VITTORIO'S WOMAN (The Vittorio Series) (2 page)

“Your hair is like the gold in the sun,” he said in a heavily accented baritone.
 

Lilly smiled from the backseat.
  “Shouldn’t you be watching the road instead of your passenger, Mr. Santini?”

His gaze shifted from the rearview mirror for a few seconds before returning to her reflection.
  “I have never seen eyes so blue as yours,” he continued.  “They remind me of the sky on a clear summer day, and your skin…”

“Stop,” Lilly laughed, “you’re embarrassing me.”

Luc’s expression sobered.  “My apologies, Miss Barclay, I did not mean to make you uncomfortable.  Mr. Vittorio will not be pleased I have insulted his guest.”

Her brows arched in mild surprise.
  Was Simon so formidable that his employees feared repercussions over something as harmless as idle flirtation?  She quickly assured Luc she wasn’t insulted and had no intention of reporting his behavior to Simon.  He thanked her profusely and seemed relieved, but refrained from offering any more flowery compliments. 

Lilly settled back in her seat, enjoying the lush green scenery along the spiraling road, in spite of the mounting apprehension preying on her mind.
  The island was breathtaking, but as they drew up to the Vittorio mansion, she couldn’t help thinking how utterly isolated they were here.  True, it was less than a thirty minute ride to the mainland by helicopter, but the Vittorio’s and their employees seemed to be the only inhabitants.

“Do you live on the island?”
 she asked Luc as he helped her from the car. 

“No, my home is on the mainland at Mr. Vittorio’s country estate.
  My parents live here though.  You will meet them shortly.”

Lilly gazed up in awe at the massive white structure, wondering why anyone would want to live all by themselves in a place this big.
  Of course that was just an assumption on her part, for all she knew Milana lived here too or there might even be more sisters and brothers.  She’d worked with Italian families before and had always admired how strong the bond was, not just among parents and siblings but as far down the line as they could trace.  Maybe that’s why Simon kept his island castle, so he could fill it up with relatives when the occasion arose.  Not that there would be many parties or family reunions any time soon, Lilly thought with a sad sigh.

“Miss Barclay?”
  Luc nodded towards the mansion.  “My mother waits for you at the door.  I will bring your bags to your room.”

“Thank you, Luc, I do hope to see you again soon.”

He gave her a broad grin.  “Anytime you wish to see me, Miss Barclay, I will gladly make the trip.”

“You’re an outrageous flirt,” she returned with a smile, “but you’ve certainly brightened my day and I thank you.”

“The pleasure was all mine,
bella donna
.”

Lilly drew in a steadying breath then turned and marched up the cobbled walkway to the mansion.
  “Mrs. Santini, how very nice to meet you,” she held out her hand.

Luc’s mother ignored the outstretched hand, gripping Lilly by the shoulders instead and planting a motherly kiss to each cheek.
  “
Benvenuti a casa Signore Vittorio
,” she beamed.  “I am so pleased you have come to help my Simon.  You will give him back his smile,
si
?”

Lilly’s stomach did a wild flip.
  How well she remembered that heart-stopping smile of his. 

“I won’t leave until I do,” she promised.

She was ushered inside and instructed to wait in the sitting room while Luisa, as she insisted Lilly call her, went to find Milana.  Her eyes wandered around the room, impressed by the simple elegance and surprising serenity of the place.  She’d expected it to be cold, uninviting, a rich man’s show case for expensive furniture and original art pieces.  Oh, the artwork looked original all right but as far as she could tell the artists were unknown.  Painted by friends or family members? 

Lilly certainly wasn’t an expert on fine art, but she loved going to the museum and had never heard of any of these people.
  They were good though, and it gave her a little insight as to the type of man Simon Vittorio was.  He surrounded himself with things that pleased him, not what society dictated a man of his wealth should adorn his walls with. 

“Lilly, thank God you’re here,” Milana exclaimed as she swept into the room.
  “Simon has been an absolute terror all morning and now he’s refusing to eat lunch.  He barely took two bites of food last night, didn’t eat breakfast, and on top of that he’s demanding I bring him a bottle of whiskey. 
Whiskey
,” Milana huffed, “that’s all he needs!”

Lilly grimaced.
  “This doesn’t have anything to do with my being here, does it?”

“No,” she replied with a sheepish grin, “I haven’t actually had the nerve to tell him yet.”

Milana Vittorio was the female counterpart of her brother.  She was tall and slender with long, dark hair and the same golden bronzed skin that Simon had.  No doubt, men threw themselves at her in the same shameless manner women fell over Simon.  And yet, Milana didn’t affect an air of superiority or cold indifference as one would have expected in a woman of such extraordinary beauty.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get him to eat,” Lilly said with confidence.  If Simon was acting like a rebellious child, her job was going to be easier than she thought.
  After all, working with children was her specialty.  She smiled warmly at Milana.  “I’ll need to read through his medical records first so I know what I’m up against.  Then if you don’t mind, I’ll take my lunch with Simon.”

Milana eyed her skeptically.
  “Not that I doubt your ability to handle yourself, but I narrowly missed getting hit with the breakfast tray Simon hurled across the room this morning.”

“Hazards of the trade I’m afraid,” Lilly shrugged it off, “but it’s made me surprisingly agile when things are being thrown about.
  I also have the amazing gift of knowing just when to duck so you don’t need to worry about me.”

“You may not be so brave once you’ve met my brother,” Milana warned.
  “He’s been a tyrant from the moment he woke up in the hospital to find his legs didn’t work and his eyes bandaged.”

“How did it happen?”

“Simon had just flown in from Europe and was going to spend a few days at his house on the mainland.  It was late at night on a dark, country road and he was jet lagged, which is probably why his reflexes weren’t as quick as they usually are.  Anyway, a dog darted in front of his car and Simon swerved to miss it and ended up going over the embankment.”

“How long was he there before someone found him?”

“All night and half of the next day.  I’m the one who found him, and if it wasn’t for that stupid dog, he might have died before anyone discovered he’d even been in a wreck.”

An avid animal lover, Lilly was saddened by the poor dog’s death.
  “So you found the dog’s body and figured out what happened?”

“No, that’s the incredible part.
  I was worried because Simon hadn't called to let me know he made it home as he usually does, so I drove out to the house.  I was pretty upset to find the house empty and was on my way back into town to alert the police when I spotted the dog sitting smack in the middle of the road.  It’s a private road, you see, so it was strange to find him there, and even more odd that he refused to move even after I’d honked the horn and rolled down my window to holler at him.”

“Don’t tell me he was still in the same place Simon’s car had gone over?”

“He sure was,” Milana said.  “I guess he’d been standing guard the whole time and must have heard my car.  As soon as I got out, he started barking and darting back and forth as if he wanted me to follow him.  He led me right to Simon and wouldn’t leave until after the ambulance had arrived and taken my brother away.”

“So…what happened to the dog?”

A guilty look stole over Milana’s face.  “I just didn’t have the heart to leave him there.  I mean, I know he was to blame for the wreck, but he also saved Simon’s life.  My brother would kill me if he knew, but I kind of brought him back here.  Luisa and her husband, Gaetano, have been taking care of him.”

“That’s quite a story, but I’m sure you’re right about Simon throttling you if he found out about the dog.
  I think I’ll have a peak at those medical records now.  I’ll tackle the task of getting your brother to eat when I’m done.”

“I can’t tell you how happy I am to have you here,” Milana said as she led Lilly up a sweeping staircase.
  She stopped at the top of the landing and lowered her voice.  “I’ve set you up in the room next to Simon’s just as you asked.  The rooms are virtually sound proof, but since the accident, his hearing seems to have sharpened.  I swear he can tell when I’m within twenty feet of his room because he starts bellowing at the top of his lungs.”

“It’s because his eyes have been bandaged,” Lilly explained.
  “His other senses are compensating for the loss of his sight.”

“Whatever the reason, he’s driving me insane.
  Even Luisa, who has the patience of a saint, is starting to unravel.”

“Just give me about thirty minutes to read through his medical records then come and introduce me to Simon.”

Milana’s eyes clouded with worry.  “He’s not going to like it.”

“I’m sure he won’t.
  Up until now he’s been able to terrorize everyone into doing what he wants, so he’s going to resent the hell out of me being here.  All I need you to do is make the introduction then give me about fifteen minutes alone with him before bringing up our lunch.  I’ll take it from there.”

“All right,” Milana agreed, “I’ll go tell Luisa to make up a tray.”

Lilly followed silently behind Milana, nodding her understanding when they reached her room and her attention was directed to a small desk near one of the windows.  Once she was alone, she grabbed the medical records from the desktop and strolled over to the seating area and dropped down onto one of the overstuffed armchairs.  For now, she was intent on getting a brief overview of Simon’s condition and the extent of his injuries.  There would be ample time later to go over them more thoroughly and work out a plan for rehabilitation, but she’d have to assess Simon’s mental state first.

Precisely twenty minutes later, Lilly closed the file and crossed the room in response to Milana’s light tap.
  She stepped out into the hallway and followed Milana to Simon’s door just a few short feet away then slipped in behind her when Milana entered his room.  Because the curtains were drawn, she didn’t see him at first.  But as her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she spied his dark figure slumped down in the wheelchair.

Oh Simon
, her heart cried,
what have you done to yourself
?

“
Madre di Dio
,” Simon growled, “I told you to leave me alone, Milana!”

“As you wish, your Highness,” Milana replied crisply, “but first I need to let you know that I’ve hired another physical therapist, one who is not afraid of your bite.”

Simon’s laugh was bitter.  “A battleaxe like the last one you mean, with muscles like a man and a mustache to match?”

Milana shot Lilly an amused glance.
  “No mustache,
fratello
maggiore
, but she won’t turn tail and run no matter how rude and uncooperative you are.”

Simon pulled himself upright, bristling at his sister’s words.
  “We shall see about that.  My legs may be useless, but I still have my upper body strength and will not allow this woman to touch me.  I have accepted my fate, you should too. 
Andare
via
, Milana,” he snapped, “leave me alone.”

Milana left without a word, but not before Lilly caught the crestfallen look on her face.  “Your sister loves you very much,” she said softly.
  “You have no right to treat her like that.”

Simon’s head whipped around.
  “Who the hell are you?”

“Lillian Barclay, but you can call me Lilly.
  I’m your new therapist.”

“
Mio Dio
,” he rasped hoarsely. 

Simon shook his head in disbelief.
  It wasn’t possible!  For months he’d been unsuccessful in tracking down the blonde haired, blue eyed beauty who’d stolen his heart and now she was here, in his home, in his bedroom?  How many nights had he lay awake imagining her golden hair spread across his pillow, lips parted in anticipation of his kisses, her lush body warm and willing beneath him as he made love to her?  She haunted his dreams, made it impossible to think of any other woman, had tortured his every waking hour.  And now she was here, seeing him for the weak man he had become. 
And pitying me
, Simon thought resentfully.

“Get out,” he ordered between clenched teeth.
  “Your services are not needed.”

Lilly’s eyes swept over his disheveled appearance.
  “You look like hell, Mr. Vittorio.  When was the last time you bathed?”

Simon’s nostrils flared.
  “How dare you speak to me in that manner!  My bathing habits are none of your concern.  Now leave me and tell my sister I wish to see her.”

“You’re very inhospitable,” Lilly affected a tone of indifference.
  “And just for the record, I take my orders from Milana, not you.  Like it or not, Mr. Vittorio, I am here to make sure you don’t allow your self-pity to destroy your chances of recovery.”

“Self-pity!”
  His voice shook with anger, his temper inflamed by the knowledge he lacked the ability to walk across the room and throw the impudent woman out himself.  “Do you have any idea who I am?  I could crush you with one phone call and make sure you never work as a therapist again!”

“I suppose you could,” she said lightly, “assuming you could find the phone, that is.”

“It is beside my bed where it has always been.  Even blind, I can find it and when I do…”

“I’m afraid you’ll have to delay the destruction of my professional life, Mr. Vittorio.”
  Lilly went to the nightstand and plucked the phone cord from the wall.  Clutching the phone in her hands, she turned back to Simon.  “As part of my therapy, you will have no contact with the outside world.  When you’re able to walk downstairs under your own power, I will do nothing to stop you from making that phone call.  Until then…”

“
Donna pazzesca
!”

“In English please,” Lilly said sweetly.

Simon swung his wheelchair around, a dark scowl marring his handsome features.  “
Crazy woman
,” he interpreted.  “You cannot get away with this.”

“Ah, but I can,
and
with your sister’s blessing.  Face it, Mr. Vittorio, you are at my mercy.  If you want me out of your house, you will have to escort me out yourself.  I imagine part of the reason you’re so disagreeable is that you haven’t eaten, so we will take care of that first.”

“I am not hungry and there is nothing you can do to force food past my teeth.
  Try it and I will bite you,
cara
.”

“There are other ways to get nourishment into your body,” Lilly told him.
  “If necessary, I will have your arms strapped down and feed you intravenously.”

Shocked disbelief was quickly followed by enraged fury.
  “You would not dare,” he spoke with menacing softness.

“You’re an intelligent man, Mr. Vittorio.
  I’ve been told you have an uncanny ability to detect whether someone is being completely honest with you.  It’s made you the successful man you are.”  She moved closer, careful to keep her voice low and unwavering.  “Tell me, Simon, do you believe me when I say I will tie you down and feed you through a tube if I have to?”

His lips pressed together in a thin line, and if it wasn’t for the dark stubble on his face, he would have looked very much like a spoiled little boy who’d just been told he wouldn’t get a cookie unless he cleaned his room first.
  She wanted to throw her arms around him and promise that everything would be okay, but Simon’s pride would demand he reject anything resembling compassion…or worse, pity. 

Lilly
did
feel sorry for him, but it certainly wasn’t pity.  It was difficult to see Simon like this.  She knew he was hurting, just as surely as she knew he’d never admit to a single soul the anguish he was going through.  It was his own private hell and he wanted to hoard it to himself, nurture it even.  And he would hate Lilly for drawing him out of it, but it was a price she was willing to pay, no matter the cost to her battered heart.

“Good,” she finally said, “then we understand each other.
  Milana…”  Lilly smiled when the door swung open and Milana walked in followed by Luisa, each of them carrying a tray of food.  “As I was saying, Milana is bringing us lunch.  Please set the trays on the table out on the balcony,” she instructed the women.

“Milana, tell this woman she is not needed here,” Simon ordered, a smug smile tipping the corner of his mouth.

Lilly shook her head in silent warning.  “My apologies,” she addressed Simon, “I forgot to mention that I have advised Milana and Luisa not to speak to you until you prove you can treat them with the respect they deserve.” 

Luisa’s eyes widened, obviously distressed to hear she was barred from catering to Simon’s demands, but Milana nodded her approval and shuffled the older woman out of the room.
 
Thank
you
, Milana mouthed, then arched a curious brow when Lilly pressed the phone into her hands.  Explanations about Lilly’s methods would have to wait until later; right now she had an extremely agitated Simon to deal with.  He was still spouting oaths and demanding that Milana answer him when Lilly came around behind the wheelchair and gripped the handles.

“Save your breath, Milana is gone and won’t come back until I ask her to.”
 

She pushed the chair out through the open doorway and onto the balcony, snapping the brakes into place once she had him positioned in front of the table.
  Lilly lifted the lid from one of the plates and inhaled the enticing aroma appreciatively, her comments on how good everything smelled eliciting little more than a grunt from Simon.  She carefully separated the food on the plate and set it in front of him then scooted her chair closer in case he needed her help.

“Your plate is directly in front of you and there’s a fork just to the right of it.
  I’ve arranged your food to make it easier for you to eat by yourself.”  Undaunted by the stubborn set of his chin, Lilly continued.  “Think of it in terms of a clock.  You have sliced beef at twelve fifteen, sautéed vegetables at twelve thirty, mashed potatoes at twelve forty-five, and a dinner roll at noon.”

“And what time is the wine?”
 he asked caustically.

“Dinner time,” Lilly quipped, “but that’s only if you eat your lunch.”

“I am not a child,
cara
, do not treat me like one.”

Lilly lifted the lid from her own plate and settled the clothe napkin across her lap.
  “Perhaps I wouldn’t treat you like a child if you didn’t behave like one.”

Simon opened his mouth, an angry retort on the tip of his tongue, then quickly changed his mind.
  Obviously, he was not going to win any verbal spars with this impossibly ill-mannered woman.  He would just have to think of some other way to rid himself of her. 

His surly temper and blunt insults had chased off three of the therapists Milana had brought home.  The last one, the woman he referred to as a battleaxe, had been a bit more of a challenge.
  It had taken sexual innuendos and a few accidental brushes of his hand against the woman’s rather large breasts to get her to throw in the towel.  Somehow, he doubted touching Lilly’s breasts would make his stomach churn in distaste, as it had with the other woman.

“Your lunch is getting cold,” Lilly chastised lightly.
  “If you prefer, I can feed you until you get the hang of it.”

Simon crossed his arms mutinously.
  “By all means, feed me.”

Biting back the laughter that bubbled up in her throat, Lilly reached across his plate and retrieved his fork.
  “Open,” she commanded, feeling a giddy rush of happiness when he did as she asked.

She didn’t try to engage him in a conversation for fear he’d get angry again and refuse to eat the rest of his meal.
  For the most part, she enjoyed feeding him because it gave her the chance to study his face up close.  In spite of the eye patches and the head bandage securing them in place, he was every bit as devastatingly handsome as she remembered.  His thick, dark hair was longer and extremely unruly, and he’d apparently rebuffed any attempts to shave him, but he still had the power to take her breath away.  The only uncomfortable moment in an otherwise tranquil mealtime came when she lifted the glass of lemon water to his lips.

Simon’s bronzed hand closed over hers when she tipped it a little too far, causing some of the water to spill out over his chin.
  It was a strange sensation, having her fingers trapped between the warmth of his hand and the coolness of the glass, and for one heart-stopping moment, Lilly wondered what it would feel like to have that warmth gliding over her skin in a soft caress.

“Are you trying to drown me?”

Lilly blinked.  “What?”  Embarrassed by her wandering mind, she mumbled an apology and pulled both the empty glass and her hand free from his grasp and set it back on the table.  “Would you like dessert?  There’s fresh fruit and lemon cake.”

“No, now it is your turn to eat.”
  Simon tilted his head back and drew in a deep breath.  “It has been some time since I have felt the sun on my face.”

“We can make it part of our daily routine if you like.”

“Your predecessors did not last more than three days, what makes you think you are so different?”

“I don’t give up,” she said simply.

“We have much in common then, for I do not give up either.  You are not welcome here, and you will soon learn I do not give in unless I desire to do so.”

Having finished her lunch, Lilly stood up and began gathering their plates.
  “So you wanted to eat then?”  Her eyes danced with amusement when his jaw flexed because he knew that he’d been beaten.

“
Si
, it was my decision,” he gritted.

“I appreciate your cooperation,” she said without the slightest hint of sarcasm.
  “And now that you’ve been fed and your mood has improved, I think it’s time to clean you up.”

Simon’s brows furrowed.
  “Elaborate.”

“No offense, Simon, but you look as if you haven’t bathed in a week.
  Your hair needs to be cut and you could do with a shave…”

“
Siete insano
,” he sputtered, “you have lost your mind if you think I will let you bathe me!”

“Simon, I am a licensed nurse and therapist.  I have bathed both men and women, and I assure you, there’s nothing you have that I haven’t seen before.”
 

Simon was silent for a moment, torn between the humiliation of having Lilly help him take a bath and the knowledge it could be the opportunity he needed to rid himself of her.
  Yes, he’d lost weight since the accident, but his body couldn’t have deteriorated much in only a few short weeks.  He’d seen the way she looked at him at the night club and how embarrassed she’d been at having been caught.  No matter what she said, Lilly desired him, and he would use that to scare her off. 

He shook his head ruefully.
  What hellish stroke of fate had brought her here when he no longer had any hope of a normal life?  The only saving grace was that he didn’t have to see the pity in her eyes when she looked at him.