The Passion Price (11 page)

‘You wanted to see me?' he said abruptly, and continued round behind his desk, which sat adjacent to the window. ‘Sit down,' he said with a gesture towards the two upright chairs that faced his desk. Then sat down himself.

The boy just stood there, staring.

Jake sighed.

‘I gather your name is Alex Mastroianni,' he said. ‘I'm Jake Winters.'

‘Yes, I know,' the boy said, finding his voice at last. ‘I saw you on the news last night. Twice. First on Channel Nine. Then later on Channel Two.'

‘Aah yes, the news. We haven't met before, have we?' he asked, his mind teasing him again with that vague sense of recognition.

‘No. Never,' the boy said.

‘So what can I do for you, Mr Mastroianni?'

Jake decided to play this straight, as though the teenager before him was a potential client, and his name just a weird coincidence, which it very well might be. Life was sometimes stranger than fiction.

‘Are you in need of a lawyer?'

The boy smiled. And again, reminded him of someone.

‘Please call me Alex,' he said with a cool assur
ance that surprised Jake. Having found his tongue, he seemed to have found a degree of confidence as well.

‘Very well. Alex. Please, do sit down. You're making me nervous, standing over there.'

The boy laughed. ‘Not as nervous as I am.'

But he did sit down.

‘You don't look nervous,' Jake said.

‘Yeah, well, trust me, I am.'

‘You don't have to be nervous with me. You can tell me anything. There is such a thing as client-lawyer privilege. I can't divulge anything you tell me. Like a priest.'

The boy just sat there a while longer, looking at him a bit like Sally had looked at him earlier, as though he was trying to see something in his face, or perhaps in his eyes. Was he wondering if he could be trusted?

Jake decided not to press. He didn't have any appointments for a while. He had the time to be patient, and, quite frankly, he was curious. Very curious.

‘Do you remember a girl named Angelina Mastroianni?' the boy asked after a minute or two of tension-making silence. ‘In case you've forgotten, you picked grapes at her father's vineyard in the Hunter Valley sixteen years ago.'

Jake snapped forward in his chair, his hands reaching for the nearest object. A Biro. He gripped it tightly and prayed this kid wasn't going to say something he didn't want to hear.

‘I remember,' he returned tautly as his fingers
tightened. ‘So what is Angelina to you? A cousin? An aunt?'

Stupid question, that last one, Jake. Angelina doesn't have any brothers or sisters so how could she be an aunt?

‘No,' the boy denied. ‘Nothing like that.'

Nothing like that. Then what?

‘She's my mother.'

The Biro snapped. Clean in two.

‘Your mother,' Jake repeated in a numb voice.

‘Yes.'

‘That's impossible! Angelina isn't old enough to be your mother!' He knew for a fact that sixteen years ago, she'd been a virgin. One and one did not make two here.

‘I look old for my age. I'm only fifteen. I don't turn sixteen till the twenty-fourth of November this year.'

Jake's mind reeled. Only fifteen. And his birthday was in late November. He quickly counted backwards and landed on late February as the date of his conception. If Jake had been reeling before, he now went into serious shock.

It wasn't possible. He'd pulled out that night. Sort of. Well, maybe not in time. OK, so it
was
possible. But just as possible that Angelina had gone from him to some other guy. These things did happen once a girl had lost her virginity.

His gaze raked over the handsome boy sitting before him as he tried to work out all that Angelina had told him since they'd met up again. The lies.

No, not lies. But definitely verbal sleight of hand.

She'd deliberately kept Alex's true identity secret from him, and the question was why? It wasn't as though single mothers were uncommon these days. Even Italian ones.

‘And your father?'

Even as he croaked out the question, Jake saw the truth staring back at him. Those eyes. They were
his
. So was the chin. And the hairline. Even the ears.

‘Why, it's you, of course, Mr Winters,' the boy said with some bemusement in his voice, as though he was surprised Jake hadn't realised already. ‘
You're
my father.'

A
NGELINA
was behind the reception desk, booking in the Williams family, when Jake's yellow Ferrari shot down the driveway and braked to an abrupt halt under the covered archway on the other side of Mr Williams's sedate navy sedan.

Her heart began to thud.

So Jake had decided he couldn't wait till the weekend, either!

‘Wow!' Mr Williams exclaimed. ‘I've always wanted to cruise around Australia in a car like that.'

‘In your dreams, darling,' his wife said. ‘Where would we put the kids for starters?'

‘With your mother, preferably,' he quipped back.

Jake, Angelina noted, did not get out of the car and come inside. Instead, after glancing over his shoulder at the reception area—which was clearly visible through the mainly glass front wall—he just sat, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. Waiting, obviously, till she was alone.

A swirling sensation began to eddy in Angelina's stomach. But she didn't let her excitement show.

‘Here are the keys to your suite,' she said with a smile as she handed them over. ‘If you follow the driveway round the back, you can park right outside your main door. The pool is heated and open till ten.
The tennis court is available till the same time. Dinner starts at six in the restaurant. Did you see the restaurant as you drove in?'

‘Sure did. Looks fabulous,' the wife gushed.

‘Breakfast is in the same place from six-thirty till nine-thirty,' Angelina went on briskly. ‘We don't cater for meals in the rooms here, I'm afraid. I've booked your free tour for tomorrow, starting at nine. Best to do it early in the summer before it gets too hot. Your guide will be waiting for you at five to nine at the cellar door, which is not far from the restaurant. Just follow the signs. I think that's all I have to tell you but please, feel free to ring and ask if you have any problems at all.'

‘Oh, I'm sure we won't,' the wife beamed. ‘This is all just so lovely.'

‘Come on, kids,' the father said to his son and daughter, who looked about eight and ten respectively. ‘Let's go and find our cossies. That pool sure looks good after our long drive. Thanks, miss.'

‘Angelina,' she told him, pointing to her name tag.

‘Angelina. Pretty name.'

‘Pretty girl,' the wife said, but without a trace of spite, or jealousy. Angelina decided she liked her very much.

‘OK, kids. Back into the car.'

Angelina had tried to keep her cool during the five minutes it had taken to go through her resort spiel. But all the time, she'd been watching Jake out of the corner of her eye.

No sooner had the navy sedan moved off than he
was out of the car and striding towards the reception room.

Angelina's gaze raked over him admiringly as he approached. It was the first time she had seen him in a suit, and my, he did look well in one. He looked well in any clothes, she conceded. And even better in nothing.

Angelina groaned and dropped her own eyes to the desk. She'd accused Jake of having a one-track mind last Sunday, but she was no better where he was concerned. One glimpse, and she was aching to rip his clothes off.

The small bell on the door tinkled as he pushed it open, Angelina pretending not to have noticed his arrival till that moment.

‘Jake!' she said on looking up. ‘Goodness, what are you doing here?'

He eyed her quite coldly.

‘Cut the crap, Angelina. You saw me drive up. I know you did. I suggest you get someone else to take over here,' he commanded in a peremptory fashion. ‘We need to talk.'

Angelina felt as if he'd punched her in the stomach. What was going on here? And who did he think he was, talking to her like that?

‘I…I can't,' she replied, flustered by his rudeness. There
is
no one else. Not till five.' Barbara would take over at five for the night shift.

They both glanced at their watches. Five o'clock was fourteen minutes away.

‘Is your place open?' he asked abruptly. ‘I'll wait for you in there.'

Angelina hesitated to let him go into her home by himself. He might start looking around.

Though why would he…unless he'd found out something…?

The arrival of another car outside Reception forced her to make up her mind.

‘Yes, it's open. Go on round and I'll be with you shortly. But what is this all about, Jake? You seem upset.'

‘Upset,' he repeated, as though considering the word. ‘No, I'm not upset. I'm bloody furious!' With that, he marched out, leaving Angelina to stare after him.

Has he found out about Alex? came the immediate question. But if so, how so? Had Arnold let something slip in his negotiations with Dorothy?

Angelina knew that the sale of Arnold's property was going ahead at a great rate. Money had been no object and Dorothy had had her lawyers rush through the searches. Contracts were being exchanged next week and she was going to move in a fortnight later.

Fortunately, Barbara arrived ten minutes early for work, Angelina relieved to let her take over so that she could bolt round and see what Jake wanted. Unfortunately, even in that short space of time, her nervous tension had reached dangerous proportions.

She hurried in to find Jake in her kitchen, making himself some coffee and looking as if he'd lost his case this week, instead of winning it.

‘I'm here,' she said, unnecessarily, since she was standing in the same room, not ten feet from him.

His head turned and those icy blue eyes of his cut through her like knives.

‘How long,' he ground out, ‘did you intend to keep our son a secret from me?'

Angelina sagged against the kitchen sink. He knew.

‘How…how did you find out?' she choked out, then slowly shook her head. ‘Arnold, I suppose. He must have let it slip to Dorothy.' Alex was right. Arnold could be a bit of an old fool.

‘Alex told me himself, in my office, just over four hours ago.'

Angelina gaped at him. This she had
not
expected. Oh, Alex…

‘Naturally, when I was first told I had a visitor named Alex,' Jake ground out, ‘I assumed he was your ex-lover. Imagine my surprise when I encountered a schoolboy. But I won't go into that, or even try to understand your sick reasons for letting me think such a thing. I am here because of the real person, the real Alex. Our son. Seems he saw me on TV last night and realised that I was the Jake Winters his mother had said was his father. No doubt because we look exactly like each other!'

Angelina groaned. So that was what had precipitated their son's actions. If only she'd thought of something like this happening. She herself had seen Jake on the news. What an idiot she was! But, of course, her mind had been on other things since last
weekend. Her son had ceased to be her top priority for once.

Her remorse was acute.

But once she saw Jake's body language, the mother tiger in her came back with a vengeance. ‘If you acted like this with him, Jake,' she bit out, her eyes narrowing, ‘I won't ever forgive you.'

Jake's nostrils flared. ‘Do you honestly think, after what
I
went through as a child, that I would do anything remotely hurtful to
my
son?'

Angelina was taken aback by the possessiveness in his voice. And the sheer emotional power.

This was not a man who was repulsed by the discovery that he was a father. Sure, he was shocked. And yes, he was angry. But only with her.

She smiled. She couldn't help it. ‘He's wonderful, isn't he?'

‘Bloody hell, Angelina, how can you smile at me after what you've done? Look, I understand why you didn't tell me about Alex when he was born, and during the years since. Aside from your father's natural hostility towards me, why would you? If I'd been in your boots I wouldn't have told me, either. But after we ran into each other again the way we did and you saw that I wasn't some kind of deadbeat, you should have told me then. Why, in God's name, didn't you? Especially when Alex was already pestering you to find me. Oh, yes, he told me all about that. Not one to hold back, is Alex. Unlike his mother,' Jake bit out.

Angelina remained guiltily silent.

‘I asked you a question, Angelina. I expect an answer. Why didn't you tell me on that first Saturday? You had every opportunity, especially when I came back a second time.'

‘I guess I was afraid to.'

‘Afraid! Afraid of what?'

‘Of your not wanting Alex!' she burst forth. ‘You said you didn't ever want children.'

‘Alex is a
fait accompli
,' he muttered. ‘That's a different matter entirely.'

Angelina winced. He was right. She should have told him. ‘You…you didn't tell him about us, did you?' she asked plaintively.

‘What do you take me for, a complete fool? No, of course I didn't tell him about us. You have nothing to worry about. I made all the right noises. Did a better imitation of a father thrilled to discover he had a fifteen-year-old son than you'd see in a Hollywood movie. I also told him that I would come up and see you personally and smooth things over. He was worried sick how you would react when you found out he'd looked me up, since you had a deal to wait till Easter. Though might I add he seemed chuffed to find out I wasn't the jailbird you'd told him I was sure to be. He said he told you I wouldn't be, but you didn't seem to have the same blind faith in my character.'

She flushed, but lifted her chin defiantly. ‘You have to appreciate it was a one-in-a-million chance that you'd turn out to be any good.'

‘I'm not blaming you for that judgement call. You
did exactly what I would have done in your position. I suppose I could even forgive you for not telling me about Alex straight away. What I find
un
forgivable is that you didn't tell me the truth by the end of last weekend. What could you possibly have been afraid of by then?'

‘Well, I…I…' How could she tell him that she was afraid he'd stop wanting to make love to her? It sounded so…selfish.

His sudden paling had her panicking.

He's guessed the truth. And he's totally appalled.

‘It was that incident with the kid, wasn't it?' he said, startling her. ‘And my telling you about my childhood. That's why you went all quiet on me. You were worried I might hit Alex like my mother hit me.'

‘No! No, nothing like that at all! I'm sure you wouldn't do any such thing!'

‘What, then?'

There was nothing for it now but to tell him the truth. In a fashion. ‘I…I wanted to tell you. Really, I did. But I was afraid that it would change things between us. I thought…' She bit her lip and tried to find the right words.

‘What did you think?'

‘All kinds of things. At first, when I agreed to have lunch with you, I just wanted to find out what you were like, what kind of man you were,
before
I told you about Alex. You have to appreciate it was a terrible shock to me, Jake, when you turned up in my life,
and
when I found myself as attracted to you as
I was when I was just a girl. I thought I could control how I felt about you. But of course, I couldn't. Then, when the sex was so fabulous between us, I didn't want it to end. I wanted you to keep looking at me the same way. And making love to me. It was selfish of me, I know, but I…I've never felt anything like I do when I'm with you.' Tears pricked at her eyes. ‘I'm sorry, Jake. Truly. I didn't mean to hurt you.'

‘Well, I am hurt, Angelina. Do you have any idea what it was like, finding out we had a fifteen-year-old son like that?'

‘I'm sure it was a shock.'

‘That's an understatement.'

‘I…I don't know what to say.'

‘There's nothing you can say. The damage has been done.'

Angelina's heart sank. But then defiance kicked in. And resentment. Had what she'd done been that wicked, or seriously unforgivable?

Hardly.

‘Well, I happen to think there is a lot I can say,' she threw at him. ‘I've stood here, like a typically pathetic female, humbly listening to your poor-little-me tale. I've even been feeling sorry for you. But you know what? I think I'm all sorried out. Where is your sympathy for me? Do you have any idea what
my
life has been like? How hard it's been for
me
?'

‘I have some idea. Alex told me. In fact, he told me more about you in the two hours I spent with him today than you have in two weeks. I know the sacrifices you've made for him. I know you've been a
good mother. I know you never laid a hand on him, no matter how naughty he was. I know he thinks the world of you. I also know you don't date.
Ever
.' He glowered at her. ‘It seems you've become a master at deception in a lot of things.'

‘What do you mean?'

‘You keep secrets from
everyone
, not just me.
I
know you've had lovers. You told me so. Yet your teenage son says there's never been another man in your life after me. He thinks you're a cross between the Virgin Mary and Mother Teresa. He even has this romantic idea that when you and I meet up again this time, we'll fall in love once more and get married.'

‘Oh…' It wasn't so far removed from the romantic notions she'd been stupidly harbouring this last week.

‘Yes,
oh
,' Jake said drily. ‘Our son has to receive a reward for optimism, doesn't he?'

‘He certainly does, considering who his father is. But for your information, Mr Smarty Pants, I have not had lovers. And I never said I had. You just jumped to that conclusion, probably because you couldn't conceive of anyone choosing to lead a celibate lifestyle. Which I did. For our son's sake. Don't think I didn't have offers. I've had plenty. So Alex was right. There's only been the one man in my life.