‘Well, I don’t think anyone has pulled up yet,’ Abby admitted. ‘I don’t think anyone’s coming back to earth any time soon. We’ve got the big presentation and party in LA on Friday. You could come...’ She tried to keep her voice light, to not build her hopes up that he had called her.
Actually, Matteo couldn’t be there for the presentation in LA, not that he could tell her why.
‘I can’t make it on Friday. Will Hunter be there?’ he checked.
‘Nope,’ Abby said. ‘He’s gone to ground.’
‘Good. So when will you be back?’
‘On Saturday afternoon.’
‘Would you like to go out for dinner?’ Matteo casually asked, as if he hadn’t already booked the restaurant, as if all the plans he had made this week didn’t depend on her response.
There was a long stretch of silence before she answered.
Long, because she hadn’t expected his call and now an invitation to dinner on the very night she got back was a little more than she dared to glimpse.
He might just want to discuss the team, Abby attempted to warn herself, but her heart refused to be reeled in.
Oh, please don’t hurt me, Abby thought.
Please don’t get my hopes up high because I accepted a one-night stand when you said it could be no more than that.
‘Yes.’ Abby cleared her throat and did her best to sound as if it wasn’t such a big deal. ‘Dinner sounds great.’
‘Saturday, then. Text me your address. I’ll be there about eight.’
He didn’t await her response; Matteo, too, was having trouble keeping things even.
On Friday he walked into a very exclusive jewellers.
‘I’ve never worked so hard,’ the jeweller said and when he showed Matteo the final piece Matteo could see the hours and skill that the jeweller had put into this masterpiece.
Even though the jeweller had only a photo to go on, it could have been made by the same designer!
The emerald sat up high on a platinum setting and it really was a work of art.
No, he hadn’t had a replica of the necklace made.
You could never fully replicate the real thing.
And the necklace was the real thing, Matteo was very sure.
And so he’d had made a ring.
‘I can’t see anything on the photograph of the necklace to indicate origins,’ the jeweller admitted.
‘It’s all a bit of a mystery.’ Matteo was also bemused but his grandfather had remained unforthcoming.
‘She’s a very lucky lady,’ the jeweller said as he nestled the ring into a box Matteo had had designed to match the case for the necklace.
‘I might have to remind her of that,’ Matteo said, imagining Abby’s reaction when he told her the truth.
He was nervous to tell her about the necklace—of course he was—but with this ring...
He got back to his apartment and put the photo of the necklace and the ring in his safe and then lay back on the bed and tried to plan his speech for tomorrow. Matteo didn’t get very far. He could never quite get past the bit where he told Abby that he’d stood in her father’s study and come up with a plan to sponsor her, without imagining his face being slapped.
Deciding that he’d just have to wing it at dinner tomorrow, he dozed off.
Matteo woke to his phone buzzing and the sight of a skyline that was backed by a dusky pink sky.
‘Abby?’ he said, sitting up. ‘What time is it there?’
‘Eight,’ Abby said and Matteo frowned because it looked as if it was evening and LA was a few hours behind them but then she explained. ‘Matteo, I’m already in New York.’
‘How come?’
‘Hunter arrived this morning and—do you know what?—I just didn’t want to be around him. It’s Pedro’s night and I don’t want anything to get in the way of that and so I decided to head for home.’
‘Good.’
‘I need a favour,’ Abby continued. ‘Well, I don’t need one but it would mean a lot if you could do this for me.’
‘Name it.’
‘I’m on my way to my father’s...’ Abby took a breath. ‘I know I said that I wasn’t going to go but I’ve changed my mind. It’s not such a big deal. I’m just going to put my head in for a couple of hours. It would be great if I could say that you were coming too.’
‘Abby.’ Matteo was already off the bed. ‘I’ll come with you. I’ll just get changed and then I’ll pick you up.’
And ’fess up!
He was already undoing his belt as he spoke but speed wasn’t going to save Matteo.
‘No, there’s no need for that,’ Abby said. ‘He wants me there by eight and I’m already running late. Look, I get it if you don’t want to come but it would help a lot if you could. I’ll text you the address...’ She looked out of the window of the car and saw that she’d arrived. ‘I’m here now. Wish me luck.’
It really had been a last-minute decision.
Abby had arrived home and opened up her case and had seen the gorgeous silver dress that she had worn on the night they had won in Dubai.
Why not? Abby had thought.
She had pinned up her hair to show off the necklace to full effect and had just decided to play the game for one night.
No, she had long ago realised her family would never be close but surely an occasional function or get-together was doable.
Now the car that her father had sent for her pulled up at the house that had never really been a happy home and the door was opened for her.
It had been years since Abby had last been here.
Emails and the occasional phone call had been all she could manage since that terrible time, sitting in her father’s study and being told Hunter wouldn’t be called to answer for his actions.
She was ready to put it all behind her and, nine years on, Abby felt a lot more together and capable than the last time she had walked up the stairs to the entrance of her family home.
‘Abby!’ Cries went up from everywhere as she entered.
‘Congratulations’ were offered from all directions, as well as, ‘Wow, look at you!’
‘Abby!’ Her sister, Annabel, came over and gave Abby a kiss on the cheek but it felt like a sting. ‘You changed your mind about coming?’
‘I did.’
‘The prodigal daughter returns triumphant!’
Abby could have given a bitchy retort. She guessed Annabel thought she was only here to gloat because her team had won but, no, it had nothing to do with that.
‘Just try and behave tonight,’ Annabel said. ‘This is important for Daddy.’
Annabel’s husband came over and gave Abby a very guarded smile. ‘Abby.’
Aside from that frosty greeting the night went well. Her father was too busy chatting people up to pay Abby much attention, which suited her fine.
Abby’s phone buzzed and she saw that it was Matteo texting her.
I’m on my way.
She fired a text back.
No rush.
And then Matteo sent another.
Abby, we need to talk.
Abby frowned at the second text and then wondered if Matteo was doing one of his I don’t do relationships things, and was maybe annoyed that she’d asked him to come. She decided she would explain when he arrived that this really wasn’t a meet-the-father moment.
She was soon distracted when one of her father’s friends called her over and asked about the race in Dubai.
‘It was amazing,’ Abby said for perhaps the fiftieth time that night but she was more than happy to talk about it. Realising that Matteo would be here soon she went upstairs and took a moment to refresh her make-up and check her hair and then stepped back and looked in the full-length mirror.
Yes, the necklace and dress worked but it was the woman wearing them who felt so different tonight.
She remembered coming down in the elevator and the smile on Matteo’s face when he saw her and the wonderful times they had shared and
she simply couldn’t wait to see him again.
Abby went to head back down to the party. Oh, she would never be one who loved these types of events but she was glad that tonight she had made the effort. She felt confident...
Happy.
For the first time she could remember she felt happy, confident and beautiful in her own skin and then she looked over and saw the man who had made all three possible walk into the Ellison home.
He was wearing a smart suit and his black hair flopped forwards and he brushed it back with his hand as he stood for a moment looking around, Abby guessed, for her.
‘Matteo!’ Her father saw him and Abby frowned at how pleased her father seemed to be that he was here.
Of course they would know each other from similar functions but it was a very friendly handshake that he gave Matteo. Her father even patted him on his shoulder and, as Abby walked down the stairs, she watched as her father and Matteo disappeared into his office.
Matteo had very much been hoping to speak with Abby before her father but, without that chance, he followed Ellison in, determined to have his say.
‘Congratulations,’ Ellison said.
‘It was an amazing win,’ Matteo agreed and then he looked to the photos Ellison had walked him through on the day they met and anger grew in his stomach. There was the photo of Hunter with Abby and this bastard knew what he had done to his daughter and yet still had that photo on the wall.
‘I’m not talking about the win,’ Ellison said. ‘I was referring to your achievement in getting Abby here. I have to hand it you—I thought she might come tonight, albeit reluctantly, but she’s been the belle of the ball. The necklace is yours... You’ve certainly earned it.’
Abby stood at the ajar door and somehow stayed standing as the floor seemed to disappear from beneath her.
What achievement?
It didn’t make sense.
Yet it was starting to.
Her father had wanted her here tonight wearing the necklace and she knew—oh, yes, she knew—how low he could stoop.
Why had she thought better of Matteo?
Because, despite clear warnings, she’d gone and fallen in love.
She was tempted to turn, to just walk away and pretend she hadn’t heard what was said and to simply make it through the night without creating a scene. It had nothing to do with the fact she was on strict instructions to behave tonight; it was more than that—she didn’t want the dream to end.
The dream that Matteo had actually cared about her.
She thought of her mother, smiling for the camera, pretending all was well in a messed-up world, and Abby refused to let that legacy live on.
‘What did you just say?’ Her voice was very clear as she walked into the study. Matteo’s back was to her but she saw it stiffen at the sound of her voice.
‘Abby...’ he started but Ellison spoke over him.
‘I was just congratulating your sponsor,’ Ellison said, not remotely bothered that they’d been overheard.
But then, Matteo thought, if he was insensitive enough to have Hunter’s photo on his wall, what was another layer of hurt to add to the mix.
‘What does my wearing my mother’s necklace have to with this?’ Abby asked. She had walked right over and stood aside the two men and confronted her father first. ‘What do you mean when you say that the necklace is Matteo’s?’
‘Can we talk away from here?’ Matteo suggested.
‘Why?’ Abby checked. ‘I think here is the perfect place. Why spread my misery outside the grounds of this home.’ She asked the question again, her voice rising. ‘Why would you tell Matteo that my necklace is now his?’
‘It’s actually my necklace,’ Ellison corrected. ‘Your mother left it to me. I knew that you needed money, Matteo wanted the necklace and I said if he could get you here wearing it for the do...’ Ellison shrugged. ‘It’s no big deal.’ As Abby’s eyes filled with tears Ellison misread them. ‘Oh, don’t go getting all sentimental, Abby. Your mother loathed that necklace.’
‘And I know why she did!’ Abby was shouting now. ‘Because, yet again, you’d been unfaithful and, yet again, you thought another trinket would put things right.’
‘And it did,’ Ellison said. ‘Your mother knew how to behave, as does Annabel. Whereas you, Abby...’
‘Whereas I,’ Abby interrupted, ‘don’t simply turn a blind eye to everything!’
‘Abby,’ Matteo said. ‘I can explain.’
‘No,’ Abby said. ‘I don’t want your charming lies. I want to hear—’ her voice was rising further ‘—the truth from my father. At least he doesn’t sugarcoat things.’
‘Abby,’ her father warned. ‘Keep your voice down.’
‘Then give me an answer. Are you telling me that you bribed Matteo?’
‘It was a gentleman’s agreement,’ Ellison said.
‘I’ve got this, thanks,’ Matteo said to her father and taking Abby by the arm he tried to steer her away but she shook him off.
‘And this gentleman’s agreement happened...when?’ Abby demanded.
‘Matteo came and saw me in April to purchase the necklace...’
Hearing that a meeting had taken place even before she had met Matteo, Abby didn’t need further details; she was already walking off. She had nothing, nothing, left to say to her father, and she had just one parting line for Matteo as she brushed past him.
‘Screw you!’ Abby said.
She stepped out of the study and walked briskly towards the entrance and out the front door. Guests were staring and Annabel was throwing fire with her eyes as, yet again, Abby created a scene.
‘Will you stop?’ Matteo called as he ran down the stairs after her and then overtook. Abby stood on the bottom step as Matteo reached the ground and so he was right in her face but she just stared coolly back, refusing to break down.
‘I hate you.’
‘No, you don’t.’ Matteo took her arms and almost shook her to listen to him. ‘You hate what I’ve done, you hate that I set out to deceive you, but I never have.’
‘How can you say that when you met him in April? You were never interested in my team.’
It was simple maths to Abby.
From the very start Matteo had never been interested in her.
All the joy, all the memories, dissolved like soap left in the bathtub.
She remembered sitting in jeans in a stunning restaurant and the joy that it hadn’t seemed to matter. Oh, there was a reason he hadn’t cared what she wore—Matteo had had other things on his mind that night.
Was the necklace the reason he’d been prepared to take things so slowly?
She felt sick with recall as every sweet memory of them soured.
‘Abby.’ Matteo would not give in. ‘My grandfather is sick and more than anything he wanted the necklace. I was going to pose as...’
‘Pose,’ Abby sneered. ‘You started lying even before we met.’
‘Yes, but I stopped lying an hour after we met,’ Matteo said. ‘You know that! By the next morning I was already head over heels with your team and by the next week I was struggling because I cared more about you than them...’
‘Leave me alone.’
She was humiliated, embarrassed and more hurt than she knew how to be.
‘I’ve been trying to tell you about the necklace...’
‘When?’ Abby demanded.
Matteo blew out a breath. He knew that he hadn’t really tried; he had left it in the too-hard basket, it would seem, for too long.
‘Have it...’ Abby said, yanking off the necklace, and she tossed it at him but it clattered onto the ground. ‘Take it to the old bastard. Tell him he’s got his precious necklace now. I hope you’re all happy.’
Matteo stood as Abby picked up the hem of her dress and walked briskly off.
He had a ring in his pocket but, no, some trinket wasn’t going to fix this and maybe full disclosure might prove too little too late but nonetheless he went after her. ‘If y
ou think the past three months have been a sham...’ Matteo started but Abby was too angry to let him speak.
‘That’s exactly what they have been. A sham. And you’re the biggest sham artist of the lot.’
‘I can’t believe you won’t even hear me out.’
‘I don’t need to hear you out,’ Abby shouted. ‘You’re all the same!’
Even as she said it, even before Abby saw the expression on Matteo’s face as the words hit, she wished she could scramble on the floor, not for the necklace but to retrieve her own words.
‘Don’t you dare compare me to them!’
And when she had every right to be angry—furious, in fact—she saw his anger. But it didn’t scare her—in fact, it shamed her as Matteo continued.
‘Don’t you ever put me in your father or Hunter’s league...’ He was sick to death of it. He was sick of being blamed for others’ mistakes and tired of being compared to his father. ‘I would never knowingly hurt you.’
‘You have hurt me though,’ Abby said as tears started to fall.
‘It’s called a row, Abby...’
‘And I don’t need it!’ She walked off to her car and, now furious himself, Matteo stood there and let her leave.
‘Problem?’ Ellison walked down the steps and retrieved the necklace and held it out to Matteo as he spoke. ‘That’s Abby—drama as always. Still, you kept to your end of the deal. You’ve got what you wanted.’
Matteo said nothing as he pocketed the necklace.
It was far safer.
But instead of getting into his car, he took the steps in three strides and, with Ellison following, he walked back into the home and straight into the study from where they had just come.
‘What do you think you’re doing?’ Ellison asked as Matteo ripped the photo of Abby and Hunter from the wall and smashed it over his knee. Not content with that he took out the image and he shredded it over and over and then tossed the pieces at Ellison.
‘What you should have done years ago.’
But shredding a photo of Hunter wasn’t enough for Matteo.
It was far from enough!
Matteo got in his car and drove, not to Abby’s but towards the airport and, as he did, he summoned his jet.
‘Now!’ Matteo roared and then having ended the call he threw his phone out of the car window.
Di Sione's Innocent Conquest (The Billionaire's Legacy) Page 13