'let’s see if it fits before we start arguing about
whether or not you will wear it,' he told her coolly.
Jodie could feel her hand starting to shake when
Lorenzo gripped her wrist and then slid the ring down
onto her ring finger. The very weight of it felt uncomfortable.
Jodie frowned, and immediately went to
tug it off.
'No, leave it!'
The peremptory bite of Lorenzo’s voice shocked
her into stillness.
Lorenzo’s frown deepened as he studied the ring,
lifting her hand so that he could inspect it more
closely.
'what’s wrong?' she asked him uncertainly.
'Look into it and tell me what you can see,'
Lorenzo instructed her.
Reluctantly Jodie did so. 'I can’t see anything,' she
told him, confused.
And neither could he, Lorenzo acknowledged. The
ring was totally free of the vague cloudiness which
he remembered had so dissatisfied his mother. A freak
of chance? A difference in chemical reactions between
one woman's skin and another's? There had to
be a logical reason for the clarity of the emerald when
Jodie wore it.
Oblivious to the conflicting emotions Lorenzo was
trying to repress, Jodie tugged off the ring and handed
it back to him.
'I meant what I said. I’m not wearing it,' she told
him hardily.
'We shall see. Certainly you will have to wear it
on Sunday, when we attend church for the first reading
of our banns,' Lorenzo informed her.
She knew someone who would be envious of her
supposed betrothal ring, Jodie thought half an hour
later, after they had left the bank. And that was
Louise. Jodie could well imagine her reaction were
she to turn up at John’s wedding wearing it!
Automatically, to cheer herself up, she tried to conjure
up some satisfying images of her moment of triumph—
but somehow the sense of elation she wanted
just wasn’t there. But that was the only reason she
was putting herself through this whole palaver, allowing
herself to be bullied and hectored…and made love
to…by Lorenzo. wasn’t it?
CHAPTER NINE
THERE could be far, far worse ways in which to spend
the next twelve months than exploring this wonderful
city, Jodie thought happily as she took her reluctant
leave of the Medici Palace and headed for the Piazza
Signoria.
She had the day to herself, Lorenzo having announced
earlier that he had some business to attend
to and would be gone until after lunch. Not that she
minded — not one little bit. It was just the sight of so
many couples strolling hand in hand that was making
her aware of not having his imperious, imposing presence
at her side, and nothing at all personal. How
could it be? She was determined not to let down her
emotional guard with any man ever again, and even
if she hadn’t been she would have to be a complete
fool to fall in love with a man like Lorenzo.
No, it was just the warmth of the summer sun and
the effect of Florence itself on her emotions that was
giving her that inner feeling of sadness. Of course if
Lorenzo had been with her he would have been able
to tell her much more about the city than any guidebook.
But determinedly she reminded herself firmly
of how the tension that had somehow crept into even
their most mundane conversational exchanges made
her feel on edge — as though somehow she was on a
constant adrenalin surge, her body waiting… For
what? For him to touch her again? Her thoughts were
drifting down dangerous pathways, she warned
herself.
She tried to focus on the square and its famous
sculptures, pausing to check the guidebook she had
bought earlier. While she was living here she could
even try to learn Italian and turn her year of marriage
into a means of adding to her future CV. That would
give her something far better to occupy her thoughts
than these dangerous sensual longings that had begun
to creep up on her so disturbingly. Of course Lorenzo
would be a good lover, she told herself scathingly.
She didn’t need to experience his lovemaking at first
hand to know that!
The city was busy with other tourists, and by the
time she had walked as far as the Uffizi, having decided
to leave exploring the Palazzo Vecchio for another
occasion, she was beginning to feel both tired
and thirsty. There was a cafe.-bar in the square near
to the apartment, she remembered, and it would not
take her long to walk there.
When she got there, the small square was so busy
