Jilly’s face went pale and still, her jaw clenched, as if she were desperately holding back strong emotion. Shock and grief, Milly thought on a pang of painful sympathy, her fingers tightening around her twin’s.
Jilly dragged her hand away. ‘Then how did you find me? How did you meet up with that bastard?’ Her mouth twisted as she stubbed the cigarette out in an overflowing ashtray.
Milly, stunned, threw at her, ‘Is that all you can say? Don’t you feel anything? Don’t you care?’ She took a pace back. The sister she’d admired and loved all her life now seemed like a stranger.
Jilly shrugged. ‘It’s a lot to take in. ’Course I care, damn you! So don’t come the Holy Joe with me! Anyway, she didn’t have much to live for, did she?’
‘And whose fault was that?’ Milly wanted to strangle her! ‘At least she died firmly believing you’d one day make good the money you lost. She kept faith.’
‘Well, I did try,’ Jilly defended herself, for the first time looking uncomfortable, and Milly tipped a pile of underwear off a chair and sat down because her legs had started to shake beneath her. She had never said a harsh word to her twin in her life and now she couldn’t seem to stop.
‘How?’ she demanded, tight lipped. ‘By stealing it?’
‘What did you say?’ Jilly looked as though sibling strangling was a two way street.
Taking a deep breath, Milly told herself that they were getting nowhere by yelling at each other. As calmly as she could, she ran through the whole story, starting at the point where Cesare had mistaken her for Jilly and she had gone along with it, getting so caught up in the plot that she ended with, ‘He’s been really good about it. Those cheques you forged, I mean. He’s got the proof but he promised not to take it any further.’ Her eyes sparkled with tears. ‘Oh, Jilly—how could you do that? I’m really worried for you!’
‘The bastard’s got you well and truly hooked!’
‘What are you talking about?’ Milly looked into her twin’s eyes and shivered. Cold. Hard. Two flags of bright colour flamed angrily on her cheekbones.
‘I think you know. Or if you don’t you’re even dafter than I thought you were!’ Jilly took another cigarette, the wreathing plume of smoke making her eyes look mean and narrow. ‘Is that his ring you’re wearing? Has he got you into bed yet?’ Taking the violent flush that suffused her twin’s face as an affirmative, seeing the way she instinctively placed a protective hand over the huge emerald, she snapped. ‘I thought so. So cut the lecturing. Okay, so I helped myself to some of the old girl’s money. It’s not as if she’d miss it; the old bat’s loaded.’ Shooting off the bed, she paced the cluttered room then swung round, faced Milly and announced bitterly, ‘And after Cesare dumped me when I told him I was expecting his baby, I needed it!’
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
MILLY FELT THE blood drain from her face as wave after wave of dizziness made her sway where she sat. She clutched at the sides of the chair for support. This wasn’t happening. It could not be happening! She must have misheard.
‘You’re expecting Cesare’s child?’ Her voice sounded weak, threadlike, her eyes pleading, begging to hear a denial.
‘Was,’ Jilly corrected with a sigh. ‘I miscarried. I had a tough time with the early stages of the pregnancy—it was the reason I didn’t come home to England. Ma would have been devastated with the shame of having a daughter who had a baby without the benefit of a wedding ring on her finger—you know what she was like.’
Milly put her fingertips to her temples. The squalid room was tilting around her and her ears were buzzing. She had known this interview would be difficult. But not as bad as this, please, not as bad as this!
She flinched as Jilly put a hand on her shoulder, shaking her head violently as her twin asked, ‘Want a brandy or something, kid?’
Rebellion stirred. She wasn’t a kid! And Cesare wasn’t the type of man to turn his back on his own child. He was her future husband! She trusted him, didn’t she?
It was on the tip of her tongue to tell Jilly that she knew she had to be lying because Cesare had confessed that he found Jilly a total turn-off but, to spare her sister’s feelings, she kept her mouth shut. It would be bad enough for her to know she’d been branded a thief without the further humiliation of hearing that the gorgeous Cesare Saracino preferred the quieter twin over the sex-on-legs version.
‘We’re going to be married, I won’t believe anything bad of him!’ The words were out before she could stop them.
She cringed when her twin countered drily, ‘Yeah? ’Course you are. That’s what he led me to believe too.’
Jilly dragged a chair from under the table and settled at Milly’s side. ‘Listen kid, you’re in denial and I can’t blame you. But haven’t I always looked out for you?’
‘Like you did when you left me to pick up the pieces after you lost every penny Ma had and more? Not that I minded looking after her the best I could, but you could at least have phoned or written, told us where you were and what you were doing.’ Attack was the best form of defence, wasn’t it? Anything to change the subject, because she couldn’t bear to hear any more of Jilly’s lies. They were lies, weren’t they? They had to be! She tried to stand, to leave this hateful place, but her legs had turned to jelly and wouldn’t hold her upright. Miserably she sank back on the chair and let her twin’s words wash over her.
‘I had my reasons, okay? Listen, there I was working in an upmarket club in Florence when this fabulous guy walks in with another man. Every woman around was riveted. Well, he’s pretty hard to overlook. I think I fell for him there and then. I asked around and found he was the head of the Saracino empire. Next thing I knew he was advertising for a companion for his ancient grandmother. I was in there like a shot, and he hired me on the spot. I could tell he was interested. Well a girl can, can’t she? Well, things progressed. From what I gathered from the old woman, he was rarely home—flying here, there and everywhere on business—but he hung around because of me. And, give him his due, he’s a fantastic lover. Talk about insatiable! He vowed he loved me, all the usual guff, asked me to marry him.’ She snorted her contempt. ‘Even gave me a ring.’
Picking up Milly’s hand, she examined the emerald, her eyes narrowing with spite. ‘Yeah. Same one. I left it behind. I would have kept it and sold it and not had to dip my fingers into the old bat’s bank account out of desperation. But I had it valued. It’s a cheap fake. Like him! ’Course, I wasn’t supposed to wear it openly,’ she scorned. ‘He wanted to bring the old woman round slowly to the idea of his marrying a foreigner.’
Her jaw set, as if she were trying to keep emotion at bay. ‘If you still don’t believe me you could tackle him head on. He’ll deny it, of course. And if you ask the old woman for corroboration of the so-called engagement you’ll draw a blank. He made sure she knew nothing about it. And I fell for it. I was madly in love with him and believed every lying word he said. I even thought with him being so filthy rich he would give me a whopping allowance after we were married and I could begin to pay Ma back. But face it, kid, his kind doesn’t marry down. When he proposes and actually means it she’ll be upper crust and filthy rich.’
Milly stared at her twin with shattered eyes as the words dripped agonisingly into her mind like poison. She didn’t want to believe any of this but—
Had Cesare given her twin a chain too? To keep their fake engagement secret? He’d insisted that they keep their plans secret, hadn’t he? Using his grandmother as an excuse, the same excuse he’d given Jilly. In her twin’s case to give him time to talk the old lady round; in her own case he’d insisted that they wait to break the news until his grandmother was strong again.
It came to the same thing.
And why on earth would Jilly lie about the pregnancy? It made no kind of sense, she thought on a wave of nausea. Such a wicked fabrication would gain her absolutely nothing. It made far more sense to take everything she’d said as the truth.
Pregnant and dumped by th
e man she’d believed she would marry, she’d admitted she’d been desperate. And so she’d stolen what she’d thought she was owed. It didn’t excuse theft, nothing ever would, but it did explain it.
A wave of dizziness attacked her and Jilly’s voice came as if from far away, at the end of a long, echoing tunnel. ‘Listen kid. Take my advice and dump him before he dumps you. Salvage some pride, get out before he comes back—if he ever does. Go back home, where you belong. Look.’ She shot to her feet and crossed the room to pull a bundle of notes from beneath the scarlet-covered pillow. ‘I’ll even lend you the money for your fare back and call a cab to get you to the airport. So don’t say I don’t look out for you!’
Milly shook her head and forced herself to her feet, ignoring the proffered notes. Dragging in a deep breath, she straightened her slender shoulders. ‘We’re twins. Part of each other,’ she stressed, her lips feeling as if they had been carved out of wood. ‘Neither of us would knowingly do anything to harm the other. So do you swear that what you’ve said is the truth?’
‘You really doubt me?’ Green eyes rolled in expressive disbelief. ‘Would I have told you all that stuff if it wasn’t gospel, when it shows me up as a gullible idiot? Look, Milly…’ She attempted a hug but Milly stepped back, too close to breaking down to allow a sympathetic gesture that would have her falling to pieces. ‘Take my advice, get out before he makes a fool of you too.’
Milly turned, her spine ramrod stiff. Cesare had said he’d give her time alone with her twin. But would he still be waiting in the car knowing that Jilly would surely spill the beans? Or would he have instructed the driver to take off, leaving her stranded?
As she entered the narrow hallway she decided bleakly that she hoped he had taken off. Being stranded in a strange city surrounded by people who didn’t speak her language seemed preferable to seeing his handsome, devious, cruel face again.
The shock that had left her weak and shaky was replaced by searing anger. If she saw him again she would kill him! Beat him to a pulp just as he had taken her loving heart and ground it beneath his heels!
Blinded by rage, fuelled by a hurt that filled every inch of her with indescribable pain, she stepped out on to the hot pavement and collided with a wall of stunning Italian manhood.
Too stunning by half! Feeling those strong arms go round her, she pushed him away and, all dignity deserting her, she lifted her chin in wounded defiance and held his dark as night, devious eyes, dragged his ring off her finger, dropped it and yelled brokenly, ‘Put it back in the Christmas cracker!’
‘Cara—’ He reached for her but she leapt back, her voice choky as she informed him of her opinion of his character. ‘Don’t touch me, you—you despicable louse! I never want to see you again!’
And no way would she share that car with him! She’d find her own way back to the hotel on foot to collect her stuff, even if it took the rest of the day! She knew a brief flare of triumph as a youth on a skateboard bore down on the gap between them blocking Cesare’s way. She took the opportunity to scramble into the waiting car, not understanding the rapid flow of Italian Cesare directed at the driver, not caring either. She gabbled, ‘Back to the hotel, pronto!’ hoping the driver understood and more desperately hoping that Cesare wouldn’t climb in after her, then sank in a heap of misery against the leather upholstery as the car drew away and Cesare turned abruptly and entered her twin’s lodging place, his stride ominous, his shoulders rigid.
Stifling the urge to give way to wildly abandoned weeping kept her fully occupied as the car made its stately progress through the narrow streets and she was unsurprised when she was deposited outside the hotel they had used, where their luggage was waiting to be collected. The louse would have instructed the driver to bring her back here to collect her belongings then leave her, she realised, fuming, barely heeding the driver’s thickly accented, ‘You to wait. Capice?’ before, as predicted, he drove away, leaving her to find her own way back to England. Which was no punishment, she thought savagely, because that was precisely what she meant to do!
Her small face grim, she swept into the main reception area, adamantly dismissing the driver’s instructions to wait. What for? To hang around like a spare part that had no further use, just for the privilege of seeing the wretch one last time when he finally appeared to collect his own luggage. Not likely!
Thankfully, the chief receptionist spoke fluent English and was obliging enough to call a cab to take her to the airport, exchanging the small reserve of sterling in her purse for euros to enable her to pay the fare. Unfortunately, she would have to use her credit card to buy a ticket back to the UK. She would be in debt, jobless and homeless. But those problems were small change compared with the devastating pain of a shattered heart and savaged dreams, she thought wretchedly as she paid off the driver and made her way into the departures hall, hardly having the mental energy left to wonder if there would be a spare seat on the next flight back home which, so the obliging receptionist had informed her, was scheduled to leave in half an hour from now.
Cesare exited the hotel at speed and hurled himself back into the waiting chauffeur driven car and in moments they were heading for the airport.
She hadn’t waited. His jaw tightened. Had he expected her to? After the admissions he’d dragged from her twin, he acknowledged bitterly that waiting for him would be the last thing she could stomach.
The seven kilometre drive to the airport seemed to be taking for ever. Venting a savage expletive he leant forward to instruct the driver to break all speed records. According to the receptionist, the signorina was hoping to get a flight back to London. And that flight would be leaving in fifteen minutes!
He ground his strong white teeth in desperate frustration then subsided in black anxiety. Even if by some miracle the flight had been delayed and he caught up with her would he ever be able to regain her trust after what her sister had told her? By some unholy coincidence her lies would have struck a chord, ringing true to Milly. Even back when Nonna had insisted on hiring her, his instinct had told him that Jilly Lee was bad news. She was a thief, a liar, a self-centred taker. Her twin was a giver, a life enhancer. And he loved her more than life. His gut twisted.
He glanced at his watch and fisted his hands at his sides. They’d arrived at the airport environs just as her flight was taking off.
Frustration roared through him but, never one to give up, Cesare was already deciding his next course of action. His private jet was scheduled to take off for London in an hour. He wouldn’t be that far behind her. He had no means of knowing where she would go now that she’d vacated the flat. But he’d track down the friend whose wedding she’d attended and, through her, find the love of his life.
Simultaneously Cesare and the driver saw her. A slight figure standing outside the departures area. Cesare sent up a silent prayer of gratitude as the car slid to a rubber-burning halt.
She looked lost. He exited the car at speed, something twisting inside him as his eyes took in her lone, forlorn figure. His heart was bursting with a deep, protective love. He strode towards her, his heart thumping heavily in the cavity of his chest. Paces away, she lifted her bright head and he could swear he saw relief spark in the depths of her lovely sea-green eyes.
He wanted to fold his arms around her, hold her, never let her go. But the situation was too delicate for that. Regaining her trust was his absolute priority.
Her slight shoulders straightened. ‘I didn’t know if I would be able to find you.’ Relief flooded her voice. ‘By the time I got back to the hotel you might have already left.’
‘But I would have found you, cara mia. I would have searched the whole world for you.’
Milly searched his eyes, the force field of strong emotion emanating from him holding her spellbound. Her voice shook as she confided, ‘I meant to try to get back to England. But I just stood there like a prune because it hit me that if what Jilly said had been true you wouldn’t even have told me she’d been found, never mind
taking me there and giving me time alone with her because you would have known she would tell me—things.’ A flush of colour stole over her ashen cheeks.
Controlling the driven impetus to take her in his arms, rain kisses on her heartbreakingly lovely face, took some doing but he was rewarded when she stated with distress, ‘I threw your beautiful ring back at you, called you names. I—I lost faith. I didn’t even bother to ask you if what she’d told me was true—about you promising to marry her then ditching her when she told you she was carrying your child. I believed her as I always have. I’m so sorry.’
Her head bowed on the slender stalk of her neck and Cesare snatched in a deep ragged breath and gathered her in his arms regardless of interested onlookers who, being Italian, would probably start applauding any time now.
‘Per amor di Dio! You believe in me now; that is all that matters,’ he murmured, his lips tantalisingly close to hers now. ‘I made your sister admit to the lies she had told and I must admit that for a moment I was furious that you hadn’t trusted me over her! But my fabled common sense kicked in.’ A finger beneath her chin had her downcast eyes meeting his wry grin. ‘And it told me that her lies would have sounded convincing and that somewhere, away from me, you were feeling in shock, betrayed and hurting. It was unbearable for me!’ he claimed extravagantly. ‘And I swear on my life and on yours that I never so much as touched your wretched sister! But I think you have worked that out for yourself. That I want you to be my wife, that I truly love you, more than any words of mine can ever portray. Yes?’
‘Yes!’ Milly’s heart swelled with love, so much love she could barely contain it. Her hands rose, her fingers tangling in the soft dark hair at the nape of his neck and he brought his mouth down on hers with a passion that scorched her soul. She loved him so much and she had almost lost him.
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