Blackmailed by the Italian Billionaire (24 page)

Lia shook her head. “How can you say that now? Can you deny that the sole reason you took me from The Crazy Frog that night was for revenge?”

Luc smiled slightly. “Yes, I can deny it. Lia, I wanted you from the moment I saw you.”

“But admit it. That was just a bonus. You saw me as a way to get to my father. A way of finally getting your revenge. Revenge, which according to your mother was the one driving force in your life.”

He ran a hand through his already ruffled hair. “Maybe at one point. I was very young when my father died—impressionable—but by the time I met you, I’d put it behind me. Lia, it’s beside the point. You are not your father. What he did is in no way down to you; how could it be?”

“And what happens if he turns up?”

Luc took a deep breath. For the first time he seemed reluctant to speak. “He won’t turn up.”

“How can you be so sure?”

He reached out and took her hand. “Lia, your father is dead.”

Lia stared at him. “What did you say?”

“Your father is dead. He’s been dead for nearly nine years.”

She shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

“We followed up on those letters you gave me. He was living in Marbella under a different name, but it was easy once we knew where to search. He was killed in a car crash about a year after he left you and your mother. You were right—he had always intended to send for you.”

“How long have you known this?”

“A couple of days after you gave me the letters.”

“And you didn’t think I’d be interested?”

He stood up and she watched as he paced the room for a few minutes.

“I thought you would go. You told me you would stay and help me find your father. I believed that if you knew he was dead you would leave, go home.”

“Would that have been so bad?”

He sank back down onto the chair beside her. “I didn’t want you to go.”

She didn’t speak and he took a deep breath.

“Lia, I love you.”

God, how she would have loved to have heard those words that morning. Would she have given credence to anything Luc’s mother had told her if she had been certain of Luc’s feelings?

Now, she couldn’t be sure he wasn’t using the declaration to manipulate her. As her father had done so often with her mother. Just say the magic words and everything else could be forgotten. She shook her head again. It was too late.

She knew there was truth in what he was saying, but she had been hit by too many surprises today, and her poor battered brain couldn’t take much more. All she knew for certain was that Luc had withheld something so important from her, purely to get his own way. How could she trust him, and how could there be any hope for them without trust?

She was also battling an unexpected sense of grief. Why would she grieve for a father she had always despised?

Her mother waiting, hoping, believing he would come back to her all those years, and all that time he had been dead. Would her mother’s life have been different if she’d known?

“Lia?”

Luc was waiting for some response to his declaration, but she really didn’t think she could give him one, certainly not the one he wanted or probably expected. She knew she loved him, but she wasn’t sure that was enough.

Love hadn’t made her mother happy.

She looked at him carefully. He was beautiful; she wanted him with a pain that was almost physical, and she forced it down. She needed to get away, get some distance between them.

“I’m leaving.”

“Lia, don’t go. We’ll work through this.”

“Just give me some time,” she whispered.

For a second, his fists clenched at his side, then the tension drained from him. “I’ll give you two weeks.”

Her father had been a cruel man, and she had always believed her mother was a fool for loving him. Strangely, though, over these last weeks, she had come closer to understanding her mother than she ever had while she lived, and that tore at her heart. She’d been so hard, so unforgiving. She’d never understood why her mother couldn’t move on, forget about her father, and get a life, and she’d made her views perfectly clear. Now, she winced at the guilt that ate at her because she’d discovered for herself that love wasn’t something you could switch off at will. She had always believed she didn’t want love, but would she really turn her back on these feelings? With Luc, she had felt complete. Now it was as though the very center of her was missing. A big, gaping hole only Luc Severino could fill.

Right from the beginning, she had told herself that there was no future for her and Luc, but it had been fear. She had been terrified of falling in love, of giving over her hope of happiness to a man who she had sensed from the start had the ability to take her over, body and soul.

When his mother had come that last day, it was as if Lia had expected it, but even so the truths she told were worse than anything Lia could have imagined, and it had knocked her feet out from under her. If only Luc had told her himself—but then she realized with an almost blinding insight that perhaps Luc had been afraid as well. It seemed an impossible concept, but she remembered his face at the airport. The pain in his brilliant green eyes.

How could she do this to him? She had never even told him she loved him.

She didn’t want to speak to him on the phone. She needed to see him face-to-face. Would he even be in the country? Should she go to his office?

She hurried inside and picked up her bag, searching through it until she found the card from The Crazy Frog. Her fingers were trembling as she pushed the numbers.

“Can I speak to Harley Watson, please?”

She sank down into the seat behind her while she waited. Her hands tightened around the phone as she heard the receiver being picked up at the other end.

“Mr. Watson, it’s Lia Brent.”

He was silent for a moment, and Lia swallowed trying to clear the lump in her throat.

“Lia? What do you want?”

He sounded unfriendly, and Lia swallowed again and forced herself to go on.

“I want to see Luc. I thought you might know where he is. If he’s back in the country.”

“He’s back. He was here a couple of nights ago. Not in good shape.”

She didn’t know what to say to that and remained silent.

He sighed then spoke again. “Give me a bit of time and I’ll chase him down for you. Call you back.”

Lia released her breath then gave him her number. “Thanks,” she muttered.

“Just make sure you put things right.”

She was about to put the phone down when he spoke again. “Lia?”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry about your mum,” he said. “You should have told me.”

“I know.”

“And your dad.” He was silent for a moment. “Well, maybe I’m not sorry about him.”

Lia put down the phone slowly. Just talking to Harley seemed to bring Luc closer, and for the first time since they had parted she felt a sense of excitement.

Her mind refused to concentrate on anything after the phone call. Now that she had made the decision, she was in a frenzy of anticipation.

…

She had a lesson at two o’clock, and Harley hadn’t called. She got changed and still no phone call. If he didn’t call back by the time she finished work, she was going into London anyway. She would go to Luc’s office, to the apartment. She would hunt him down, and whatever he felt now, she would tell him she loved him, that she would trust her life to him.

Her pupil, Molly, was one Lia had worked with before, and she forced herself to concentrate, finally managing to immerse herself in the work. She heard a car drive up but ignored it.

“Lia?”

She spun round. He was leaning on the wooden fence, dressed in a dark gray suit, white shirt, and red tie, incongruous in these surroundings, as though he had just stepped out of an office. For a moment, she wondered if she had conjured him up. His face was expressionless, his eyes hidden behind dark glasses, but she could sense him watching her.

“Harley said you phoned.”

She nodded.

“You wanted to see me. I drove down as soon as Harley called me.”

His voice was as expressionless as his face, but his hands gripped the railing, his knuckles tight with tension.

She walked slowly toward him, coming to a halt just in front of where he stood. Reaching up, she removed his glasses. She needed to see his eyes.

“I wanted to tell you I love you.”

He was silent, but his green eyes were searching hers, waiting for her to continue.

“I never actually told you, and it seemed important. I was going to come and see you tonight.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe you’re really here.”

He reached across the fence and picked up her hand, holding it against his chest. “So tell me,” he said.

She bit her lip. Her heart was thundering against her rib cage, and she took a deep breath. “I love you.”

There, it was done. And not so difficult. She searched his face for some sort of answer. It was clear in his expression. He opened his mouth, but they were interrupted by a loud cough from behind them. Lia turned. It was Molly, still sitting on her horse, waiting.

“Molly, I’m sorry, I...”

“Forgot me? Don’t worry, it’s entirely understandable.” She cast a quick glance at Luc. “But I think I’ll get off now and put Buster away. No need to come, I know where.”

Lia hurried over to the gate and opened it so Molly could lead the horse through.

When they were alone, she turned back to Luc. His gaze slid down over her body, lingering on the long length of her legs.

“I love that outfit,” he said, his voice low and husky, and shivers ran through her body.

She peered down at herself in confusion. “What?”

“The first time I saw you in it, I had an almost overwhelming urge to...” He paused. “Never mind. Anyway I’ve been having the most outrageous fantasies ever since.”

Lia licked her lips, felt his gaze follow the movement. “Fantasies?”

“Hmm…stables, bales of straw, you...”

She opened her mouth to speak, but her throat seemed to have dried up. She coughed, swallowed. “I know where there’s a stable. I could probably even find a few bales of hay.” Reaching out, she stroked her fingers down the scar on his cheek. “My father did this.”

Luc put his own hand over hers and pressed it to his cheek. “Not personally. Besides, it gives me an air of mystery. Helped me attract women when I was younger.”

Lia smiled at the thought of Luc ever having difficulties attracting women. “What about when you’re older?”