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‘Oh. Now I feel awful. I should not have told you. I have spoiled your holiday.’
Veronica’s smile was sad. ‘You did the right thing, Elena. And I thank you. Please don’t worry. You’ve saved me from making an even bigger fool of myself.’
‘Leonardo is the fool,’ Elena snapped.
‘He will be a lonely old man one day,’ Veronica muttered, then came forward to give Elena a hug. ‘He won’t ever have what you and Carmelina have. Yes, you’re right. He is a fool. Now, go back to your husband and children and be happy. I have to ring the airline and change my flight.’
After Elena left, Veronica slumped down on the terrace and tried to get her head around those awful photos, especially the last one she’d looked at. Impossible to pretend there was any logical explanation for them. They spoke for themselves. Leonardo had gone to the ball with that creature and no doubt taken her to bed afterwards.
This last realisation brought a wealth of pain. And a rush of tears.
How could Leonardo have lied to her like that? she agonised. What kind of man was he?
The kind of man you’ve always known he was, came the bitter answer.
A playboy and a player.
No way, Veronica determined as she dashed away the tears, was she going to give him the opportunity to lie to her again. And he would lie, if she confronted him with those photos when he rang her tonight. No…she intended to do what she’d said to Elena. Make up some excuse why she had to go home ASAP and then cut him dead.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
LEONARDO HAD TO have a lie-down late that Sunday afternoon, something which he couldn’t remember doing in years. Last night had been a nightmare, with Lila having latched onto him as soon as he’d arrived at the ball and made it impossible for him to extricate himself from her clutches without being rude. If she hadn’t already been contracted as the main model for next season’s ski-wear, he would have told her to get lost in no uncertain words.
Of course, she’d been totally stoned. On top of that, she’d had an argument with her boyfriend and come alone, determined to find some man to make the boyfriend jealous. Leonardo had been an excellent mark, since he was handsome, rich and, in a way, her boss. He’d been in a no-win situation from the start, unable to get rid of her, yet knowing full well that everything he did would be photographed and misinterpreted, fodder for all the gossip websites and magazines.
Never had a night seemed so long, or so emotionally exhausting. He’d had to smile and make speeches, all the while worrying what Veronica would think if she saw reports of him dancing with Lila at the ball. Not that she was likely to. Capri was rather isolated when it came to mainland gossip. Though there was always social media. Nowhere was safe any more. Best he tell her about it upfront tonight, even the part about having had to see the stupid girl safely home at some ungodly hour. She would understand. Surely? Veronica was quite the pragmatist. And not given to dramatising things.
A glance at his watch showed it was just after four in the afternoon. He’d promised to ring her this evening. When did evenings start, exactly? he wondered. Seven? Eight? He wanted to hear her voice. Wanted to hear her say, yes, Leonardo, of course I’ll spend next weekend with you. Wherever you like, darling.
He doubted she would go that far. Just ‘yes’ would do for now.
Dio, he was tired. Yawning, Leonardo closed his eyes and drifted off.
* * *
Veronica couldn’t get a flight until Wednesday, not on the same airline and without spending a small fortune by upgrading to business class. She supposed she could last until then. Her flight took off early in the morning, so she would make her way to Rome on the Tuesday then stay at one of the airport hotels that night.
She spent the rest of the afternoon keeping busy so that she didn’t fall into a depression. She packed, cleaned the bathroom then returned to the living room to read another of her father’s books. This time, it di
dn’t hold her attention. In the end, she put it down and went out onto the terrace.
By the time her phone rang just after seven, she felt very down. But furious as well. When she saw Leonardo’s name on her screen, she wanted to throw the damned phone against the wall. But she didn’t. Her fingers tightened, as did her lips.
‘Leonardo,’ she said in a rather droll tone. ‘You remembered to ring.’
His hesitation to answer showed he’d heard the sarcastic edge in her voice.
‘But of course,’ he replied at last. ‘Did you doubt me?’
Doubt him?
No, she didn’t doubt him. She’d known he would ring.
‘I don’t have a lot of faith in the opposite sex,’ she said truthfully. ‘But I’m very glad you rang,’ she swept on. ‘Unfortunately, my mother is not well and I have to go home earlier than expected, so I’m afraid I can’t join you next weekend.’
Again, a few seconds went by before he spoke. ‘What is wrong with her?’ he demanded to know, as though sensing she was lying to him.
‘She’s always had a weak chest. When she gets a cold, it quickly becomes bronchitis, which sometimes turns into pneumonia.’ Actually, this was quite true. But of course Nora didn’t have a cold at the moment.
