that this ex-fiance. of hers was now unavailable
to her, and a part of her past, he felt confident that
they could develop a working relationship.
And a sexual relationship? His body tightened in
betrayal.
Jodie in turn would have the protection of a husband
and a life of comfort. There could even be children,
if she wished. He frowned sharply as this magnanimous
thought provoked a reaction within his
body and his emotions that went a whole lot farther
than any mere sense of self-laudatory approval of his
generosity. He had never previously considered the
production of children an essential part of his life
plan — he had more than enough male relatives to produce
the next Duce — but with the future of the
Castillo to be considered it made sense for him to
have heirs of his own to hand it on to. And Jodie
would not desert her children.
He braked sharply to avoid a cyclist, mentally denying
that his immediate and instinctive belief was a
rash emotional reaction rather than one based on
logic.
He wouldn’t, he decided as he turned into the hotel
grounds, make any firm decision until after tonight,
when he had seen how Jodie reacted to the sight of
her ex-fiance.. If after that, and further careful thought,
he was convinced that their marriage had a future,
once they were back in Italy he would tell her so.
She really wished she hadn’t ever said she wanted to
do this. Jodie studied her reflection in the bedroom
mirror and smoothed a nervous hand over her beautifully
cut cream cre.pe trousers.
'Ready?'
Numbly she nodded her head as Lorenzo walked
into her bedroom. He looked exactly what he was: a
tall, dark, impossibly handsome and even more impossibly
arrogant, totally male man — the kind of man
any woman would be attracted to. The kind of man
any woman could see would make her emotionally
vulnerable if she wasn’t careful. What a pity she
hadn’t been woman enough to recognise that right
from the start.
She could see the way he was looking at her, but
if she had been hoping for a compliment about her
appearance she was in for a disappointment, she realised.
As she started to head for the bedroom door he
reached out and stopped her. For one wild heartbeat
her head was filled with impossible images and even
more implausible scenarios — Lorenzo taking her into
his arms and refusing to let her go; Lorenzo insisting
that he wanted to keep her here in this room and make
love to her; Lorenzo telling her passionately that he
loved her. Weakly she refused to admit how much
she wished they could actually happen, and tried to
focus instead on what Lorenzo was saying to her.
'I think you should wear this tonight.'
She looked down at the familiar emerald ring.
'It is, after all, your betrothal ring,' Lorenzo
pointed out, 'and a symbol of our relationship.'
Wordlessly Jodie reached out to take it from him,
but he shook his head slightly and took hold of her
hand, sliding the ring onto her finger himself.
Tears stung her eyes. Foolish, foolish tears that betrayed
to her just how badly she had misjudged her
own vulnerability. Only a woman deeply in love
could feel the way she felt right now.
It didn’t take them very long to reach John’s parents'
home. A marquee had been set up in the garden,
and the field adjacent to the house already contained
several rows of neatly parked cars.
They were greeted at the gate by a young dinner-
suited cousin of John’s, who recognised Jodie and
gaped slightly at her, then blushed.
'I suppose we ought to try and find John’s parents
first,' Jodie told Lorenzo.
'That sounds a good idea,' he agreed.
'what’s that you’ve got?' Jodie asked curiously,
noticing the small parcel he was carrying.
'Hand-made chocolates for our hostess,' he informed
her, adding, 'I’ll have a dozen bottles of wine
sent to our host later.'
Jodie gave him a rueful look and reached into her
bag, producing an almost identically wrapped box.
'Snap,' she told him, laughing up at him, smiling naturally
for the first time since they had arrived in
England.
'Jodie! Lucy said that she’d seen you in town this
afternoon.'
Jodie’s smile vanished as she saw John’s mother
standing in front of them.
Instinctively she moved closer to Lorenzo. John’s
mother was scrutinising them both very sharply, Jodie
saw, and her chin suddenly lifted as she looked back
at her.
'I hope we aren’t gatecrashing?' she said calmly.
'May I introduce my husband to you, Sheila?'
'Your husband? Lucy did say, but I wasn’t sure…
My goodness, this is a surprise.' John’s mother gave
a small tinkling laugh. 'And there we were, worrying
