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‘I’ll pick you up at seven,’ he said. ‘Where do you live?’
Gisele felt a bolt of panic rush through her. She didn’t want him at her flat. That was her private sanctuary, the one place she felt safe enough to let out her grief. Besides, how would she explain all the photos of Lily? It was much better to leave him ignorant of their baby’s short life. She wasn’t ready to tell him. She would never be ready to tell him. How could she cope with the pain of him telling her she should have had a termination as she had been advised? It had been hard enough hearing it from her mother and some of her friends. Emilio wouldn’t have wanted a child who wasn’t perfect. It wouldn’t have suited his plan for a perfectly ordered life.
‘You don’t seem to be getting the message, Emilio,’ she said with a defiant look. ‘I don’t want to see you again. Not tonight. Not tomorrow night. Not ever. You’ve apologised. End of story. Now, please leave before I have you evicted by Security.’
His expression was faintly mocking. ‘What Security?’ he asked. ‘Anyone could walk in here and empty your cash register while your back was turned and you wouldn’t be able to do a single thing to stop them. You don’t even have CCTV cameras installed.’
Gisele pressed her lips together, hating him for pointing out what he obviously perceived as a flaw in her personality. Her mother … her adoptive mother, she corrected herself, had communicated much the same thing only a few days ago, saying she was far too trusting with her customers. It didn’t come naturally to Gisele to mistrust people, but then wasn’t that why her life had ended up the way it had? She had been so naive and trusting with Emilio and it had backfired spectacularly.
Emilio continued to study her for a lengthy moment. ‘Have you been ill recently?’ he asked.
Gisele suddenly froze, caught off guard by that dark penetrating gaze that refused to let hers go. ‘Um … why do you ask that?’
‘You look pale and much thinner than when we were together,’ he said.
‘Not quite up to your impeccable standards any more?’ she said, giving him a hardened look. ‘What a lucky escape you had in calling off our wedding. It wouldn’t suit your image to be married to a frump, now, would it?’
Another heavy frown appeared between his brows. ‘You misunderstand me,’ he said. ‘I was simply commenting on your pallor, not your lack of beauty. You are still one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen.’
It was amazing how easily cynicism came to Gisele now. In the past she would have blushed and felt incredibly flattered by such a compliment. Now all she felt was a simmering fury that he was trying to charm her into forgiving him. He was wasting his time and hers. Forgiveness was a word she had long ago deleted from her vocabulary.
She walked over to the shop service counter and barricaded herself behind it. ‘You can save your shallow compliments for someone who will believe them enough to fall into your bed,’ she said. ‘It’s not going to work with me.’
‘Is that why you think I am here?’ he asked.
Gisele felt herself being swallowed by that charcoal-black unreadable gaze. The air seemed to be charged with an erotic energy she had no control over. Her hands gripped the edge of the counter for support, her heart beating too hard and too fast as his hooded gaze slipped to her mouth.
She held her breath in that infinitesimal moment as his gaze rested on her lips.
His gaze was like a touch. It burned her with its intent. She felt the tingle of her lips as if he had reached across the counter and pressed his mouth to hers …
But her best friend cynicism came to her rescue just in time. ‘I think you are here to clear your conscience,’ she said. ‘You’re not here because of me. You’re here because of you.’
His expression gave no clue to what was going on behind the screen of his dark eyes, but a tiny nerve twitched at the edge of his mouth as if it were being tugged by an invisible needle and thread.
It seemed a very long time before he spoke.
‘I am here for both of us,’ he said. ‘I want to wipe the slate clean. Neither of us can truly move on with our lives with this lying like a festering sore between us.’
Gisele put up her chin with cool hauteur. ‘I have moved on with my life,’ she said.
His eyes challenged hers for endless seconds, but when he finally spoke his voice was gruff. ‘Have you, cara? Have you really?’
Was it his unexpectedly gentle tone or his use of an all too familiar endearment that made her throat suddenly close over as if someone had gripped it and cruelly squeezed? She blinked against the sting of tears, once, twice, three times before she was confident they were not going to break through. ‘Of course,’ she said coldly. ‘Or would you rather I said I’d been pining for you forlornly ever since you cut me from your life?’
‘That would indeed be a punishment I would not like to have inflicted on me,’ he said with a rueful movement of his lips. ‘It would make the guilt I feel all the harder to bear.’
Gisele looked at him standing there, so tall, so assured, the master of all he controlled. Was he really feeling guilty or just annoyed at being wrong for once in his life? He was a fiercely proud man. She had met no one prouder or more stubborn. ‘You can sleep easy, Emilio,’ she said. ‘After the way you treated me I put you out of my mind as soon as I stepped off the plane. I haven’t thought of you in months.’
He held her look for a heartbeat longer than she would have liked. ‘I’ll be in town for the rest of the week,’ he said, handing her a business card. ‘If you change your mind about meeting with me, please feel free to call me at any time.’
Gisele took the silver-embossed card with a hand that trembled slightly as it came in contact with his. She curled her fingers around the card until its edges bit into her palm. ‘I won’t change my mind,’ she said with steely determination wrapped around each and every word.
She waited until he had left before she let out her breath in a long ragged stream. She looked at the card she had crushed in her hand. A sharp corner had broken the skin of her palm; a very timely reminder that if she allowed Emilio Andreoni too close again she would be the only one to get hurt.
CHAPTER TWO
A COUPLE of days later Gisele received a visit from her landlord, Keith Patterson. For a heart-stopping moment she wondered if she had somehow overlooked paying her rent, but then she remembered she had seen the electronic transfer of the funds on her accounts profile page only the week before.
‘I know this is short notice, Miss Carter,’ Keith said after the usual polite exchange of greetings, ‘but I’ve decided to sell the building to a developer. I got an offer too good to refuse. The wife and I lost a fair bit in the global financial crisis and we need to refinance ourselves for our retirement. This offer couldn’t have come at a better time.’
Gisele blinked at him in alarm. While her profit turnover was good and her bank overdraft manageable, finding other premises would no doubt involve a rise in rent. She didn’t want to overstretch herself, especially as she had only recently employed an assistant. So many small businesses folded due to having too many overheads and not enough income. She didn’t want to become another statistic of economic disaster. ‘Does that mean I have to move out?’ she asked.
‘That will depend on the new owner,’ Keith said. ‘He’ll have to get council approval before he does any alterations. That could take weeks or a couple of months. He gave me his card for you to contact him to discuss the lease.’ He handed her a silver-embossed card across the counter.
Gisele’s heart dropped like a stone inside her chest even before she saw the name on the card. ‘Emilio Andreoni bought the building?’ she asked in a shocked gasp.
‘You’ve heard of him?’ Keith asked.
She felt her face grow warm. ‘Yes … I’ve heard of him,’ she said. ‘But he’s an architect, not a property developer.’
‘Maybe he’s diversifying his interests,’ Keith said. ‘I’ve heard he’s won numerous awards for his designs. He seemed mighty keen to buy the place.’
‘Did he give you a reason for his enthusiasm?’ Gisele asked, boiling with anger inside.
‘Yes, he said it held sentimental value,’ Keith said. ‘Maybe a relative of his owned it in the past. Some Italians used to have a fruit shop here in the fifties. I can’t remember their name.’
Gisele ground her teeth. Sentimental value indeed! She knew for a fact Emilio had no living relatives, or at least none he wanted to associate with. He had told her very little about his background, but she sensed it hadn’t been much like hers. She had often wondered if that was another reason he had wanted to marry her. Her blue-blooded pedigree had appealed to him. How ironic that it turned out she and her twin were the products of an illicit affair their father had had with a housekeeper while he and his wife were living in London.
Once Keith Patterson had gone Gisele looked at the business card lying on the counter. She drummed her fingers on the glass surface, her teeth almost going to powder as she considered her options. She could tear up the card into tiny little pieces as she had a couple of days ago, or she could call the mobile number on it and arrange a showdown. If she tore up the card he would surely come in to see her and she would be caught off guard just as she had been before.
She decided it would be better to see him on her terms this time around. She picked up the phone and started dialling.
‘Emilio Andreoni.’
‘You bastard!’ Gisele spat before she could stop herself.
She heard the sound of a leather chair squeaking as he shifted position. She imagined him with his feet up on the desk, his ankles crossed casually, his head laid back against the headrest and a self-satisfied smile on his mouth.
‘Nice to hear from you, Gisele,’ he said smoothly. ‘Have you changed your mind yet about meeting with me one last time before I leave?’
Gisele almost broke the phone with the pressure of her fingers as she gripped it in her hand. ‘I can’t believe how ruthless you’re prepared to be in getting your own way,’ she hissed at him. ‘Do you really think by charging me an exorbitant rent it will make me hate you less?’
‘You’re assuming I’m going to charge you rent,’ he said. ‘Maybe I’ll lease the premises to you without charging a cent.’
Gisele’s heart clanged against her rib cage. ‘Wh-what did you say?’
‘I’m offering you a business proposition,’ he said. ‘Meet with me and we’ll discuss it.’
She felt a shiver of apprehension trickle down her spine like a single drop of icy water. ‘I’d rather turn tricks on the nearest street corner than have anything to do with you,’ she threw back.
‘Before you reject an offer you really should discuss the terms and conditions more thoroughly,’ he said. ‘You might be surprised at some of the benefits.’
‘I can just imagine some of the benefits,’ Gisele said, her voice liberally laced with scorn. ‘A rent-free premises in exchange for my body and my self-respect. No thanks.’
‘You really should consider my proposal, Gisele,’ he said. ‘It wouldn’t do to put at risk everything you’ve worked so hard for, now, would it?’
‘I’ve lost everything before and survived,’ she said, throwing a verbal punch.
She heard it land with a sharp intake of his breath. ‘Don’t make me play dirty, Gisele,’ he gritted. ‘I can and I will if I have to.’
Gisele felt that icy shiver again. She knew just how ruthless he could be. She knew he had ways and means to make things very difficult for her, even more difficult than when he had thrown her out of his life so callously just days before the wedding she had planned with such excitement and anticipation. She still remembered the horror of that moment. She couldn’t even look at a wedding gown now without feeling that gut-wrenching sense of despair. But she was not going to roll over for him. ‘I don’t want or need your help,’ she said. ‘I don’t care if I have to beg on the streets. I will not accept anything from you.’
‘I recently designed a holiday retreat for one of Europe’s largest retail giants,’ Emilio said. ‘With a click of a computer mouse I could make your business expand exponentially. Your shop will not just be a local enterprise. It will instantly become a global brand.’
Gisele thought of the expansion she had planned over the next few years. How she had imagined building her business to spread to other suburban outlets and to the larger department stores and, more importantly, increasing her online presence. The only things that had been holding her back were secure finance and the right contacts.
She fought with her resolve. She wanted to say no. She wanted to slam the phone down in his ear. But turning her back on him would mean turning her back on the sort of success most people could only dream about. But then, doing any sort of business deal with Emilio would mean contact with him.
Contact she didn’t want, wouldn’t allow herself to want.
Her stomach slipped like a cat’s claws on a highly polished surface.
Maybe even intimate contact …
‘Think about it, Gisele,’ he said. ‘You have a lot to gain by allowing me back in your life, even if it’s only temporarily.’
‘What do you mean, temporarily?’ she asked warily.
‘I would like you to spend the next month with me in Italy,’ Emilio said. ‘It will give us a chance to see if we can still make things work between us. I will, of course, pay you an allowance for the time we spend together.’
‘I’m not spending the next minute with you,’ Gisele said with a fresh upsurge of resolve. ‘I’m hanging up right now so don’t bother call—’
‘It will also be the perfect opportunity for me to introduce you to the right contacts,’ he said. ‘How does a million dollars for the month sound?’
Gisele’s mouth opened and closed. She couldn’t seem to get her voice to work. Her heart was pumping so hard and so fast she felt as if it were going to explode out from between her breasts and land on the floor in front of her.
A million dollars.
Could she do it? Could she survive a month living with Emilio? She had shared his bed with love in the past. How could she do it this time with hatred?
Would he want her to share his bed?
A shiver ran over her skin. Of course he would want her to. Hadn’t she seen his desire for her burning in his dark eyes when he came into the shop? Couldn’t she hear the spine-tingling rumble of it in his voice now? ‘I … I need some time to think about this,’ she said.
‘What’s to think about?’ he asked. ‘You win either way, Gisele. If after a month we both feel there’s no point in carrying on any further, you will be free to go. No strings. You can take the money and leave.’
She chewed at her bottom lip for a moment. ‘And you’re happy to have me back in your life, hating you the way I do?’ she asked.
‘I understand your feelings,’ he said. ‘But I feel we both need to be sure we’re not making the biggest mistake of our lives by not exploring the possibility of a future together.’
Gisele frowned. ‘Why are you doing this?’ she asked. ‘Why not leave things as they are?’
‘Because as soon as I saw you the other day I knew we had unfinished business,’ he said. ‘I felt it and I know you did too. You can deny it but it won’t make it any less real. You might hate me but I felt your body react to mine. You still want me just as much as I still want you.’
Gisele hated that he knew her body so well that he could read its most subtle of signals. What hope did she have of coming out of this with her pride intact? ‘I want another day or two to think it over,’ she said. ‘And if I agree, I won’t accept less than two million.’
‘I can see why you have done so well for yourself in the time we’ve been apart,’ Emilio said musingly. ‘You drive a hard bargain. Two million is a lot of money.’
‘I have a lot of hate,’ she shot back.
‘I will look forward to dismantling it,’ he said.
Gisele felt her insides clench with unruly desire. ‘You haven’t got a hope, Emilio,’ she said. ‘You can pay all you like for my body but you will never have my heart.’
‘Your body will do for now,’ he said with smouldering intensity. ‘I will send a car for you on Friday evening. Pack your passport and some clothes if it is a yes.’ And with that the phone line went dead.
As Emilio’s driver pulled up in front of her block of flats Gisele told herself she was saying yes for one reason and one reason only. She wanted to make Emilio’s life as miserable as she could for the next month. She would enjoy every minute of making him regret the way he had treated her. He would not find her such an easy conquest this time around. She was not the sweet, shy, rather naive virgin he had met and swept off her feet two years ago. She was older and wiser, harder and more cynical. More battle scarred and dangerously, scarily angry.
Also, being in Europe for a month might give her the opportunity to get to know the sister she had never met until a couple of weeks ago. Sienna was currently living in London, which was a whole lot closer to Rome than Sydney.
Gisele felt her chest tighten as she thought of all the lost years, all the lost confidences and closeness she and Sienna should have had together. Selfish adults who had not stopped to think of the long-term consequences of such a reckless and self-serving deception had stolen it from them.
She was still coming to terms with the heartbreak of finding out the truth. It wasn’t just about the sex tape scandal mix-up, although that was heartbreaking enough. She felt her whole life had been a lie. She didn’t know who she was any more. It was as if Gisele Carter, the Sydney born and bred only child of Richard and Hilary Carter, had suddenly vanished, vaporised into thin air.
Who was she now?
She was not her mother’s daughter. And yet she was not her biological mother’s daughter either as she had never felt her mother’s arms or ever felt the brush of her lips on her skin, or if she had in those first early days after birth she had no memory of it now.
She had been handed over like a package, a one-way delivery, never to be returned to sender. How had her mother, Nell Baker, chosen which baby to keep and which one to give away? Had she done it willingly or had she done it for the money?
A little dagger of guilt pierced Gisele as she thought of what she had led Emilio to believe she would do for money. He thought he could pay any amount to have her back in his life and back in his bed but he was in for a big surprise. She gave a grimly determined smile as she pressed down on the suitcase to snap the locks closed. Once the month was up Emilio would be just as glad to see the back of her as he had been the last time.
She would make sure of it.
Emilio was waiting in the hotel bar when Gisele came. He felt the jolt of awareness hit him like a punch to his abdomen. He had met hundreds of beautiful women but no one had that powerful physical effect on him just by walking into the room. And yet she hardly seemed to be aware of how every male head turned and looked at her.
Her simple but elegant cream dress was nipped in at the waist with a black bow at the front that drew attention to how slim she was. He suspected he could now span her waist with his hands. Her silver-blonde hair was pulled back in a smooth knot at the back of her head, showcasing the swanlike grace of her neck. She was wearing make-up but it was so skilfully applied it looked entirely natural. She had subtly highlighted the grey-blue of her eyes with eyeliner and a brush of smoky eyeshadow, and her lush lips were shiny with pink-tinted lipgloss. It made him want to lean down and press his lips to hers to see if she still tasted the same. He could smell her perfume, her signature summery honeysuckle scent that had clung to his skin for hours after making love with her. He had missed that fragrance. It never smelled quite the same on anyone else.
He stood to greet her, and even though she was wearing shiny patent black killer heels he still towered over her. ‘Did you bring your passport?’ he asked.
She gave him a churlish look from beneath her lashes. ‘I almost didn’t, but the thought of two million reasons why I should made me see reason.’
Emilio allowed himself a small smile of satisfaction. She was here under duress but at least she was here. He led her to a quiet corner in the bar with a gentle hand at her elbow. He felt her bare skin shiver in response to his touch and an arrow of need staked him in his groin. Her skin was so soft and creamy, like silk against his fingers. ‘What would you like to drink?’ he asked. ‘Champagne?’
She shook her head. ‘I’m not celebrating anything,’ she said, shooting him another look. ‘White wine will do.’
Emilio ordered their drinks and, once they had been served, he leaned back in his seat to study her icemaiden features. He knew he deserved her ire. He had thrown her out of his life with a callous and ruthless disregard for her feelings. He had been so convinced she had betrayed him. The red mist of anger he had felt had blinded him to anything but what he believed she had done. The image of her with that man taunted him and had done so until he had found out about the discovery of her identical twin.
