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PROLOGUE
‘I CAN’T marry him.’
Pale and shaking, Tia Franklin struggled with the zip of her sleek white wedding dress, sobbing with frustration when it stubbornly refused to budge.
‘Tia, wait—you’ll tear it—’ Sharon, her best friend and bridesmaid, tried frantically to calm her down but Tia wasn’t taking any notice.
‘I don’t care.’ As if to prove her point, Tia jerked at the zip again, her sobs increasing as it jammed and the material ripped. ‘What does it matter? I’m not getting married now, so I certainly don’t need a dress.’
Sharon stood still, frozen with horror. ‘Tia, the wedding starts in half an hour and there are one hundred and forty guests waiting in the church—’
‘I don’t care about that, either.’ Tia finally managed to wriggle out of the dress and stumbled across the hotel room to her suitcase, which was already packed for her honeymoon.
She released the catch and grabbed the first outfit that came to hand, tears falling steadily down her cheeks as she struggled into a pair of silk trousers and matching jacket.
Sharon was still staring at her, open-mouthed with disbelief. ‘What’s happened? You were so happy—and no wonder. Luca Zattoni is every woman’s fantasy. Rich, cool-headed, Italian, body to die for…’
Despite her tears, Tia lifted an eyebrow. ‘I thought you were a happily married woman?’
‘I am.’ Sharon looked unrepentant. ‘But there isn’t a woman alive who wouldn’t look twice at Luca. He’s sex on legs, Tia.’
Sex on legs.
Tia felt her heart beat faster. And that was the reason for the current mess. She hadn’t been able to resist the man.
Sharon sighed. ‘Tia, the entire female population is green with envy. You’re the one that he’s marrying.’
Tia lifted her chin. ‘Not any more.’
Thoroughly alarmed, Sharon bustled across to her friend and took her by the shoulders. ‘OK, calm down. Take a deep breath. Copy me…’ She breathed slowly, trying to set an example. ‘Right. That’s better. Now, then, tell me slowly, has something happened or is this just bridal nerves? I was nervous before I married Richard, you know. It’s normal to be nervous. Especially for someone with your background.’
‘It’s not nerves.’ Tia pulled away from her friend and rammed her feet into the first pair of shoes that came to hand.
Totally at a loss, Sharon backed away and turned towards the door. ‘I’ll fetch Luca.’
Dear God, no! That was the last thing she wanted.
‘I don’t want to see Luca!’ Tia’s head jerked up and the desperation in her voice stopped Sharon in her tracks. ‘I can’t. I just want to get out of here as fast as possible.’
‘Tia…’ Sharon let go of the doorhandle and tried to reason with her, her voice soothing. ‘Just because things didn’t work out for your parents, it doesn’t mean—’
‘What?’ Tia slammed the suitcase shut and stared at her, tendrils of blonde hair escaping from what had once been an elegant chignon. ‘What doesn’t it mean? That it will all go wrong for me, too? My mother drank herself into the grave because she discovered that the man she loved—the man she trusted—had betrayed her. Kept secrets from her. Do you really think I intend to put myself in the same position?’
Clamping her teeth onto her lower lip, Tia walked back across the room and swept her make-up off the dressing-table into her handbag.
‘I don’t understand.’ Sharon looked blank. ‘I know that your father had affairs, but—’ She broke off, her eyes widening as she registered what Tia had just said. ‘Are you saying that you think Luca is having an affair?’
Tia felt the pain, hot and fluid, pour along her veins.
‘I don’t know,’ she said honestly. ‘I think so. Maybe. He’s certainly having a serious relationship with another woman.’
