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Keep reading for a bonus novella by Amanda Cinelli, CHRISTMAS AT THE CASTELLO!
‘THERE’S STILL SOMETHING MISSING.’
Dara stood poised at the top of the staircase, looking over the Winter Wonderland theme that had transformed the opulent grand ballroom below her. Her assistant, Mia, waited patiently by her side. The younger woman had long ago got used to her boss’s obsessive eye for detail. Devlin Events was about creating perfect Sicilian weddings for their high-profile clients. Over the past three years Dara had gained an army of the industry’s most talented people and put them onto her payroll, but she still liked to oversee the final run-throughs at their most prominent venues. There was no one in the industry who could spot the little things better than she. And right now something was off.
Sweeping yet another glance around the room, she mentally checked off twenty-five tables, each adorned with a glittering crystal tree centrepiece. The overall effect was like a winter forest, with white and blue lighting completing the wintry theme. Her bride, a famous opera singer, had expressly forbidden any real flower arrangements on the tables. She had instead ordered hundreds of spherical arrangements of fresh white and pink roses, to be suspended from the ceiling in intricately symmetrical clusters.
Dara counted across the floating flower bombs—as she had so lovingly named them. She got as far as the third row before she noticed the problem.
She sighed. ‘They’ve doubled up on the colours.’
Mia’s head snapped up. ‘Are you sure?’
‘Right over here.’
She walked down the marble staircase, the click of her heels echoing on the hard surface. She came to a stop underneath the offending decoration. It wasn’t a major issue, but it was damned irritating now she’d noticed it. Mia’s quiet voice came from behind her.
‘Should I fetch one of the guys from the ceremony room?’
Dara shook her head. ‘The wedding is due to start in two hours—the ceremony room is priority.’ She smoothed down the front of her sleek red pencil skirt, trying to focus on everything but the mismatched flowers above her. Her eyes drifted upwards again.
Mia laughed. ‘I’ll go and get somebody.’
She disappeared out through the door, leaving Dara alone in the glittering winter ballroom.
The rest of the room was perfect. Her team was talented, and very capable of doing most of the work unchaperoned. She could pick and choose which events to attend, leaving her plenty of time to travel with her jet-setting husband. But it had been three weeks since she and Leo had been together—his newest business expansion into Asia had kept him away much longer than usual.
The restlessness that had plagued her over the past months seemed to have intensified in the absence of her husband. Three weeks was the longest they had spent apart. She was unable to shake the feeling that something was wrong—or perhaps something was about to go wrong.
Their joint venture into charity work in Sicily kept her busy. The Valente Foundation was doing fantastic work in some of the most disadvantaged areas on the island. And with Christmas fast approaching there was lots of volunteer work to do. But, as busy as she kept herself, something still kept her wide awake at night and staring at the ceiling.
Making a snap decision, she grabbed a ladder from nearby and set it up, removing her heels in the process. She didn’t need to stand here waiting for a big strong man to fix the problem. There was no reason why she couldn’t do it herself.
She quickly reached the top, keeping both hands in front of her on the cold metal for balance. It was true: if you wanted a job done well, sometimes you had to do it yourself. She focused on the arrangement, unhooking it from its place and lowering it down. It was heavier than she had expected, and she gasped as the world unexpectedly tilted on its axis.
‘Dio, what is it with you and ladders?’ a deep voice shouted from below her as the ladder suddenly righted itself and she was entirely vertical again.
‘Leo.’ Her heart gave a sharp thump.
Her husband was looking up at her, his hands holding the metal ladder steady. Dara dropped the flower arrangement and cursed.
‘It’s nice to see you still haven’t lost your love of daring stunts, carina.’
Dara descended the ladder as quickly as she could manage and practically fell into her husband’s arms. The familiar smell of him surrounded her, making her sigh involuntarily.
‘Surprise...’ he whispered huskily against her neck.
His permanent five o’clock shadow brushed against her skin and she shivered. Oh, how she had missed those shivers.