by Lucy Leroux
Her fine brows pulled together. “I don’t understand.”
Exhaling, he leaned back. “I guess you didn’t Google me…”
She shrugged. “Kelly did.”
“So you know about my ex-wife?”
It was a relief, or it should have been, but Sophia was frowning in confusion.
“What about her?”
Sighing audibly, he rubbed his face. “She’s slandering me in the press. We’ve been divorced for years, but she got in trouble recently. For some reason she decided the best way to get out of it was to throw me to the wolves.” He rolled his shoulders in frustration, gesturing with his hands as he went on. “It’s a pack of disgusting lies, what she’s insinuating. But one of my old friends is enabling her—they’re sleeping together. To twist the knife, Maria-Gianna also has one of my young and stupid cousins wrapped around her finger. He’s joined in the defamation, so I cut him off.”
Her eyes widened, but she stayed quiet. “Well, you can’t choose your family, but it sounds like you need better friends,” she said eventually.
He smiled sadly. “I do have some good ones. One of them, Alex, is the one who finally told me the truth about my wife. He decided I needed to know after she tried to get him into bed. And he wasn’t the first. She pulled the same thing with my friend, Calen, too. He was still trying to figure out how to tell me when Alex beat him to it.”
Breaking eye contact, he looked down. He hated talking about that whole sordid mess. But she needed to hear it all or she wouldn’t understand why he had made such poor decisions.
“It was the holidays, and they were visiting. Maria Gianna was having one of her fits, and I was already sick of the drama. She didn’t like that I didn’t react the way she wanted. She needed to be indulged, but I wasn’t in the mood. I had just realized how immature and spoiled she was. I’d known her since childhood—she’s my father’s goddaughter. But it turns out I didn’t know her at all. I only saw the glittery exterior. What was underneath was very ugly.”
Sophia took a pillow and hugged it to her stomach, sitting back on the couch. “I’m waiting for the part where all that led to you lying to me.”
Seeing an open bottle of wine on the coffee table, he nodded and poured what was left into one of the empty glasses next to it.
“I know, it’s simply that I wanted to tell you everything for the longest time,” he said before letting his eyes unfocus, remembering the ignominious end to his marriage. “As I was saying, not all of my friends were that loyal. There was that one who was sleeping with her, Vincenzo. Every time she was angry with me, she went to him—and she was angry with me a lot toward the end. Vinny and I grew up together…I never realized how much he hated me until the divorce. There were probably others too, but unlike Vinny, they’re too ashamed to admit it.”
He checked for her reaction.
“Go on,” she said.
“Did I mention that Vincenzo’s father owns several tabloids?”
Understanding lit her eyes. “I see. So what was she saying and why does anyone care?”
Her pragmatic bluntness made him smile.
“Maria Gianna is a socialite who had small roles in a few Italian movies. The press still follows her around. She was driving while on drugs and was arrested for causing an accident. A man on his way to work was hurt. According to the gossip rags, I was the one who hooked her on drugs—when I’ve never even touched the stuff. I’ve never even smoked pot. I’m kind of boring that way.”
She didn’t smile, but her face softened. “I did. Once.” She picked at the fringe on the pillow. “So, what were you doing at the cafe?”
“I was looking for you.”
Her lips parted in surprise, and he smiled sheepishly. “I wanted to meet you ever since I saw you in that white satin dress.”
Sophia sat up straighter. “You were there? At the foundation dinner?”
“I was late—stuck in traffic—but I did eventually make it. Just not in time to meet you.”
“And then you did…and decided it was easier to lie.”
Gio shoved a hand through his hair. “No. I mean, yes. I wanted a chance to get to know you without all this merda hanging over my head. This is going to be hard for you to believe, but my honor means a lot to me.”
She scoffed aloud, making him flinch a little.
“I know how that sounds, but it’s true. The last few months, I’ve suddenly become a bad guy in other people’s eyes. Acquaintances have been looking at me like I was some sort of monster who’d been unmasked. Women that I've worked with for years were whispering behind my back at the bank. One woman, an associate who’d been angling for a date for months, was now canceling business dinners because she didn’t want to be alone with me. And some kid threw their coffee on me. There’s this stupid hashtag going around, pushing my ex’s fans to “get” me.”
Her brows went up. “All because you supposedly pushed drugs at her?”
“Well, there was the other insinuation—that I verbally abused Maria Gianna…and pimped her out to my friends.”
She raised her brows, and he laughed humorlessly. “I know, the irony. If she’d been faithful, I might have stayed married to her, tried counseling or something. My father was crushed by the divorce. So was her father. They’re best friends.”
Sophia put the pillow aside and crossed her arms. “And you thought I would believe all of these accusations?”
“Don’t you?”
She pursed her lips. “I don’t know,” she said softly, and his heart sank.
“You lied. We slept together, and I didn’t even know your real name. How can I believe anything you say now?”
“Because you know me now.”
She made a protesting sound.
“You do. The real me without all the money and the crazy ex-wife baggage. You know I’d never do drugs, let alone push them at someone. And I sure as hell wouldn’t encourage anyone I was with to cheat as punishment, no matter what they did. Think about it…do I seem like that kind of man?”
She was quiet so long he wanted to take that pillow she was holding and rip it to shreds in frustration.
“No, I guess you’re not,” she admitted grudgingly.
He relaxed incrementally. “I wanted to tell you the truth. I tried a million times, but I didn’t know how. And when I had finally worked up the courage, you told me about your ex-boyfriend and how you shouldn’t date anyone with money.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I stand by that.”
“Not every rich man is like your ex,” he pointed out. “I’d never try to control you or tell you what to think. But it became a lot harder to confess after you said that.”
Her head titled back as she remembered something. “That was the day you told me you worked in a bank…”
“Yes. I thought I would break the news in stages.”
“And I thought you had a day job as a bank teller, not that you owned the whole damn bank!” She huffed.
“I don’t own it. I simply run it,” he hedged.
Mentioning that he and his family had controlling interest wouldn’t help matters right now. He stared at her downbent head, his stomach somewhere around his knees.
“Sophia, all I wanted was a chance to get to know you. I never wanted to hurt you. Please believe that.”
There was another long pause but eventually she nodded. “I believe you…but I think you should go now.”
His face fell. He couldn’t blame her for how she felt. But it was too soon for him to give up. “All right. Um, I’m going to be in town for a few days. Can we talk later? Have coffee or something? I could come by the lab.”
A look of what he hoped was mock horror spread over her face. “Absolutely not.”
Gio wrinkled his nose. “I am sorry about that, too. The accident was my fault. I should have done it some other way. Surprising you at work was a bad idea.”
“Yeah, no shit,” she mutte
red, looking down at her hands.
He frowned. “I had no idea lab work was so dangerous. You should use some of that grant money to hire an assistant to work with the hazardous chemicals.”
Sophia sat up straighter. “I like to mix up my own solutions. Consistency is better when you do it yourself.”
“But if it’s dangerous—”
“Gio.”
He stood, uncomfortable. He wanted to press her. Her safety was everything to him, but it would have to wait until he was in better standing with her. And he would be. All he needed was one more chance. There would be no need for another.
“All right. I’ll go. Is Kelly staying here tonight?”
She shrugged.
“You shouldn’t be alone. Ask her to stay. You need to be monitored. Chemical pneumonitis is a possible complication, or so I’ve learned in the last few hours.”
“Look, Gio—”
“I’m staying,” Kelly called out from the bedroom in a sing-song voice.
Embarrassed to realize everything he’d said had been overheard, he flushed. “I’ll be in touch, okay?”
Deciding that giving her a chance to say no would be a bad idea, he took his leave.
****
Kelly popped out of the bedroom, wineglass in hand, bouncing up and down in excitement.
“Oh, my freaking God!” she said, sloshing her glass.
Sophia frowned. “I’m glad you brought chardonnay instead of a red…and that I don’t have carpet,” she said dryly as some of the wine landed onto the hardwood floor.
“Oh, sorry,” Kelly said, putting down the glass and curling up on the couch next to her. “Day-um. I knew he was handsome from the tabloids, but in person, he’s gorgeous! Like knicker-dropping gorgeous. Don’t get me wrong, I love my husband, but that hair and those eyes. Not to mention that square jaw—doesn’t it just make you want to lick it up and down? Did you do that with the billionaire?”
Yes.
She shot her dear friend a dirty look and some of that enthusiastic energy subsided.
“Okay, okay. He’s a liar, and we hate him. I’m totally on board with that, for however long you want to play it that way.”
Sophia collapsed on the couch cushions. She drew her knees up, hugging them to her chest. “You think I should forgive him, don’t you?”
Kelly laughed. “Actually, I think you should punch him in the balls…and then possibly maybe think about having coffee with him so he can continue groveling for forgiveness.”
She snorted and Kelly held up a hand. “I’m not saying you should forgive him, especially if anything his ex is saying has the tiniest kernel of truth to it. But you didn’t sound like you believed any of it when you were talking to him. Do you?”
Sophia took the empty bottle Gio had finished and started peeling the label. “I don’t know. I want to say no. None of that sounds like him. But there’s this huge lie staring me in the face, and I feel like an idiot for wanting to believe anything he says now.”
Kelly gave her a sympathetic look. “Oh, sweetie. I’m sorry. I don’t know what to tell you. Other than I don’t blame you for hitting that—street artist or not.”
Sophia snatched up a pillow and smacked her with it until she begged for mercy.
“Truce! Truce!” Kelly yelled before grabbing the pillow and disarming her. She straightened up. “So what are you going to do?”
“Hide until he leaves town.”
“You can’t. He’s your lab’s biggest donor.”
Sophia groaned. “I had forgotten all about that. I’m not going to be able to avoid him. I can’t even show him how mad I am. The lab is depending on his funding this year. If he pulled it at this stage, we’d be crippled. Alan would never forgive me.”
“I doubt Gio would be that vindictive.”
“One can only hope.”
Kelly stood and opened the second bottle of wine she brought. She poured Sophia a very full glass.
“Here’s to hope,” Kelly toasted.
Chapter 11
Sophia straightened the skirt of her dress and made a face at herself in the mirror. She was standing in the bathroom in one of Oxford’s most exclusive restaurants. Alan had called her at home, asking—no begging—her to join him for dinner with their biggest donor.
He apologized profusely for making her give up her Saturday night, but they both knew there was no way Sophia could avoid it. Gio had given them a lot of money. A veritable buttload—and she had received the lion’s share. Dinner was obligatory. The only way she could get miss it was if her eyes were bleeding.
Just let me get through this in one piece. Speaking of which…
She looked down at her dress critically. The simple sheath was loose and too boxy. Most of her clothes were. It had never bothered her before. However, having to walk into a four-star restaurant, knowing that a billionaire banker was waiting for her, made her wish she had gone shopping.
For a second she had considered wearing her white dress, but she nipped that idea in the bud. And there was no way in hell she was wearing the black one he’d given her. So instead she was wearing this dark green sack—a choice she was regretting now.
Doesn’t matter. At least this way he couldn’t assume she dressed up for him. Gritting her teeth, she gave herself a little pep talk before walking into the dining room.
They were seated at a prime table. Gio stood as soon as he saw her. He seemed relieved, and she felt a twinge deep inside that he cared that much, in spite of herself.
He wasn’t the only one that looked relieved. Alan jumped up as well, his friendly face splitting into a grin. But the sweat on his brow betrayed his concern. It was unnecessary, though. There was no way she’d hurt the lab by skipping dinner. She would be professional until it killed her.
“Here’s our girl,” Alan said in a loud voice when she reached the table.
Too loud. Several people turned to stare at them as Gio hurried to pull out her chair. Her inner feminist chafed at being called a girl by her research partner, but she bit her tongue. Alan was nervous, and with good reason.
He proceeded to show it by making nonstop conversation for a few minutes before his cell phone rang.
“Oh, really, are you stuck?” Alan said. “All right. It’s not a good time but if you’re stranded, you’re stranded. I’ll be right there.” He hung up the phone with a good imitation of true regret. “I’m so sorry, but I have to leave. My daughter is having car trouble.”
“That’s fine. We completely understand,” Gio said, not bothering to look at him.
His eyes hadn’t left her face since she’d sat down and it was starting to make her squirm. Looking away, she blushed while Alan sputtered a quick goodbye before making his escape.
The silence that followed was broken by a waiter requesting their order. Gio asked for a wine she didn’t recognize, but it seemed to terribly impress their server.
“Are you okay? Is your cough better?” he asked.
The concern in his voice was unsettling. “It’s gone, thank you.”
“I didn’t ask Alan to do that, by the way.” He leaned forward to pour her some wine.
“Of course not,” she replied dryly, taking the glass.
“I promise you, I didn’t say a thing. Not about us.”
She laughed. “I think the way you were carrying on, screaming like a fishwife over a little spilled acid was kind of a big tip-off that there was an us.”
He ignored the insult. “Is there still?” he asked softly.
Taking a large sip, she leaned back in her chair and stared at him. “Why do you even want there to be?”
She was at least four sizes too large to be billionaire girlfriend material. She and Kelly had Googled his ex-wife right after he left the day before. The woman was a stick insect…of the gorgeous blonde variety. Seeing the photos had made Sophia sick to her stomach despite Kelly’s assurances that Maria Gianna was too skinny.
<
br /> Gio was giving her a look of mingled frustration and something else she couldn’t quite define. “I want a second chance. I promise I won’t need a third.”
Some deep dark part of her soul thrilled at his words, but it was buried under layers of apprehension and distrust.
“Why?”
His hand fisted on the table. “I—because you’re amazing. Your research application was head and shoulders above everyone else’s. I couldn’t forget what you said about why you were pursuing that line of research…By the way, did you ever find out if your mother’s sample tested positive for the parasite?”
Sophia swallowed over the sudden lump in her throat. “Her results were inconclusive,” she said, her throat tightening.
“Oh. I’m sorry.”
She gave him a small nod. “So you were so impressed by my big brain you simply had to meet me?” she drawled sarcastically.
He cocked his head and flashed her a devastating smile. “Well, after I saw you in that white dress and almost swallowed my tongue, meeting you became a top priority.”
Her blush crept down all the way down to her chest. Even her décolletage was red. She snuck a glance at Gio’s face, but he was politely looking into her eyes.
“I find it hard to believe I’m your type,” she said.
He frowned and toyed with his fork. “Why is that?”
“I’m not some skinny fashion plate. I don’t dress to show off my body. That white dress is the exception, not the rule. I wouldn’t look right on a billionaire’s arm. I saw pictures of your ex-wife. She’s like a size zero.”
“Sophia, that hardly means I only like skinny women. In fact, I always thought Maria Gianna dieted too much. I’m more egalitarian in my tastes than that.”
“So you’ve dated fatties before?” she asked, her eyebrow raised.
His brow creased. “You’re not fat. I love your curves. I think you know that…and in case you’ve forgotten, I’d be more than happy to demonstrate my enthusiasm for them,” he said, his face sharpening with a predatory hunger that sent a shiver down her spine.