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But she knew how to fake it to make it.
You painted on a smile and acted as if you didn’t care.
‘Nicola, meet Sebastian and Lydia, my brother and sister,’ said Alessio, distracted by a sudden movement which made him glance back towards the house. ‘Ah, I see my mother has just arrived and she’s on her own. Would you excuse me for a moment?’
‘Yes, of course.’
His eyes looked very fierce as he glittered a warning glance towards his siblings. ‘Be nice to her, okay?’
‘Alessio!’ exclaimed Lydia, in mock horror. ‘Would I ever be anything else?’
‘Hello,’ said Nicola into the silence which followed Alessio’s departure, holding out her hand towards Lydia, and producing her best gallery smile. ‘How lovely to meet you.’
But Lydia didn’t shake it, instead she removed a glass from the tray of a passing waitress and pressed a flute of cold champagne into Nicola’s fingers.
‘Just to make it clear, we’re Alessio’shalfbrother and sister,’ she elaborated smoothly. ‘I don’t think we should allow sentiment to get in the way of accuracy, do you? Same mother, different father.’ Her eyes darted towards the French windows as if checking Alessio was still out of earshot. ‘We were both born securely within wedlock, unlike your wunderkind boyfriend.’
At this point, Sebastian raised his sandy eyebrows. ‘You do know he’s illegitimate?’
Nicola was so tempted to sayand so am I, but stopped herself. She wasn’t supposed to be trashing her own reputation in order to save Alessio’s—who probably didn’t need her help anyway. ‘Oh, I don’t think that kind of thing matters at all any more,’ she commented mildly.
‘No?’
She saw a disappointed look pass between the pair before Lydia tried a different tack.
‘You do realise this is the first time Alessio’s ever brought a woman here?’ she continued.
‘Yes, he told me.’
‘I suppose it must be because Papa has relaxed the bedroom rule.’
‘I have no idea,’ said Nicola, her cheeks flushing in the darkness, and she wished Alessio would come back.
Lydia glanced down at Nicola’s left hand. ‘Does this mean it’s serious? That our famous billionaire sibling has found himself a prospective bride at last? I must say, you weren’t a bit what I was expecting, Nicola—given that he usually has a penchant for firecracker brunettes.’
Her critical gaze washed over Nicola, who now was now feeling washed-out and inadequate as she silently compared herself to the vibrant firecrackers.
‘I don’t usually date men like him either,’ she answered evenly.
‘So. Tell me a secret.’ Lydia took another large mouthful of champagne. ‘How on earth do you put up with him?’
‘I’m... I’m not sure what you mean.’
‘Oh, come on. Isn’t he a littleostentatiousabout all his wealth? I keep reading about his plane and his priceless artworks and his high-tech factories. I mean, I’m assuming his PR team make sure they position all that stuff in the press to enhance his reputation, but really...it isn’t a terriblyclassything to do to keep banging on about how much you own, is it?’
Her verbal demolition was followed by an insincere smile which was making Nicola feel distinctly queasy but suddenly all her own perceived insecurities began to fade in the light of the other woman’s words, because they rankled. How dared Lydia be so rude about Alessio in front of someone she’d met for the first time? Yes, her own family might have been dragged up from the gutter, with several members choosing to remain there—but nobody could say they weren’t loyal. They all had each other’s backs. And suddenly, out of nowhere, came a fierce desire to defend him from his viper-mouthed half-sister. ‘I can’t imagine for a moment that your brother gets people to plug him or his possessions,’ she deflected coolly. ‘According to my boss, he’s a notoriously private man who likes to keep his lifeoutof the papers.’
‘Maybe he’s got a lot to hide?’ suggested Sebastian, with a short laugh.
‘Who cares what he wants to keep secret? That’s everybody’s right, surely? Anyway, maybe it should be the other way round,’ Nicola continued doggedly. ‘If you turn the question round—how on earth does he put up withme? You’ll have to ask him. But to spare my blushes, perhaps you’d better not do it within my earshot.’
At that moment Lord Bonner arrived and dinner was announced, and Nicola was grateful to be led away from the toxic pair towards a table at the far end of the terrace, which was covered in gleaming silverware and sparkling crystal. Tall candles were flickering in the indigo dusk, fireflies were sparking their tiny golden flames and the scent of the starry jasmine flowers was perfuming the air. It looked like a scene from an advert, or a lifestyle magazine—but it was hard to appreciate anything because she could sense a terrible tension bubbling beneath the surface as she took her seat between Alessio and his mother.
And now her inexplicable reaction to his half-sister made Nicola’s face grow warm. Had she felt the need to defend him because they’d shared that red-hot moment in the bedroom? Why else would it be? Had their physical closeness helped forge a new kind of bond? But his terse nod of greeting made it clear he didn’t share any such feelings and so Nicola sought to lighten the atmosphere around the table which was, after all, what she was being paid to do.
She made small talk. She was good at that. She enthused about the delicious food, which was cooked by the family’s resident chef and served by a variety of young women from the nearby village. She sipped a little fine wine—but not too much, knowing she needed all her resolve to line up those cushions later. She needed a similar resolve when first Lydia, and then Lord Bonner attempted to interrogate her about her background. But Nicola was a deft hand at batting away unwanted questions like these and couldn’t help notice Alessio’s lazy smile as she stonewalled them yet again.
Only once, beforethe incidentoccurred, which was to derail the whole evening, was she momentarily wrong-footed. A simple dessert of cherries and ice cream was being carried to the table on a silver platter to whoops of childish delight from Lydia and Sebastian, when Alessio’s mother suddenly turned to her and asked in a low voice whether her son was happy.
