by Betsy Swann
‘I lost it in that box room,’ Luca confessed. ‘Hetherington ended up with a bloody nose and Bella in tears. She has sworn the whole thing was just a misunderstanding, but at that moment I was so furious I said terrible things to her, and now I don’t know how to make it good again. Or maybe I should just let her go to hell. I really don’t know. This is such a mess…’
A mess indeed, Enzo agreed. Especially as he was trying his hardest to establish a good business relationship with Nick Hetherington, at least until Hetherington had sold him the chain of Italian luxury hotels he was after. No two-timing personal assistant would come between him and this deal. That was for sure, no matter how hard Luca had fallen for her, and as for his brother’s hope to marry that girl… Well, there were many ways to help the lady get away, Enzo mused. She wouldn’t be the first greedy lover willing to be paid off with a handsome sum of money. But before offering her a generous pay-off he needed to ensure that she was indeed the gold-digger he took her for. There was a slim chance that Luca was right, after all, and she’d been the innocent victim of Hetherington’s advances.
Maybe the whole thing went its natural course and died anyway, now that Luca was not so sure about her faithfulness anymore. Soon enough another beauty might warm his bed and his heart, if he and Bella were separated for a little while. Then he’d forget about his pretty PA and her capers in that box room. Luca was known for his striking sex appeal, so this would not take longer than ten days, maybe a fortnight. The ladies just couldn’t keep away from Luca’s rugged charm, and the farther he’d be removed from his personal assistant during this time, the better.
Enzo took a deep breath. He hated manipulating his brother, but right now this seemed to be necessary.
‘The best way to go ahead is to test her love,’ he suggested to Luca. ‘The Vallorini in Vegas is about to have a huge overhaul, and you know the place better than anyone. Why don’t you go there for a couple of weeks to oversee the restorations, while I take your place in London and ease things with Nick Hetherington?’
‘And Bella?’ Luca didn’t seem to understand. ‘How will working in the Vegas office test our love?’
‘You’ll go alone and won’t contact her. She can work as my PA for as long as I’m in London, and when you return, and if you’re both still in love, you can review the situation.’
Enzo gritted his teeth. He sure as hell wouldn’t allow that girl to charm herself back into Luca’s life, if it wasn’t true love. After that fortnight, Bella wouldn’t be able to pretend to be madly in love with his brother any more. And if he had to bed her himself to prove the point, he would.
‘Sounds like a plan,’ Luca replied. ‘You’re sure about no contact?’
‘Dead sure. No contact whatsoever. Why make it easy for her? Let her think you’re deeply disappointed with her. If she waits for you, still smitten like crazy and willing to put things right - great, go ahead and marry her. If not, at least you know she wasn’t truly in love with you.’
Enzo hardly registered the clink of the ice cubes against the bottom of the glass as he poured himself a generous measure of whisky. It wasn’t even lunchtime and he already needed a drink. He frowned. The conversation with his brother had catapulted him right back to that dreadful morning two years ago, the day his heart had shattered into a million tiny pieces. No way would he ever fall in love again unless he found someone really special, someone who probably didn’t even exist, and certainly not someone like Izzy Jones or Luca’s flirtatious PA.
Strange actually, he mused while sipping the strong, amber liquid, that he’d never told anyone about his relationship with Izzy. Not his cousins and not his brother. He had planned to do so, but then the full force of Luca’s bitter divorce had hit the family, and there had never seemed to be a good moment to mention his failed engagement.
What the heck, it had never been that important, had it? A two day engagement was hardly worth shouting about, so why on earth should anybody be interested? Enzo downed his drink and got up to get another one. The problem was she was still interesting to him. He couldn’t forget her. Not a day passed when he didn’t remember Izzy’s betrayal or visualise her sitting at the table in that little café, smiling warmly at Samuel Carson. He had cursed her so often it was second nature to him now, but night after night, she crept into his dreams pretending to be the only one for him, the only one he could ever love.
The second drink went the same way as the first. Enzo snorted. They hadn’t even slept together because he’d been stupid enough to fall for her claim that she was a virgin. He’d been extra gentle with her, hadn’t wanted to rush her into anything she wasn’t ready for yet, and all the time she had laughed behind his back. He couldn’t believe how trusting he’d been, and still… No matter how many beautiful girls he had dated since then, how many sweet promises they’d whispered into his ears, he had forgotten their faces and their names the instance they’d stepped out of his bed. All he could think about was Izzy. Beautiful innocent Izzy, the only one he had loved.
He had been in Rome for almost two years now. He’d never had the desire to return to England, especially since the family mansion had fallen into the hands of Rebecca Morton, the bitch. But now it was time for a change, he decided, setting the empty whisky glass on his desk. He had to get Izzy out of his system and out of his dreams, and there was just one way to go about this. He had to face the enemy. Maybe he should bed her, or maybe it would be enough to see her in action, winding her greedy tentacles round some unsuspecting millionaire’s neck before wrenching his last penny from the man.
Enzo curled his lips. One way or other, confronting Izzy was exactly what he would do, and at the end of it she would finally be gone from his life for good.
CHAPTER FIVE
‘Say that again,’ Izzy gasped with a startled expression in her eyes, the glowing, sun kissed complexion of her skin turning pale all of a sudden. ‘What is the name of the company where you’d like me to take over your job, pretending to be you?’
At the other end of the phone line Bella Hetherington, her identical twin, took a deep breath. ‘Vallorini’, she repeated. ‘Like the hotel chain.’
‘Or like Enzo Vallorini’, Izzy said when she’d regained her composure. ‘I can’t believe you’re working there. I may have stepped in as your double several times before, Bella, and I’ve always been happy to do so, but you can’t possibly think that…’
‘Please’, Bella begged. ‘Please, Izzy, you have to help me. Luca has already left for Las Vegas, and if I don’t follow him I’ll lose him for good. It was a terrible moment when he caught Nick and me in that box room, exactly when Nick was taking me into his arms…’
‘What did he do that for?’ Izzy asked. Their half-brother was not exactly known for his touchy-feely behaviour.
‘He’d been furious when he found me working for Vallorini and called me all sort of things, and I was upset,’ Bella admitted. ‘So he tried to comfort me.’
It went quiet and Izzy’s heart ached because she knew her sister was crying at the other end of the line, unable to explain any further. It didn’t matter. Izzy knew exactly what had happened and what her sister was asking her to do.
For Bella it had been love at first sight. Several months ago she had seen Luca Vallorini from afar at a party they both attended and had instantly fallen in love with him. Truly, madly and deeply. Her sister had chosen to stay in the background, so Luca hadn’t caught sight of her and knew nothing of the instant spark he’d ignited in her heart. Bella didn’t want him – or any man she liked – to know that she was worth millions. If love ever crossed her path, she’d sworn herself years ago she would be loved for herself and not for her wealth. Too bad that Luca, together with his older brother Enzo, owned a series of international luxury hotels similar to the famous Hetherington hotel chain owned by Bella and her siblings. Bella feared that, if Luca knew, he might feel tempted to marry her in an effort to add to his already large business. A marriage or even an aff
air without love was unthinkable to her.
Luca Vallorini was acquainted with her surname, of course, so he must not find out she was a Hetherington, Bella had decided. To make matters worse she had managed to secure the job as Luca’s personal assistant at the London Vallorini flagship hotel next to Green Park giving her twin’s surname, a fake CV and a splendid fake reference signed by Nick Hetherington, who hadn’t known any of this, of course. Just as Izzy hadn’t known, until now.
‘So let me get this straight’, Izzy repeated. ‘You got the job using my surname instead of yours, so he thinks you’re Isabella Jones. Then, the two of you embark on an affair. You had planned to let him know your true identity the moment he said the L-word, but Nick suddenly turns up in Luca’s office and makes a scene. While he’s with you in the box room, Luca appears and everything goes up in smoke.’
‘It was awful’, Bella sniffed. ‘The way Luca looked at me when he saw me with Nick, so…so disappointed. Oh Izzy, he must think that I’m nothing more than a gold-digging slut who throws herself at every rich man who crosses her path.’
Izzy curled her lips. If Luca was anything like his elder brother, this was exactly what he’d be thinking.
‘Why didn’t you tell him Nick is your brother and you only meant to have a quiet word with him?’ she asked. ‘The simple truth would have solved everything.’
‘No, it wouldn’t have,’ her sister insisted. ‘I know Luca loves me, just from the way he looks at me and holds me in his arm. I know it. It’s got to be love, but…’
‘He never told you so?’ Izzy queried with a frown.
‘No,’ Bella whispered. ‘I waited and waited, but he never did. Not once. So he mustn’t find out who I am yet. Until Luca says that he loves me - if he ever does - I want him to think that I’m just Miss Jones from next door, an ordinary girl.’
‘Surely you realise your plan can backfire,’ Izzy cautioned. ‘Luca already thinks you’re a gold-digging tart because he mistook Nick for your secret lover. Exactly the same happened to Enzo and me two years ago. He’s never spoken to me again.’
Izzy still couldn’t believe how quickly Enzo’s love had turned to hatred the moment he saw these wretched pictures in the papers. He hadn’t even given her the chance to defend herself. In seconds she’d turned from fiancé to sleazy whore, and that had been the end of it.
‘Don’t worry, I’m sure you won’t bump into Enzo while you work in Luca’s office,’ Bella tried to reassure her. ‘Enzo has been in Italy for nearly two years now, taking care of the Italian side of the Vallorini business. Luca would have mentioned it, if his brother was expected in London any time soon.’
Nervously Izzy curled a silvery strand of hair around her finger. Italy was far away, but then again Enzo’s actions weren’t predictable. If he chose to leave Italy and fly to London on a whim, he would do just that.
That terrible day in Enzo’s office was a long time ago now. Surely she could handle meeting him after all this time? An uneasy shiver went down her spine. The truth was she was still not sure whether she could ever face Enzo Vallorini again. She was afraid of bursting into tears just seeing his dark and beautifully chiselled face or, even worse, being confronted with some gorgeously beautiful woman by his side. A year after their split she’d unexpectedly stumbled upon a picture in a glossy magazine showing him with a barely dressed supermodel all over him. Since then Izzy had avoided reading this kind of popular press. It was just too much to bear.
‘Please,’ Bella said again. ‘Please, Izzy, I need to follow Luca to Las Vegas. Let me at least try to make him see that I’m not the gold-digging tart he now thinks I am. You just have to take my place in the London office and buy me some time, so that Enzo doesn’t become suspicious.’
Izzy swallowed hard, trying to ease the lump in her throat. ‘So you think it was Enzo, who arranged Luca’s sudden trip to Las Vegas, and without his personal assistant?’
‘I’m sure of it,’ her sister confirmed. ‘But as long as you stand in for me, Enzo won’t suspect that I followed his brother.’
‘How can you be so sure?’ Izzy frowned. ‘It’s more than likely that you and Luca will be photographed together by the paparazzi in Vegas.’
‘I’d love the press taking pictures.’ Bella giggled. ‘I tinted my hair a rich auburn brown and, in combination with a pair of stylish sunglasses, nobody will recognize me. Trust me: the whole world will think that Luca found himself a new lover.’ For a moment the line went quiet again. ‘Have you decided yet, Izzy? Will you help me, please?’
Izzy took a deep breath.
‘Okay, I’ll do it,’ she finally said. ‘But don’t you dare come home without a huge engagement ring on your finger. I certainly won’t repeat this stunt a second time.’
Once they’d finished their conversation, Izzy went into her state-of-the-art kitchen and poured herself a glass of crisp white wine. She was worried that Bella had stolen her identity without her knowledge, just as Nick had been when he found out, but there was nothing she could do about it now. Only a daredevil like Bella would have aimed to gain the love of her personal Prince Charming by taking a job in his office under a false name, with false papers and a fake CV. Bella hadn’t meant to do any harm, of course, but she obviously hadn’t thought about the possible consequences either.
The Vallorini and Hetherington hotel groups were in competition. Izzy didn’t even want to think about what might happen if Bella was found out, or if somebody ever suspected that Izzy’s first name wasn’t Isabella but Clarissa, and that wretched CV was as fake as it could possibly get? It would look like she was spying on the competition. She quickly repressed the thought. It wasn’t a good idea to paint the worst case scenario, not even twelve hours before she was due to face the dragon’s den. It was better to cross that bridge when she got to it.
On her way to the living room Izzy crossed her spacious entrance hall and stared at her twin sister’s features in the full length mirror gracing the wall. Bella’s slender, willowy figure, the mane of long, silver blond hair that fell down to her waist, these large periwinkle blue eyes under a set of dark, long lashes… only that it was herself who was reflected in the mirror. How could two people possibly look so much alike?
It had been an utter shock when she had seen Bella for the first time. When she had finally stood face to face with the twin sister she’d so unexpectedly discovered on her twenty-first birthday. The day when Enzo had broken off with her.
Izzy tried to imagine how Bella might look now with her new auburn locks and failed. Slowly she moved on, through the living room and onto her roof terrace. She smiled, convinced that this was the most breath taking roof terrace in the whole of London. She adored her potted laurel and palm trees that stood dotted around on the large stone slabs. Luxurious teak furniture with soft, comfy cushions added to the relaxing atmosphere, combined with the mellow glow of the lights that twinkled along the railings like stars in the sky once night had fallen. Most of all she loved the view over the majestic London Tower across the gushing waters of the Thames and beautiful Tower Bridge spanning the river. She was glad that she’d never visited these sites with Enzo. There was not a single memory of the man to spoil the view.
Izzy sighed and reclined onto the pillow on one of the wooden benches. She looked up to the sky, which was still golden from the early evening sun at this time of day. She remembered her last evening with Enzo two years ago. It had been much later at night. They had been lying side by side on the soft sand of the beach gazing at the stars and dreaming about their future. That evening, two days before her 21st birthday and exactly ten days after they’d met, Enzo had proposed to her.
‘I love you, Izzy’, he had whispered, his eyes so dark and gleaming with passion that she had known he’d meant it. ‘I’ll love you till the day I die, I promise. Will you marry me?’
This had been the happiest moment of her life. She had said yes, her heart filled with love, and – so certain that Enzo was the only man sh
e could ever love – she had given him reason to hope that she’d make love with him the following evening. That she’d give him her virginity and finally be one with him. But the next evening her father had become violently ill and had died in the early hours of the morning, so that she never turned up at the Vallorini family mansion as promised. And then her whole world had collapsed…
Izzy shook the memories off her mind and glanced at her watch. Time to change for the charity event she was to attend tonight. ‘My Greatest Wish’ was her baby, the first thing she had set up with the help of her newly discovered half-brother Nick Hetherington once she’d found out about her own wealth. It had seemed the right thing to do. So many people were dreaming an impossible dream without any chance of ever being able to afford their special wish, and Izzy had taken great delight in trying to help. After all, there was no way she could ever spend all that money on herself. She hadn’t wanted anybody to know who was behind ‘My Greatest Wish’. It didn’t matter. She didn’t need to bathe in the glory of being the soul and heart of a charity, wasn’t looking for the admiring glances of her peers, and after the terrible incident with these sleazy pictures in the papers she didn’t want to have anything to do with the press ever.
Nick had understood, Izzy remembered fondly, and had taken it all upon himself. Even tonight he would act as the host, while she would remain firmly in the background. Izzy smiled as she thought of the planned highlights for the event including an appearance by famous actress Rebecca Morton, the guest of honour. The theme for this evening was Alice in Wonderland. The waiters and waitresses would be dressed up like characters from the book, wearing masks and stunning gowns from the Clarissima collection she designed for the Hetherington hotel boutiques all over the world. She herself planned to go as the White Rabbit. Nobody would know who was hidden behind that furry mask and the white shimmering gown, her favourite design from her wedding dress collection, and that was just the way she liked it.
