VITTORIO'S WOMAN (The Vittorio Series)

There were various levels of stupidity; ranging from minimally thoughtless to inconceivably dim-witted.  Lillian Barclay was fairly certain she’d run the entire gambit in a span of five minutes.  Maybe she had latent masochistic tendencies that had been sparked to life in a moment of…what?  Weakness?  Insanity?  A little of both perhaps, because that was the only logical explanation for what she’d just done. 

Simon Vittorio
.  Even his name was seductive.  Okay, so she’d momentarily lost her mind and accepted a position as his physical therapist.  It wasn’t the end of the world.  All she had to do was call his sister, Milana, and say she changed her mind.

“Oh, yeah, that’s a fabulous idea,” she mumbled.
  “The woman will think I’m a total flake.” 

Then again, maybe Milana would be justified with that particular assessment, given the fact Lilly was talking to herself.
  Never mind that thinking of Simon caused her cheeks to burn a vivid shade of scarlet, or that her bones seemed to liquefy when she envisioned touching his magnificent body.  It was unprofessional, to say the least, and she definitely had to get her emotions in check before presenting herself at the Vittorio mansion tomorrow. 

Lilly let out a groan, absently rubbing her stomach as a whole slew of butterflies took flight.
  She should have stuck to her specialty; children and young teens.  Not that she hadn’t taken an occasional job with adults, but she discovered a long time ago that her patients tended to become attached to her.  Adult males, in particular, did more than become attached; they flirted outrageously and fooled themselves into believing they were in love with her.  Which only served to reinforce Lilly’s desire to stick with helping children. 

So why had she agreed to take this position when Simon Vittorio had the power to reduce her insides to mush with just a passing glance?
  And let’s be honest, she admonished herself, a passing glance was all she’d ever gotten from him.

Maybe it was the desperation in Milana’s voice when she’d spoken about her brother, or maybe it was because Lilly’s heart wrenched at the thought of such a proud man being sucked down into the depths of depression and self-pity.
  The Simon she remembered had exuded power and arrogance in spades and wasn’t the type of man to let anyone or anything stand in his way.  Why was he letting this defeat him without a struggle?  He was a fighter by nature, yet Milana said he’d given up without so much as a whimper of protest.  His sister genuinely feared for his life if something didn’t happen quickly to change things.  And that’s where Lillian came in.

“You’re the best there is,” Milana insisted passionately.
  “I’ve been told your patients have had miraculous recoveries, far exceeding anyone’s expectations.  You have to help Simon, you just have to!”

Lilly’s heart went out to her.  “I understand your concerns, Miss Vittorio, but you said yourself Simon’s spine was only fractured, not broken,
 and the doctor believed there was at least a fifty percent chance he would regain the use of his legs."

"I'm afraid Simon doesn't see it in the same positive light the rest of us do.
  To him, that means there's a fifty percent chance he
won't
ever walk again.  I have to be honest, it scares me to death to see him like this.  He's always been so strong-willed.  I expected him to tell the doctor to go to hell and then demand we find the best physical therapist there is so he could prove the doctor wrong.  But he didn’t do that.  Simon withdrew inside himself, and he’s sinking deeper and deeper each day."

"I know this is difficult for you too," Lilly
 sympathized, "but you have to understand the damage wasn't just to Simon's legs.  He perceives himself differently now, and doesn’t like what he sees.  Being paralyzed makes him feel weak, as if he's less of a man because of it."

"What do
 you suggest I do then?  If I can’t even get him to talk to me, he’s certainly not going to talk to a psychiatrist about this." 

"Hire a part-time physical therapist,
 someone willing to work with him twice a day for a few hours.  Once Simon is forced to concentrate on keeping his muscle tone in shape and doesn't have so much time to brood, he'll snap out of it.”

“If only it was that simple,” Milana said with an unhappy sigh.
  “Simon has been rather…difficult.  He detests what he considers a weakness in himself so he’s already uncooperative.  His disposition is…well, it’s not pleasant.  Please, Miss Barclay, he’s chased off four therapists, and I know for a fact you’ve never walked out on a job no matter how awful your patient is.”

Lilly smiled into the phone, remembering some of the truly awful patients she’d cared for.
  “Is he really that unpleasant?”

“Don’t get me wrong,” Milana said, “I love my brother to death, but even I’m at my wits end.
  Simon is a big man, nearly six feet four, and he’s very muscular.  His physical appearance alone would deter anyone from crossing him.  Couple that with a fierce temper and sharp tongue, and you’ll understand why he frightens them off.”

Lilly closed her eyes for a moment, her heart picking up a few extra beats as she conjured up Simon’s image.
  She’d only seen him in person once, but he’d left a big enough impression that she’d dreamed about him for months afterwards.  It was at a night club where a huge birthday bash was being thrown for one of her friends.  She’d had a long day and was dead tired, so the club scene held very little appeal.  Still, she couldn’t bow out altogether, and decided to make a brief appearance before going home and hauling herself off to bed.  Lilly allowed herself to be coaxed into one drink, and was just about to make her excuses and call it a night when she spotted him.

Jet black hair, dark eyes, and bronzed skin immediately gave away his Italian heritage, and he was so breathtakingly handsome, Lilly was virtually mesmerized as she watched him make his way across the room.
  She’d found it rather amusing, the way women from all over the room seemed to migrate towards him.  Regardless of his obvious determination to push through the crowd, Simon’s progress was hindered considerably when his pathway was blocked by one female body after another. 

It didn’t even dawn on her that she was gawking at him like a love-struck teenager until his gaze turned her way.
  His eyes swept over her, as seductive as a lover’s caress, and she’d drawn in a sharp breath, shocked by the flood of liquid heat that instantly pooled deep in her abdomen.  Simon’s lip twitched as if he was trying hard not to laugh, and Lilly suddenly realized just how foolish she must have looked. 

Oh, she was pretty enough to catch the eye of a handsome man, but Simon was a cut above that, and quite plainly out of her league.
  And then he’d smiled at her.  She went all melty inside, her internal organs morphing into gelatin.  It was only after he reached their table and leaned down to kiss the birthday girl on the cheek that her scrambled brain began to function enough to comprehend he hadn’t been looking at her at all.  Completely mortified by her adolescent behavior, Lilly jumped up from her chair, wished her friend a happy birthday, and then made a hasty retreat.

“There’s something else,” Milana jolted Lilly back into the present.
  “When his head hit the windshield, a large shard of glass sliced through his temple.”

“Oh God,” Lilly gasped.

“They operated, of course, but they won’t know if the damage is permanent until the bandages come off next week.  I’m scared, Miss Barclay.  If it turns out Simon is blind for life, I think he would eventually deal with it.  But if he…” Milana’s voice cracked, and for a moment she didn’t say anything.  “If he loses the use of his legs
and
his sight, he’ll lose the will to live completely.”

Lilly understood that kind of pain, the bewilderment and anger and desperate need to know:
why me
?  But there were no answers, none that would satisfy a wounded heart anyway.  And it would be ten times worse for a man like Simon whose physical strength meant as much to him as his mental strength did.  His body had betrayed him, at least that’s how he saw it, and in turn it was draining his ability to think straight. 

The abyss he’d fallen into was darker than most, more frightening, more dangerous.
  Because that darkness would call to him, and in his present state of mind he’d go willingly.  Unless someone did something to lure him back.  A slow smile spread across Lilly’s face, a plan beginning to take shape in her mind.  It was an old trick, but one that had been tremendously successful in the past.  It would work on Simon, she was sure of it.

“Can you afford to pay me, Miss Vittorio?”

Milana’s voice shook.  “Does…does that mean you’ll do it?”

“Yes, but if you can’t pay me…”

“Oh, but I can!  Whatever your fee, I’ll double it, triple it, whatever you want if you’ll only help Simon.  Money is no object, none at all.”

“It isn’t for me either,” Lilly laughed, “but my usual fee will be fine.
  I have the names of a few families in desperate need that you can donate the money to…”

“I’m afraid I don’t understand, Miss Barclay.”

“Let me explain.  But first, I insist you call me Lilly.  Most of my patients come from poor families or they’re in a financial bind because of the cost of medical care.  I don’t charge for my services except in those cases where my fees won’t cause a financial strain, such as yours.”

“And then you give it all away?”
  Milana asked incredulously.

“I was born into wealth and have more money than any one person could possibly spend in a lifetime.
  I love what I do and find comfort in knowing I’ve made a difference in someone’s life.  Charging them for my services just doesn’t seem right.”

“You’re a very kind hearted woman, Lilly.  Are you sure you’re tough enough to handle a rogue like Simon?”

Lilly just smiled.  “I adore a challenge, and your brother certainly sounds as if he fits that bill.  Just tell me when and where and I’ll be there.”

And that was that.
  She was committed to being Simon Vittorio’s therapist and chief caretaker for however long it took to pull him out of his depression and get him on the road to recovery.  There was a modicum of consolation in the knowledge he wouldn’t have any idea who she was, at least not until his bandages came off.  Even then Lilly seriously doubted Simon would remember her, and why should he?  She’d been the one doing all the staring and drooling while he’d simply been trying to fight his way over to the table to wish her friend a happy birthday.  Lilly hadn’t even had the nerve to ask Amanda who he was until nearly a week later.

“Simon Vittorio,” Amanda told her with a breathless sigh.
  “Isn’t he gorgeous?”

Someone her fiancé worked with, that’s all Amanda had been able to tell her, and then she’d giggled at the stern reproach Lilly had given her for saying Simon was gorgeous when she was engaged to another man.
  Amanda shrugged, declaring that being in love didn’t mean she couldn’t look at other men, only that she couldn’t touch.  So Lilly finally had a name to go with her dream lover.  No matter how many times she told herself it was silly to fantasize about a man she had no hope of ever seeing again, she couldn’t seem to drive him from her mind.

What she really needed to do, Lilly thought as she dug out her suitcase and started packing, was to start focusing on how she was going to prod Simon out of his self imposed prison and get him to accept that his life was worth living whether he ever walked again or not.
  And if it turned out his loss of sight was permanent too, what then? 

Her chest squeezed painfully at the thought of those dark, seductive eyes staring blankly into space, and once again Lilly had to chastise herself for accepting the position.
  How could she help Simon if she became a bundle of raw emotions whenever she thought of how helpless he must feel right now?

Drawing in a shaky breath, she snapped the suitcase shut.
  Okay, so now she was stupid
and
selfish.  If what Milana said was true, Simon was on a downhill spiral and wasn’t even trying to put the brakes on it.  He might literally be fighting for his life, and here she was worrying about being embarrassed if he remembered how dumbstruck she’d been at the party.  As for her attraction for Simon, she would just have to learn how to mask her feelings and make sure her voice didn’t tremble when she spoke.  She could do this, Lilly told herself.  She could do it because Simon needed her.

 
                                                              ***

She was treated with the utmost respect the entire journey, starting from the moment the chauffeur-driven limo arrived to pick her up.
  From there she was taken to the airport and flown to the west coast in luxurious comfort in the Vittorio’s private plane, and then transported by helicopter to a small island.  She was met by a wickedly handsome young man who introduced himself as Luc Santini and informed her with a gallant bow that he had been given the honor of escorting her.  It was a short drive from the landing pad to the mansion, yet Luc somehow managed to wheedle into the conversation that he was single and very much available.