Creating an image for her clients was what she was good at, and right now, keeping things on a more professional level was far more comfortable than the simmering tension which arced constantly between them, making her think again and again of that kiss.
‘I was eighteen when we entered a new century and was determined to put my past behind me, so I started a computer repair business. I was self-taught and good at it. Those years with my father had served me well, and as you can see today, my company is very successful.’
‘Self-taught?’ She picked up on something she could use.
‘My father was in the business and I grew up with computers as a big part of my childhood.’
‘You must have missed your father. How old were you when he died?’ She probed deeper, even though she sensed him shutting her out second by second, question by question.
‘Twelve years old.’
Bianca recognised the fierce tone of his voice which covered up hurt. It was exactly what she did, but she also knew he wouldn’t appreciate her saying she understood. How could any person understand what it was to lose a parent when you were young unless they, too, knew the pain? ‘That must have been hard for you and your mother.’
‘She died before my father. I had no one after he died.’ Each word was clipped and short and her heart constricted for him.
She had lost both her parents, but as a two-year-old it didn’t have such an immediate impact on her life, not when Allegra had stepped neatly into the role of mother and her grandfather had always been around. It must have been so much harder for Liev. She looked at him, imagining the young boy, alone and grieving.
‘You were totally alone?’ The whisper her voice had become revealed the sadness he’d evoked within her, bringing painful memories of her own to the surface.
He nodded slowly, the thin line of his lips showing the control he was using, and she knew she should stop, but with her heartstrings tugged by the thought of him alone in the world as a young boy, she couldn’t.
‘How and where did you live after your father died?’ she asked, but seeing his jaw clench, she almost dreaded the answer. Surely he’d had some distant family who could have taken him in. Surely he hadn’t been like those kids at the homeless shelter her business sponsored.
‘I survived by doing whatever was necessary.’ He was aiming to shock her. She could sense it in him, the way he sat, the way he looked at her, but she wasn’t shocked. This man was a survivor, a born fighter, and she had the distinct impression that if everything were taken away from him right now, he would reinvent himself and become even more successful.
* * *
Liev had to stop thinking about Bianca like this, as if she was the woman he truly wanted to be with, the woman to share his past and build a future with. Each time she asked a question, she unlocked something inside him, prised open the door to his past a little more. It was a door he’d slammed shut and locked years ago. He had to stop opening it now, stop her digging into his past, because she would find far more than she ever expected, far more than he wanted to reveal.
Instead of dwelling on what she might find, he steered the conversation the way he wanted it to go. ‘I soon realised I had an aptitude for making money as well as working with computers. It wasn’t long before I had my own premises and began selling my own software.’
‘When did you begin selling globally?’ Her attention was well and truly caught, and he found it a pleasurable change for a woman to be interested in what he did rather than how much money he made. He had met too many women like that lately and begrudgingly admitted that Bianca may not be quite as frivolous as he first thought, that perhaps she wasn’t a carbon copy of the woman who’d broken his young and inexperienced heart, shattering it beyond repair.
But she wants the bracelet. Those words goaded him to reconsider.
Inwardly he breathed a sigh of relief. The questions she was asking were coming from Bianca the businesswoman. If they were coming from Bianca the woman, they would have led in a very different direction—somewhere he didn’t go, not with anyone.
‘Almost immediately. It was my aim from the very beginning.’ That had always been his aim, more than that it had been to become so successful and wealthy that no other company could swallow him up, spitting him out and casting him aside, as had happened to his father.
‘Was it something you had always wanted to do?’
‘I always wanted to show the world I was a fighter, that whatever life threw at me I’d get back up, become more successful. I’ve gone from nothing to being able to buy whatever I want. I’m proud of that achievement.’
Everything he did, every deal he made, every new programme he produced and every office he opened around the world was for his parents, for what they should have had. Just as being here with Bianca was.
‘That’s very impressive. The press will love it.’
There was genuine warmth in her voice, but he ignored it, instantly on alert. ‘The press don’t need to know. I will not have my parents’ names dragged up just to sell a product.’
Her eyes widened as she raised her brows in question. ‘A certain amount of your story will have to be told, but I understand about wanting to keep your parents out of it.’
‘You more than most should.’ He pushed his half-eaten starter away; his taste for fine dining had diminished rapidly. He might as well be eating stale bread again.
She reached out and touched his hand. ‘And I do.’
Her dark eyes met his, their gazes locked and her hand remained over his, the warmth of it strangely comforting. This was a woman who did truly know the pain of growing up without parents. Although he’d bet she hadn’t had to live rough and fight for every scrap of food that passed her lips.
She wouldn’t have had to endure time in prison because of being forced to steal food, not just for herself but for other homeless kids, some much younger. She wouldn’t have had to forge herself a new identity just to be able to shake off the past and make it in life afterwards. She’d had the cushion of a successful family business, something he could have had if it hadn’t been for the underhand dealings of another business.
‘Then you know it’s not easy. You don’t need the full details to appreciate that, and I’m sure with your ability to focus on what’s important for a successful launch, you can leave them out.’ He kept his tone firm and pulled his hand from beneath hers.
The look of hurt which rushed across her beautiful face, one less made up than the previous time they’d seen each other, snagged at his conscience. He shouldn’t be so hard on her. She was only his key to gaining the revenge he’d first vowed on as he’d laboured in prison. She wasn’t the ultimate goal.
‘I won’t focus on your past, but the present. It will be the press who will do that, which I’m afraid is all par for the course.’ That tough mask of professionalism was back. For a moment he thought he’d seen real vulnerability in her eyes. ‘And I have the perfect opportunity to show the world the man you are now. Leave it to me.’
‘Do not forget, Bianca, that it is in your interests to keep negative press coverage at bay—if you want the bracelet.’ Anger simmered at the thought of his past being exposed, something he’d lived constantly with, but for the first time, it mattered what someone else would think. It mattered what Bianca would think.
Never before had he cared what anyone had thought of him, and now the very woman he’d forced himself into close proximity with was making him care. He pushed the newfound emotion down and watched as she glared back at him.
‘I will do whatever is necessary to get that bracelet back, Liev—including covering up your obviously dubious past and focusing on the good parts.’ The words flew at him and only the waiter clearing away the first course halted the flow of those angry words.
He sat back and watched the sparks fly. He’d been waiting for the appearance of the fiery brunette who’d stood toe to toe with him at the auction house, all spitting fury and indignation. The
woman who’d stirred the man within his toughened exterior.
So her focus was still on the bracelet. She wanted it back—and badly. Again he wondered at its significance.
‘I’m pleased to hear it.’ He wouldn’t let her know yet that her guard had slipped, even if only briefly. He would have to do some more investigation on the silver bracelet which was now stored in his safe. Before he gave it back to her, he had to know why it was so important.
* * *
Bianca was saved from further humiliation by the arrival of their main course. As she ate, barely tasting the delicious food, she watched the amber sunset darkening and the lights of New York shining ever more vibrantly. She hadn’t felt as unsure of herself as she was now for many years, and again she wished she could call Allegra and talk things through with her.
Not that that would help much, not now she’d given away the fact that she was prepared to do just about anything to get the bracelet back. She hadn’t missed the slight narrowing of his icy grey eyes as she’d let those words slip out. He was shrewd and had already proved he was an almost unmovable force, one which would have to be reckoned with if she got in its way.
The best way forward was to keep everything on a strictly professional basis. ‘What do you really want from me, Liev?’ The words came out as fast as she’d thought of them, replacing what she’d intended to ask about his company and the software he was launching.
‘As I have explained, I need acceptance into society and to do that I need you at my side.’ He put down his cutlery, abandoning his food, and looked at her, the sharp glint in his eyes reminding her, if she needed it, just who she was dealing with. ‘And, of course, I need your PR skills for my company.’
She was beginning to suspect there was more to this than just what he’d told her. Those earlier doubts she’d had about him surfaced once more and she couldn’t help but voice her questions. ‘You should do more interviews, make yourself more accessible to the public. Why haven’t you spoken to the press? I couldn’t find anything online.’
‘Because, unlike you, they will not be content to leave the past in the past, and I’m sure you, of all people, can understand the need not to bring up the deaths of my parents constantly.’
He was right about that, and for the moment she was prepared to give him the benefit. She put down her knife and fork, the meal now well and truly spoilt. ‘The only way I can see to be able to move on from here is to be open about your past, but also create more speculation about our relationship.’
‘Then I have exactly the invitation we need. Tomorrow evening we have been invited to a party.’ He delivered the news to her and she frowned at him.
‘I don’t recall a party invite.’
‘I had a phone call this morning from Margaret O’Neil. She mentioned she’d heard about our engagement and suggested we might like to attend her party.’
‘That is good. Being a guest there will achieve just about all you have been wanting.’ It would also mean she could possibly get the bracelet sooner and that could only be for the good with her grandfather’s failing health. ‘I’d like to go home now. I don’t think anything more will be gained from being here like this. Maybe leaving before dessert will create more speculation.’
‘Very clever. Passionate lovers abandon meal halfway through.’ He lifted his brows and smiled at her in such a seductive way she caught her breath and held it against the thud of her pulse. Liev left some bills to settle the check and stood up. ‘I will escort you home.’
Just as he had previously done, Liev walked Bianca to her door and she paused outside, beating back the strange urge to prolong talking with him. But what was she going to do? Invite him in for coffee?
‘Goodnight, Liev,’ she said softly as once again he lifted her fingertips to his lips. The heat that slid down her arm was more in keeping with a passionate romantic affair, not a blackmailed engagement. But she couldn’t help it. Just being with him did something to her.
She watched him as her pulse continued to race. What was the matter with her? It was as if she was a teenager again, falling for the bad boy at high school, the one who would break her heart. She couldn’t be falling for him—could she?
‘Do you not wish we had met another way?’ The velvety smoothness of his words made her skin tingle, as did their meaning.
‘No—absolutely not,’ she lied.
He laughed softly, his eyes warming and his expression full of undisguised charm. ‘So hotly denied, but can it be true?’
She tried to pull her fingers from his hand, but he held her firmly. She had no choice other than look up into his face. ‘It’s true.’
‘So if I kiss you right now, just as I did last week at the charity dinner, you will not respond with such undisguised desire?’
What was she doing, encouraging this conversation? But she couldn’t help it, couldn’t help wondering how he would kiss her this time.
‘There is nobody to witness the kiss. What possible reason could you have now to kiss me?’
‘Because you are a very beautiful woman, one who should be kissed.’ He moved towards her, brushed his lips over hers, as if tasting them.
‘No, Liev, this is not part of the deal.’ She kept her voice firm but couldn’t help staying dangerously close to him.
‘No, but admit it, Bianca. You want me to kiss you. You want me to melt that sleeping heart the gossip columns are all talking about.’
She put her hands firmly on his chest, ignoring the spark that flew from that contact. ‘The only time I will kiss you is in public and then only because it is part of the role of being madly in love with you.’
‘Are you sure, Bianca?’ His voice was now a hoarse whisper that made her stomach flip and her heart race.
Before she had time to respond, he lowered his head, claimed her lips in a kiss that verged on demanding. Her head spun, and although she knew she shouldn’t, she moved her lips against his, tasting the forbidden. Her fingers clutched the lapels of his jacket as he put his arms around her, pulling her close.
It was insane. It was also amazing.
‘No.’ She pushed against him and he pulled back but didn’t let go of her. ‘That can never happen again, not like that.’
He drew in a deep breath and let it go slowly, as if curbing an angry response. ‘It will if we are in public. If it’s part of your role, as you called it.’
‘Just go,’ she snapped, and relief and disappointment washed over her as he moved back from her. ‘Go, Liev. This charade is over for tonight.’
‘Until tomorrow, Bianca.’
With those words haunting her, she watched him stride back to the elevator, wondering what had just happened. Why had she taunted him, but more importantly, why had she kissed him?
It would not happen again.
CHAPTER SIX
BIANCA’S NERVES WERE almost frayed as she waited for Liev the next evening. She anticipated this would be their last public outing, but she’d arranged a publicity interview for him at the shelter, and together with tonight’s photos appearing in the glossy celebrity magazines, she hoped he would be satisfied and have what he wanted. After the interview she fully intended that their engagement could become more low-key. The thought of spending more time with Liev was not something she relished, especially when he could provoke such new emotions in her.
She wasn’t sure if their engagement would achieve the acceptance he wanted, something she still wasn’t convinced of, but if they remained engaged, as far as everyone else was concerned, he could continue to pursue that himself, leaving her free to concentrate on Dario’s forthcoming launch.
Her brothers and sisters were another matter entirely and she’d prepared herself for the onslaught of further questions from them. She had no idea what she’d say to her grandfather and hadn’t bargained on the request from him to meet her fiancé. Just thinking of the lies she would have to tell made her nauseous. Grandfather deserved better than that—but he also deserved to be able to
be reunited with the bracelet he’d owned when he arrived in New York all those years ago. That in itself was a story Bianca longed to hear more about, but first she had another date with her fiancé—and hopefully her last. After last night’s kiss and her obvious loss of control, it would have to be.
Prompt as ever, Liev knocked on her apartment door and she took in a deep breath and prepared herself to spend the evening with a man who unsettled and intrigued her all at the same time. Until last night’s kiss, she’d been beginning to enjoy his company and had found herself more relaxed, but she must never forget how he was blackmailing her. This was not an ordinary love affair and they could never be a normal couple.
She opened the door and drew in a sharp breath. Liev stood calmly waiting, dressed in a tuxedo which hugged his body, more than hinting at his latent strength and sending her wayward thoughts awry once more. His brow was furrowed into a frown, yet still he very definitely was the most striking man she’d ever met.
‘Good evening, Bianca.’
She shivered as his gaze slid down her black silk dress, which skimmed the floor, neither concealing nor revealing. Shyness suddenly swept over her and she looked away from him as heat infused her body as hotly as her cheeks.
She had to ask him now. There was no way she was going to be able to spend the entire evening at his side and look relaxed and happy if she was worrying telling him about her grandfather’s unexpected request.
‘Before we go, I have two suggestions that will further this charade of yours hopefully to its goal.’ She heard her voice, steady and matter-of-fact, and marvelled at her ability to be one thing when inside she was something else completely different.
‘I’m intrigued.’ He stepped closer to her and she trembled like a new leaf in the spring breeze as she looked up into his eyes, shocked to see his darken until they resembled slate, reminding her of that kiss last night. ‘What could possibly achieve that? Another kiss? Perhaps I should kiss you at the party—really kiss you, like you wanted me to last night?’
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