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Filling two cups with coffee, she placed them on a tray and carried it through to the living room. There was no sign of her guest. Then she heard the sound of curtains being drawn and realised where he was. She exited the room in a rush, to enter the bedroom next door. The curtains were half open and Cannavaro was standing in the bay window.
‘What are you doing in here?’ Beth demanded. She loved her bedroom and it felt far too intimate, seeing him standing there, all virile male, legs slightly apart, looking out of the window. She had never had a man in her bedroom before, and the picture he presented was very seductive.
It was large room with a high ceiling, and Beth had decorated it in mint green and ivory. The bed was centred on one wall, and on another were wardrobes and her dressing table. Next to the window was her pride and joy: an antique ladies’ bureau.
‘I am not familiar with this area or the parking.’ He turned to look at her. ‘So I thought I’d check my car. I only took delivery of it three weeks ago, and I have been abroad for two of them. I wanted to make sure it was okay.’ He smiled ruefully. ‘I have to confess my secret pleasure is cars. I can’t resist buying them and changing them. At the moment I have a dozen, from vintage to the latest model. Ten at home in Italy and two here now.’
He gave her another smile and Beth was surprised that he actually seemed quite human when he was talking about his cars, and not the devil she had thought him.
‘I would never have put you down as a petrolhead,’ she said. ‘You should meet the man who takes care of my car. He is a real fanatic.’
‘Your car being the distinctive white one parked outside, I presume?’
‘Yes...’ Beth was very proud of her car, and had even given it a name. Given what Dante had just told her, his desire to check on his car sounded feasible.
‘Very nice...’
He glanced out of the window and then back to her. ‘Ah, you have the coffee.’ Walking over, he took a cup from the tray and strode back to the window. ‘The paintwork on your vehicle is highly original. Come and explain what it represents.’
Beth put the tray down on the dressing table and crossed to the window. Her eyes widened in appreciation at the sleek black Ferrari parked by the side of the road behind her modest Volkswagen, and she could understand perfectly why he was worried about his car. But standing so close to him like this was not a good idea, and she was suddenly very conscious of the close proximity of his body to hers. The quicker she told him about her car, the quicker she would get him out of her bedroom and her
apartment. Which was what she wanted, wasn’t it?
‘The turquoise swirls along the side are meant to represent the waves of the sea, and if you look really closely you can see the outline of a mermaid and the name “Jess” spelt out by the spray on the crest of a wave. A young man who used to be a graffiti artist with a penchant for stealing cars is now an apprentice mechanic at the local garage. He offered to personalise my car and we chose the design between us.’
‘Is his name Jess?’ Dante asked, frowning down at her.
‘Good heavens, no. Jess was my best friend for a long time, but she’s gone now.’ As a child Beth had created an imaginary friend called Jess, and such had been her loneliness and desperation in prison she had remembered her again. Suddenly it hit her: how sad for a grown woman to remember such childish things. She sighed. It would seem she would never be truly free of her past.
Dante put the coffee cup down on the windowsill and stepped closer. ‘I’m sorry if I have revived sad memories for you, Beth. Contrary to what you think, I do not want to cause you any harm. I simply want you out of Tony’s life. He is far too young to be thinking of marriage.’
She looked up into his dark eyes. They were no longer hard and cruel, but gleaming with a warmth that seemed genuine. But she had been fooled by him before, she remembered, and thought again of her decision to explain her situation to him fully.
‘From what I know of Tony he is perfectly able to look after himself—though he and Mike do tend to borrow milk, sugar, food...you name it. But, hey, what are friends for?’ She shrugged. ‘And you are totally wrong. Tony has no desire to marry me or any woman. He has said so often enough. The only reason he made that comment about wanting to be my fiancé was to get one over on you.’
She looked squarely at him.
‘Apparently you are a noted connoisseur of women, and Tony thought that with me on his arm his status would increase a hundred percent in your eyes. It was a joke. He was teasing you because he thinks you are far too serious. In a rash moment I decided to go along with him. Misguidedly, as it has turned out, or you would not be here,’ she said wryly. ‘And I certainly do not want to marry Tony or any man. I value my independence far too much to risk losing it again. As for money—I have enough of my own, and I really am moving out of here. If you don’t believe me you can call Steel and White. They will tell you I resigned five days ago.’
‘That won’t be necessary, Beth. I believe you. Tony has always been a bit of a joker. You are a beautiful woman. Any man would want you in his bed—I know I would. Two consenting adults...there is nothing wrong with that...but Tony is not like you and I. He is still idealistic enough to equate sex with love. But I realise I may have overdone the protective older brother bit and been a little hard on you.’
Stunned that he believed what she’d said, and even more stunned by his comment that he wanted her and classed her in the ‘consenting adults’ department, Beth lifted her eyes to his. What she saw in the glittering depths of his eyes made her drag in a trembling breath before continuing. ‘That must be a first. You never believed a word I said before.’
‘It is not solely a woman’s prerogative to change her mind.’ He gave her a twisted smile. ‘Since meeting you again I’ve realised I may have misjudged you. I admire the fact you have managed to turn your life around. You are an incredible woman,’ he said, and, dipping his head, he brushed her lips with his.
CHAPTER FOUR
BETH STARED AT HIM, her tongue involuntarily tracing her lips, absorbing the taste of him. Heated colour stained her cheeks as she struggled to make sense of her reaction. His kiss had made her forget he was her enemy, the man who had ruined her life.
‘You really do believe me?’ she murmured.
‘I said so. But that does not solve my problem.’
‘Problem?’ Beth licked her tingling lips; she was losing the plot, she thought. She had told him the truth and he had believed her.
‘Don’t look at me like that, Beth,’ Dante said huskily, having followed the path of her pink tongue as it caressed her lip. ‘Just listen to me. There is no need for you to leave your job unless you really want to. I will never say anything to anyone about your name-change or Clive. But I won’t be satisfied until you have moved out of this apartment and away from Tony. With that in mind I will find you another apartment. You will not lose out in the monetary sense at all, I can assure you.’
Still struggling to control the trembling his kiss had evoked, it took a long moment for Beth to let the import of his words sink into her fuddled mind. Then she recalled exactly what he had said, and just how clever he was with words, and realised he didn’t really believe her at all. Nothing had changed....
