Deserving of His Diamonds (12 page)

that most good relationships are built on?‘ ‗I‘ve worked hard for my money,‘

he said. ‗I have the right to protect my interests. If you were so unhappy

about it, why didn‘t you say something at the time?‘ Gisele looked away

again, embarrassed that she had been so biddable back then. She had felt

terribly hurt when he had told her about it but she had kept her feelings well

hidden. She had signed the wretched agreement with a heavy heart,

wondering if he would ever trust her, or anyone, enough to believe they

weren‘t

going to rip him off or betray him in some way. ‗Gisele?‘ She blew out a

breath and set about pouring a cup of tea for herself. ‗Can we just forget it?‘

she asked. ‗It‘s not like we‘re getting married now. It‘s irrelevant.‘ ‗It might

not be so irrelevant if we do decide to make our reconciliation permanent,‘

he said. Gisele‘s cup rattled against the saucer as she put it back down. ‗Are

you crazy?‘ she asked. ‗There‘s no way I would ever agree to marry

someone who didn‘t love me enough to trust me.‘ ‗Love and trust are two

different issues,‘ he said. ‗They don‘t always come hand in hand.‘ ‗Well,

they come hand in hand to me,‘ she said, picking up her cup again and

cradling it in her hands. He studied her with an inscrutable look on his face

for what seemed like an endless moment. ‗You think I didn‘t care about you,

cara?‘ he asked. Gisele felt her heart contract. Like a lot of people, he cared

about a lot of things but it didn‘t mean he couldn‘t imagine life without

them. He had lived quite well without her for two whole years. ‗Where was

that care when you threw me out of your life without giving me the benefit

of the doubt?‘ she asked. His expression tightened. ‗I can do no more than

apologise,‘ he said. ‗I was wrong and I have admitted it. What else do you

want me to do?‘

Love me, Gisele thought. ‗Nothing,‘ she said, lowering

her gaze from his. ‗There‘s nothing you can do.‘

He reached across the table and took her hand in his. ‗Where‘s your

engagement ring?‘ he asked. Gisele met his gaze across their joined hands. ‗I

left it upstairs. It doesn‘t fit me properly any more. I‘m frightened I‘m going

to lose it.‘ He frowned as he stroked where her ring should have been. ‗Then

we‘ll have to get it readjusted so it does fit,‘ he said. ‗Why did you keep it?‘

she asked after an infinitesimal pause. He released her hand and leaned back

in his chair, his face like stone. ‗It‘s worth a lot of money.‘ ‗I know, but you

could have sold it,‘ she said. ‗Why didn‘t you?‘ He pushed back from the

table and got to his feet. ‗I have a call to make,‘ he said curtly. ‗The driver

will be here in ten minutes. Don‘t be late.‘ Gisele let out a long breath as she

watched him stride across the flagstones and back inside the villa. There

were times when she wondered why she had given her heart to such a

complex and unreachable man. ‗Signor Andreoni asked me to tell you he

will meet you for a late lunch,‘ the driver said when Gisele went out to the

waiting car. ‗He has some urgent business to see to. He gave me this to give

you.‘ He handed her a credit card and a piece of paper with the details of a

restaurant on it. ‗Why couldn‘t he have told me himself?‘ she asked, feeling

annoyed.

The driver shrugged. ‗He is a very busy man. He never stops working.‘ ‗I

don‘t need you to drive me,‘ she said. ‗I‘m happy to walk.‘ ‗Signor

Andreoni insisted on me escorting you.‘ ‗Have the morning off,‘ Gisele said,

placing the credit card and note in her purse. ‗But I will get fired if I don‘t—

‘ ‗No, you won‘t,‘ she said with determination. ‗I‘ll deal with Signor

Andreoni. Ciao.‘ Emilio was already waiting at the restaurant when Gisele

came in. She hadn‘t done much shopping, other than pick up a dress and

shoes for that evening, but she hadn‘t used Emilio‘s card. She refused to be

sent off like an overindulged child by a too-busy parent. She weaved her

way through the busy restaurant towards him, conscious of his dark

brooding gaze focused solely on her. ‗Hello, darling,‘ she said, offering her

cheek for a perfunctory kiss for the sake of onlookers. Emilio took her face

in his hands and planted a hot, drugging kiss on her mouth. Gisele felt her

senses spin like a top, round and round and round until she was barely able

to stand up. She had to place her hands on his hard chest to steady herself.

She stepped back when he released her, sure her face was as red as the single

rose in the centre of the table. ‗You don‘t look like you‘ve had a very

successful shopping spree,‘ he said as he seated her. ‗I don‘t like spending

other people‘s money,‘ she said,

throwing him a look over her shoulder. ‗If I want to buy clothes then I‘ll buy

them for myself.‘ ‗You seem very determined to disobey my instructions,‘

he said as he took his own seat opposite her. ‗You seem to have trouble

accepting that I will not be told what to do,‘ she tossed back. He drew in a

little breath. ‗Careful, cara,‘ he said. ‗We are in public now. Keep your

claws sheathed until we are alone.‘ Gisele had to fight not to glower at him.

She picked up the menu and buried her nose in it. ‗How did your urgent

business go?‘ she asked. ‗Fine.‘ A stiff silence passed. Gisele wondered if

his urgent business had been female. A sick feeling opened up in her

stomach like a canyon. She hated thinking of him with someone else. For

two years she had tried not to think about it. Did he have a current mistress

he was keeping as backup? Her chest tightened painfully at the thought. So

many rich men led double lives. Was he one of them? ‗I have something for

you,‘ Emilio said. Gisele put the menu down again. ‗What is it?‘ He handed

her a jeweller‘s box, his expression as blank as a sheet of paper. ‗I hope it

fits.‘ She opened the black velvet box and looked down at the staggeringly

gorgeous diamond sitting there. It looked frightfully expensive and yet it

was much simpler than the

one he had given her previously. ‗I don‘t understand …‘ She looked up at

him again. ‗I thought you were going to get the old one adjusted?‘ ‗I thought

you might like this one instead,‘ he said. ‗But if you don‘t then you can

choose your own. It doesn‘t matter either way to me.‘ Gisele bit her lip as

she took the ring out of the box and slid it on her finger. It was a perfect fit

and suited her hand so much better than the old one. She had never really

liked the previous one but she hadn‘t had the courage to say so. It had been

too heavy and cumbersome for her hand, too flashy, and the claws had

caught at the finer fabrics of some of her clothes. This one, with its delicate

setting, looked as if it had been designed for her and for her alone. She

brought her gaze back to Emilio‘s. ‗It‘s beautiful,‘ she said. ‗It‘s the most

gorgeous ring I‘ve ever seen.‘ He gave a dismissive grunt and picked up his

menu. ‗What would you like to eat?‘ he asked. Gisele looked at him as he

flicked through the menu, as a cricket ball of bitterness and hate slowly

loosened in her chest. ‗Was this your urgent business this morning?‘ she

asked, holding up her hand. He put down the menu and looked at her with a

brooding frown. ‗Can we get on with the meal or are you still on a hunger

strike?‘ he asked. ‗Was it, Emilio?‘ ‗I had several things to see to,‘ he said,

shifting in his chair as if someone had put marbles beneath him. ‗That was

one of them.‘ ‗It was very thoughtful of you,‘ she said softly.

‗Think nothing of it,‘ he said, turning another page of the menu with a look

of acute boredom on his face. ‗It‘s just a prop, anyway. I didn‘t want people

to talk about why you‘re not wearing an engagement ring.‘ She chewed at

her lip as she looked at the sparkling diamond, watching as the light caught

at it from a thousand different angles. ‗Looks like a pretty expensive prop,‘

she said. He closed the menu with a little snap. ‗It‘s just money.‘ She met his

gaze across the table. ‗Do I get to keep it after I‘ve … you know … got

through this?‘ she asked.

‗―Got through this‖?‘ he said, with a rueful quirk of his

mouth. ‗You make it sound like something dreadful you have to endure, like

torture or a prison sentence.‘ Gisele pursed her lips as she examined the

diamond again. ‗I don‘t know … maybe there are some compensations to be

had.‘ ‗Well over two million at the last count,‘ he muttered. She flicked her

gaze back to his. ‗So, do I get to keep it?‘ ‗What will you do with it?‘ he

asked with a curl of his lip. ‗Sell it or toss it in the nearest fountain like you did the last time?‘ Gisele held his mocking gaze for a beat before she picked

up her menu. She still couldn‘t work out why he had taken the time and

effort to choose her such an exquisite ring. Was she fooling herself he cared

more than he was letting on? She wasn‘t used to thinking of him being hurt

by their break-up because he had been the one to end their relationship. She

had thought he had

only orchestrated this temporary reunion for the sake of appearances. But

what if he really did want a fresh start? What if the new ring was his way of

communicating that? Was it crazy of her to look for love where hate had

resided for so long? What if he had only bought the ring to lure her back into

his bed? It was way too soon to be jumping to any conclusions over his

motivations. She had to tread carefully or risk everything all over again. ‗I

think I‘ll keep it as a souvenir,‘ she said. ‗A girl can never have too many

diamonds, now, can she?‘ His expression hardened all the way to his dark-

as-night eyes. ‗I‘m surprised you didn‘t keep the old one,‘ he said. ‗The sale

of it could have set you up for a year or two at least.‘ ‗I found it much more

satisfying to throw it away,‘ she said. ‗It seemed appropriate, given the

circumstances.‘ His mouth tightened even further as he held her look.

‗You‘re never going to let it go, are you?‘ ‗Is that why you bought the ring?‘

Gisele asked. ‗You thought a little bauble would soften me up enough to

occupy your bed once more? You‘ll have to try harder, Emilio. I‘m not that

easy for the taking.‘ He elevated one dark brow as he ran his smouldering

gaze over her indolently. ‗That wasn‘t the message I was getting last night,‘

he said. ‗You were hot for it as soon as I kissed you.‘ Gisele felt the heat rise from her neck to pool in her cheeks. She pushed against the table and got to

her feet, all of her movements stiff with outrage. ‗Excuse me,‘ she

said. ‗I need to use the Ladies‘ room.‘ ‗Don‘t even think about it,‘ Emilio

said before she had even stalked two paces from the table. She turned and

looked at him haughtily. ‗Excuse me?‘ ‗I know how your mind works,

Gisele,‘ he said. ‗But running away is not going to help things.‘ ‗I‘m not

running away,‘ she said, shooting him a livid glare. ‗I‘m simply removing

myself from your hateful presence.‘ His expression became as unmalleable

as marble and his voice just as hard and unyielding when he spoke. ‗If you

walk out of this restaurant without me I will call every contact I have in

Europe and tell them not to touch you with a barge pole. The knock-on

effect will follow you all the way back to Australia. Can you imagine what

the press will make of that?‘ Gisele felt the scorch of his glitteringly

determined gaze as it warred with hers. It made the backs of her knees tingle

with a sensation like pieces of ice chugging through her veins.

Dared she call his bluff?

What if the press dug a little deeper into her private life? Somehow she had

managed to keep Lily‘s birth and death out of the public arena. She couldn‘t

bear having her grief splashed over the press for the world to see. It was a

king hit to her pride to resume her seat but she didn‘t see what other choice

she had. She threw him a look of undiluted venom. ‗Happy now?‘ she asked.

‗You‘ve turned into quite a little spitfire, haven‘t you,

cara?‘ he said. ‗Taming you is turning out to be quite diverting.‘ ‗Would you

like me to sit up and beg while you‘re at it?‘ she threw back. ‗No,‘ he said,

giving her another smouldering look. ‗I‘m much more interested in you

rolling over and playing bed.‘ Gisele felt the incendiary heat of his play on

words at the very base of her spine. How could he reduce her to such a

quivering wreck of need with just a look or a teasing comment? ‗You might

be in for a disappointment,‘ she said with deliberate coolness. ‗What if I

don‘t live up to your lofty expectations?‘ He sat back and surveyed her

features at his leisure, pausing for a moment on her mouth before his eyes

came back to mesh with hers. ‗I‘m sure you haven‘t lost your touch,‘ he

said. ‗I still remember what you feel like wrapped around me.‘ She gave him

a cynical look to disguise the way her insides were coiling with red-hot lust.

‗All cats are black in the dark.‘ ‗I‘ve met a few cats in my time,‘ he said.

‗But none purr quite the way you do.‘ ‗I might scratch and bite instead,‘ she

said, crossing her legs to try and control the surge of longing that was

rippling through her. ‗Or I might just go through the motions to get it over

with. Lots of women do.‘ His lips curved upwards in a glinting half smile.