VITTORIO'S WOMAN

by Kimberley Reeves

  “It is difficult to explain. It was important to make the money for my own peace of mind, so that I could take care of her properly if I was ever lucky enough to win her love. But I did not want it to be the reason she finally saw me as something other than a friend so I have been very careful to hide my wealth. I know it does not make sense…”

  “Oh, but it makes perfect sense, Luc. You want her to love you for who you are and not for the things you have or what you can buy her.”

  “Do you think that is possible, Lilly? Sometimes the way she looks at me makes believe it is, and other times…” he shrugged, looking as scared about the uncertainty of his future as Lilly was about hers.

  “I guess there’s only one way for us to find out.”

  Luc rose to his feet, pulling her up with him. “Where do we begin?”

  “Well, Simon and Gabriella were out on his balcony when we left for our walk. Maybe we could just…hold hands or something so he could see us.”

  “Holding hands is good,” Luc said with a smile as they started back down the path. “He may only break my nose for that slight offense.”

  Lilly slipped her hand to his, laughing when he made another remark about Simon’s temper and the consequences Luc was likely pay if he dared to kiss her. She had no idea just how believable they looked as an adoring couple, not until they rounded the last corner and caught sight of Simon and Gabriella sitting at the table.

  Gabriella’s eyes widened in surprise when she spotted them walking hand in hand, but that wasn’t what concerned Lilly. It was the murderous look on Simon’s face that made her stomach clench and her insides tremble with fear.

  Chapter 10

  It was a really, really bad decision to make Simon jealous, Lilly thought as his narrowed eyes skewered the man beside her. She tried to slip her hand out of Luc’s but he only tightened his grip and tugged her along with him; a man with a death wish if ever she saw one, because Simon’s expression was definitely not getting any friendlier the closer they drew to the table. She half expected him to come flying out of his chair at Luc when Gabriella broke the silence and everyone’s attention suddenly riveted to her smiling face.

  “What are you two lovebirds up to, or should I ask?”

  Certain that Gabriella’s comment would only enrage Simon even more, Lilly was disheartened to see it seemed to have the opposite effect. Although his body remained tense, the gaze that met Lilly’s was so indifferent it chilled her to the bone. What had she expected him do, launch into a tirade and demand to know why she was carrying on with Luc when she belonged to him? No, it was obvious whatever feelings he’d had for her were fleeting at best and had dissipated the moment Gabriella came into the picture.

  “Lilly was just telling me how fortunate it was you are here to take care of Simon,” Luc returned her smile. “It will allow her some time off to return to the mainland and enjoy a night or two out on the town.”

  “I plan on doing a little shopping too,” Lilly said nervously. “I could use some new clothes and…”

  “You will have plenty of time for shopping during the day, cara,” Luc said with a sexy grin, “but you must leave your evenings free for more…relaxing endeavors.”

  Simon’s jaw flexed, every muscle in his body taut as a bowstring ready to snap. Nothing would have given him more pleasure than removing that lecherous grin off Luc’s face with his fist, but doing so would have far worse repercussions than just causing physical harm to a man he once considered a trusted employee. Lilly’s reputation was at stake for one thing, and his earlier protests that there was nothing going on between them would hold little credence if he beat the hell out of Luc in a jealous rage.

  Springing up out of his chair would probably come as quite a shock too, and he highly doubted she would believe he was suddenly miraculously cured. Even if he could convince her it was true, she would have even less reason to stay with him once she knew he could walk, and that was a risk Simon simply couldn’t take.

  “Luc will show you a good time,” Gabriella assured Lilly, “and do not worry about Simon, I will keep him entertained.”

  Lilly’s stomach lurched dangerously. What the hell had she been thinking, leaving Simon all alone on the island with a beautiful, desirable woman while she ran off and pretended to be interested in someone else? She didn’t want to go. Every minute she was away from him would be pure agony and would no doubt be spent torturing herself with images of Gabriella entertaining Simon.

  She looked at him, her eyes begging him to say something, anything, to show that he cared for her and wanted her to stay. But he didn’t utter a single word, and it was his silence that killed the tiny shred of hope she’d been clinging to.

  ***

  If it hadn’t been for the arm Luc had casually looped around her waist, Lilly wasn’t sure she would have made it back to the house under her own steam. His eyes were sympathetic as he watched her pack her suitcase but he didn’t offer any comfort other than keeping a firm grip on her as they descended the stairs and made their way to the car. Maybe he sensed she was just a heartbeat away from falling to pieces or maybe he knew there was nothing he could say that would help anyway and thought it best to remain silently supportive.

  Rightly assuming she didn’t want to be alone, Luc instructed the pilot to take them directly to the country estate. Less than hour later, Lilly found herself being ushered inside what once had been a carriage house. She was impressed with Luc’s taste; it was masculine in every sense of the word and it suited him.

  He led her upstairs and into a bedroom that seemed a bit incongruous with the rest of house because it was obviously designed with a female occupant in mind. Had Luc taken a mistress while he waited for Milana to take notice of him? Lilly’s eyes wandered over the white down comforter and lacy pillows.

  “Does Luisa visit you here?”

  “No, if my parents come here it is only because Simon plans to stay for awhile. They have their own suite of rooms in the big house.” He chuckled when she glanced at the vanity then back at him with a questioning arch of her brow. “Milana said I needed at least one room a woman could retreat to that was feminine. I know she was not speaking of herself, but I asked if she would decorate the room for me and this is what she came up with.”

  “But she’s never…stayed here?”

  His eyes grew solemn. “No one has ever slept here.”

  “Luc, maybe I should stay in another room or go to a hotel.”

  “It is not a shrine, Lilly. I just did not feel right about inviting another woman into the bedroom Milana had decorated.”

  “How have your girlfriends reacted to that? And don’t try to convince me you haven’t had your fair share of them.”

  “I am not a saint, but neither have I over indulged in female companionship. I have never brought a woman to my home because none of them meant enough to me to want them involved with my personal life.”

  “Now you sound like Simon,” she snorted.

  “Perhaps you are right,” he surprised her by agreeing. “There is only one woman who could ever possess my heart, just as there is only one woman who will ever possess Simon’s.”

  Lilly turned away from him and wandered over to the window. “I hope he finds her,” she said softly. “I just wish…”

  “That it was you?”

  “Silly, isn’t it? Considering how miserably our experiment failed, you’d think I would just let it go.”

  “Failed?” Luc crossed the room and gripped her shoulders, turning her around to face him. “I thought you were upset because he did not confess his love and order me off the island. Lilly, we did not fail.”

  “How can you say that? Simon acted as if he didn’t care one way or another if I ran off with you.”

  Luc’s lip twitched. “Perhaps you missed the daggers his eyes were throwing at me.”

  She shook her head, giggling at his apt description of Simon’s expression when he’d spotted them. “No, I didn’t miss it.”


  “Then you must also have seen the way his shoulders tensed and his hands clenched into fists.”

  “So he was a little worked up at first, he certainly got over it fast enough.”

  “Oh, Lilly, you are so wrong. Simon was fighting his temper with every ounce of restraint he had. He was very careful to keep his poker face on, and he did not say a word to either one of us.”

  Lilly heaved an exasperated sigh. “What does that prove? Nothing,” she answered her own question. “He didn’t say anything because he doesn’t care about me. He probably couldn’t wait for me to leave so he and Gabriella could have a little play time.”

  “Is that what you think? Lilly, I know you are hurting but you have to believe what I am telling you. No matter what Simon said to Gabriella or how he acted when he saw us together, the man is in love with you.”

  She swallowed the lump in her throat and slowly shook her head. “No, Luc, if he was in love with me he would have tried to keep me from leaving with you.”

  ***

  “Come stupido posso essere?” Simon paced restlessly from his room to Lilly’s and back again. “How stupid can I be?”

  He let her go. He sat right there while Luc all but told them he planned on taking Lilly to bed and he hadn’t done a damn thing to stop her from leaving. So what if her reputation had gotten a little tarnished because of Gabriella’s loose tongue, everything would have righted itself once he and Lilly were married. Hell, he practically pushed her into another man’s arms, and for all he knew, Lilly might be so hurt by what he had done she would turn to Luc for comfort. But would she sleep with him? That was the question that tore at Simon’s heart.

  He had to do something. The chopper wouldn’t make it back to the island for another hour and it would take another forty-five minutes to reach his estate on the mainland. God only knew what he would find when he got there. And if by some miracle Luc hadn’t seduced Lilly into his bed yet, Simon would still play hell getting her to come back to the island because she’d know he had been lying about being paralyzed. Simon raked his fingers through his hair irritably. Okay, so he couldn’t go to her, but he could call her.

  “And say what? I know I acted like an insensitive ass but I would like you to come home now?”

  Why not? It was worth a try. He strode purposefully to his room and stopped short when he got to the nightstand, a strained laugh erupting from his lips. He couldn’t call her, at least not from his room because Lilly had taken his phone out the first day she’d been here. The intercom. He would ask Luisa to retrieve his cell phone from the study and bring Lilly’s phone number with her.

  He knew Lilly had a cell phone, he’d overheard her talking to her sister on a few occasions but he’d never had any reason to ask for the number until now. He only hoped Luisa wouldn’t ask any questions about why he wanted it, but Simon knew the moment she stepped briskly into his room that he wasn’t going to get out of this unscathed. To his chagrin, Luisa planted herself in front of his wheelchair and clicked her tongue, blatantly ignoring his outstretched hand.

  “What did you do to Lilly?” she demanded to know, her tone accusing.

  “Nothing! I gave her a few days off, that is all.”

  Luisa snorted. “I see her face when my Luc take her away. She no happy.”

  “So you just assume I am the reason,” Simon snapped, more angry with himself than Luisa

  “You treat her bad, like she is invisible and mean nothing to you.”

  Simon grimaced. “I had to, Luisa. You know how Gabriella is. If she knew I was in…” He stopped abruptly, afraid he’d said too much already.

  Luisa smiled and held the phone out, along with a scrap of paper with Lilly’s phone number scrawled on it. “You will tell Lilly why you treat her this way?”

  “Dio, does everyone know I am in love with Lilly?”

  “Everyone but Lilly.” She leaned down and kissed him on the cheek. “Tell her Simon, before it is too late.”

  “I will,” he promised, “but not over the phone. I will get her to come back and tell her in person.” He looked up at the older women, uncertainty clouding his eyes. “Luisa…do you think…I mean, she did go off with Luc and he seemed very intent on becoming more than friends…”

  Luisa’s smile was indulgent. “Love has affected your ability to think straight if you believe she has eyes for anyone but you. As for my Luc, his heart belongs to another so you do not have to worry that he will act inappropriately towards Lilly.”

  He found solace, not only in her words but in the conviction with which they were spoken. If Luisa had figured out he was in love with Lilly, then she must be right about Lilly’s feelings for him. And though her assurances that Luc wouldn’t make a play for Lilly alleviated some of his anxiety, he would feel a whole lot better if he knew Luc hadn’t carted her off someplace cozy to offer a comforting shoulder to cry on. Drawing in a deep breath, Simon keyed in Lilly’s number and pressed the send button just as Gabriella breezed into his room.

  “Be a darling and zip the back of my dress, would you?” She presented her backside and dropped down onto his lap.

  “Gabriella,” he choked, blindly stabbing at the phone to disconnect the call, “get off of me!”

  “Zip me and I will.” She glanced over her shoulder, laughing at the scarlet slashes on his cheeks. “Oh come on, Simon, you have seen me in far less…”

  ***

  Alone in her room, Lilly stared blankly at the wall as the phone slipped from her hand and landed with a dull thud on the hardwood floor. The pain that ripped through her was so intense she could barely breath, and for several minutes she could do little more than stand there desperately fighting to draw air into her lungs. Was it some kind of cruel joke? Or had Simon even been aware that she’d was listening to the conversation taking place after what had obviously been a very intimate interlude?

  Her movements were mechanical as she finished buttoning her blouse and slipped on her shoes, but she refused to let herself cry. Wasn’t she the one who had adamantly insisted Simon’s interest in her ended the minute Gabriella arrived? So why was she so shocked by what she’d heard?

  Because I didn’t really believe it, because I honestly didn’t think Simon could be that cold-hearted. But he was cold-hearted, assuming he had any heart at all, she thought bitterly. My God, he couldn’t have waited more than a few minutes after she’d gone before having Gaetano take him back to his room so he could have sex with Gabriella!

  A wave of vertigo had her stumbling to the bed, groaning as the room seemed to spin all around her. She sprawled on top of the down comforter and closed her eyes, waiting for the dizziness to pass and wondering inanely if it really was possible to die of a broken heart. How was she supposed to go back there in a few days and continue to take care of him without falling to pieces?

  Lilly had never given up on a patient before, but there was only so much a person could take and her sense of self-preservation dictated that she leave as soon as possible. She was still laying there contemplating what her next move was when Luc tapped lightly on her door.

  “Hold on,” she called out, grimacing at how feeble her voice sounded.

  Luc’s smile faded when she opened the door. “Lilly, what is wrong? Are you ill?”

  “No, I…I…”

  She launched herself into his arms and burst into tears, cursing herself for being so weak, and cursing Simon for being the cause of that weakness. Luc held her for a moment before coaxing her to the loveseat in the sitting area of her room. He pulled her down beside him and gathered her close to his side, murmuring soft assurances in Italian. Lilly didn’t understand a single word, but the gentleness of his tone eventually calmed her enough so she was able to tell him what happened.

  “There has to be an explanation for this Lilly. There is no romantic interest between Gabriella and Simon, I promise you.”

  “Somehow I don’t think romance has anything to do with what went on after I left,” she sniffed.
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  “You do not understand. They have known each other for years and…”

  “Oh, I understand all right. I understand Simon couldn’t wait to get rid of me so he could get Gabriella into his bed!”

  “You are wrong, Lilly.”

  She pulled away from him and sat up, feeling doubly betrayed because he was defending Simon. “Whose side are you on anyway? You’re supposed to be my friend.”

  “I am your friend, but…”

  “You either are or you aren’t,” she cut in, “there’s no in between.”

  He sighed in resignation and gave up trying to convince her Simon hadn’t slept with Gabriella. “Perhaps it is best if we do not discuss it any more tonight. Do you still want to go out for dinner? I do not have much here, but I would be happy to cook for you.”