Lucio sunk into his chair and flipped through the files to the back where there were more pictures. As he stared at Amy’s face, he looked for familiar nuances. He remembered in flashes that she’d been so quiet as she’d watched him. How she’d avert her attention when Evie joined him. Could he marry a timid mouse? The thought left himcold.
If he didn't marry, he'd lose his family. The law was the law. And the truth was, his brothers were happy on a toss of a dime. Lucio didn’t expect love, though whoever he married, he'd demand loyalty from as well asgive.
Logically, cheating or keeping someone else in the background was too much work and he'd never harm the familyname.
He went back to the beginning and read the brief description for the fifth time. At least on file, Amy Fields was the perfect candidate. He picked up the phone to ready the private jet. If he married Amy, then her sister couldn't be anissue.
2
Lucio Aussa.Every time Amy Fields typed out his name on her laptop while at her desk in her office on the fifth floor of Whitehall and Fisk, her heart still skipped a beat. Yes, a decade had passed since high school, but her sister's teenage boyfriend had been the only person to ever make her dream of fairy tales where he might notice her. Lucio’s brooding smiles had never been meant forher.
She flexed her fingers and finished her rushed report on Avce and the royal family that had been urgently requested despite the premium price, pressing the printbutton.
Done with her assignment, she finished for the workday and now could plan her trip to the Highlands for her sister’s wedding to Michael, where she’d happily give the weddingtoast.
She looked outside at the gloomy, foggy day in London and put her jacket on. In seconds, she went from stylish in her black skirt with a white button-down shirt, accented with pearls, to matching the dreariness outside. She found her hat and put it on, completing the transformation into dull, then picked up her umbrella and headedoutside.
Amy couldn’t wait to get home, put the kettle on for tea and go through her Chinese take-out menu to order dinner. Fifteen minutes, max. She opened her umbrella, stepped off the threshold and onto the sidewalk full of people. An older man in a black trench coat, clear blue eyes that were like crystals, and a bowler hat bumped into her. She ignored it but he stayed too close. However, when he bumped her a second time, she turned and stared at the older gentleman. "May I helpyou?"
"Are you Amy Fields,ma'am?"
She stopped, not recognizing him though his clear blue eyes were almost haunting. Had the tap been meant to get her attention? Goosebumps rose on her skin and she positioned her umbrella against the downpour of rain. "Yes, may I helpyou?"
"Do you have the report on Avcecompleted?"
Her boss had promised it would be complete by 8 a.m. The client had ordered a comprehensive analyzation of the strengths and weaknesses of the royal family. "It's done." She nodded and pointed to her office building right behind them. At least she’d earned a hefty commission for this project, so she’d deal with the five-minute hassle. "Let's go back in, then. I thought you'd be here in themorning?"
"My superior wanted me to try and get your report for him to readtonight."
"One minute later, I'd have been gone." They went inside, his manner off-putting. What was his boss’s name? Why did he want the report? But that was not her business—she compiled information, studied it and was paid well for heropinion.
She brushed off the thought and pressed the elevator button. "Thisway."
The tenseness in every muscle made her stride brisk, but she ignored the sensation and walked the man into the outer chambers of her office where there was a row of chairs and a glass table with current magazines. "Waithere."
Inside her office, her heart raced as if she was in danger, but that was silly—the man in the bowler was leafing through Forbes. She took her manila folder and returned to the waiting room. "Here you are,sir."
He dropped the magazine and opened the file, saw her cover page and flipped through it. She kept her umbrella at her side, her hand tight on the grip as if it were asword.
"Very well, thank you, Ms. Fields." He tucked her file under his arm and walked out without holding the door or waiting forher.
She stilled and the sensation disappeared once the man went into the elevator and was out of sight. Her pulse returned to normal. She waited another few seconds and headed back out into the dreary evening. The fog made the world seemdarker.
Amy opened the door, head down, and walked right into a wall of muscled chest. Worried it was the man in the bowler hat, she swallowed a cry, stepped back into the foyer of the building and looked up at the man who was at least a foot taller than her. Her breath caught in her throat. Lucio Aussa still seemed larger thanlife.
"Amy Fields?" His rich tones were deeper and brought a chill of adultawareness.
She dropped her umbrella to the linoleum. She knelt down to pick it up, as did he. They almost bumped heads but she let him get her umbrella and he handed it back to her. "You're prettier than Iremember."
"You remember me?" She straightened, her legsshaky.
"You're Evie's little sister." He stoodtoo.
Right. Her stomach shouldn't flip. He had to get married soon, as the world knew, and her sister was the Fields girl he’d been interested in. It was too bad Evie intended to marry His Grace Michael Flynn, and be his duchess. Why was Lucio here, speaking to her right now? "That's right. My sister doesn't work with me oranything…"
"It's raining pretty heavily. Let me give you a ride." He opened the door, allowing a cool rush of airinside.
There was no reason her stomach should tense. His dark, shining hair curled over his ears and those dark brown eyes tempted her to swoon. Amy Fields never swooned. She lowered her head, her face hot with embarrassment. "I don't want to be a bother, YourHighness."
