Da Silva's Mistress

by Tina Duncan

  But if she’d had any doubts that she’d made the right choice, then listening in on Luca’s conversation with Stefania had erased them.

  Her decision had already paid off.

  She now knew Joseph was suffering from high blood pressure and had had a heart attack. She had also learned the prognosis was good, although a second opinion was being sought.

  Luca handed her into the same big dark car that had collected her the previous day.

  Gino was behind the wheel.

  ‘Good afternoon, Gino,’ Morgan said.

  His head turned so that his eyes met hers in the rear vision mirror. ‘Good afternoon, Ms Marshall,’ he said, putting the car in gear and pulling smoothly into traffic.

  Her jaw dropped halfway to the ground when she realised he’d spoken in almost perfect English, burred only slightly with an Italian accent.

  ‘You speak English,’ she accused the back of his head.

  ‘Yes,’ he said, nodding.

  Heat rushed into her cheeks as she remembered what she’d said about him the previous day. ‘Gino…’

  He glanced in the mirror. ‘Yes, Ms Marshall?’

  ‘What I said yesterday…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it,’ she said awkwardly.

  He shrugged. ‘Don’t worry about it. I’ve been called worse.’

  ‘Still, I shouldn’t have said it.’

  ‘Forget it. I have.’

  She turned and found Luca staring at her with an odd expression on his face. ‘What?’ she asked.

  He was studying her hard, as if she were a particularly interesting insect. ‘Most people treat Gino as if he’s invisible.’

  She folded her hands in her lap. ‘Then they’re not very polite.’

  As they drove through the busy London streets Morgan was very aware of Luca sitting beside her. The clean male smell of him mixed with the fragrant aroma of the leather seats. Every time they turned a corner his thigh brushed hers and a shot of electricity fired through her system. By the time Gino pulled into the zoo car park she could hardly wait to get out.

  Several hours later, Morgan tugged on Luca’s shirtsleeve. ‘Come on, Luca. You can’t stand here watching Spike all day.’

  Spike was the leader of the pack of lions at London Zoo. Luca had taken one look and had been captivated. They’d been watching the big cats’ antics for well over an hour now.

  Well, if she were honest, Luca had been watching the lions and she had been watching him.

  Staring at his profile.

  Watching the flash of his smile when Spike did something he liked.

  For the last five minutes, however, she’d been looking backwards and forwards between them. It had been a sobering moment when she’d realised just how much they had in common.

  Strength.

  Pride.

  And a steely determination to protect their own.

  Much to her shame, Morgan realised that not once—until now—had she looked at their situation from Luca’s point of view. She’d been so concerned about her own position—and Joseph’s—that she hadn’t given a thought to how their relationship must look to Luca.

  It was public knowledge that Luca and his sister were close. And Joseph had told her just how protective Luca was of Stefania—to the point of being over-protective. She’d also heard it for herself when she’d listened to Luca’s end of his telephone conversation with Stefania.

  Luca thought she was some husband-stealing trollop trying to break up his sister’s marriage. Of course he was going to do something about it; he wasn’t the kind of man to sit back and do nothing.

  And when it came right down to it, she’d have thought less of him if he’d ignored the situation.

  But it was the way he’d chosen to defend Stefania that bothered her.

  Coming after her the way he had was wrong.

  Forcing her to be his mistress was wrong.

  ‘I can’t believe you’ve never been to London Zoo,’ she said, pushing her thoughts aside.

  ‘Well, I haven’t. I never had the time. Stefania and I moved to London when I was eighteen. I was too busy studying and working and looking after her.’

  ‘You moved here when you were eighteen?’

  He nodded. ‘Not long after our parents died.’

  ‘I’m sorry.’ She put a hand on his arm. ‘I didn’t realise you were so young when it happened.’

  Luca stiffened and slowly turned in her direction. ’When what happened?’

  Morgan swallowed at the cold look in his eyes. Once again she’d spoken without thinking first. She shrugged and tried to smile. ‘Nothing. Come on, let’s move on.’

  She let go of his arm and turned away, but he snagged her wrist and spun her back around to face him. ‘When what happened?’ he asked through gritted teeth.

  Morgan sighed. One of these days she’d think first and speak second. ‘When the accident happened,’ she said calmly, suppressing a sigh.

  Luca dropped her arm as if touching her somehow contaminated him. ‘And just who told you about that? Or need I ask?’ His mouth curled. ‘Joseph has some pretty strange ideas about what passes for pillow talk.’

  Morgan didn’t credit him with an answer. She just turned and stomped away, not caring whether he followed her or not.

  ‘Where do you think you’re going?’ Luca demanded, two seconds before his hand landed on her shoulder and pulled her to a halt.

  Morgan threw him a scathing look as she tried to shrug away from his touch. ‘Anywhere. As long as it’s away from you. If you think for one minute that I’m going to hang around and let you treat me like this then you have another thing coming. That remark was completely unnecessary!’

  Luca stared at her for what felt like ages without saying a single word. Morgan stared straight back, her chin at a challenging angle.

  Finally he said quietly, ‘You’re right. It was. I’m sorry.’

  Luca heard the words emerge from his mouth and couldn’t believe he’d actually said them.

  What was wrong with him?

  He had nothing to apologise for.

  Nothing.

  Anger climbed the rungs of his spine.

  Joseph had discussed the accident—the most traumatic experience of Luca’s life—with Morgan.

  His teeth were gritted so tightly together he thought they might shatter. His hands clenched into fists, which he shoved deep into his pockets.

  Dio! What was going on here?

  Why on earth had he agreed to wait a week to sleep with a woman who’d seduced a married man into her bed? A woman he was meant to be punishing? A woman who didn’t deserve his respect?

  He raked a hand through his hair and suddenly realised Morgan was no longer standing beside him. He spun on his heel, only to see her rigid back walking in the other direction.

  He stomped after her, clamping a hand on her shoulder and bringing her to a halt again. ‘Where do you think you’re going?’ he demanded, for the second time in as many minutes.

  ‘Anywhere. As long as it’s away from you,’ Morgan replied, repeating her answer and the scathing look that accompanied it.

  A feeling of déjà vu flowed over him. They’d already had this conversation. This time, however, he wanted it to end differently. ‘Why?’

  She stabbed him in the middle of the chest with one pointed finger. ‘Because you’re not sorry at all. You apologised just now, but you didn’t mean a word of it.’

  Luca opened his mouth to deny the charge, but just as quickly closed it again.

  ‘You see?’ She jabbed him again, as if she wanted to drill a hole through to the other side. ‘You can’t even deny it.’

  The pent-up anger inside him suddenly spewed forth. He pulled her onto her toes and put his face close to hers. ‘Damned right I can’t deny it. It turns my stomach to think of you sleeping with Joseph.’

  Instead of drawing back, Morgan put her face even closer to his. Luca could smell the subtle scent of her orange shampoo invade his nostrils, could fee
l her breath, warm and soft, feather his face. ‘I have never slept with Joseph. How many times do I have to tell you that? We’re friends. That’s all. What’s it going to take to get it through that thick skull of yours?’

  She didn’t give him a chance to answer, yanking out of his grasp and marching away from him, back rigid, shoulders squared, head tilted with angry pride.

  Luca followed more slowly.

  What if she was right?

  For the first time he seriously considered that question.

  When Olivia had told him of her suspicions Luca had been quick to believe her. Olivia was an astute businesswoman. Perceptive. Ambitious. She’d worked in a number of his organisations over the last three years and during that time she’d proved that he could rely on her. And that he could trust her. Nothing she’d said or done since suggested that had changed.

  Now he went back over their conversation. At the time, it had never occurred to him that she might be lying, but now he realised he had to give it serious thought.

  Olivia had told him about her suspicions after she’d outlined her plan to bring the marketing of Da Silva Chocolate back in-house, for her to manage, and only after he’d told her he’d think about it.

  His reaction to her proposal had been lukewarm at best.

  Had Olivia realised that? Had she twisted a couple of innocent lunches into something they were not? Had she invented her suspicions in the hope it would tip his decision in her favour?

  Ice slid down his spine, taking his heart with it.

  He stared at the proud tilt of Morgan’s head. She’d had that exact same look about her when she’d tossed his cheque back in his face

  Her action had bothered him then.

  It bothered him even more now.

  It was a lot of money for anyone to turn down—particularly someone struggling to pay off a mortgage. And yet Morgan had done exactly that without blinking an eye. ‘I don’t care how much it is. I don’t want it,’ she’d said.

  She’d refused to be bribed.

  She’d refused to be threatened.

  Surely that showed a person with integrity?

  Surely that showed a woman who wouldn’t stoop to sleeping with a married man?

  He remembered the way Morgan’s boss had sung her praises. At the time he’d wondered whether they were talking about two different women.

  Luca ground his teeth together, frustration drawing his shoulders up towards his ears.

  Dio, but this was impossible.

  A part of him wanted to believe Morgan was telling the truth.

  But there was too much evidence against her.

  The feeling she’d been lying during that first meeting.

  The feeling she was hiding something.

  They were both strong feelings. Strong enough, Luca was sure, to be believed.

  Even if he discounted those intimate lunches for two that Morgan had admitted to, what about the fact that she knew about the IVF treatments Joseph and Stefania were going through? He knew for certain even their closest friends—friends who’d known them for decades—didn’t know about those.

  And yet Morgan did.

  And if that wasn’t enough to convince him then the very fact she’d agreed to be his mistress did!

  His shoulder muscles knotted.

  His stomach clamped into a tight ball.

  She was playing with his head. Making up seem down. Left seem right.

  It was time he put a stop to this once and for all!

  Morgan was striding past the monkey enclosure, oblivious to their cheeky antics, when Luca caught up with her.

  Once again he stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

  Still fuming, Morgan spun around to face him. ’What do you want, Luca? If you intend insulting me again I should warn you that I’m not in the mood!’

  ‘Is it insulting to tell the truth?’ he fired back.

  The breath whooshed from her lungs. ‘You wouldn’t know the truth if it got up and bit you on the backside!’

  ‘Is that a fact?’ he gritted.

  ‘It certainly is. I’m telling you the truth, damn it! You’re just not listening to me.’

  They were like boxers facing off in a ring.

  Morgan glared at Luca.

  Luca glared straight back.

  ‘Maybe I’d be more willing to listen to you if you hadn’t agreed to be my mistress,’ Luca said, his voice as effective as steel cutting through paper.

  Her heart did a stutter step in her chest. ‘What do you mean by that?’

  ‘Well, it’s obvious, isn’t it? You only agreed to become my mistress because you didn’t want me to tell Joseph and Stefania about your affair. That makes you as guilty as hell as far as I’m concerned!’

  Her insides contracted on a wave of anxiety that sent a cold chill running through her body and shrank her skin over her bones.

  She’d been so caught up with Joseph’s illness she hadn’t given a thought to how giving in to his blackmail must look to Luca.

  But he was right.

  It made her look as guilty as hell!

  No wonder Luca kept throwing accusations around like confetti.

  She couldn’t tell him that Joseph’s illness had prompted her to change her mind. If Luca realised she was using him to keep tabs on her father’s progress he would cut off her information completely.

  Unless she gave him some other explanation then her agreement looked like an admission of guilt.

  But what did she say to convince him otherwise?

  She scrabbled around for a suitable explanation but her mind remained frustratingly blank. She tried to invent something, but couldn’t think of anything he wouldn’t be able to shoot holes through in two seconds’ flat.

  And then it came to her.

  It was a stretch, but there was just enough truth in it to make it believable.

  At least she hoped so.

  She squared her shoulders and stared him straight in the eye. ‘Well, I’m not guilty! I obviously didn’t explain myself properly.’ She dragged in a breath and clasped her hands together in front of her. ‘My mother died a few years ago from an overdose of sleeping pills and anti-anxiety medication,’ she said quietly.

  Luca’s expression altered, his eyes softening with sympathy. ‘I’m sorry. But what does that have to do with our current situation?’

  ‘I’m getting to that.’ She took her time. Her mother’s death had come as a complete shock and was still difficult to talk about. ‘If you tell Stefania that Joseph and I are having an affair—even though we’re not—what effect do you think it will have on her?’

  ‘My sister is not suicidal!’ Luca denied hotly.

  ‘Neither was my mother!’ Morgan shot back at him. ’The coroner ruled that it was an accidental overdose. Can I take it Stefania is on anti-depressants?’ she asked.

  Luca shook his head. The expression on his face warned her that he didn’t like where this was leading one little bit. ‘No, she isn’t. She’s determined to fight it herself. And besides, she’s not the type to overdose—accidentally or otherwise!’

  ‘I could have said the same thing about my mother, and look how she ended up. OK, so Stefania’s not on medication. But do you want to take the chance on her getting worse?’ She didn’t wait for him to answer. ‘I know I don’t. It’s a chance I’m not willing to take. I couldn’t live with it on my conscience.’

  In truth, she didn’t think Stefania would deteriorate to that extent. Although Joseph was concerned about his wife’s depression, he’d also told her how strong Stefania had been throughout the process. If she had even one tenth of her brother’s strength and determination then Morgan knew she could conquer just about anything.

  ‘And that’s the only reason you don’t want me to say anything?’ Luca asked.

  She nodded.

  ‘And Joseph…?’ His eyes narrowed on her face. ’Why don’t you want me to tell him I know about the two of you?’

  Morgan dragged in a
breath, then released it slowly. ’Come on, Luca. Just for one second assume I’m telling you the truth. If you go to Joseph with these crazy accusations, what do you think he’s going to do?’

  ‘Deny it.’

  ‘And…?’ she prompted. He knew Joseph as well as she did. Knew how close he and his wife were.

  Luca raked a hand through his hair and around the back of his neck. ‘And he’d tell Stefania.’

  Morgan folded her arms. ‘I rest my case.’

  Dio, but this was impossible.

  Morgan was still playing with his head.

  Black was no longer black.

  White was no longer white.

  Instead, everything was a murky grey that had the clarity of mud!

  While he believed Morgan was genuinely concerned about Stefania’s health, her reasoning confirmed neither her guilt nor her innocence.

  Luca gritted his teeth until his jaw ached. Clamped his hands into fists until his knuckles turned white.

  So what did he do now?

  Morgan had accused him several times of being unfair.

  Such charges did not sit well with him.

  He was a man of honour.

  Men of honour had principles.

  Principles that included being just and equitable.

  His list of reasons for believing Morgan was innocent was now just as long as the one to prove her guilt.

  Surely that meant there was room for reasonable doubt?

  Grudgingly, Luca had to concede that there was.

  But did that mean he was prepared to give Morgan the benefit of the doubt?

  No! Not when Stefania’s happiness was at stake.

  Did that mean he was prepared to get her her job back and forget the whole thing?

  No, and no again. Not when there was the slightest chance he could be wrong.

  And was he prepared to forget having Morgan as his mistress?

  Double, triple, quadruple no. Not when he wanted her more than he’d wanted any woman.

  Luca wished he could adopt a neutral position where Morgan was concerned, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so.

  He had to stick to his guns!