by Andie Brock
‘Yes, Leah. That’s exactly what I’m doing.’
‘You are pretending to be engaged to Vieri Romano?’ She had the nerve to laugh.
‘I said so, didn’t I?’ Harper bristled with annoyance. ‘I’m glad you find it so hilarious.’
‘No, not hilarious.’ Leah steadied herself. ‘I’m just surprised, that’s all.’
‘What, surprised that I’m having to pick up the pieces of your shattered life yet again?’
There was silence from the other end of the phone.
‘I’m sorry, Lea.’ Instantly Harper regretted her sharp tongue. ‘I didn’t mean it like that.’
‘Yes, you did.’ Leah let out a deep sigh. ‘And you’re right. We both know that I owe you everything. And all I want is to try and make it up to you.’
‘How many times? You don’t need to make anything up to me. Especially if it means coming up with hare-brained schemes like becoming engaged to billionaire Sicilian businessmen.’
She was relieved to hear her sister laugh.
‘Okay, point taken. But at least I can sort this mess out myself. If you can book me a flight to Sicily—I’d do it myself except I have literally no money—then we can swap places and you can come home.’
‘No, Leah.’
‘But why not? It’s the obvious solution.’
‘Because it’s way too late for that. I’ve been introduced to people, got to know his godfather. And besides, Vieri would never agree to it. Your name is mud as far as he is concerned.’
‘But we look so alike. He probably wouldn’t even notice the difference.’
‘Trust me, he would notice.’
Harper bit down on her lip. She had answered too quickly, given herself away.
‘So, you and Vieri...’ Leah probed quietly. ‘Have you got close?’
‘No.’
‘Oh, my God, you have, haven’t you? You have fallen for him!’
‘No! Of course I haven’t!’
‘Oh, Harps, be careful. I mean, I know he’s a complete hunk with enough sex appeal to decimate a small planet, but even so, a man like Vieri Romano... He breaks hearts for a living.’
‘I have not fallen for Vieri Romano! He’s an arrogant, overbearing egotist. Why ever would I fall for a man like that?’
‘I don’t know. You tell me.’ Her voice was laced with amusement.
‘Look, Leah, I’m not going to discuss this any further. We need to make plans for the next few weeks.’
‘I suspect you’ve already done that.’
‘I’m being serious, Leah. I’m not sure when I’m going to get back to Glenruie, but in the meantime you are in charge. How is Dad? Have you seen him?’
‘Not yet. It was late when I got in last night. The kitchen looked in a bit of a state.’
‘I can imagine. You are going to have to be tough with him, you know.’
‘I know.’
‘And I’m down to do quite a few shifts at the Lodge. I was going to ring and cancel them but now you’re back you can do them for me. They’re all written on the calendar.’
‘Okay, fine.’ She sighed heavily. ‘Why does it feel as if I’ve drawn the short straw?’
‘Don’t even go there, Leah!’ Harper gave a brisk laugh. ‘Look, I’m going to have to go now. So glad you are safe, sis.’
‘Thanks. And sorry...you know...’
‘Forget it.’
‘Love you, sis.’
‘You too.’
Ending the call, Harper moved over to the window. Dawn was just beginning to break over the city, the rising sun defining the jagged black mountains in the distance, picking out the orange brickwork of the chaotic conglomeration of houses below.
It was so beautiful here, and yet Harper had never felt more isolated, more alone. The torture of what had happened between her and Vieri the evening before had robbed her of a night’s sleep and still coursed shamefully through her veins. The way she had responded to his touch, been so near to giving herself to him, exposing her feelings, now scored her cheeks with humiliation. One minute she had been melting beneath the seductive power of his mouth and the next he had cruelly dismissed her, brutally reminding her of who was in charge. He pulled her strings and she danced. He cut them and she fell.
Turning away from the window, she went back and sat on the edge of the bed, bunching the bedcover between her fingers. It had been the mention of that Donatella woman that had thrown him into a rage—clearly something had gone on between the two of them. Was it possible they had been lovers? Were they still lovers? The thought cut through her like a blade. Sucking in a breath, she made herself focus on the reality of her situation. Whoever Vieri saw, whatever he did, was none of her business. Their engagement was only for a few, short weeks. She just had to wrap up her emotions and get through this. Although the fact that their arrangement would only end because of Alfonso’s death was something Harper had yet to come to terms with.
But when the inevitable happened she would go back to Scotland and get on with her life and put this whole, crazy episode behind her. It would be as if Vieri had never existed. And somehow, her poor virgin heart would have to find a way to heal itself.
Pulling back the feather-light duvet, she slipped underneath and curled herself into a tight ball. And finally sleep came.
CHAPTER EIGHT
A SERIES OF loud raps on her bedroom door saw Harper burrowing out of the duvet, blinking against the light.
‘Harper!’ There was no mistaking the deeply sonorous voice.
‘Yes,’ she croaked back, fumbling for her phone to see what the time was. Ten-thirty? How could that be? But before she had the chance to order her thoughts Vieri was striding into her bedroom, full of his usual command.
‘You need to get up.’
Harper pushed herself up against the pillows, brushing the hair out of her eyes with a shaky hand. By the look on Vieri’s face, something was wrong.
‘What’s the matter? What’s happened?’
‘I have received a message from Alfonso’s nurse.’ Vieri’s voice was tight. ‘We need to get over there right away.’
‘Oh, no!’ Harper felt her heart lurch. ‘Alfonso...he hasn’t...? She pulled back the covers, scrambling to get out of bed.
‘No, no. It’s Maria. Some sort of family emergency, apparently. She has had to leave.’
‘Oh, thank goodness.’ Harper gave a huge sigh of relief. ‘Not that I don’t feel sorry for Maria, of course.’ She stopped, suddenly aware of Vieri’s cool blue eyes raking over her. She was wearing a pair of old fleecy tartan pyjamas, perfect for keeping out the winter chill back home, but, judging by Vieri’s expression, not the sort of female night attire he was familiar with.
She gazed at him, desperately trying to ignore the stutter of her heart. Wearing faded, low-slung jeans and a grey sweatshirt, he was more casually dressed than usual, but no less devastatingly attractive. The dark shadow that shaded his jawline gave him a feral, untamed look, and his ruffled hair, that didn’t appear to have been brushed any time recently, only made him seem all the more dangerously tempting. Harper bit down on her lip. Maybe this unkempt look meant he had had a bad night too. After the way he had treated her, she couldn’t help but hope so.
‘So, what’s the plan?’ She tried to sound normal, running a hand over her own sleep-tangled hair and tucking it behind her ears. But all the time she was acutely conscious of Vieri’s unwavering stare. ‘Can you hire a temporary nurse?’
‘Already done. But Alfonso is being difficult. It seems that he wants you there.’
‘Oh.’ Harper nodded. ‘Well, I’ll get dressed and we can head straight over there.’
‘I mean he wants you to move in with him.’ Vieri hesitated. ‘Until Maria gets back.’
‘I see.’ Harper bit back her surprise. ‘Well, that’s okay. I can do that.’ Already her affection for Alfonso was such that she would do anything for him.
‘Obviously I will accompany you.’
Obv
iously. Harper felt her stomach twist with nervous apprehension. All brisk businesslike command, there was no trace of the Vieri of last night. Of the seductive lover who had so easily smashed through her fragile defences, or the angry stranger that had followed. It occurred to her that she had no idea at all what went on in this man’s head.
‘Maria doesn’t know how long she will have to be away,’ Vieri continued. ‘Do you have any commitments, at home, I mean?’
This took Harper aback. It was the first time Vieri had even mentioned the life she had had to put on hold for him.
‘Actually I spoke to Leah this morning.’ She fiddled with the hem of her pyjama top. ‘She’s safely back in Glenruie and she has agreed to do my shifts at Craigmore Lodge for me. And look after Dad.’
Vieri gave a brief nod.
‘She explained to me what had happened, about the money, Vieri. How that man gambled it all away and then disappeared.’ Harper took a tentative step towards him. ‘Leah didn’t deliberately set out to steal from you, you know. She intended to pay you back.’ For some reason she felt she had to try and clear her sister’s name.
‘It makes no difference to me either way.’ Vieri looked profoundly unconvinced, his profile set hard in silhouette against the window. ‘As far as I am concerned the matter is closed. Once our arrangement has been concluded, of course.’
‘Of course.’ Harper chewed the inside of her lip. What was the point of even trying to get through to this man? She sighed heavily.
‘We will leave in twenty minutes.’
‘Fine.’
She watched as his broad-shouldered frame turned and left the room. Heading for the bathroom, she stripped off her pyjamas and stepped under the shower, hoping that the thundering water would drown out her sense of foreboding.
It seemed that no matter how hard she tried to protect herself, the web she was caught in was tightening all the time. Somehow, Vieri’s control over her life was becoming more and more inescapable.
* * *
‘Benvenuto, welcome.’ Alfonso stretched out a skinny arm towards Harper, taking her hand and patting it with his own. ‘Thank you so much for coming to save me in my hour of need.’
‘It’s nothing, Alfonso.’ Harper leant in to kiss his papery cheek. ‘It will be a pleasure to stay here and look after you until Maria returns.’
‘You are very kind but I know what an imposition it must be for you. And for Vieri.’ He shot Vieri a look. ‘But I hope you will forgive the selfishness of a very old man.’
‘There is nothing to forgive, Alfonso.’ Vieri gave his godfather a hug, the reality of how frail Alfonso had become gripping his heart.
‘Harper, my dear.’ Alfonso turned to where Harper still stood beside his chair. ‘Perhaps you would like to go and check your room? My housekeeper has made it ready for you but I want to make sure everything is just as you want it before she leaves for the day.’
‘I’m sure it will be perfect.’
‘Even so.’ He touched her hand again. ‘It would put my mind at rest.’
‘Very well, I’ll go and unpack.’
Both men watched as she left the room.
‘Come and sit down, my son.’ Alfonso patted the chair beside him, speaking in his native Sicilian. ‘You are making me anxious, standing there with that forbidding look on your face. I hope this situation...’ he waved his hand around expressively ‘...isn’t inconveniencing you too much.’
‘Not at all, padrino.’ Vieri seated himself in a high-backed chair.
‘Then what? You look troubled.’
Vieri took in a breath. ‘Did you know that Donatella is back in Palermo?’ He could feel a vein pulsing in his neck at the very mention of her name.
‘Ah, yes, I did hear as much.’
‘And that doesn’t worry you?’
‘Not in the least. She knows better than to show her face here.’
‘But she will still try and make trouble,’ Vieri replied. ‘You can bet on that.’
‘Donatella Sorrentino will only make trouble if we let her, Vieri. And I have no intention of doing any such thing.’
Vieri bit down hard on his jaw. Alfonso was right. Hadn’t he already let her do just that by reacting so violently when he’d found out she had chosen Harper’s dress? He had played right into her vicious hands.
Taking a breath, he strode over to the window, gazing out at the calm vista.
‘Let it go, Vieri.’ Alfonso’s soft voice spoke behind him. ‘That woman may have blighted your past, but don’t let her blight your future.’
Vieri turned and the two men locked eyes, the air thick with words that weren’t spoken. So wise, so caring—it worried Vieri considerably that Alfonso’s view of his future was built on a construct of lies and deceit. It worried him, too, that his rosy picture would never happen. But it was too late for regrets. He had started this stupid charade, he had no choice but to see it through.
* * *
Harper sat down heavily on the bed. Her side of the bed. The housekeeper had left after Harper had insisted that the room was perfect, that there was nothing more she needed. But even though the room was perfect, the reality of the situation was far from it. Because it was evident that Harper wasn’t going to be the sole occupant of this bedroom. She would be sharing it with Vieri.
She looked around in dismay. At the two sets of towels on the bed, the two white dressing gowns on the back of the door. Sharing Vieri’s enormous hotel penthouse apartment had been bad enough. How on earth was she going to cope with sharing a bedroom—a bed? No, it couldn’t happen! Somehow the sleeping arrangements would have to be changed.
Two pairs of eyes turned in her direction as she walked back into the salon. Alfonso gestured to her to come forward. ‘I hope everything was to your satisfaction?’
‘Yes, our room is lovely.’ She ground out the words, flashing Vieri a pointed stare.
‘Bene, bene. I thought you would like it. That bed is very special, you know. It’s known as a marriage bed, hundreds of years old, I believe. Superstition has it that the couple that lie in that bed will soon be granted the blessing of a child.’ His dark eyes twinkled. ‘Although I suspect they may need to do more than just lie in it.’
‘Alfonso!’ Vieri rested his hand on his godfather’s shoulder.
‘Forgive me. But in my situation you can’t blame me for trying to speed things up a bit. I’m not old-fashioned enough to think you have to wait to be married these days to share a bed.’
Harper sat down on the sofa, tightly crossing her legs. How awkward was this?
‘Speaking of which, have you set a date yet?’
‘A date?’ She frowned at Alfonso, her mind still whirring with the sleeping arrangements.
‘Yes.’ Alfonso sat forward in his chair. ‘I asked Vieri if you would be so kind as to make the wedding soon. So that I might be able to attend.’
‘The w-wedding?’ She shot a horrified glance at Vieri, who steadfastly refused to meet her eyes. Instead he addressed his godfather.
‘We haven’t had the chance to discuss it yet, padrino.’
‘No? Well, there’s no time like the present.’ Clearly Alfonso wasn’t going to be deterred. ‘Why don’t we sort it out now? Harper, pass me my diary, will you? It’s in the top drawer of my desk.’
As if in a trance, Harper did as she was told, crossing the room to retrieve Alfonso’s diary and placing it in his outstretched hand.
‘Grazie, thank you, my dear. Now let me see.’ His shaky hands started to turn over the pages. ‘Ah, now how about this week?’ He turned the diary around, holding open the pages. Vieri and Harper peered at it. Harper’s heart stopped. It was a mere two weeks away. ‘Shall we say the twenty-third?’
‘The twenty-third?’ To Harper’s horror, Vieri appeared to be considering it, worse, drawing her in. ‘I think that might be possible. What do you say, Harper?’
There was a lot she wanted to say. An awful lot. But trapped between Alfonso’s hopeful
gaze and Vieri’s shuttered calm she didn’t know where to begin.
‘I think that may be a little soon.’ Her voice was tight with suppressed tension. ‘Weddings take some time to organise, I believe.’
‘Sadly time is not something I have a lot of.’ Alfonso smiled weakly at her. ‘As you know.’
Harper bit down hard on her lip. How was she supposed to counter that?
‘What sort of wedding do you have in mind?’ Alfonso continued unabashed. ‘Do you envisage a lavish affair?’
‘No!’ Harper swallowed. Five minutes ago she hadn’t had any sort of wedding in mind. ‘Not at all.’
‘Well, I don’t think a small, intimate gathering will be difficult to organise. And finding a venue certainly won’t be a problem. Vieri owns several luxury hotels in Sicily alone. In fact, I have a better idea.’ He pushed himself upright. ‘Why don’t you get married here? In the castello chapel. You would be doing me the greatest honour.’
‘That is very kind of you, Alfonso. But all the arrangements, the disruption, will it not be too much for you?’ Harper fired a surreptitious glare at Vieri. Why was he not putting a stop to this nonsense right now?
‘Not at all. It will give me something to look forward to. So, is that settled, then? Saturday the twenty-third.’
Harper found herself nodding weakly.
‘Eccellente.’ Alfonso gave them both a beaming smile. ‘Now, if you will call that new nurse of mine, I think it’s time I took a nap.’
* * *
‘And just when, exactly, were you going to tell me about this wedding?’
Shaking with outrage, Harper turned on Vieri as they stepped outside into the cool air.
‘Keep your voice down.’ Linking his arm through hers, Vieri moved them away from the castello. ‘Getting hysterical is not going to help anyone.’
‘I think I have every right to be hysterical!’ Balling her hands into fists, Harper dug them further into her coat pockets. The shock of what she had just agreed to was still ringing in her ears, and having Vieri locked beside her, his towering, powerful body controlling her steps as they moved through the gardens, was doing nothing to calm her down. ‘How could you have told Alfonso we would be getting married without even asking me first?’
