Deserving of His Diamonds by ASUS Page A

she
    had sat here at this table and looked lovingly across the table at him. She had
    pictured their children one day joining them there, their little faces shining
    with good health and happiness and vigour. How far from her dreams and
    romantically infused imaginings had she travelled? There would be no
    happy family now. Not for her at least. Emilio seated her before he took his
    own place. ‗I‘ve been thinking about your business,‘ he said. ‗Do you
    outsource any of the needlework?‘ ‗No,‘ she said. ‗I do it all myself. I like
    working to commission. I think it gives the customer that sense of a personal
    touch.‘ He reached across to pour her some wine. ‗But you surely can‘t
    expect to keep up with demand if things were to take a sudden upswing?‘
    ‗I‘ve managed to keep ahead so far.‘

    ‗Yes, but that will change as soon as things take off over here,‘ he said.
    ‗How will you keep up then?‘ She bit her lip. ‗I‘ve brought some work with
    me …‘ ‗Gisele.‘ He sounded like a world-weary parent speaking to a naive
    child. ‗You can‘t expect to run things as you have done in the past. You‘ll
    have to consider outsourcing. You have no choice. You can hand-pick your
    needlewomen. You‘ll still have total control over the standard of your
    product.‘ She flashed him a defensive glare. ‗I know what I‘m doing. I‘m
    good at what I do. I love my work.‘ ‗The creative side of it is not the
    problem, cara,‘ he said. ‗I‘ve seen your needlework. It‘s exquisite. You are
    extremely talented. I‘m not saying you aren‘t. I‘m just saying you can‘t
    possibly do it all. You need to think about how to meet demands for more of
    your work, otherwise people will go elsewhere.‘ Gisele pressed her lips
    together before answering. ‗OK, I‘ll think about it.‘ He gave a sigh and
    reached for her hand across the table. ‗Look at me, cara,‘ he commanded
    gently. She met his gaze with resentment burning in hers. ‗I won‘t allow you
    to take over my life. I‘ve been doing perfectly fine without you. My shop is
    the busiest one on that stretch of the street.‘ ‗I know that,‘ he said. ‗You‘ve
    done amazingly well. I‘m just trying to help you do better, to maximise your
    profits. At least if things don‘t work out between us you will have a stronger
    base to go home to.‘

    Marietta came in with their meal and Emilio deftly steered the conversation
    into less contentious areas. Gisele made an effort to do the delicious food
    justice but being in Emilio‘s presence made her feel nervous and excited at
    the same time. He could be such charming company when he put his mind to
    it. She felt the intoxicating lure of it each time he looked at her with that
    sexy slant of a smile. His eyes took on a dark mesmerising heat as they held
    hers, the sensual promise in them making every hair on her body stand up
    and take notice. After Marietta had served coffee in the salone she
    announced she was leaving for home. ‗She doesn‘t live here like Concetta
    did?‘ Gisele asked once the housekeeper had left. ‗No,‘ Emilio said. ‗She
    has a husband and a couple of daughters who still live at home. She likes to
    spend the nights with them.‘ ‗So if she‘s not here at night then there should
    be no problem with me having my own room,‘ Gisele said. His expression
    tightened. ‗She is back first thing in the morning,‘ he said. ‗What are you
    going to do? Run along the hall and jump in beside me just for show?‘ She
    put her coffee cup down and rose to her feet agitatedly. The thought of
    jumping into bed with him for real was far too tempting. It was all she could
    think about. Her body burned with hot flames of need and there was nothing
    she could do to dampen them down. ‗Lots of couples don‘t sleep together,‘
    she said. ‗My parents didn‘t share a bed for most of their marriage.‘ He
    came over to where she was standing. ‗That is not how this