Her Shameful Secret (3 page)

Antonio cast her a look of disbelief. “I would ask for a second opinion.”

“I don’t need one. Now, go away,” she ordered with the flutter of her hand.

“I’m not leaving here without you.”

“You have to,” she urged as she held her head in her hands. “Tell everyone that you couldn’t find me. Tell them that I’m back home.”

It was tempting. He wanted to leave and not look back. Purge her from his memories. Do anything that would erase Isabella from his world. But he knew that was impossible.

“Sorry. I’m not like you. I choose to tell the truth whenever possible.”

She lifted her head to glare at him. “I never lied to you. I never—”

He turned away and checked his watch. “I don’t have time to rehash the past.”

“Rehash?” Isabella’s voice rose angrily. “When did we discuss it the first time around? I thought we were happy. We had been together for weeks and going strong. We had made love throughout the night. The next morning your security woke me up to kick me out. My bag was packed and you wouldn’t take my call. You didn’t tell me why you did that, and you never gave me a chance to talk about it!”

Antonio leaned against the wall by the door. The room felt like it was getting smaller. “I wasn’t in the mood to hear your excuses. I’m even less inclined to now.”

“There was nothing to excuse,” Isabella argued as she rose slowly.

Her movements were wobbly and awkward. Antonio folded his arms so he wouldn’t reach out and help her. He already regretted holding her close. He didn’t like how much effort it had taken to pull away. His fingertips still stung from where he had touched her face.

Isabella looked him in the eye and jutted out her chin. “I did not have an affair.”

He held up his hand. “Enough! I will not discuss it.”

“Typical,” she said with a sigh. “You don’t like to discuss anything. Especially if it’s personal. No matter how hard I tried, you wouldn’t share how you felt. The only time I knew exactly what you were thinking was when we were in bed.”

An intimate and very inconvenient image bloomed in his mind. Of Isabella, naked in his bed, eagerly following his explicit demands. When they’d been alone together he had held nothing back. He had demonstrated how much he wanted Isabella and how much her touch had meant to him. There had been many times when it hadn’t been certain who was in command.

A muscle bunched in his jaw and ferocious energy swirled around him. “We are leaving,” he announced in a gravelly tone. Antonio thrust the door open and waited for Isabella.

“No,” she said firmly. “I’m not signing any papers. I don’t want Giovanni’s money.”

“I’m sure you earned it.” He didn’t want her to know what was at stake here. All he wanted was to end this errand as soon as possible. By whatever means necessary. Antonio walked over to her.

Isabella’s eyes widened. “Don’t you dare touch me!”

“How times have changed,” he said silkily as he wrapped his hand around her wrist. He ignored her racing pulse under his fingers as he picked up her backpack. “I remember when you begged for my touch.”

Isabella tried futilely to pull out of his grasp. “I thought you didn’t want to talk about the past? Let go of me.”

“I will when we get to my car.” If it was still where he had parked it. Trust Bella to find the most dangerous neighborhood to live in.

“I’m not going anywhere with you!” Isabella declared as she tried to grab onto the doorframe—but she couldn’t hold on.

“Think again.” He headed for the stairs, dragging her behind him.

“Pushy and selfish,” she muttered. “It must be a Rossi trait. You are just like your brother.”

Antonio stilled as the accusation lashed at him. He slowly turned and faced Isabella. He saw the wariness in her eyes as she backed away. She didn’t get far as his grip tightened around her wrist. “
Don’t
.”

Isabella’s gaze fell to her feet. “All I meant—”

“I don’t care what you meant.” Her words had clawed open a wound he had valiantly tried to ignore. Were he and Gio interchangeable in Isabella’s mind? How often had she thought of his brother when she’d kissed
him
? Had she responded the same way in Gio’s bed?

His thoughts turned darker, piercing his soul. Antonio didn’t say anything as he took a step closer to Isabella, backing her against the wall. Why had she chosen Gio over him? Everyone else he knew made that choice, but why Isabella? He had thought she was different. Was it because Gio had been the handsome and
charismatic one? Had his brother fulfilled her deepest, darkest fantasies? Or had she actually fallen in love with his brother?

“Antonio?” she whispered with uncertainty.

He stared at Isabella. Her angelic beauty hid a devious nature. Her bold spirit and breathtaking innocence had led him straight to a hell that he might never escape. He blinked slowly as he battled the darkness enveloping him. He wouldn’t let this woman destroy him again.

Antonio released her wrist as if her touch burned. He took a deliberate step back but met her eyes with a steady gaze. “Don’t compare me with my brother.
Ever
.”

Isabella couldn’t move as she stared into his brown eyes. Her heart twisted and her breath snagged in her throat. Antonio was always so careful not to show his thoughts and emotions, but now they were laid bare before her. The man was in torment.

But just as quickly as he’d exposed his pain his eyes were shuttered. When he opened them again he was back in control, while
her
emotions were in a jumbled mess.

Antonio turned away from her and Isabella sagged against the wall. She slowly exhaled as her heart pounded in her ears. She felt shaky, her limbs twitching as she watched Antonio take the stairs.

“I’m sorry.”

Her words were just a whisper but she saw Antonio’s rigid stance as he silently deflected her apology.

She hadn’t meant to compare Antonio to his brother. They had very different personalities. It was impossible to confuse the two. Giovanni had been a charmer, with
movie star looks, always the life of the party. He’d been entertaining—but not fascinating like Antonio.

The moment she had met Antonio she’d known he was out of her league. She didn’t have the sophistication or sexual knowledge to hold on to him. It hadn’t mattered. She’d only wanted to be with him. Just once.

Isabella remembered when they had first met and he had offered to show her Piazza del Popolo. The sight of him had jolted her as if she had woken from a deep slumber. Her heart had started to race when she saw him.

She knew she had projected an image of being bold and strong. Tough. It had all been an act. It had been her way of protecting herself as she went through the world alone. But the way the man had been looking at her—she had felt brazen. She had wanted to hold on to that feeling.

“I’m Antonio,” he had said, and offered his hand.

She had hesitated at the sight of his expensive cufflinks. It had only been then that she’d noticed he wore a designer suit. His silk tie had probably cost more than her round-trip ticket to Italy. She didn’t know anyone who had that kind of money.

Be careful of the rich ones
.
Her mother words had drifted in her head
.
They only want one thing from women like us
.

Isabella had smiled. She had decided that it was okay because she was after the same thing.

She had reached for Antonio’s hand and felt a sharp tingle as her skin had glided against his. She hadn’t been able to hide her gasp of surprise. When she had tried to pull away Antonio had wrapped his long, strong fingers around her hand.

Instead of making her feel trapped, his touch had pierced through the gray numbness that had settled in her when she had nursed her mother through her final illness. Her breath had locked in her throat as he’d raised her hand to his mouth.

The earthy colors of Rome had deepened and the sun had turned golden. The blaring sound of traffic had faded as Antonio had brushed his lips against her knuckles. She had known that this man would be the highlight of her vacation. She hadn’t expected to fall in love—and into his bed—with such wild abandon.

She hadn’t expected that she would never be the same again.

Isabella jerked her mind to the present as she saw Antonio disappear from the stairwell with her backpack. Everything she owned—her passport, her money—was in there.

“Wait!” she called out, and hurriedly followed him. She rounded the building and saw Antonio striding down the block. Isabella ran after him. “Antonio, stop!”

He walked to his sports car—a menacing-looking machine that was as black as night. He punched a button on his keyring and the small trunk popped open. Isabella watched in horror as he tossed her backpack in and slammed it shut.

“Give me back my bag,” she said as she reached the car.

“You’ll get it after we visit the lawyers.”

“You don’t understand, Antonio. I have to work.” She gestured at the café on the other end of the block.

“Who cares?” He walked to the driver’s side. “This is more important.”

Spoken like a man who had never had to scrape by
or go hungry. “I’m already going to get in trouble for taking an unscheduled break.”

“Unscheduled break? You made a run for it and you weren’t planning to return.”

“I can’t afford to lose this job.” She rubbed her hand over her forehead as she tried to maintain her composure. “If I get fired I lose my room.”

He glanced up at the broken rusted window of her room. “It won’t be that big of a loss.”

Isabella put her hands on her hips. “Maybe not to you, but this job is the only thing that is keeping me from becoming homeless!”

Antonio’s eyes narrowed. “Is this about money?”

“What?” She stared at him across the car.

“Of course it is.”

“It’s about my
livelihood
,” she corrected him through clenched teeth. Antonio wouldn’t understand about that, having been born into wealth and status. She needed her job because she had no other form of support or resources. Why couldn’t he see that? “Listen, let’s make a compromise. I will go to the lawyers with you once I finish my shift at the café.”

Antonio took another look at his watch. “That’s unacceptable.”

“Seriously? How is that unacceptable? You asked for a favor from me and I just agreed to do it.”

“We both know you are prolonging the inevitable and will try to avoid it. Although I find it very curious that you aren’t asking how much money you will get. Unless, of course, you already know.”

“There’s nothing curious about it,” she said as she folded her arms protectively around her. “The only thing I know is that any money will come with strings attached.
I don’t want anything—especially if it means dealing with you or your family.”

Antonio chose to ignore her comment. “I’m not willing to wait around and watch over you until your shift ends.”

“Do you even know how to compromise?” she asked, tossing her hands up in frustration. Of course he didn’t. The world bowed down to him. Just as she had done, once upon a time.

“This is what I know,” he said as he slipped on his sunglasses. “The will was read three days ago. The contents will soon become public.”

Isabella frowned. “What are you talking about?”

He opened the door and sat down in the driver’s seat. “It won’t take long before the paparazzi find you.”

She jerked her head back in surprise. “Paparazzi? What would they want with me?”

“You’re kidding, right? The woman who slept with the Rossi brothers has wound up with a fortune.”

She stared at him with wide eyes. “There is no need to make it sound so salacious.”

“I’m just telling it like it is,” he said impatiently. “Now, get in.”

Isabella hesitated. Giovanni had left her a fortune? That couldn’t be right. Antonio must be exaggerating. If only she
could
accept the money. But even if she did it would take ages to go through the legal and financial systems and get the cash she so desperately needed.

What would happen to her after she’d signed the documents? She had no home, no money and no protection. She had been working for months to raise the money to get back to California and she didn’t think
she would make enough before the paparazzi found her. Could she ask Antonio for help?

She bit her lip as she weighed the pros and cons.
Could
she ask him? Was she willing to stoop that low? Antonio could easily afford the price of a plane ticket, probably had the cash in his wallet, but it felt wrong.

Antonio leaned back in his seat. “What do you want?”

She took a deep breath. “I need a plane ticket to Los Angeles. For tonight.”

He nodded sharply. “What else?”

She was already regretting her request. She didn’t want anything from Antonio. His presence reminded her of the poor choices she made because she’d been in love. She had fought for him, for them, and he had discarded her without a second thought. As much as it pained her to think about it, her mother had been right. She hated it when that happened.

“That’s it.”

He tipped his sunglasses and studied her face. “I don’t believe you.”

“That doesn’t surprise me,” she replied. “But I mean it. I don’t want anything else.”

“That will change soon,” he said as he started the engine.

“Maybe I didn’t make myself clear. I shall consider this a loan,” she said as the car purred to life. “I’ll pay you back once I get settled.”

“It’s not necessary.”

“It is,” she insisted. “It wouldn’t be right to take your money.”

“I don’t care about the money.” Antonio said. “Get in the car.”

Isabella hesitated. Was that wise? The man hated her. He thought she’d betrayed him. Then again, he probably wanted her out of Italy and out of his life as soon as possible. She had nothing to worry about.

“Bella …” Antonio’s tone warned of his growing impatience.

Isabella opened the door and sat down before she changed her mind. “Don’t expect me to stay long,” she said as she reached for the seatbelt. “I’ll sign the papers and then I’m gone.”

And if she were lucky she would never see Antonio again.