Her Italian Boss by Lynne Graham

Author:Lynne Graham
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2003-09-04T04:00:00+00:00

The last of Natalie’s co-workers had left an hour earlier, laughingly predicting how many valentine’s cards they would receive.

‘Are you doing anything special, Nat?’ asked the young woman who had just boasted that her boyfriend had booked them a table at a really swish restaurant—and was pretty sure he was going to propose.

‘I’m going to a wedding,’ Natalie explained.

‘How romantic, getting married on Valentine’s Day!’ someone exclaimed enviously.

Then someone else asked the question Natalie had hoped they wouldn’t.

‘Anyone we know, Nat?’

‘Mike, my ex-husband, is getting married to his girlfriend, Gabrielle Latimer…the actress.’

‘Your ex!’

‘Oh, God, she’s gorgeous!’ someone else breathed, only to be elbowed by the guy standing beside her.

‘Personally,’ someone else remarked, ‘I don’t think she’ll age well—now, if she had your cheekbones, Nat…’ Everyone looked at Natalie and nodded. ‘And I read the other day she’s had a boob job.’

Natalie smiled. She appreciated the loyal attempt to make her feel better but, like the others, she knew that when it came to looks she couldn’t even compete in the same league as the younger girl.

Natalie would have actually preferred to spend Valentine’s Day having root-canal work than attending the wedding of the century, but her daughter, Rose, who was to be a bridesmaid, had flatly refused to attend if Mummy wasn’t there, too.

At least Luke would be there for moral support.

With a sigh she set about reducing the pile of paper on the desk. When half an hour later Luke Oliver put his good-looking blond head around the partition that separated her from the rest of the large office she had made good inroads into the backlog.

‘You’re working late, Luke,’ she observed as the rest of his body followed suit.

‘I’m not the only one—after Brownie points?’ he teased lightly.

‘There wouldn’t be any point, would there?’ Natalie felt guilty when Luke looked embarrassed by her dry observation. ‘I’m making up for a late start,’ she admitted hurriedly. ‘Rose had another asthma attack last night.’ Natalie pinned an upbeat smile on her face as Luke’s good-looking face creased with sympathy. ‘Fortunately I managed to get her an early appointment at the doctor’s this morning, but they were running late and by the time I’d finally got her settled with Ruth it was almost eleven.’

‘How is she?’

‘She’s loads better this morning, thanks.’ Even so it had torn Natalie apart to leave her fragile-looking daughter. It was a guilt thing, of course. Rose had been more than happy to stay with Ruth, who doted on her and was more than capable to cope with any crisis.

‘So now you’re working twice as hard as everyone else to prove you don’t expect any special favours just because you’re a single mum,’ Luke suggested perceptively.

Natalie gave a rueful smile and rotated her head to relieve the tension in her neck and shoulders. ‘You know me so well, Luke.’

Luke’s glance dropped to the delicate, clear-cut features lifted to him—features made nonetheless attractive by dark smudges of fatigue under the wide-spaced, darkly lashed hazel eyes and lines of strain around the wide, softly curving lips.

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