AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The admission sent shock waves through her. She didn’t need to spend a considerable length of time with him to know Alessio Montaldi wasn’t a man who disclosed such things freely. From his disgruntled expression, she suspected he was equally alarmed by the revelation.
He gave a brusque shake of his head and held the bottle higher. ‘Wine?’ he bit out.
Indecision prickled her.
She rarely drank beyond the occasional birthday or celebratory toast. And as she’d learned in the few hours she’d been in his company, she needed to keep her wits about her. But those same wits could glean quickly that she would be acting out of the norm if she refused, since her sister was a keen supporter of the ‘it’s five o’clock somewhere’ attitude to drinking.
‘If you’re planning on getting me drunk then pumping me for information on your property, it’s not going to work,’ she said, hedging to buy herself some time.
His head snapped back, his eyes boiling with fury.
Giada wanted to rush to apologise but something held her back. The same absurd urging she’d had earlier on.
The need to see him lose control.
‘I have very little doubt that you’ll spill the goods sooner rather than later. And it won’t involve underhanded tactics. At least not on my part.’
The last bit was aimed squarely at her and the shame that unravelled through her, heating her face and robbing her of breath, was evident for him to see.
He gave a mocking smile of acknowledgment of his bullseye strike. Then he reached for the bottle, uncorked it and poured the glass she’d so clumsily attempted to refuse.
Now with little choice if she didn’t want to appear churlish—and to save her speaking and disgracing herself further—Giada snatched the glass and took an unwittingly large gulp while her mind raced for ways to extract herself from this.
Several minutes later, her senses were still swimming, and, while she suspected most of it was due to Alessio and his infernalpresence, she knew some of it was due to the wine, too.
Watching her mother and sister make spectacles of themselves after imbibing alcohol had made her shy away from the stuff, earning her another of the myriad names they liked to label her with. But here she was, skating dangerously close to edges she normally stayed far away from.
And not just that. She was also risking giving herself away.
Thank goodness he’d given her a reprieve from the interview for dinner. She stared into her glass, wondering if he’d suspect anything if she announced she was going to bed after their meal.
Since it was barely eight p.m. that would definitely raise suspicion.
‘So what else is getting in the way of what you want? Besides me, that is?’ she said in the silence. Having polished off her first course, she hedged for a few minutes before deciding she wasn’t going to cut off her nose to spite her face when she was dying for another helping.
Hell, if the worst happened and he threw her out, at least she’d have a full stomach.
Scooping up a helping of lasagne and adding a gooey square of garlic bread plus salad to it, she turned to find him watching her.
His gaze went from the plate to her face and Giada stiffened.
‘Your appetite is more robust than I remember,’ he observed with something like approval coating his voice.
She sent a quick plea that the blush creeping up her chest wouldn’t reach her face. ‘I wasn’t aware my appetite was a thing of interest to you.’
‘It isn’t. But I recall you barely touching any food the last time we were in the same place together. Booze was more your speed.’
Since she didn’t want to incriminate herself, Giada waved an airy hand. ‘My appetite comes and goes. And when the food is this amazing, how can I resist?’
His gaze dropped to her mouth, then progressed down her throat and body. ‘Interesting.’
Oh, God.
Giada turned back to the buffet to hide her dismay.
Did he believe her? Forcing her brain to stay on track, she cleared her throat. ‘You haven’t answered my question. And before you say it’s none of my business, you opened the door.’ Glad her voice was brisk with no signs of her inner turmoil, she returned to the island. ‘So?’
He waited until she sat, then topped up her wine glass before she could stop him. Rising, he went to replenish his plate too, choosing giant meatballs smothered in tomato sauce, andgarganelli. ‘My brother assured me he would be here so we can return to Palermo together tomorrow for the holidays as per our family tradition.’
