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‘And now I am asking you to stay.’
‘To drink wine with your father?’ Her voice sounded breathless as if she was a nervous schoolgirl again. ‘Is that what he should be doing after a heart operation?’
‘No,’ he said. ‘To both your questions. But that does not change what I am asking, so do not pretend not to understand me. Because you know, mia bella, that I want you to stay until the party ends, and to be with me tonight.’
‘Then my answer is also no,’ she said, staring down at the crimson carpet, then at the wall. Anywhere that she could escape the way he was looking at her. Escape the memory of his mouth and the shameful, incomprehensible weakness that his lightest touch could evoke in her treacherous flesh.
She swallowed. ‘And how dare you insult me like that when you know—you must know perfectly well that I belong to Adam.’
‘Another pretence,’ he said. ‘Because you have never yet belonged to anyone. Nor are you sure enough of Adam to give yourself to him. In this, at least, you are wise.’
She did look at him then—glaring. ‘I hardly think you, of all people, should lecture me on morality.’
‘I do not speak of morals,’ he said calmly. ‘Only common sense.’
‘And mine,’ she said, ‘is telling me to walk out right now. Unless you mean to keep me here by force.’
‘I would not need to use force,’ Zac said quietly. ‘As you, my sweet hypocrite, know—perfectly well.’ He paused. ‘Or do you wish me to prove it?’
She said in a suffocated voice, ‘All I want is to get away from you and your vile insinuations—for ever.’
Zac released her hand, pressed the button on the panel and stood back as the lift doors slid open.
‘Buona notte, Dana mia.’ His tone was unruffled. ‘Sleep well.’
She walked into the lift and looked back at him, her chin raised defiantly. ‘Aren’t you going to wish me sweet dreams?’
‘By no means.’ His slow smile sent a quiver along her nerve endings. ‘Because, if you stayed, you would find reality even sweeter.’
And it was that smile which remained with her, haunted her, all the way back to the safety of her flat.
* * *
‘All right, I made a mistake. I admit it.’ Adam shrugged. ‘But it wasn’t a disaster. The presentation was a day late, that’s all. And there was no need for that blasted Carol to keep banging on about it until two a.m.’ He snorted. ‘I suppose she’s worried about her job.’
Dana gave him a careful look. ‘You don’t have the same concerns?’
‘I might,’ he said. ‘If I cared about the job-for-life pension scheme and paid-sick-leave existence. But I have other plans.’
And when, thought Dana, are you going to tell me what they are? Because I really need to know—to invest in our future. To get my own plans back on track where they belong, without unnecessary and destructive diversions.
‘But at least,’ Adam went on, ‘the great Don Ottaviano goes back to Italy tomorrow, so we can all stop jumping at our own shadows.’
Dana frowned. ‘You make him sound like a Mafia boss,’ she protested.
He shrugged. ‘Maybe that’s how he comes across—only dealing in people’s livelihoods instead of lives. Apparently he put in a formal appearance at the party, and everyone had to go up and pay homage, Nic and Eddie among them. At least you missed that.’
‘Yes.’ Dana forced a smile. ‘Lucky me.’
‘And no sooner does one Belisandro go but another arrives,’ he added with faint irritation. ‘Although Serafina is at least coming over for my benefit, so I shouldn’t complain.’
No, thought Dana. You shouldn’t.
‘Is my aunt accompanying her?’
‘It’s a flying visit. She’s coming alone—although, of course, she’ll have Zac as her shield and protector when she gets here.’
Dana was disappointed, but hid it by making a business of looking at her watch. ‘Well, I must dash. I have an accompanied viewing booked and my car’s on a meter.’
‘There’s always something,’ Adam objected moodily. ‘For God’s sake, Dana, when are we going to get together—I mean really together?’
She hesitated. ‘When the time is right,’ she said. ‘At the moment we both have other things on our minds.’
And was glad she did not have to spell out her own preoccupations.
