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‘Pretend?’ She frowned at him. ‘How do you propose we do that?’
His gaze was unblinking as it held hers. ‘You will move back into my house immediately.’
Keira swallowed back her dread. ‘You’re surely not serious?’
‘I am, indeed, very serious, Keira,’ he said. ‘The boys are not stupid. If we go out on the occasional date in the hope they will think we have settled our differences they will immediately know something is amiss. Living together again as man and wife is the best way to convince them it is for real.’
‘Define what you mean by living together as man and wife,’ she said, watching him guardedly. ‘You’re not expecting me to sleep with you, are you?’
‘You will have to share my bed due to the regular presence of the household staff,’ he said. ‘If anyone reported to the press that we were not sharing a bedroom it would blow our cover. However,’ he continued, ‘I have no intention of sharing my body with you. That is something I no longer have any desire to do.’
His statement hurt far more than he could ever have realised, Keira thought. She felt the pain of his rejection in every nerve and cell in her body. He had desired her so passionately in the past, his body driving into hers with such urgency and potency she had sobbed his name in ecstasy each and every time. Her mind filled with the erotic images of their rocking bodies in every position imaginable. He had taught her so much about sensuality; nothing had been off limits. He had worshipped her as, indeed, she had worshipped him.
Keira became aware of the creeping silence, her face feeling the slow burn of shame spreading over it as she encountered that dark steely gaze.
She hadn’t seen him for two months but she had not forgotten how very black his hair was, its loosely controlled style with its slight wave making her ache to run her fingers through it as she had done so many times in the past. His lean jaw was shadowed with the late-in-the-day stubble that marked him as a virile man. His shoulders were broad and his stomach flat and rock-hard from the punishing early morning physical regime he adhered to with the sort of self-discipline she admired but totally lacked herself.
His clothes hung off him with lazy grace, his tie loosened, his shirt undone at his neck giving him an air of casualness that was totally captivating and dangerously attractive.
‘You have gone very quiet,’ he observed. ‘Were you expecting me to ask you to resume an intimate relationship with me?’
Keira moistened the parchment-dryness of her lips. ‘No, of course not,’ she said. ‘I’m just trying to get my head around your suggestion.’
‘You do not think it will work?’
She bit at her lip. ‘I’m not sure…Won’t the boys suspect something when we get back together so suddenly?’
‘Not when you recall how quickly we got together in the first place,’ he pointed out neatly. ‘Remember?’
Keira did and it made her skin tingle from head to foot in reaction. She had met him at a school sports day, her instant attraction to him totally overwhelming. After the final game they had taken the boys out for pizza and, instead of dropping her home, Patrizio had taken her back to his house and made her coffee. Coffee had led to kisses, kisses to caresses and caresses to consummation of their relationship. Keira hadn’t had a lover before and had been expecting her first time to be uncomfortable but it was anything but. Her body had responded to his as if it had been fashioned especially for him, the pleasure she had felt in his arms something she would never be able to forget—certainly not now with him sitting so close.
‘You haven’t answered, Keira,’ he said. ‘Does that mean you are having trouble recalling our time together or do you save your memory lapses for when you hope it will exonerate you from taking responsibility for your—shall we say—less than honourable actions?’
Keira dragged her gaze back to his, her lips growing tight with anger. She hated herself enough without having him rub her nose in it every chance he could. Couldn’t he see how very distressed she was? She had begged for his forgiveness, she had cried and cried and yet he had shunned her totally, refusing to even speak to her other than through his lawyer.
‘As you said earlier, we are here to discuss the boys,’ she clipped out. ‘Could we please stick with that topic?’
He held her gaze for interminable seconds.
‘I think the plan will work,’ he finally said. ‘The boys were once the best of friends. Bruno will hardly continue his appalling behaviour if I tell him I have fallen in love with you again. I suspect that within days of our announcing our intention to resume our marriage they will restore their friendship.’
‘But if we resume living together it will delay our divorce,’ she said with a worried frown. ‘We’ve been separated for two months. If we live together it will mean we’ll have to start from scratch.’
‘I realise that, but it cannot be avoided,’ he said. ‘The boys must be put first over our desire for a divorce.’ His eyes probed hers for another lengthy moment. ‘Or are you in a particular hurry to process it in order to marry someone else?’
Keira lowered her gaze to her hands in her lap, surprised to see a tiny smear of blood where one of her rough-edged nails had broken the skin. She hadn’t felt a thing; the pain she was currently feeling was from much deeper inside. ‘No,’ she said. ‘There’s no one else.’
‘Fine,’ he said. ‘That means we can get going on this without delay.’
Keira sat in silence, still twisting her hands and worrying her bottom lip with her teeth.
‘Do not worry about your parents,’ he said after a little pause.
She looked up at him and frowned. ‘You’ve already discussed this with them?’
‘No,’ he said. ‘But I am well aware of your strained relationship with them.’
Keira couldn’t help the rush of feeling that surged through her at his softened tone. He had always understood her difficulties relating to her strait-laced and conservative parents, and had often protected her from their criticism in the past. That had been one of the things she had missed most about him. He had been her defender, her rock and fortress. She had felt so alone without him in her life—so achingly and desperately alone.
‘Of course, while we are involved in this charade, it goes without saying that any involvement with other parties must immediately cease,’ he said.
Keira shifted her gaze again. ‘I’m not involved with anyone.’
‘Good,’ he said. ‘I am between relationships as well so the timing is perfect.’
Keira had seen a photograph in the press of his new lover. Gisela Hunter was the total opposite of her—a tall platinum blonde-haired beauty, with rail-thin arms and legs and the sort of smile the cost of which must have put a Ferrari in some top-notch orthodontist’s garage.
She fought down her jealousy and reminded herself that she had no one but herself to blame. She had jumped to conclusions and, in her normal impulsive way, had acted on a suspicion that in the end had proved to be incorrect.
‘I understand that you are currently working part-time at a café,’ he said.
She brought her eyes back to his. ‘Yes. It helps to pay my rent and for my painting materials.’
‘You will give the café proprietor your notice immediately,’ he said. ‘I will pay you a wage for the duration of our mock reconciliation.’
‘You don’t have to do that…’
‘No, but I will do it all the same. I cannot have people wondering why you are slaving over a coffee machine when your husband is a multi-millionaire.’
She looked down at her hands again, knowing it would be pointless refusing. He wouldn’t take no for an answer and, besides, she needed money; her rent was already two weeks in arrears. ‘All right…’ she said, ‘if you insist.’
She heard the creak of leather as he leaned forward in his chair and she looked up to meet his eyes, her stomach giving a little shuffling movement at the dark intensity she could see reflected there.
‘This is not about us, Keira,’ he said. ‘It is about two young boys on the threshold of adulthood who are jeopardising their futures with unnecessary bitterness.’
Her tongue moved over the dryness of her lips again. ‘I understand…’
‘Good,’ he said. ‘Then you will also understand the urgency of making an announcement to the press.’ He picked up his mobile from his desk and, scrolling through, pressed the name that came up on the dial.
She listened as he informed the journalist at the other end that, as of tonight, Keira and Patrizio Trelini had cancelled their acrimonious divorce proceedings and were resuming their relationship.
Indefinitely…
CHAPTER TWO
PATRIZIO put the phone back down and faced her. ‘How soon can you move back into my place?’
Her stomach tilted again. ‘Um…’
‘Would it help if I sent Marietta over to pack your things?’
She nodded, not trusting her voice to come out without a break in it. He wasn’t just doing this for his nephew; he was doing it for Jamie as well. Somehow she found that particularly touching.
‘I will need to give Marietta the keys to your flat,’ he said, passing her a piece of paper and a pen. ‘Jot down what you think you will need for the next six weeks and she and Salvatore will sort it out this evening.’
Keira gripped the pen and tried to think about what she would need in order to play the role of reconciled wife but it was difficult to concentrate with him sitting so close. The air circulating between them held a faint trace of his lemon-scented aftershave, which made her feel as if he were touching her in a vicarious way. She was breathing him in, breath by ragged breath, and it disturbed her deeply.
‘I think we should have dinner together tonight,’ he said once she’d passed him the list and her keys. ‘It will give credence to our announcement to the press.’
Keira looked down at her paint-splattered clothes. ‘I need to get changed…’
‘There are still some of your clothes at my house.’
Her eyes came up to meet his. ‘You mean you haven’t thrown them all out?’
He gave her one of his unreadable looks. ‘Marietta insisted they were to stay in the wardrobe until the divorce was finalised. I think she has always hoped you would come back.’
She looked down at her hands again. ‘Did you tell her you wouldn’t have me back?’ she asked.
It seemed a long time before he answered. Keira could hear the clock on the wall behind her counting out the seconds; they seemed to be out of time with her thumping heart.
‘I told her what we had was well and truly over,’ he said. ‘I did not discuss the details with her or with anyone, although she could hardly have avoided hearing about it in the press. The journalists are still having a field day with it, no doubt because of your father’s bid for the Senate.’
Keira knew she should be feeling grateful that he hadn’t revealed the sordid details of her betrayal with all and sundry. He had had every right to do so—what she had done had been unforgivable. She could only assume that he had remained silent out of a sense of male pride. He would deem it below him to reveal the particulars of his private life, although she couldn’t help wondering why he had all those magazines in the waiting room. Perhaps, like the wedding photo on his desk, he wanted to remind himself of how he had been let down by someone he had once trusted and loved.
He passed the phone to her. ‘I think you should call your brother at school,’ he said. ‘It would be better for him to hear it from you rather than read it in the papers tomorrow.’
Keira stared at the phone in her hands. Could she lie convincingly to her younger brother? Although eight years separated them, she and Jamie had always been exceptionally close.
She pressed the numbers and waited for him to pick up his mobile.
‘Hello?’
‘Jamie, it’s me, Keira.’
‘Hi, Keira, how are you doing? How are the paintings going for the exhibition?’
‘Not so bad,’ she said, trying to lift her tone. ‘How are you?’
There was a tiny pause.
‘OK, I guess…’
‘Jamie,’ she began, ‘I have something to tell you.’
‘You’re not going to marry Garth Merrick, are you?’ he asked, the edge of panic unmistakable in his tone.
Keira had to turn away from the quirked-brow look Patrizio sent her as her brother’s voice carried across the room. ‘No, of course not. We’re just…friends.’
‘What is it, then?’
She took a calming breath. ‘Patrizio and I have decided to get back together,’ she said, mentally crossing her fingers that he would buy it.
‘The divorce is off?’
‘Yes,’ she said. ‘The divorce is off.’
‘Wow, Keira, that’s great!’ he said excitedly. ‘What brought this about?’
‘I guess we both realised we were making a big mistake,’ she said, adlibbing as she went along. ‘We both still love each other, so a divorce is pointless.’
‘I’m so glad, Keira,’ he said. ‘You haven’t been happy since…well, since it all fell apart. What do Mum and Dad think? Have you told them yet?’
‘Not yet, but I’ll call them next.’
There was another little silence.
‘Does Bruno Di Venuto know?’ Jamie asked.
Keira met Patrizio’s eyes across the desk. ‘No,’ she said. ‘But Patrizio is about to ring him.’
‘I saw him in the common room a few minutes ago,’ Jamie said. ‘He was his usual obnoxious self.’
‘Has it been very difficult for you, Jamie?’ she asked. ‘You haven’t mentioned a thing in any of the calls we’ve had lately.’
‘I can handle him, Keira,’ Jamie said. ‘He’s got a chip on his shoulder about you and his uncle divorcing. He thinks it’s all your fault but I told him you only did what you did because you thought Patrizio was having an affair. You weren’t to know you were being set up. Anyone could have made the same mistake.’
Keira inwardly cringed. ‘I’m sorry you’ve had to suffer because of me,’ she said. ‘I wish I could have avoided dragging you into my problems.’
‘Don’t be daft,’ he responded. ‘You always stuck up for me when Mum and Dad got angry about some stupid little issue. But I must say I’m glad to hear your news. I really want to do well in the finals and the way Bruno has been carrying on was making life pretty difficult. He’s got some influential mates. My grades have been falling but I should be able to pick them up if he lays off a bit.’
Keira met Patrizio’s dark unblinking gaze across the desk. ‘Patrizio assures me Bruno will,’ she said. ‘Take care of yourself, Jamie. I love you.’
‘Don’t go all soppy on me now,’ he said gruffly. ‘I am really pleased you and Patrizio are having another go at it. I like him, Keira. I always did. He’s one really cool dude.’
Keira handed the phone back to Patrizio a short time later. ‘Apparently, in spite of your nephew’s behaviour, my brother still thinks you’re one really cool dude.’
He gave her an indifferent look. ‘So I heard.’
She listened while he made a call to his nephew and, even though it was issued in staccato Italian, she more or less got the drift. Patrizio’s brows snapped together as he ranted and railed, the gestures of his hand indicating that he was extremely angry.
He put the phone down on the desk a few minutes later with a brooding frown. ‘That boy needs a firm hand. I should have seen this coming. I could have stopped it getting to this.’
‘It’s all right, Patrizio,’ she said. ‘Jamie is coping with things.’
He got to his feet and stood with his back to her, looking out over the city below. ‘I cannot be the father figure Bruno needs,’ he said, clenching and unclenching his fists by his sides. ‘I have tried to take Stefano’s place but it is not good enough. No one can replace his father. Bruno is angry and resentful and is no doubt looking for a target.’
‘You have done your best,’ she said softly. ‘It’s been hard for everyone, Gina especially.’
