to where the flight attendant was waiting for them. This was the moment when she had to take a final step into the future, or turn around and go back.
The luxurious cabin was arranged like a comfortable living room. Jen would lack for nothing, Luca determined. The smoother her stay, the more chance he had of Jen opening up to him so he could understand his brother’s motives in leaving everything he possessed to her.
‘What about my clothes—props for the exhibition?’ she asked him as she gazed around her sumptuous surroundings, her eyes wide with wonder.
‘My people followed the instructions of your chairman where supplies for the exhibition are concerned,’ he reassured her, ‘but if you do need anything else, you only have to ask. You can use the phone in the arm rest of your seat to check the inventory with my PA.’ Reaching in front of her, he picked up the phone and punched in a number. ‘This puts you straight through to Shirley. She’s totally unflappable—’
She would need to be, Jen thought, if she was dealing with Luca on a daily basis. Shirley’s nerves would need to be armour-plated.
Luca held out the phone and she took hold of it, but he didn’t let go. For just a few moments cool plastic connected them, and the temptation to slide her hand just a little further until her fingertips touched his was all too real. As was leaning into his big, powerful body, instead of pulling away, as she should.
‘Don’t limit your request to things for the exhibition,’ Luca added as the phone line connected. ‘You can ask Shirley for anything you like.’
Could Shirley supply something to calm her heart when Luc
a was around?
Was it wrong to feel like this—breasts so heavy they felt super-sensitive each time Luca’s dark gaze landed on her face? It was a relief to hear the cool tones of his PA, which, just for a few moments, allowed her to concentrate on something other than Luca.
CHAPTER SIX
AS SOON AS they were airborne Luca dismissed the flight attendant and poured the coffee himself.
‘Somehow I imagined you flying the jet,’ Jen admitted as he settled down facing her in another of the hugely comfortable kidskin seats.
‘And normally I would be, but I’d rather talk to you.’
‘Really?’ Her heart fluttered as she took a sip of coffee.
‘Really.’ A smile hovered around Luca’s mouth. He settled back. ‘Tell me something about you, Jen. You said you and Raoul were drawn to each other...?’
‘Your brother was at the casino almost every day, so it was hard not to speak to him. I grew to like him a lot. I tried to tell him he should stay away, though it wasn’t any of my business. Not that I didn’t want to see him, but losing as Raoul did couldn’t have been good for anyone, no matter how wealthy they were.’
‘He didn’t listen to you?’
She shook her head.
‘I’m glad you tried. It’s a relief to know my brother had someone to talk to.’
Jen exhaled slowly as she thought back. ‘Raoul was worried, because he always lost so heavily. He started off by saying that one day his luck would change, but then I think he stopped believing. I told him it was a mug’s game, and begged him to take a break from the casino, but he said he couldn’t, because it had become all about seeing me. I knew that was an excuse, but still—’
‘Seeing you?’ Luca pressed, frowning.
‘Not like that,’ Jen exclaimed, guessing Luca thought she’d had an affair with his brother. ‘Because I understood him, but even so, I couldn’t help him.’
Lost in regret, she fell silent for a while. ‘Raoul still mourned his mother,’ she said at last. ‘You must too,’ she added softly. ‘Raoul said that’s why you threw yourself into your business. He said you couldn’t bear to stop working, because then grief overwhelmed you. He said it was the same with his gambling, and that if it hadn’t been for me—’
‘Yes?’ Luca prompted.
