The Billionaire's Bargain (20 page)

He shook his head. He took the box
from her, extracting the necklace from its case. He took her hand kissing the
wedding ring.

“I wanted to get you something. It
would please me for you to wear this. I went to great lengths to get you the
replica diamond in the necklace. May I put it on?” he asked.

“I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“I know, Tess. I think it will take
a great deal of time for us to grow accustomed to each other. May I?” He held
the necklace up. She nodded her head. If it pleased him to see the item around
her neck then she’d wear it for him.

He got up from his seat and moved
round the back of her. She glanced down at both rings on her finger as he
pushed her hair out of the way. His fingers touched the back of her neck. The
clasp fixed in place. The diamond lay in the valley between her breasts. His
hands held onto her shoulders, his breath beside her ear.

“I want you to wear this when we
make love,” he said against her ear.

Her breath caught in her throat.

“I can’t wait to see it resting
against your breasts as I take you.”
Duncan
moved away leaving her panting for more.

She picked up the diamond and
twirled it in her fingers. The light caught the diamond and glistened in the
room. Tears lodged in her throat at the beauty of his gift. He took his seat
then grabbed her hand to kiss her open palm. His thumb brushed the pulse in her
wrist.

“Thank you for wearing it.”

“It’s beautiful. I wish I’d gotten
you something,” she said, hating the fact she couldn’t think of a single thing
to give the man who had everything.

“I’ve got you. I’m happy, Tess.
There is nothing else I’d want.”
 

She swallowed trying to be rid of
the lump in her throat, but it seemed so tight.

The gesture and words he spoke were
tender and romantic. Any ice or doubt remaining around her heart melted away.
She was seeing Duncan James in a whole new light. He was her husband, and God
help her, she believed she was in love with him already.

“I know we didn’t have the proper
beginning most married couples have, but I want to do everything right. I don’t
want you to doubt my intentions of making this a real marriage. I want us to
get to know each other.” He kissed her fingers again. It was if he could not
help but touch her. “This honeymoon is for us to get to know the real person
inside.”

She nodded and took his hand to kiss
his fingers the same way he’d done to her. She noticed he wore a simple wedding
band. Her finger ran over the plain gold thinking she should have been the one
to get his wedding band. Tess decided it would be something she would buy him.
No matter how long her search took, she’d buy him a wedding band out of her own
money. She was about to say as much to him when they were interrupted. The
moment was lost.

Sofia
came out with small bowls filled
with soup. On closer inspection Tess noticed it was a tomato and pasta soup,
simple food but prepared with love by a woman who cared. She took a spoonful,
and it tasted amazing.

This is what she’d always dreamed
about. To be in
Italy
,
eating food, and being in the company of someone she was beginning to feel for.
Duncan
ticked
all of her boxes at that present time.

“After tonight,
Sofia
will leave the cooking to you.”

She smiled, not wanting to spoil the
moment with more questions. Instead, she dug into the glorious tasting
food.
 

Bread was dotted about the table in
small baskets. Tess took a huge chunk of
ciabatta
and
dipped it into her soup.
     

“This sounds really strange, but
this to me is perfect. I’ve always dreamt about visiting here and having
something like this. I remember telling my Dad on one of my birthdays what I’d
wished for. He’d laughed at my idealism and told me to start dreaming about
something else. I’m so pleased I never gave up that dream. Thank you,
Duncan
. This means so
much to me that you can’t even begin to imagine,” she said. Thinking about Erik
didn’t affect her. She recalled the moment clearly in her mind, but she
wouldn’t be pulled down by the past.

She felt so happy eating spoonfuls
of soup, hoping for the moment to never end.
Duncan
made her feel as if she could open up
about anything. Every once in a while she gazed down at her necklace. It was so
beautiful. This real moment was more romantic than in her imagination.

“Well, I hope you enjoy this meal.
Sofia
is an amazing cook,
and of course she’d be more than happy to cook with you. All you need to do is
ask for her company. She loves food, shopping, and everything that requires her
to spend money. Maybe you could learn some tricks from her?”

The soup was done with, and the
bowls taken away by
Sofia
.
She didn’t allow any help.
Duncan
poured Tess some more water into her glass as he took another glass of wine.
Sofia
came back minutes
later with the main course, spaghetti
carbonara
,
which was pasta with pancetta, eggs, and cream. Tess loved every mouthful.
Duncan
kept talking as
they ate. Their conversation went all over the place. They talked food,
culture, and politics. Neither gave an opinion that would start an argument.
She listened to him as he expressed his passions along with the things he
hated.

Sofia
came in to take their plates as
they talked. Tess didn’t want it to end.

Duncan
changed from wine to water after
his second glass.
    

The conversation went from politics,
to celebrities, to finally a game where they asked all of their favourite
things. She’d read about it in several books as a way people got to know each
other.

“What was your favourite pet?” Tess
asked.

“I never had a pet.”

“Really, no pet
dog, or cat, or even a hamster?”
Tess was amazed. Erik had allowed her to have
pets. She believed he did it to make up for her lack of a mother. Her pets had
ranged from dogs and cats to pigs and chickens. She smiled when she remembered
the doubtful look on her father’s face when she had asked for a pet chicken so
she could call him “Pecker”.

“No, no pet.”

“Why?”

“Let’s move on and not talk about my
childhood. What is your favourite movie?”

Tess answered him watching as he
chuckled. She asked him his movie. He didn’t have one.

“From the sounds of it, Mr. James,
you don’t like a lot of things,” she said.

“There is a great deal I like, but I
can find more useful and far pleasurable things to do with my time, Mrs.
James.” He gave her a look that she knew meant he was talking about sex.

Feeling bold, she circled her glass
then smiled. “Okay, Mr. James, what is your favourite position?” She ignored
the blush in her cheeks or the cream soaking her panties as she stared at him.

Just as
Duncan
was about to answer,
Sofia
came out with dessert, a sweet delicious chocolate pudding. Now Tess knew she’d
died and gone to heaven. There were few things she loved more than chocolate.
Sofia
placed hers in
front of her. She dived into her portion and ate with relish even though she
felt completely full.

It was much better than all the
chocolate puddings she’d eaten over the years.

She finished her portion within
minutes, sitting back in her chair, closing her eyes and sighing in absolute
bliss. So much food and she’d consumed more than she was accustomed to. She
loved every minute of the meal. She was unconsciously rubbing her stomach. When
she heard
Sofia
clearing the plates, she opened her eyes. Tess thanked the older woman for the
food.
Sofia
looked like she’d begin to purr at the praise.
 
She didn’t let the other woman go until she’d given her full
compliments. The meal had been perfect. She couldn’t think of a more enjoyable
day to spend on her honeymoon.

“Thank you,
Duncan
. That was wonderful,” she said to him.
She smiled at him showing her delight. She was so happy and peaceful.

“You’re welcome, Tess.” He returned
her smile with one of his own. They retired to his sitting room across the hall
from where they had just dined. The room was dark. He flicked a switch
brightening the place up. Tess felt a little uncomfortable being in a room he
used for business. She accepted the small brandy from him and sat in the corner
of one of the sofas. It was not surprising that the sofa was uncomfortable.
Tess sipped her brandy trying not to think about how different this room was
from all the others in the villa.

“Do you like your brandy?”
Duncan
interrupted her
thoughts. She looked down into her glass to see that she’d almost finished,
which was strange as she could not remember the taste.

She nodded her head giving him back
the glass.

“You don’t like the room, do you?”
His mocking smile and question caught her unawares.

Tess rubbed her arms. “
Erm
, it’s different from all your other rooms. No, I don’t
like it. With the other rooms I saw your love and passion, but this room feels
cold,” she said.

He chuckled. “I’m not keen on this
room either. I rarely come into it,” he said, looking around the room as he did
so.

“Why don’t you change it?” she
asked, watching frown lines appear on his face at her suggestion.
“Never mind.”

“I’ve never really thought about
changing it. It’s something I don’t think about. It was the last room I decorated.
Something happened that made any love towards this room disappear.”

She didn’t press him for more
information.
 

“Why didn’t you get your decorator
or interior designer who did your apartment to travel here to do something with
this room?” she asked.

Duncan
turned away from her to refill his
glass.

“Her contract ran out, and she
doesn’t like going overseas.” His evasive response answered Tess’s question
immediately.
Duncan
had been sleeping with his interior designer. Tess felt a piercing ache in her
chest at the thought of
Duncan
with another woman. She handed her empty glass over, surprised again to see
that her hand was steady and excused herself to her room.

“I’m sorry,” he said as she got to
the door.

Tess turned to see him staring at
her. “Don’t be sorry,
Duncan
.
I know you had a life before me. You’re older than I am, and I certainly didn’t
expect you to live like a monk. I’m tired. I’ll see you in the morning,” she
said, turning away and walking up to her room.

The moment between them had been
lost. She wanted to be alone.

Once she was tucked into her bed,
wearing nothing as it was too hot to wear
anything,
she began to think about her marriage. The meal she had just shared with
Duncan
would be forever
cemented in her memories. It was the first meal she could remember enjoying in
some time. Then she thought about his relationship with his interior designer.
She felt extreme amounts of jealousy at the thought of another woman spending
time with
Duncan
,
let alone in his bed as a sexual partner.

She rolled over to look out of her
window, up at the moon hoping to find some way to explain her feelings.

Minutes rolled by and still no
answer.

She decided she would not think
about it and just enjoy her time in
Italy
with
Duncan
,
and whatever happens would happen, and
whatever wouldn’t,
wouldn’t
. Once she had decided that she drifted off to a rather peaceful
sleep.

****

Duncan
watched her leave his sitting room.
The moment they’d been sharing was lost. He turned away to fill his glass up.
How could he tell his current wife about his volatile relationship with the
interior designer? Yvonne, the woman he’d been fucking prior to his marriage,
would tear Tess apart if he gave her a chance.

Mentioning Yvonne’s name in his mind
made him suddenly remember that he still had not broken off ties with his
current mistress. He silently cursed himself. How could he have forgotten his
current mistress? The last two weeks had been a blur to him. His mind had been
preoccupied with Tess and his father’s will. He brushed it out of his mind like
a hand moving over the whole problem making it look invisible.