Page 257 of Modern Romance January 2025 5-8

He moved closer to Celeste, catching the scent of blackcurrant and vanilla just like he did on the plane. For the first time, he noticed the sprinkling of freckles on her cheeks. She looked up at him, her gaze never wavering from his, and he realised that he was seeing a different side to her. She wasn’t looking away. He had always known she was smart, but there was a confident, feisty woman that she kept hidden and now—just like the night before—she was trying to break free.

Closer. He kept drawing closer until his eyes dipped to her slightly parted lips and all he could think about was kissing her. How sweet would she taste? What sounds would she make for him? How soft were her pink lips?

How was it possible that he was only just realising how beautiful she was? It was like waking from a dream. How could he have missed something so glaringly obvious when it was in front of him this whole time? She had been working for him for two years, for heaven’s sake!

Exactly! She’s been working for you for two years! What are you doing?

What was he doing? She was his PA. The realisation was like being doused in ice-cold water, and he pulled away, shocked that he had almost kissed her again.

CHAPTER FIVE

CHARLOTTEWASSTUNNED. Paralysed in the moment. Watching Enzo.

One heartbeat.

Two heartbeats.

And then she was moving. Rushing away. She wrenched the door open, not even hearing when it hit the wall. And then she was running. Down one passage and then another. Damn this house! Why couldn’t she remember her way?

In her mind she saw Enzo yank himself away, a look of sudden realisation on his face. The same shock she was feeling now. They had almost kissed. Again. How could she have let this happen? She had been so adamant that she would keep her distance after what had happened on the terrace, but when he drew closer it was as if every thought had disappeared. Every reason that they shouldn’t kiss dissolved away into nothing. His presence burned through it all, leaving all her resistance nothing more than smoke on a breeze.

Her heart was still beating fast. Maybe it was panic, maybe it was because she was fleeing, but mostly it was because he had been so close. The way he looked at her, as if he saw her—the real her.Charlotte, and not her invented persona. And she wanted him. She wanted him to pull her into his arms and kiss her.

Why now? Why was she so attracted to Enzo? It must be this place. He had said she was safe here, but it was far more dangerous than anyone could have realised. It brought out his human side. It showed her his scars. No one was more surprised than her at how deeply it cut to see him hurt. But she couldn’t be around him right now. She couldn’t even blame the drink, because she had barely sipped at the grappa. This chemistry was all them, and it made her want to wail. How could life be so cruel? To have never been with a man, and then to have someone so close that she could never truly have. All because of her father and the groom he’d tried to force on her, a groom who couldn’t be even a fraction of the man that Enzo was.

There was safety in Enzo’s shadow, but Charlotte had to deny herself the man because the light shone far too brightly on him. That attention would be the end for her.

She paid no attention to where she went, hurriedly running down the stairs, looking over her shoulder as though she could see through the walls into Enzo’s office. Her foot hit the landing, and her body slammed into another.

Soft arms came around her, steadying them both.

‘Dio!’Isabella exclaimed. ‘Celeste! Are you all right?’

‘I’m sorry, I—I wasn’t watching where I was going.’ Charlotte had to fight to keep the panicked sob building in her throat from escaping. That would only draw questions from Isabella, and the less she said the better.

‘I was just going to Leoncino to give him this, but since you are here, you can take it.’

Charlotte swallowed hard, trying to control every impulse to flee, to run from this house, from Perlano, from Enzo. But where would she go? Travelling privately with him was one thing, but the moment she set foot in an airport, it wouldn’t be long before she was found.

‘Sure.’ She accepted the cream envelope. The stationery was very clearly expensive, and Enzo’s name was printed on the front in a highly stylised script. ‘Do you know who it’s from?’

‘A messenger brought it.’

Charlotte turned to go, but Isabella stopped her.

‘Are you certain that you are okay?’

Charlotte forced a smile and hoped it didn’t look as brittle as it felt. ‘Yeah, I am.’

Envelope in hand, she glanced up the stairs. Instead of going back, she turned on her heel and walked outside. She needed a moment. Just to collect herself.

Fanning herself with the letter, she found herself walking to the fountain. Water had always soothed her soul, so she decided to sit on the edge and enjoy the cool mist that rose up around it. It was such a glorious day. The early afternoon sun was high in the startlingly blue sky, casting barely any shadow. Charlotte wanted to rail at all of it. It should be dull and oppressively grey to match how she felt.

The surroundings were so beautiful that it was hard to picture a world outside it. But there was one. A cruel world that forced Charlotte into hiding. That stole the possibility of passion or companionship.

This fountain, the maze...it was such a beautiful love letter. How she wished she could have that kind of love in her life, but fate had other plans. Instead, she had to hide from an arranged marriage to an atrocious man and face a growing attraction to her untouchable boss.

Charlotte pushed off the fountain, moving away from the flow of the water she so enjoyed, to walk through the maze. She never liked the idea of getting deliberately misled; if the maze were taller, she doubted she would have gone in at all. But right now she would have liked tall walls to hide behind. The privacy would have given her a chance to pull her own walls back up, to rebuild the barrier between her and Enzo. So unlike his great-great-grandparents. With her low walls, no matter where the contessa wandered, her husband would have been able to see her. To reach her. Charlotte would never have that, with anyone.