Page 22 of A Night of Living Dangerously
âYou always work, donât you?â she said softly. âThatâs why youâre so successful.â Her gaze grew troubled as she hugged a pillow over her breasts. âMaybe if I were more like you, I wouldnât be such a screw-up.â
He frowned. âA screw-up?â he demanded. âWho said that?â
Her smile became sad. âNo one has to say it. I came to San Francisco to start my jewelry business, then chickened out.â She looked down at the bed. âIâm not brave like you.â
He sat down beside her. âThere are all kinds of bravery in the world, cara.â Reaching over, he lifted her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. âYou have an open heart. You trust people in a way I could not. And your jewelry is unique and beautiful. Like you,â he said huskily. Setting his jaw, he gave her a decisive nod. âYou will start your business when the time is right. I know it.â
Her large brown eyes looked up at him with almost painful hope. âYou do?â
âYes.â He dropped his hand. âI failed many times, in many different businesses, before I made my first fortune. Selling childrenâs plastic bracelets, of all things.â
; She gave an amazed laugh. âYou? Selling plastic bracelets? I donât believe it.â
He gave her a sudden grin. âItâs true. The trend exploded across America and I made my first million. I was determined to succeed. No matter how many times I failed, I wouldnât give up.â He stroked her hair. âYou are the same. You just donât know it yet.â
âYou think so?â she breathed, her eyes huge.
He nodded. âIf itâs important to you, youâll make it happen. Whatever it costs.â
âWhat made you so driven to succeed?â
His lips flattened. âWhen my father died, he left debts I had to repay. I dropped out of college and worked twenty hours a day.â He looked away. âI will never feel powerless again.â
âPowerless? But youâre a prince!â
âPrince of nothing,â he said harshly. âAn empty title I inherited from a fifteenth-century warlord. The men of my family have always been corrupt and weak.â
âBut not you.â Her clear eyes met his. âYou are the leader of Caetani Worldwide. You built a billion-dollar company from nothing. Everyone loves you,â she whispered.
He felt uncomfortable with the adoration he saw in her eyes. âIâm nothing special,â he said gruffly. âIf I can start a business, so can you. Start a business plan, work through the numbers.â
âThat might be hard, since I read letters and numbers in the wrong order.â
âDyslexia?â
She nodded.
âWhat is it like?â
âItâs different for different people. In my case the letters and numbers wonât stay put.â
He barked a laugh. âAnd youâre working in my file room?â
She gave him a sudden cheeky grin. âNow you understand why I was working late.â Her voice became wistful. âIâve never been really successful at anything except making jewelry. Maybe thatâs why my father thinks Iâm hopeless at taking care of myself. He threatened to disinherit me if I donât come back to Minnesota and marry one of his managers.â
âDisinherit you!â Alessandro pictured a hard-working farmer with a small plot of land in the bleak northern plains. âHe wanted you to marry a manager on his farm?â
Lilley blinked, frowning at him. âMy fatherâs not a farmer. Heâs a businessman.â
âAh,â Alessandro said. âHe owns a restaurant? Perhaps a laundromat?â
Her eyes slid away evasively. âUm. Something like that. My parents got divorced a few years ago, when my mother was sick. The day she died was the worst day of my life. I had to get away, so I found ⦠a job ⦠with a distant relative. My cousin.â
She stumbled strangely over the words, looking at him with an anxiety he couldnât understand.
âIâm sorry,â Alessandro said in a low voice. âMy mother died a few years ago, and my own relationship with my father was always complicated.â Complicated was an understatement. His father, Prince Luca Caetani, had married Alessandroâs mother for her money, then spent it on his mistresses. Heâd died when Alessandro was nineteen, leaving debts and an unknown number of bastards around the world. Alessandro was his fatherâs only legitimate child, the heir to the Caetani title and name, but every year some stranger came out of the woodwork, claiming blood ties and asking for a handout from the company Alessandro had built with his own two hands.