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It was all too late. The blame and recrimination had eroded their relationship as surely as the weather eroded rock. It had been reshaped into something she no longer recognised.
‘I can’t pretend to be…’ it was difficult to say the words ‘…your woman.’
‘Yes, you can. Johnny would have wanted you to do whatever it took to keep yourself safe.’
Jessie’s heart was pounding against her chest. ‘So you’re going to move me into your fancy apartment, dress me up in some shiny new clothes and kiss me in public, is that it?’
‘You’ll go where I go.’ His eyes dropped to her mouth. ‘And I’ll kiss you when I want to kiss you.’ He was self-assured, strong and more of a man than anyone else she’d ever met.
And the mention of kissing knocked the strength from her knees. ‘It’s a crazy plan.’
‘What’s crazy about it?’
‘Well, for a start your current girlfriend is likely to object that you’ve moved some lowlife into your apartment.’
‘Don’t speak about yourself like that. And—I’m not in a relationship at the moment.’
Jessie looked at him in disbelief. ‘Oh, sure. A man like you must really have to scrabble around for a date. I’m not naïve, Silvio. Women have always found you irresistible. I know you get thousands of offers.’
He didn’t smile. ‘Just because I have the opportunity to sleep with a woman, it doesn’t mean I do,’ he said softly, his words a subtle condemnation of the life he believed she led. ‘I’ve always been extremely selective.’
Jessie looked at him warily and then glanced around her. Nothing but the best for Silvio Brianza. Apartment, car—women. ‘All the more reason why no one is going to believe I’m your woman. I wouldn’t be convincing. I don’t know how to live in this world.’
‘This world is easy.’ His wry tone was tinged with humour. ‘It’s yours that’s the hard place to live.’
‘Life is hard, Silvio. That’s how it goes.’ She twisted the ends of her hair, aware that it had dried fluffy. ‘And how long do we keep this charade up for?’
‘Until I say it can stop.’
Jessie looked at him in exasperation. ‘They’ll never believe you. No woman involved with you would work in a seedy bar.’
Silvio gave a grim smile. ‘You no longer have that job.’
‘You lost me my job?’
‘You don’t need a job that requires you to dress like the centrefold of a pornographic magazine.’
‘It paid well!’
‘For all the wrong reasons. You’re not going back there.’ His voice harsh, he made it clear that there was no room for negotiation on that point.
Outraged and suddenly frightened, Jessie paced across the pale wooden floor. ‘You shouldn’t have done that, Silvio.’
‘Did you love the job that much?’
She stopped pacing and stared straight ahead of her. ‘No,’ she croaked. ‘No, of course I didn’t. But I don’t want you taking control of my life! How am I supposed to earn money? How am I supposed to pay them back? And whether or not we go ahead with this charade you’re proposing, I’m going to need a job when it finishes.’
‘I’ll give you a job.’
Jessie glared at him. ‘I don’t want your charity.’
‘It isn’t charity. It’s employment.’
‘How can you offer me a job?’ Fraught and exhausted, Jessie gave a hysterical laugh. ‘You build hotels.’
‘Once they’re built, my hotels are run by a team of people. Live music is one of the entertainments we offer.’
‘You’re offering me a job as a singer?’
