look. 'You might have taken everyone else in, but I
Don’t believe it for one minute. My guess is that you
aren’t married at all — you certainly Don’t look it—
and I think your supposed ''husband'' is some actor
you’ve hired.' She glared at Jodie angrily. 'No man
as good-looking as he is would want you, with that
leg of yours. everyone’s laughing at you. You know
that, Don’t you? Pretending that you’ve married a
duke. As if! And that ridiculous ring that You’re wearing,'
she added, her lip curling. 'It’s so obvious that
It’s fake — just like you and just like your marriage.
I’ll bet You’re still that same pathetic little virgin you
were when John dumped you.'
Instinctively Jodie looked towards Lorenzo, a silent
plea in her eyes. He looked back at her.
And then he was coming towards them, responding
to the silent emotional message she had sent him.
Relief filled her. It was all she could do not to throw
herself into his arms and beg him to take her away.
Lorenzo felt Jodie’s pain in his own heart. Fury
and an instinctive desire to protect her boiled through
him. He had heard what Louise had said to her, and
he hadn’t needed the silent plea she had sent him,
begging for his help, to take him to her side. He
wanted to snatch her up and take her away from these
people who did not appreciate her, from the man who
had not loved her as she so deserved to be loved…as
he in his stupidity had tried to refuse to love her. But
now that love was filling him and driving out everything
else, everyone else. Nothing, no one mattered
other than Jodie and her happiness.
He reached her and took hold of her hand, watching
as relief shone emotionally in her eyes.
'For your information,' he told Louise coldly, 'I
am not an actor. Jodie and I are married, and I worship
the beauty of her body almost as much as I love
the sweetness of her nature. And as for the authenticity
of both my title and my family betrothal ring…'
The look he gave Louise was so withering that Jodie
was surprised it didn’t shrivel her to nothing on the
spot.
'Since you are engaged to a man who obviously
cannot tell what is genuine and what is not, I suppose
one might expect to hear you expressing ill-informed
and ignorant opinions,' he continued levelly. 'And so
far as our reason for being here goes…' Lorenzo now
raised his voice slightly, as a curious crowd gathered
around them. 'That was my decision. I wanted to see
where Jodie had grown up, to meet the people she
had grown up amongst. And I confess I also wanted
to meet the man who was foolish enough to give her
up. Jodie merely wanted to offer you both her best
wishes.'
Lorenzo was still holding her hand, Jodie recognised,
and what was more he was holding it very
firmly in his own as he moved protectively closer to
her. Automatically she leaned in to him, welcoming
the sensation of his body absorbing the sick, trembling
shock of her own.
'What a pitiful creature you are,' Lorenzo said to
Louise in a very quiet voice, inaudible to most of
those around them. 'You steal a friend's fiance., and
then, because of your inadequacy and lack of emotional
depth, you are forced to live in fear of losing
him back to her.'
Louise turned from red to white as Lorenzo’s cutting
words hit home, and suddenly the woman Jodie
had always thought of as such a beauty actually
looked ugly.
John had come hurrying over to Louise’s side and
was looking helplessly back and forth between the
women. When she looked at him Jodie recognised
how poorly he compared with Lorenzo, and how
weak he was as a man. If she hadn’t already realised
she didn’t love him any more, she surely would have
done so now.
'Are you ready to leave?' Lorenzo asked Jodie.
Silently she nodded her head.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
THEY had driven back to their hotel in silence, and
Jodie was only thankful that Lorenzo wasn’t saying
anything. Now that they were back in their suite she
realised how shocked and distressed Louise’s spiteful
attack had left her feeling.
All she wanted was the privacy of her room, so
that she could give way to the tears that weren’t far
off, and to her relief Lorenzo made no comment when
she said quickly, 'My head aches. I…I think I might
as well have an early night.'
In her room she undressed and then showered, drying
herself quickly before padding across to the bed
and slipping between the cool clean sheets, reflecting
that it was just as well that Louise had not known she
and Lorenzo were sleeping in separate rooms.
