The Italian's Ruthless Seduction(29)

‘Yes, it certainly is.’ She might have a lie-down herself, feeling quite exhausted now that the tension of that phone call had drained away.

Jeremy picked up his holdall and went in search of Maria whilst Bella stayed where she was for a while, getting her thoughts together. She decided that once she reached the privacy of her room, she would give Sergio a call so that they could match whatever story they would tell Jeremy about their relationship. Hopefully, Maria wouldn’t say anything telling in the meantime. Standing up, she made her way into the kitchen, which was empty, Maria obviously showing Jeremy up to his room, no doubt the guest room on the other side of the master suite.

Bella frowned at this thought. His sleeping in that room tonight would make it awkward for Bella to share Sergio’s bed without feeling inhibited. They weren’t the quietest of lovers. Unless, of course, all was confessed, then it would hardly matter. Jeremy was a man of the world. Why should he care if they were having an affair? Not that Bella liked the word ‘affair’. Surely their relationship had moved beyond that.

‘I need to finish Sergio’s birthday cake,’ Maria said as she hurried back into the kitchen. ‘Bella, there are not enough towels in the other guest room. Men need many towels. Could you take some more up for me? The big white ones. You know where they are.’

‘Yes, of course,’ Bella agreed.

‘After the cake is done I must go. I told Sergio this morning I could not stay all day. I have another cleaning job on Mondays. Could you say happy birthday for me?’

‘Yes, of course.’

Bella collected a couple of the luxurious white bath sheets from the cupboard in the laundry and carried them upstairs with her, walking along the corridor past her bedroom door, past the master suite and along to the furthest guest room. When she knocked, however, there was no reply. A second knock got no answer either. Possibly Jeremy was in the shower. Thinking laterally, she went back to her room and made her way across it and out onto the balcony in the hope that Maria had left the French doors open. It seemed likely, given the heat of the day. They were open, and Bella peeped inside to check that the room was empty before she went in. It was. She’d just placed the towels on the foot of the bed when Jeremy’s slightly muffled but still-audible voice reached her ears.

‘Right, Sergio,’ it said. ‘I’ve done what you asked. Now what gives where Bella is concerned?’

The voice was coming from the en-suite bathroom, echoing off the marble walls and carrying through the door. Bella knew she should leave the room immediately. No good ever came from eavesdropping. But she was a woman. A woman in love. Desperately in love. How could she possibly leave after her name was mentioned? She actually moved a little closer to the bathroom door.

‘Yes, I see,’ Jeremy said after a long silence. ‘Awkward that. So she knows nothing about your plans to marry a nice young Italian girl who will adore you and give you the family you want without causing you the slightest trouble.’

Bella clasped her mouth to stop herself from crying out. But, oh, the pain that seized her heart. She’d never realised that a broken heart was literally that. She could actually feel her heart breaking. Because Sergio did not love her. Not only that, he’d lied to her, claiming he wasn’t interested in getting married at the moment. And all the while he’d planned on marrying an Italian girl. A young Italian girl, Bella thought bitterly.

‘I have to confess you’ve surprised me, Sergio,’ Jeremy went on after another lengthy silence. ‘I know you always had the hots for Bella, but I thought you despised her. Still, I understand perfectly that the temptation to seduce the woman was too great to resist. Lust isn’t one of the seven deadly sins for nothing. But I would advise you to think carefully about where you go from here. No doubt she’s good in bed. Very good. It’s easy to become sexually obsessed with a beautiful woman who knows all the right moves. Or so I’ve been told. Obsession of that kind is not something I’ve ever experienced. Have you considered keeping her as your mistress, perhaps? That might work.’

Bella couldn’t bear to listen to another word. Somehow she made it back to her room without throwing herself off the balcony. Not that it was high enough to guarantee death. By the time she threw herself onto her bed, however, her heartache was turning to outrage, and anger. So Sergio had despised her, yet had the hots for her at the same time. What a charming thought! And there she’d been, thinking he’d invited her here because he was kind, and good. Everyone kept telling her what a good man he was. Well, he wasn’t. He was an out and out bastard. He’d done nothing since she arrived but use her. Her body and her brain. It was to be thanked that she’d never told him she loved him. That would have been the ultimate humiliation. This way she could at least extricate herself from this appalling situation with her pride intact.

Rolling onto her back, Bella stared blankly up at the ceiling and tried to work out how best to handle things. But it was a struggle to think, especially when all she wanted to do was surrender to self-pity and cry her heart out. But where would that get her? Bella had never been a habitual weeper or wringer of hands, another legacy from her hard-as-nails mother. When tears actually dared to fill her eyes, she dashed them away with a furious sweep of her hands, hardening her freshly broken heart at the same time and focusing her thoughts on what she should do.

She had to leave Lake Como, of course. And as soon as possible. She would ring Luigi and organise for him to pick her up first thing in the morning. Thank God she’d kept his business card. And thank God she hadn’t said anything to Sergio about the movie offer. This way, she had the perfect excuse to fly to New York ASAP. It was a pity that she couldn’t exit the villa before Sergio arrived home but that would be too odd. Facing him, however, knowing what she now knew, seemed an almost insurmountable hurdle. But Bella was used to facing insurmountable hurdles. You didn’t get to be a Broadway star without developing a lot of character, not to mention a hide as thick as an elephant.

Bella hoped she was as good an actress as Charlie kept telling her she was, because she was going to need all her acting skills in the coming hours. In a perverse kind of way she would almost enjoy telling Sergio that she had to leave tomorrow. He might not love her but he sure as hell enjoyed making love to her.

Though of course it wasn’t making love, was it? It was just sex. Jeremy had accused him of being sexually obsessed with her. Another depressing thought. Still, it wasn’t the first time a man had become sexually obsessed with her. In the past, such obsessions had quickly waned, once they’d discovered she was a bore in bed. This time, however, she’d been anything but boring in bed. She’d responded and behaved like the woman of the world Sergio obviously believed she was; the bed partner of many bad-boy lovers who was prepared to do anything and everything in pursuit of physical pleasure.

Maybe he didn’t believe she was promiscuous any more—surely he’d gleaned something of her true character by now—but the truth was he had thought exactly that in the beginning. But he’d still seduced her, oh, so cleverly, had still had her every which way a man could have a woman, had still tied her to his bed and done things that didn’t bear thinking about. And all the while he’d been planning to marry another woman and keep her on the side as, yes...his mistress.

So much for your silly dreams, Bella. So much for love.

Suddenly, she could not wait for Sergio to get home. Couldn’t wait to tell him that she was leaving the next day. Couldn’t wait to pretend that it was of no concern to her. They were just ships passing in the night. Just friends with benefits. And when he suggested coming over to visit her—and he would, she just knew he would—she would tell him very casually that it would be best if they called it a day.

It’s been a lovely interlude, Sergio darling, she could hear herself say. But now I have to get back to my real life. I’m sure you understand.





CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

SERGIO WASN’T AT all prepared for Bella’s announcement later that night that she had to fly to New York the following day. He stared at her with sinking spirits as she explained that she’d accepted the lead role in a movie version of An Angel in New York, and had been summoned to the producers’ table ASAP. He struggled to find the words to congratulate her, knowing immediately that all his plans to make Bella his wife had just been seriously derailed.

The evening—which so far had been quite good fun—suddenly lost all its lustre.

‘Well, that’s wonderful!’ Jeremy exclaimed with hearty enthusiasm. ‘Isn’t that wonderful, Sergio?’

It was no use. He simply could not pretend to be happy for her when he wasn’t.

‘I thought you didn’t want to go into the movies,’ he said grumpily.

‘I never actually said that. And this isn’t any old movie. I would never turn down an opportunity to make An Angel in New York.’

‘Fair enough. But why do you have to rush off like this? Surely you can stay another week or two. Tell the powers that be that you’re still suffering from a serious case of burnout and need some more time off.’