Her Shameful Secret

by Susanna Carr

  “Yes, you are,” he said with a sneer. “You were with me.”

  Isabella eyes widened as if she’d been hit. “You throw that back in my face?” she asked in a shocked whisper. “What we had was different. It was special. It was—”

  “Part of your routine,” he finished coldly. “Only Gio got you pregnant. Was that planned or an unexpected bonus? Is that why he kicked you out?”

  “He didn’t kick me out. I left the next morning,” she told him, her voice wobbling with emotion. “I didn’t feel safe there anymore. I ran as fast as I could.”

  Antonio frowned and he crossed his arms. Her explanation niggled at him. Something didn’t add up. “Then how did he know about the baby?”

  “I told him when I found out. That was a month ago.”

  And his brother had changed his will a month ago. “What did Gio say?”

  “Not much.” Isabella looked away abruptly.

  “Isabella,” he warned in a firm tone, “tell me.”

  Her shoulders sagged in defeat and her expression turned grim. “He laughed,” she answered. “He said, ‘Antonio will never touch you now!’ and he laughed like a madman.”

  Antonio took a step back. He shouldn’t be surprised, but he was. He hadn’t fully appreciated the depth of his brother’s hatred.

  “And he was right.” She gestured at him, the simple movement indicating her disappointment. “He knew exactly how you’d react if you found out the truth.”

  “That’s why you ran away at the café?” Isabella had been afraid of how he would react. And she was smart, because right now he wanted to lash out. He wanted to smash and destroy everything around him. “You are not the woman I thought you were.”

  “That’s not true,” she spat angrily. “You just want to hear bad things about me. It’s easier for you because you’re looking for my faults.”

  Easier? He felt like he had been ripped apart. He was never going to be the same again.

  She gulped in a ragged breath. “I want you to know that I didn’t cheat on you.”

  “How can I know that? How can I believe you weren’t sleeping with my brother from the first day you met him?”

  “I have no way of proving it. Why can’t you—?”

  A polite knock on the double doors interrupted them. Isabella jumped back and pressed her lips together as a withered old man with snowy white hair in a black three-piece suit entered the room.

  Antonio tried to rein in his emotions as he tersely introduced the lawyer to Isabella. The older man invited her into his office and she silently followed. As she passed Antonio he grabbed Isabella’s wrist, forcing her to stop.

  “This discussion isn’t over,” he said.

  “Yes, it is,” she said coldly as she pulled away from his grasp. “I don’t have to explain myself to you. You have no rights over me or my child.”

  Isabella walked through the door and the lawyer followed. Antonio stared at the closed door, his body rigid as an idea formed.

  “Not yet,” Antonio murmured. “But I once I do there will be hell to pay.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  “I’M GOING to be a grandmother.” Maria Rossi sighed and clasped her hands together. “Gio’s child. Oh, I hope it will look just like him.”

  “I’m glad to see you’re taking this well,” Antonio muttered as he’d paced the floor of the conference room. He should have left his mother in the waiting room but he had to tell her that their situation had changed. Their strategy had been blown apart by Isabella’s bombshell.

  “I admit Gio had no business putting her in the will.” His mother’s voice was thick with annoyance. “Giving money and power to that woman.”

  “He did it to cut me out.”

  “No, Gio wouldn’t do that to you. He wouldn’t,” she insisted as he made a face. “That woman bewitched him. He wasn’t thinking straight. I can understand making provision for the child—but all that money?” Maria shuddered delicately. “We don’t know if it’s even his.”

  “We’ll find out.” But Antonio’s instincts told him that the baby was Gio’s. His brother wouldn’t have pulled this stunt unless he had been absolutely sure. Gio wanted his child to inherit and gave Isabella the power over the money and shares until the child comes of age.

  “Gio told me himself that that Jezebel seduced him,” his mother continued. “You both should have known better. I don’t know what either of you saw in the woman.”

  He could easily make a list of things he had seen in Isabella, but it would scandalize his mother. Antonio raked his hand through his hair. “I don’t want to hear it.”

  “There’s only one way a girl like her can land a rich man. She has to get pregnant.”

  Antonio slammed his hand against the mahogany table so hard that Maria jumped. “That’s enough.” It also wasn’t true. Isabella had had him wrapped around her little finger without an unplanned pregnancy.

  “Temper, temper,” Maria said as she patted her chignon. “If you plan to get full control of the Rossi fortune you need to show some patience.”

  Antonio walked to the window and leaned against the pane. “I have one or two plans,” he admitted. He wasn’t happy about either of them. Both required him to get very close to the woman who betrayed him.

  “How many months along is she?”

  He had been reluctant to ask for details, but at the same time his mind was filled with questions. “She says she’s at least three months pregnant. I kicked her out the last week of May, so I know the baby isn’t mine. She left Gio on the first of July and that fits the timeframe.”

  “You need to do something.”

  “I know. It leaves me two options. I can seduce her into giving up her inheritance and leaving the country for good.”

  But history had proved that he didn’t have an infinite amount of sexual power over her. Isabella had left his bed to go into Gio’s. He wasn’t sure if he could seduce Isabella knowing she was carrying his brother’s child.

  “No,” his mother said firmly. “That child is the only thing I have left of Gio. I want it to be part of my life.”

  Antonio inhaled sharply as jagged pain burned through him. His mother had had no problem banning him from her life when he had needed her the most. But then she’d still had Gio around.

  “What is the second option?” she asked.

  “Marry her and adopt the child as my own. That way I would have full control over the Rossi fortune.”

  He had never thought about becoming a father. As the second son, he’d felt no pressure to sire an heir. Now he might be required to accept Gio’s child as his own. That baby would be a constant reminder of betrayal.

  “That would be perfect,” his mother said. “We wouldn’t have to give up anything.”

  Just his freedom, Antonio thought he looked out of the window and gazed at the Pantheon. And his peace of mind. If there had been any other way he wouldn’t have gone looking for Isabella. Now he might have to bind himself to the cheating vixen for the rest of his life.

  “I really don’t think this is a good idea,” Isabella said as she entered Antonio’s penthouse apartment. She heard the door close behind her and flinched when she heard it lock.

  “I agree,” Antonio said, “but the paparazzi have already found out about your windfall and my home is the safest place. Anyway, it’s only for one night.”

  Isabella scoffed. As if that meant anything. She had slept with Antonio within hours of meeting him. But she wasn’t going to tumble into his bed again, she reminded herself. He didn’t want her anymore. He had someone else in his life.

  But, to her shame, she knew that fact wouldn’t stop her from falling into his arms. Despite everything—despite the way he’d discarded her and cast her out of his life—she still longed for Antonio’s touch.

  Isabella rubbed her bare arms as she stepped into the drawing room. She looked around and noticed that not much had changed. In fact the only thing different about the apartment was her. She was
no longer the carefree and impetuous girl who’d seen the beauty in this room but not the power behind it. Back then she had put her dreams on hold for the man she loved. These days she had to play it safe. She would hold back instead of brazenly going forward. She had to protect herself and her baby’s future.

  She frowned when she noticed how quiet the apartment was. No music. No easy conversation. No laughter. The room was modern and dramatic. The sleek contemporary furniture and bold artwork were at odds with the panoramic view of Rome’s ancient ruins. Isabella had always thought the apartment suited Antonio, a self-made man who bridged innovation and tradition. He’d conquered the business world with cutthroat strategy, but there was a dark sensuality about him that he contained ruthlessly. Yet she had seen it. In the artwork he was drawn to, in his movement, in his eyes.

  She knew Antonio wanted a showdown, and he had brought her here because he wanted it on his territory. This place held wild memories. Did he think it would distract her? Or would he use their past as a way to seduce the truth out of her?

  “The housekeeper has made up the guestroom for you,” he said as he walked across the room.

  “Thank you.” She wished the housekeeper were here. She didn’t want to be alone with Antonio. She didn’t trust him. She didn’t trust herself.

  She watched him as he strode to a table that held drinks. She tried to look away, but she couldn’t. His striking features were so harsh and aggressive. Her hands tingled as she remembered brushing her fingertips along his slanted cheekbones and angular jaw. He radiated masculine power and raw sensuality. He had discarded the suit jacket that had cloaked his lean, muscular build. She dragged her gaze away so she wouldn’t stare at his broad shoulders or sculpted chest.

  “Would you like a drink?” he asked as he grabbed a decanter from the table. He froze and stared at the crystal in his hands. “I forgot. You can’t drink alcohol.”

  “It’s not just because I’m pregnant.” She returned her attention to the window and looked out onto the night sky. “I don’t drink anymore.”

  She heard Antonio pause in pouring a glass of whiskey. “Why is that?”

  When she had stayed with Giovanni she had gotten caught up in his party circuit. She’d drunk to dull the pain. To forget. She hadn’t realized she was out of control until she woke up in Giovanni’s bed. “I overindulged one night and swore I wouldn’t drink again.”

  “That often happened when you socialized with Gio and his friends.”

  “Yes, I found that out.” She couldn’t hide the bitterness in her voice.

  “You couldn’t keep up with his wild ways?” he asked as he took a sip of his drink.

  Isabella breathed deeply and leaned against the cold glass. She had to control her temper. Had to keep her wits about her. She knew Antonio was going to interrogate her. “I thought you didn’t want to talk about this?”

  “I don’t.”

  She believed that. He didn’t want to know, but he had to find out. The curiosity was killing him. “Did you think for a minute that Giovanni might have lied to you?” Isabella asked. “That I might have been faithful to you?”

  He stilled. “Yes,” he said slowly.

  The surprised her. Antonio didn’t second-guess himself. “When was that?” she asked, watching him down his drink in one swallow.

  “The day after you left.” He curled his lip and set his glass down. “I considered the possibility that I made a mistake.”

  Isabella pulled away from the window. “And?”

  “I made some enquiries.” His expression darkened and he braced his hands on the table. “Only to discover that you had rolled out of my bed and into my brother’s.”

  Isabella closed her eyes as she heard the raw pain in Antonio’s voice. “It wasn’t like that,” she whispered.

  “Right.” His voice was low and biting as he glared at her. “You had already been in his bed before you left mine.”

  Isabella rubbed her forehead as tension pulsed underneath her skin. “I went to Giovanni because you had thrown me out. I had nowhere to go.”

  Antonio snorted with derision. “Hardly. You were right where you wanted to be.”

  She shook her head. “I wanted to be with you.”

  “Until you met my brother.” Antonio walked over to where she stood. “You used your relationship with me so you could get closer to Gio and his money.”

  “I have never been interested in that!” Isabella said. She was surprised that he would think that of her, and she was also hurt that he didn’t really know her at all.

  “I thought I knew you.” Antonio rested his arm against the window.

  “You knew everything.” But either he hadn’t listened or he didn’t care to remember. “Unlike you, I didn’t hold anything back.”

  “Is this another stab at how I don’t communicate?” He leaned forward, towering over her. “I disagree. We talked all the time.”

  She flattened her hand against her chest. “I did the talking. You didn’t share anything. I didn’t know about your hopes and fears. Your family life. You told me nothing.”

  “We’re talking now,” he said softly. “Tell me, how long were you sleeping with my brother when we were sharing a bed?”

  “I was always satisfied in your bed. I didn’t need to look elsewhere.”

  Isabella bit her lip, knowing she shouldn’t have spoken so boldly. She saw the sensual heat flare in Antonio’s eyes. Her skin tingled in response as a kaleidoscope of images swirled in her head. Tension curled around her. It was dangerous to bring up those memories. Isabella nervously cleared her throat.

  “If that was true, why did you go to my brother in the first place?” he asked. “Why didn’t you go back to California?”

  Isabella sighed. She had asked herself that many times in the past three months. “I should have gone back home, but I thought we could get back together. I hoped it was a rough patch we could work through.”

  Antonio’s eyes widened with disbelief. “Work through the fact that you were sleeping with my brother?”

  “I didn’t know you thought that I had!” she said in a raised voice. “How could I? You didn’t share your suspicions with anyone. I didn’t know anything. I only found out about Giovanni’s lies three months ago.”

  Antonio’s eyes narrowed as he watched Isabella’s face. Impatience scratched at him. “Why did you think I dumped you?” he asked as he tugged his silk tie loose.

  “I thought you had found someone else. When your security kicked me out, I tried to get in touch with you,” she said coolly. Her eyes were blank, her composure restored. “You were blocking my calls. I went to your office and couldn’t even get through the door.”

  He had cut her out of his life ruthlessly. He wouldn’t deny that. It had been the only way he could get through the day. The nights had been the worst. He hadn’t thought a man could crave a woman so strongly until Isabella had gone out of his life.

  Isabella shrugged. “So I called Giovanni.”

  “You had his number?” Antonio gritted his teeth. He knew he was being possessive, but he didn’t like the idea of Isabella having had any man’s phone number.

  “I told him what had happened and he invited me to his place.” Isabella looked down and whispered, “I thought he was my friend.”

  “You two got along very well whenever I was around.”

  “Giovanni got along with everyone. But I wasn’t interested in him,” she said. “The only thing we had in common was you. When we talked, it was always about you.”

  “Why does that send a chill down my spine?”

  Her mouth tightened into a straight line as she struggled with her temper. “I didn’t know what your relationship was like. And when I accepted his invitation to stay I thought it would only be a day or two before you came to your senses. I kept trying to contact you but you blocked me in every way.”

  If she hadn’t been living with his brother he would have crawled back and grovelled. But she had shown h
er true colors too early.

  “Then, about the third day I stayed at Giovanni’s, he told me that you had cut him out of his life because he’d taken sides.”

  “I cut him out of my life because he slept with you.”

  “Like I said,” she bit out through clenched teeth, “I had no idea you thought that. I felt incredibly guilty for causing a rift between two brothers.”

  “Which you decided to fix by staying with him?” he asked, poking holes in her story. “How would that repair anything?”

  “Giovanni told me it would all blow over and I believed him.” She shook her head at her obvious mistake. “And, like a fool, I kept trying to contact you. He convinced me that I wasn’t going to get you back by crying myself to sleep every night. He suggested I go out, act like I was having a good time, and remind you of what you were missing.”

  She’d done that very well. It had been difficult for him, coming back to this apartment every evening and knowing she wouldn’t be there. Knowing she was in another man’s bed. “You went out with Gio every night.”

  She nodded and slumped against the window.

  “There were pictures of you and Gio in the papers. Every day.” She had looked happy, relaxed and very sexy.

  “I wasn’t trying to make you jealous,” she insisted. “Since I couldn’t see or talk to you, it was my way of reminding you that I was still around.”

  “Clinging to his arm?” he added sharply.

  Isabella scowled at him. “I did no such thing.”

  Antonio remembered how she’d used to cling to him. She’d curled up against him whether they were walking along the street, sitting on the sofa, or making love. It had been as though she couldn’t get close enough. And he had welcomed the warmth and affection.

  “In those tiny dresses.”

  Isabella blushed. She looked away and turned until her back pressed against the window. “That was probably a bad idea.”

  “Dresses that Gio bought you.” They had been short, tight and revealing. The kind of dresses a man gave his mistress. “When you wouldn’t accept any gift from me.”

  “I didn’t have anything acceptable to wear to those events,” she mumbled as she flattened her hands against the glass pane.