A wolf-whistle sounded in the hot still air and he swung round to see where it had come from. He saw her from the top of the steps. She was an exquisitely feminine vision in a mint skirt and a sleeveless top. His heartbeat steadied again. The kid who had whistled waved at him from the piazza and ran off laughing.
When she saw Cristiano crossing the piazza, her mouth ran dry. He was so very Italian, in his elegant, beautifully cut white shirt and cream chinos, and looked absolutely gorgeous with sunshine gilding his ebony hair and superb bone structure.
‘May 1 sit down’?’
‘Well, you’ve chased off the competition…that little boy will go far away.
‘ Litile boy knew you were already taken, gioia mia.’
Her sapphire-blue eyes glimmered. ‘ls that a fact’?’
‘l’m sorry 1 upset you,’ he breathed tautly. ‘But 1
thought it was really sweet that you had a photo of me at that age. 1 was honoured, and very touched.’
Her cheeks warmed, for his words still stung. He had probably guessed that she loved him. Why else would he be honoured and touched? A guy notorious for his lack of heart? Sweet! He felt sorry for her, didn’t he? Here she was, she had fallen like a ton of bricks for him before she even met him, and after all this time he was still the only man she had ever cared about! She decided that a change of subject would be her wisest move.
‘l’ve got something to tell you,’
she announced once the barman had poured their wine and returned to reading his newspaper in the sunshine.
‘It wasn’t me who took the charity money. It was my mum…’
Cristiano studied her with frowning force, not a muscle moving in his bold bronzed features. For a split second he closed his eyes, and then he released his breath in a slow ragged exhalation.
‘My stepfather, Dennis, left her with a lot of debt, and she borrowed from the charity account. Of course she didn’t think through the reality-that once she’d settled bills with the money she had no way of replacing it.’
His bronzed complexion had developed a pale cast.
‘But why didn’t you tell me this weeks ago’?’
‘1 would’ve told you eventually, but at the start 1 couldn’t imagine us being together even this long,’ she confessed.
‘1 didn’t really care what you thought of me either. I was worried sick about Mum. 1 only accepted your financial help when 1 realized that the police intended to track her down and question her’
Cristiano looked grave.
”You could have told me the truth.’
‘l didn’t actually think you would be that interested in whether or not 1 was guilty’
His lean powerful face tightened at that admission.
‘And 1 didn’t trust you,’ Lydia admitted ruefully.
‘How did I know how you would react?You might have gone and told all to the police just on principle. 1 kept it secret to protect my mother. And even now 1 feel bad about telling you. 1 don’t want you to think badly of her’
‘1 can’t imagine why 1 would do that,’
Cristiano murmured stonily, pushing his empty glass away.
”Why would 1 think badly of a woman who stole a quarter of a million from underprivileged children and left her daughter to face the music’?’
Lydia directed a look of reproach at him and watched him pay for the wine. They mounted the steps from the piazza together.
‘l’ve never been anything but bad luck for my mother, and 1 was more than willing to do whatever it took to help her when she needed me,’
she admitted tautly.
‘Atleast try to understand that it was my choice.’
‘lncluding making the ultimate sacrifice in my bed’?’ Cristiano vented an unamused laugh and raked a rough hand through his cropped black hair, his lean, vibrantly handsome face bleak.
‘When 1 said 1 owed you, a few weeks ago, 1 had no idea how much.’
”You don’t owe me anything. 1 chose to mislead you.
And if you find out where my mother is now, 1‘11 be forever grateful.’
”That’s the least of what 1 can do. Get in the Ferrari.
Arnaldo can bring the Lamborghini back.’
Lydia climbed into the passenger seat of his car. ‘Does it ever occur to you that, as sacrifices go, I’m a reasonably happy one’?’
Brooding dark golden eyes met hers levelly.
‘1 wanted you at any price, bella mia. Honour and decency didn’t come into it until it was too late to change anything.
The speed with which everything was happening continued to surprise Lydia. Cristiano was usually a cautious guy. Now he was suggesting that the engagement party be staged within a fortnight and the wedding date be set immediately. In a magnificent reception room in the palazzo, she agonised with immense enjoyment over a gorgeous choice of rings, before finally choosing a ravishing diamond cluster that she adored.
Lydia was so excited at the prospect of seeing her mother again and introducing Cristiano to her that she couldn’t settle during the flight. She flicked through magazines and picked at her lunch.
Cristiano was very quiet, and when she finally noticed that it bothered her.
‘ls there something the matter’?’ Lydia asked in the limo that picked them up at the airport.
‘1 think you may be in for a few surprises when you see our mother.’