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He was about to be brought very quickly down to earth by the bucket of freezing water she intended to pour on his beautiful head.
If she thought too far ahead—if she let her mind drift to what would happen when she’d left—then she was filled with cold dread, so instead, Sophie focused entirely on the moment.
‘But things changed,’ she continued carefully. ‘I saw the way you related to Leonard... I saw both sides of the coin and I realised that you weren’t the man I’d thought you were after all.’
‘It pays never to make easy assumptions,’ Alessio murmured. ‘Although I can understand why you jumped to the conclusions that you did.’
‘And then...’ Sophie sighed ready to dip her toes into the churning waters that lay ahead.
‘And then...?’
‘We slept together. And every single thing changed for me. Not at first. At first, I was just sleeping with a guy I was attracted to. At first, I was doing something I maybe should have done a long time ago.’
‘Is this the right time for us to be having this conversation?’
Alessio’s voice was rough, a little unsteady, and Sophie wondered whether alarm bells were beginning to ring.Too bad.
‘It’s theonlytime we can have this conversation, Alessio. Don’t worry. Your father won’t be sending out the search party just yet. You forget—he’s under the illusion that we’re loved up. He’s probably pleased that we didn’t bounce down to join the assembled crowd as soon as they started arriving! He probably thinks that you came upstairs to tell me that we had unexpected visitors and then we just couldn’t help gazing helplessly into each other’s eyes...’
‘You’re being sarcastic.’
‘I apologise. You know that’s not like me. But...’ She took a deep breath. ‘I’ll bet you know where I’m going with this,’ she said quietly.
‘Do I?’
‘Of course you do, Alessio. You’re the guy who knows the opposite sex inside out. You must surely realise that I’ve fallen in love with you?’
Of course he knew.
Sophie saw the way he paled. She wondered how fast he would start agreeing with her that the sooner they brought this farce to a close, the better.
‘I didn’t want to,’ she confessed. ‘I thought I was immune to a guy like you, because you weren’t the sort of man I’d ever had on my list as someone I want to end up spending my life with. And the reason I’m telling you this...’
She waited for a response, but silence greeted her question. For once, Alessio was clearly deprived of the power of speech by the sheer scale of his horror at what he had just been told.
Sophie bit down on the hurt tearing her apart.
‘The reason I’m telling you thisnow...’ she went on, ‘is because I just can’t be with you any longer...knowing that what we have is going nowhere. For you, it’s all about the hot sex—and believe me, I’m not pointing any fingers, because you never hid the fact that that was the kind of guy you are. But for me...? I want so much more, Alessio. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want what your father believes to be true.’
If it wasn’t so tragic, it might be funny. His mouth was half open. His eyes were glazed. His fingers, as he raked them through his dark hair, were shaky.
He was a man in the grip of a nightmare.
‘So,’ she continued briskly, pulling herself together and saving her sadness for when she was on her own, ‘here’s what I’m going to do, Alessio. I’m going to go in there and, before this all gets even more out of hand, I’m going to tell your father the truth.’
‘Sophie...he’s...’
‘He’s going to have to understand what the situation is. I’m going to be honest. But I’m not going to dump you in anything—don’t worry. Then, when I’ve done that, I’m going to head upstairs and I’m going to pack as much stuff as I can. And then, when I’ve donethat, I’m going to call a cab and head to the station and pay my mother a little visit. She won’t be expecting me. She’ll be really pleased.’
‘And my father? How is he going to feel in the face of all this truth-telling?’
‘Alessio, it’s time I thought about howIwill cope instead of how your father copes. You’ll be here for him. That’s the main thing.’
Silence drummed between them, alive and throbbing.
‘And,’ Sophie added with searing honesty, ‘of course I’ll keep in touch with Leonard. He’s a huge part of my life.’
She waited.
