Read Online The Italian's Blushing Gardener by Christina Hollis - Free Book Online

silence was almost as painful as piped music would have been. It gave her a long time to reflect on her foolishness. Finally, the receptionist returned, and Kira’s heart fell still further.
    ‘I’m sorry, Miss Banks, we have no record of a contract being issued in that name. Perhaps if you could give me a reference from the letter we sent you?’
    ‘No…no. It’s okay. I must have made a mistake,’ Kira muttered indistinctly. And not for the first time, she thought bitterly as she put down the receiver.
    Kira stared at the telephone for a long, long time. She felt totally deflated. In her daydreams, Stefano Albani couldn’t wait to get back to her side. He would have paid cash for the Bella Terra estate, simply so he could move in as soon as possible. Instead, he must have forgotten about her the moment he climbed back into his helicopter. He had turned out to be no different from any of the other rich men she had worked for. All of them could spin a fine yarn. They couldn’t make and hang onto big money without being able to charm investors. And women, she thought ruefully, touching her lips. Remembering the rasp of Stefano’s cheek against her skin sent a tingle coursing through her body. She smiled, recalling the wonderful experience of being held andkissed until her worries spun away. The man was a rat, but why had she expected anything else?
    She would cope. She had survived a worse disaster—and at least her brush with Stefano had happened in private. Her life was her own, and from now on that was how it would stay. She smiled sadly. Her single, unforgettable contact with him was a total one-off. It was destined never to happen again. I should have known that from the start, she told herself briskly.
    She tried to smile again, but it was impossible.
    Kira’s disappointment over the contract squashed all her fantasies flat. No one did anything for nothing. Mentally she shrugged her shoulders, but Stefano refused to be forgotten. He had set such an exciting fire into her soul. Long ago, life had taught her to expect nothing when it came to men. She knew in her bones Stefano could be no different, but it had been a lovely fantasy. Those sweet memories of him refused to leave her. Whether drifting through her dreams or sending shock waves through her day when she thought she glimpsed his familiar figure in the street, Stefano would not let her go.
    She was putting the finishing touches to a very chic project on the outskirts of Florence when her mobile rang.
    ‘Miss Kira Banks?’
    Kira couldn’t recognise either the woman’s voice, or the number that flashed up on her phone’s screen. The only people who used this number were clients. Instantly on her guard, she hesitated.
    ‘Who wants to know?’
    ‘I work for Signor Albani. We understand you are on the point of completing a project for Prince Alfonse.Signor Albani wants you to leave it and travel straight to his office. A car will pick you up in approximately—’
    ‘Wait a minute!’ Kira interrupted angrily. ‘When I rang your office to check about this, you didn’t even have any knowledge of a contract in my name!’
    ‘When was this?’
    ‘The day before yesterday.’
    ‘Then perhaps you were a little impatient, Miss Banks.’ The voice was cool.
    Kira was in no mood to be treated like an idiot.
    ‘If Signor Albani is clever enough to have found out where I’m working, then he ought to know better than to interrupt me when I’m busy. I don’t have time to waste on idle chit-chat with an unreliable man.’
    She heard a little gasp at the other end of the line. The voice became a shocked whisper.
    ‘Miss Banks, what are you saying? No one refuses Signor Albani!’
    ‘Well, I’m very sorry, but no one disappoints the person I’m currently working for, either. Especially not me,’ Kira said firmly. ‘And if you aren’t willing to tell him that, maybe you could put me through to Signor Albani, direct?’
    The woman wasn’t happy, but