In the Italian's Sights

by Helen Brooks

  ‘I thought we were talking about punch?’

  ‘Punch and other things.’

  His frown smoothed to a quizzical ruffle. ‘I see. So, while we are on the subject, are you passionate about things that matter, Cherry? And, if so, what makes your heart beat faster?’

  She took a long sip of her drink, needing its boost. ‘All sorts of things.’ She eyed him warily.

  He swung his legs on to the floor, finishing his cocktail in a couple of gulps and putting the glass on the tray before he sat studying her with unnerving concentration. ‘Name one.’

  His change of position had brought him so close she felt enveloped by his body warmth even though he wasn’t touching her. He was so near that she could see the tiny black hairs under his skin on the hard jawline, the amazing thickness of his long lashes. He had the most beautiful mouth, she thought dazedly. Firm, strong, sensual.

  Blaming the thought on the cocktail, she made a Herculean effort to pull herself together. ‘I love animals,’ she said weakly. ‘Reading, eating out with friends—’

  He interrupted her with scathing abruptness. ‘I did not ask for the sort of details you put on a CV. I asked about the real you.’

  She glared at him. ‘That is the real me.’ Part of the real her anyway. The only bit she was prepared to share with him.

  ‘And what about love? Romance? Is there anyone special at home in your cold England? A sweetheart waiting for you?’

  She wasn’t aware of the stiffening of her expression, the blink of her eyes, the slight lift of her chin, but the piercing grey gaze took in every nuance of her body language. ‘No.’ It was too abrupt and she realised it immediately, adding in what she sincerely hoped was a light voice, ‘Not at the moment.’

  ‘But there was until recently? Is that why you came to Italy? To escape from him?’

  Anger provided a welcome shot of adrenaline. Cherry’s glare magnified until her blue eyes flashed sparks. ‘I don’t think that is any of your business, but as it happens there was no “escape” about it. I have chosen to take a few months exploring the continent at a time when I am footloose and fancy-free, without any ties. It’s really very straightforward.’

  ‘You have not answered my question,’ he said gently.

  Cherry plonked her glass on the low table at the side of her, spilling some of the cocktail, and stood up. ‘I’m very grateful for your hospitality,’ she said icily, her face burning, ‘but, like I said, my personal life is absolutely none of your business.’

  He’d risen too, and without a word took her into his arms and kissed her. It was a warm, experimental kiss at first, and she was so taken aback she let it happen. By the time it deepened into an invasive probing she couldn’t have moved if she’d wanted to. His touch had fired a hundred tingling signals to her senses. It was the sort of kiss she’d dreamed of as an adolescent, sweet and hot.

  He placed a hand in the small of her back to steady her, drawing her closer into his lean frame until she was moulded to the hard planes of his body. The rough magic of his body hair teased her silky-smooth skin as his mouth fuelled the rush of sensation his lips and tongue were producing, tiny sharp needles of pleasure injecting desire into her veins like a forbidden drug.

  ‘Delicious…’ he murmured softly against her lips as the deliberate assault on her senses continued, the mouth she had thought so beautiful sensuously coaxing.

  The warm fragrant air, the shadows of light and dark against her closed eyelids, the ache in the core of her all contributed to the feeling of dreamlike unrealness that had taken Cherry over. The last months had been hard and painful and humiliating, and this fantasy interlude was all the more seductive because of it. She felt desirable, womanly, and it was heady.

  She shifted in his arms, but only so that she could lift her hands to his broad shoulders, abandoning herself to his lovemaking with an eagerness that would have shocked her if she had been capable of rational thought. But she didn’t want to think. She’d done enough thinking since the moment she’d learned Liam had betrayed her to last a lifetime. She just wanted to be…

  Vittorio’s thighs were hard against her soft curves as the hand on her back slid lower, moving her hips forward to fit her body into his. And it was this, the unmistakable feel of his hot arousal, that jerked Cherry back into sanity. Her hands pushed at his chest as she wrenched herself free, taking a step backwards, and her breath was a sob as she whispered, ‘Don’t. I don’t want this.’

  He made no attempt to reach for her again. He was breathing hard and took a moment to compose himself before he spoke. His voice was dry. ‘Finish your cocktail, mia piccola,’ he murmured, ‘while I take the equivalent of a cold shower.’ And with that he turned, walked swiftly to the edge of the pool, and dived into its cool depths.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHERRY didn’t even wait for Vittorio to surface before she grabbed her glass and dashed back towards the house. The gardens were slumbering in the early evening sunshine, and the heat of the day was still making itself felt, but she covered the distance quicker than an Olympic athlete, terrified he might call to her. And she couldn’t bear to face him right now.

  She dived into the breakfast room and then out into the hall, skidding on the marble floor and almost ending up in one of the exquisite flower displays, before running up the stairs. It wasn’t until she had entered her room and shut the door, locking it for good measure, that she realised she was still holding her now empty glass.

  Sinking down on to the bed, she placed the glass carefully on the bedside cabinet before putting her hands over her hot face. What an exhibition she’d made of herself—not only allowing him to kiss her like that but then bolting away like a scared little rabbit. She should have stayed and finished the cocktail, greeting him coolly when he returned with some casual, off hand remark to defuse any embarrassment. She groaned softly.

  Not that he’d been embarrassed. She shut her eyes, but she could still see the hard inches of male arousal straining against the material of his swimming trunks—proof that he had wanted her, right then and there. His face had shown it too, sexual knowledge turning the grey eyes hungry with anticipation. He’d clearly thought from her response to him that he was on to a good thing. She groaned again, burning with shame. And then she had pushed him away like a frightened schoolgirl and further compounded her stupidity by sprinting for the house as though the devil was after her. What on earth had she looked like?

  He’d think she was a tease—one of those women who indicated she was available and ready for the taking and then backed off at the last moment. She pressed a fist to her mouth to stop herself groaning for a third time.

  And how could she explain otherwise? How could she say his kiss had been the most mind-blowing experience of her life? He’d either think she was playing sexual games or, worse, that she fancied him and was trying to reel him in. Give a wolf a taste and keep him hungry. Either way it was back to the tease thing again. And she had never behaved like that in her life. She’d heard other girls—at university and later in the workplace—discuss strategies to keep a man dangling, and such manipulation disgusted her. But Vittorio wasn’t to know that.

  Cherry sat for another few minutes, heaping self-denigration on herself, before walking into the bathroom. A bath. A long soak in bubbles. This was one occasion when a shower wouldn’t do. She would wash her hair and cream and pamper herself, perhaps even paint her nails with one of the bottles of varnish she’d seen earlier, and when she went downstairs for dinner she would be in full command of herself.

  Her stomach cringed at the thought of facing Vittorio, but she stared at her tragic face in the mirror and almost smiled. Why he’d wanted to kiss her in the first place she’d never know. She looked like a little waif and stray the wind had blown in. All eyes and trembling lips. But no more. She hadn’t brought much with her in the way of evening clothes—it wasn’t that sort of holiday—but she did have a couple of dresses that had cost an arm and a leg. She had bou
ght them in the aftermath of the split with Liam, when she’d been feeling ugly and worthless, and they’d been worth every penny for the confidence they’d given her. One of those would do just fine. The deep blue viscose-crêpe one with the asymmetric lace border, perhaps. She had a pair of leather strappy sandals which would set off the cut of the dress. And she’d put her hair up. It made her look older.

  An hour later she was just teasing a few silky strands from the large clip shed used to put her hair up when there was a knock at the bedroom door. Her heart somersaulted and then beat so hard she couldn’t breathe. Somehow she managed to say, ‘Yes? Who is it?’ and the relief when Sophia’s voice came a moment later was immense. She’d thought… And then she shook her head at her own fancifulness. Why would a man like Vittorio bother with her anyway? He had plenty more fish in the sea, no doubt.

  When she opened the door, Sophia smiled at her. Vittorio’s sister looked even older in the green strapless dress she was wearing, her voluptuous hour-glass figure perfectly suited to the deceptively simple A-line evening frock. ‘I thought we could go down together, Cherry.’

  ‘Yes, of course. I just need to find my sandals.’ Cherry opened the door wider and Sophia came in, shutting it behind her. Cherry knelt down by her open case on the floor, digging inside for the sandals—the only dressy shoes she’d brought with her. Once she had fished them out she sat back on her heels with them in her hands. ‘Sorry to keep you waiting,’ she began, turning her head, and then, her voice changing as she saw tears running down Sophia’s face, she said, ‘Oh, what is it? What’s the matter?’

  She jumped up, pulling Sophia over to the bed and sitting down with her as she took the younger girl’s hands in hers. ‘Is it Santo?’ she said softly, thinking Vittorio’s sister was suddenly overcome by the situation. She was only sixteen, after all, and emotion were hard to control at that age.

  ‘Si, si—in a way,’ Sophia whispered, seeming quite different from the controlled young woman at the pool that afternoon. ‘I—I am in trouble, Cherry, and I have no one to speak to, to confide in. I am so frightened. At the pool—’ she sniffed and rubbed at her nose in a childish gesture ‘—you seemed to understand how I was feeling. But—but there is more.’

  Hoping the thought which had immediately sprung to mind was way off beam, Cherry said gently, ‘Can’t you talk to Vittorio? He does love you, you know, even if he is a little over-protective. He feels responsible for you since your parents died and wants to do the right thing.’

  ‘Vittorio is the last person I can talk to about this.’

  Oh, dear. When Sophia seemed unable to go on, Cherry took the plunge. ‘Are you pregnant, Sophia?’

  Vittorio’s sister shut her eyes and then nodded, tears seeping from under her closed lids. ‘But it wasn’t Santo’s fault. Not that Vittorio will believe that. I—I knew what I was doing. He wanted to stop but I needed to belong to him, properly. I wouldn’t let him push me away like he’d done before when things went too far. He was beside himself afterwards.’

  ‘And you? What were you like?’ Cherry pressed quietly.

  Sophia opened her eyes, and although they were swimming with tears her voice was strong when she said, ‘I was glad. I still am. Although I didn’t expect… I didn’t think you could become pregnant the first time.’

  Sophia had probably had a first-class education, but Cherry dared bet the young Italian girl had little idea of the birds and the bees. Or had had before. She was certainly more well acquainted with that side of things now, Cherry thought ruefully. Sophia had been so protected all her life, so carefully brought up, and perhaps in her culture such privileged young women were virgins on their wedding night, with only a basic knowledge of birth control and so on. Of course Sophia hadn’t had a mother to explain things, and as Vittorio still considered his sister as little more than a child…

  What a muddle. Cherry passed Sophia a tissue. ‘And Santo? What does he say about this?’

  Fresh tears welled up. ‘I haven’t told him yet. I wasn’t absolutely sure, but today when I was shopping with Margherita I pretended I wanted a lipstick from the chemist and bought a kit. You know—it tells you if you’re expecting a baby or not. After I’d talked to you by the pool I worked up the courage to do it.’ She gazed at Cherry helplessly.

  ‘So there’s no doubt?’

  Sophia shook her head. ‘I’ve—I’ve missed two periods now. But I know as soon as I tell Santo he’ll come and see Vittorio and say he wants to marry me, and I’m so afraid of what Vittorio will do to him.’

  And with good cause, Cherry thought grimly. She had only known Vittorio for a matter of hours, but she wouldn’t want to be in Santo’s shoes for all the tea in China. ‘You have to tell Vittorio, Sophia. You know that, don’t you? From all you’ve told me about Santo he isn’t the type to elope or suggest you disappear somewhere with him. He’ll come and see Vittorio, and it’s important your brother is told the full facts by you first. It will give him a chance to calm down.’

  ‘I cannot, Cherry.’ Real fear crossed Sophia’s pretty face. She said something in Italian and then, realising Cherry didn’t understand, said quickly, ‘He has the temper, si?’

  ‘But Vittorio has to know, Sophia.’ Cherry stared at the Italian girl helplessly. ‘You see that, surely?’

  ‘Would you tell my brother, Cherry?’ Sophia grabbed Cherry’s hands. ‘Per favore? Would you?’

  ‘Me?’ Cherry recoiled in horror.

  ‘Si. You are a guest in our home. Vittorio will respect this. But me…’ Sophia rolled her eyes. ‘I dare not.’

  ‘You don’t think your brother would harm you?’ Cherry said gently. Somehow she was sure Vittorio wouldn’t hurt Sophia.

  ‘Si. No.’ Sophia shook her head, confused. ‘I do not know. But if you tell him he will not lose his temper for sure. I know it is asking much, but I beg you.’

  It was asking much—even without Vittorio’s apparent temper to contend with. She had only known them both a matter of hours.

  ‘We love each other, Cherry,’ Sophia said earnestly. ‘We always have. And I can move into the farmhouse with Santo’s family once we are married. Santo has a room all to himself. It will not be a problem. And his parents like me. His madre—his mother—she is so sweet. Santo can continue working with his father, and I can help his mother in the house. I will be company for her. Santo has five sisters, but they are older than him and married with their own homes.’

  Sophia had it all worked out. Cherry stared at the other girl. Had she fallen pregnant by accident, or was she not quite as ingenuous as she claimed? Whatever, the deed was done. A baby was on the way—the true innocent in this tangle—and was to be born to a couple who were little more than children themselves. But from what Sophia had said she and Santo would not be coping with a newborn by themselves, like some young people. With grandparents on hand, their lot would be easier.

  ‘Now you are sure you’re expecting a baby, you need to tell Santo, Sophia. He has a right to know before anyone else.’ Cherry stood up. ‘He is the father after all.’

  ‘Si. You are right.’ Sophia stood up too. ‘And if I do this will you tell Vittorio?’

  Cherry felt she was between the devil and the deep blue sea—the devil definitely being Vittorio, she thought wryly. But in one way she could follow Sophia’s reasoning that the news coming from a stranger might keep the lid on Vittorio’s rage, and by the time he saw Sophia he might have calmed down a little. Two mights. Two too many, considering she was going to be in the firing line. ‘I’m leaving tomorrow once the car is delivered,’ she warned Sophia.

  ‘Si, but there is after dinner tonight, or maybe breakfast? Perhaps tonight is better, in case the car comes early, and Vittorio will be more relaxed, more mellow, having eaten dinner and drunk wine. I can disappear early, before coffee. I will say I have the headache. I can slip out while Margherita is seeing to things in the kitchen and tell Santo. Then we come back to face Vittorio together. This is good, eh?�
�� Sophia smiled hopefully. ‘And you can tell him it is not Santo’s fault.’

  Oh, hell. And all because some ne’er do well had syphoned off her petrol. She should be installed in a nice little pensioni up the coast by now, with nothing more important on her mind than what she was going to have for dinner. The last thing she wanted was to be embroiled in a situation like this, when it could well be a case of ‘shoot the messenger’. Flatly, she said, ‘What would you have done if I hadn’t turned up today?’

  Sophia shrugged and then smiled again. ‘But you did, and I will always be glad of it,’ she said disarmingly. ‘I have been praying to Our Lady since I suspected I might be expecting a baby, asking her to help me, and now she has.’

  It brought home to Cherry how very young Sophia was, in spite of her womanly appearance. She couldn’t let Sophia face her brother alone. Sighing, she said, ‘After dinner, then.’

  ‘Grazie, grazie.’ Sophia flung her arms round Cherry and hugged her. ‘I wish you could stay for a while and see me married. I have always wanted a sister.’

  ‘You’re going to acquire five shortly,’ Cherry said drily.

  Sophia giggled, all tears gone. ‘This is true, and they have many bambini. My little one, he will not be lonely.’

  Feeling things were again verging on the surreal, Cherry slipped on her sandals. Sophia had gone from desperation to delight in a couple of minutes, and she couldn’t help feeling Vittorio’s sister hadn’t embraced the enormity of the changes which were inevitably going to occur in her life. She just hoped the wonderful Santo came up to scratch tonight. Sophia didn’t have a shred of doubt in her mind that he would offer to marry her.

  They walked downstairs together, and once in the hall Sophia led the way into the drawing room where Vittorio was sitting with a drink. Sophia’s revelation had driven the events of the afternoon out of Cherry’s mind, but now all she could see was Vittorio as he’d been by the pool—practically naked and hugely aroused. Two spots of blazing colour stained her cheekbones as she met the cool grey eyes.