Читать книгу Modern Romance Collection: April 2018 Books 5 - 8 - Andie Brock, Heidi Rice - Страница 18

CHAPTER EIGHT

A SERIES OF loud raps on her bedroom door saw Harper burrowing out of the duvet, blinking against the light.

‘Harper!’ There was no mistaking the deeply sonorous voice.

‘Yes,’ she croaked back, fumbling for her phone to see what the time was. Ten-thirty? How could that be? But before she had the chance to order her thoughts Vieri was striding into her bedroom, full of his usual command.

‘You need to get up.’

Harper pushed herself up against the pillows, brushing the hair out of her eyes with a shaky hand. By the look on Vieri’s face, something was wrong.

‘What’s the matter? What’s happened?’

‘I have received a message from Alfonso’s nurse.’ Vieri’s voice was tight. ‘We need to get over there right away.’

‘Oh, no!’ Harper felt her heart lurch. ‘Alfonso...he hasn’t...? She pulled back the covers, scrambling to get out of bed.

‘No, no. It’s Maria. Some sort of family emergency, apparently. She has had to leave.’

‘Oh, thank goodness.’ Harper gave a huge sigh of relief. ‘Not that I don’t feel sorry for Maria, of course.’ She stopped, suddenly aware of Vieri’s cool blue eyes raking over her. She was wearing a pair of old fleecy tartan pyjamas, perfect for keeping out the winter chill back home, but, judging by Vieri’s expression, not the sort of female night attire he was familiar with.

She gazed at him, desperately trying to ignore the stutter of her heart. Wearing faded, low-slung jeans and a grey sweatshirt, he was more casually dressed than usual, but no less devastatingly attractive. The dark shadow that shaded his jawline gave him a feral, untamed look, and his ruffled hair, that didn’t appear to have been brushed any time recently, only made him seem all the more dangerously tempting. Harper bit down on her lip. Maybe this unkempt look meant he had had a bad night too. After the way he had treated her, she couldn’t help but hope so.

‘So, what’s the plan?’ She tried to sound normal, running a hand over her own sleep-tangled hair and tucking it behind her ears. But all the time she was acutely conscious of Vieri’s unwavering stare. ‘Can you hire a temporary nurse?’

‘Already done. But Alfonso is being difficult. It seems that he wants you there.’

‘Oh.’ Harper nodded. ‘Well, I’ll get dressed and we can head straight over there.’

‘I mean he wants you to move in with him.’ Vieri hesitated. ‘Until Maria gets back.’

‘I see.’ Harper bit back her surprise. ‘Well, that’s okay. I can do that.’ Already her affection for Alfonso was such that she would do anything for him.

‘Obviously I will accompany you.’

Obviously. Harper felt her stomach twist with nervous apprehension. All brisk businesslike command, there was no trace of the Vieri of last night. Of the seductive lover who had so easily smashed through her fragile defences, or the angry stranger that had followed. It occurred to her that she had no idea at all what went on in this man’s head.

‘Maria doesn’t know how long she will have to be away,’ Vieri continued. ‘Do you have any commitments, at home, I mean?’

This took Harper aback. It was the first time Vieri had even mentioned the life she had had to put on hold for him.

‘Actually I spoke to Leah this morning.’ She fiddled with the hem of her pyjama top. ‘She’s safely back in Glenruie and she has agreed to do my shifts at Craigmore Lodge for me. And look after Dad.’

Vieri gave a brief nod.

‘She explained to me what had happened, about the money, Vieri. How that man gambled it all away and then disappeared.’ Harper took a tentative step towards him. ‘Leah didn’t deliberately set out to steal from you, you know. She intended to pay you back.’ For some reason she felt she had to try and clear her sister’s name.

‘It makes no difference to me either way.’ Vieri looked profoundly unconvinced, his profile set hard in silhouette against the window. ‘As far as I am concerned the matter is closed. Once our arrangement has been concluded, of course.’

‘Of course.’ Harper chewed the inside of her lip. What was the point of even trying to get through to this man? She sighed heavily.

‘We will leave in twenty minutes.’

‘Fine.’

She watched as his broad-shouldered frame turned and left the room. Heading for the bathroom, she stripped off her pyjamas and stepped under the shower, hoping that the thundering water would drown out her sense of foreboding.

It seemed that no matter how hard she tried to protect herself, the web she was caught in was tightening all the time. Somehow, Vieri’s control over her life was becoming more and more inescapable.

* * *

‘Benvenuto, welcome.’ Alfonso stretched out a skinny arm towards Harper, taking her hand and patting it with his own. ‘Thank you so much for coming to save me in my hour of need.’

‘It’s nothing, Alfonso.’ Harper leant in to kiss his papery cheek. ‘It will be a pleasure to stay here and look after you until Maria returns.’

‘You are very kind but I know what an imposition it must be for you. And for Vieri.’ He shot Vieri a look. ‘But I hope you will forgive the selfishness of a very old man.’

‘There is nothing to forgive, Alfonso.’ Vieri gave his godfather a hug, the reality of how frail Alfonso had become gripping his heart.

‘Harper, my dear.’ Alfonso turned to where Harper still stood beside his chair. ‘Perhaps you would like to go and check your room? My housekeeper has made it ready for you but I want to make sure everything is just as you want it before she leaves for the day.’

‘I’m sure it will be perfect.’

‘Even so.’ He touched her hand again. ‘It would put my mind at rest.’

‘Very well, I’ll go and unpack.’

Both men watched as she left the room.

‘Come and sit down, my son.’ Alfonso patted the chair beside him, speaking in his native Sicilian. ‘You are making me anxious, standing there with that forbidding look on your face. I hope this situation...’ he waved his hand around expressively ‘...isn’t inconveniencing you too much.’

‘Not at all, padrino.’ Vieri seated himself in a high-backed chair.

‘Then what? You look troubled.’

Vieri took in a breath. ‘Did you know that Donatella is back in Palermo?’ He could feel a vein pulsing in his neck at the very mention of her name.

‘Ah, yes, I did hear as much.’

‘And that doesn’t worry you?’

‘Not in the least. She knows better than to show her face here.’

‘But she will still try and make trouble,’ Vieri replied. ‘You can bet on that.’

‘Donatella Sorrentino will only make trouble if we let her, Vieri. And I have no intention of doing any such thing.’

Vieri bit down hard on his jaw. Alfonso was right. Hadn’t he already let her do just that by reacting so violently when he’d found out she had chosen Harper’s dress? He had played right into her vicious hands.

Taking a breath, he strode over to the window, gazing out at the calm vista.

‘Let it go, Vieri.’ Alfonso’s soft voice spoke behind him. ‘That woman may have blighted your past, but don’t let her blight your future.’

Vieri turned and the two men locked eyes, the air thick with words that weren’t spoken. So wise, so caring—it worried Vieri considerably that Alfonso’s view of his future was built on a construct of lies and deceit. It worried him, too, that his rosy picture would never happen. But it was too late for regrets. He had started this stupid charade, he had no choice but to see it through.

* * *

Harper sat down heavily on the bed. Her side of the bed. The housekeeper had left after Harper had insisted that the room was perfect, that there was nothing more she needed. But even though the room was perfect, the reality of the situation was far from it. Because it was evident that Harper wasn’t going to be the sole occupant of this bedroom. She would be sharing it with Vieri.

She looked around in dismay. At the two sets of towels on the bed, the two white dressing gowns on the back of the door. Sharing Vieri’s enormous hotel penthouse apartment had been bad enough. How on earth was she going to cope with sharing a bedroom—a bed? No, it couldn’t happen! Somehow the sleeping arrangements would have to be changed.

Two pairs of eyes turned in her direction as she walked back into the salon. Alfonso gestured to her to come forward. ‘I hope everything was to your satisfaction?’

‘Yes, our room is lovely.’ She ground out the words, flashing Vieri a pointed stare.

‘Bene, bene. I thought you would like it. That bed is very special, you know. It’s known as a marriage bed, hundreds of years old, I believe. Superstition has it that the couple that lie in that bed will soon be granted the blessing of a child.’ His dark eyes twinkled. ‘Although I suspect they may need to do more than just lie in it.’

‘Alfonso!’ Vieri rested his hand on his godfather’s shoulder.

‘Forgive me. But in my situation you can’t blame me for trying to speed things up a bit. I’m not old-fashioned enough to think you have to wait to be married these days to share a bed.’

Harper sat down on the sofa, tightly crossing her legs. How awkward was this?

‘Speaking of which, have you set a date yet?’

‘A date?’ She frowned at Alfonso, her mind still whirring with the sleeping arrangements.

‘Yes.’ Alfonso sat forward in his chair. ‘I asked Vieri if you would be so kind as to make the wedding soon. So that I might be able to attend.’

‘The w-wedding?’ She shot a horrified glance at Vieri, who steadfastly refused to meet her eyes. Instead he addressed his godfather.

‘We haven’t had the chance to discuss it yet, padrino.’

‘No? Well, there’s no time like the present.’ Clearly Alfonso wasn’t going to be deterred. ‘Why don’t we sort it out now? Harper, pass me my diary, will you? It’s in the top drawer of my desk.’

As if in a trance, Harper did as she was told, crossing the room to retrieve Alfonso’s diary and placing it in his outstretched hand.

‘Grazie, thank you, my dear. Now let me see.’ His shaky hands started to turn over the pages. ‘Ah, now how about this week?’ He turned the diary around, holding open the pages. Vieri and Harper peered at it. Harper’s heart stopped. It was a mere two weeks away. ‘Shall we say the twenty-third?’

‘The twenty-third?’ To Harper’s horror, Vieri appeared to be considering it, worse, drawing her in. ‘I think that might be possible. What do you say, Harper?’

There was a lot she wanted to say. An awful lot. But trapped between Alfonso’s hopeful gaze and Vieri’s shuttered calm she didn’t know where to begin.

‘I think that may be a little soon.’ Her voice was tight with suppressed tension. ‘Weddings take some time to organise, I believe.’

‘Sadly time is not something I have a lot of.’ Alfonso smiled weakly at her. ‘As you know.’

Harper bit down hard on her lip. How was she supposed to counter that?

‘What sort of wedding do you have in mind?’ Alfonso continued unabashed. ‘Do you envisage a lavish affair?’

‘No!’ Harper swallowed. Five minutes ago she hadn’t had any sort of wedding in mind. ‘Not at all.’

‘Well, I don’t think a small, intimate gathering will be difficult to organise. And finding a venue certainly won’t be a problem. Vieri owns several luxury hotels in Sicily alone. In fact, I have a better idea.’ He pushed himself upright. ‘Why don’t you get married here? In the castello chapel. You would be doing me the greatest honour.’

‘That is very kind of you, Alfonso. But all the arrangements, the disruption, will it not be too much for you?’ Harper fired a surreptitious glare at Vieri. Why was he not putting a stop to this nonsense right now?

‘Not at all. It will give me something to look forward to. So, is that settled, then? Saturday the twenty-third.’

Harper found herself nodding weakly.

‘Eccellente.’ Alfonso gave them both a beaming smile. ‘Now, if you will call that new nurse of mine, I think it’s time I took a nap.’

* * *

‘And just when, exactly, were you going to tell me about this wedding?’

Shaking with outrage, Harper turned on Vieri as they stepped outside into the cool air.

‘Keep your voice down.’ Linking his arm through hers, Vieri moved them away from the castello. ‘Getting hysterical is not going to help anyone.’

‘I think I have every right to be hysterical!’ Balling her hands into fists, Harper dug them further into her coat pockets. The shock of what she had just agreed to was still ringing in her ears, and having Vieri locked beside her, his towering, powerful body controlling her steps as they moved through the gardens, was doing nothing to calm her down. ‘How could you have told Alfonso we would be getting married without even asking me first?’

‘I intended to explain the situation.’ Vieri stared straight ahead, his proud profile showing nothing in the way of remorse as he moved them along the gravel pathway in the direction of the formal gardens. ‘But Alfonso got in there first.’

Explain the situation! Was that all he thought he had to do? Harper could hardly believe the man’s arrogance. She wanted to scream and shout, to beat her fists against his conceited, iron-hard chest, but she knew she had to concentrate on the practicalities. She fought to hold her voice steady. ‘This is not what I signed up for, Vieri. This is not part of the deal!’

‘I appreciate that.’ He walked them under the archway of the brick wall and into the formal gardens. ‘I realise that the terms of our agreement will need to be renegotiated.’

‘Renegotiated?’ Harper brought them to a sudden stop. ‘Do you really think that’s all there is to it?’ Her eyes flashed with fire. ‘Do you really think I will agree to marry you, just like that, without you even having the courtesy to ask me?’

‘Unless I am mistaken, it would seem you have already agreed.’ Vieri met her blazing temper with cold, calculating eyes.

With the blood boiling in her veins, Harper didn’t trust herself to speak. Because he was right, of course. She had already consented to this wedding. Acknowledging her silence with a single quirk of his dark brow, Vieri pulled her closer to him, tucking her arm against the warmth of his body as he moved them on again, between the towering box topiary. Reaching a stone bench, he released her and waited for her to sit down before seating himself beside her.

‘Look, Harper, this wedding was not my idea but we can make it work.’ His voice was low, confident. ‘I know how fond you are of Alfonso. I know you would do anything to make his final weeks happy.’ She could feel him scanning her grim profile, sense how sure he was of himself. Of her. Because, of course, she would do anything for Alfonso. Including marrying this darkly dangerous man.

‘Financially I will make it worth your while,’ he continued smoothly. ‘You will be fully recompensed for your inconvenience.’

‘I don’t want your money!’ Leaping to her feet, Harper rounded on him. ‘And having to marry you is not an inconvenience. It’s a total nightmare!’

She turned away, biting down on her lip to try and stop it from trembling. That had come out all wrong, had revealed far too much. Somehow her thin veil of protection had slipped, revealing her dangerously turbulent feelings beneath.

‘Not necessarily.’ Behind her she heard Vieri get to his feet, his voice infuriatingly calm.

‘No?’ She spun around. ‘How can you say that? This whole thing has got completely out of hand. Quite apart from the marriage, you do realise that Alfonso expects us to share a bedroom while we are staying at the castello?’

‘I gathered as much.’ Vieri’s intense stare found hers, the memory of last night after the ball, of what had so nearly happened between them, shining in their deep blue depths.

‘So what exactly do you intend to do about that?’ Harper hurriedly tried to suppress the fresh flutter of panic in her chest.

Vieri’s mouth twitched before he finally spoke. ‘I will sort it out. If that’s what you want.’

‘Of course it’s what I want!’

‘Fine.’ He raised his hand dismissively, as if the matter was of no consequence, as if she was somehow being unreasonable. ‘There are more than enough rooms in this castello for us both to have our own personal space. Alfonso need never know about our sleeping arrangements.’

‘Well, see that it happens.’ She threw back her head, then had to steady herself, suddenly feeling dizzy with the madness of it all.

‘Are you okay?’ Vieri immediately noticed the pallor of her face. ‘It’s cold out here. Perhaps we should go back inside.’

‘No.’ She dug in her heels. ‘I’m going nowhere.’

‘Then let me at least warm you up.’ Suddenly he had gathered her in his arms, pulling her against the strong, muscled heat of his body.

For a second Harper let herself be held, her eyes closed in blissful surrender until the yearning for what could never be saw her struggle to release herself.

‘Actually I would like to be left on my own.’ She moved a step away and sat down heavily on the stone bench. ‘I need to think things through.’

‘As you wish.’ But he sat down beside her again. What part of alone did he not understand? Several highly charged seconds of silence rolled by.

‘Harper?’ He rested his hand on her thigh, the heat of his palm branding her skin through the fabric of her dress.

‘What?’ She deliberately moved to dislodge his hand.

‘I do understand that this is a big thing I am asking of you.’ He closed the gap between them until his thigh was pressed against hers. She could feel the warmth radiating off him, see his soft breath in the air. ‘But it doesn’t have to be such an ordeal. Alfonso knows that we are only getting married so quickly for his benefit, so he will understand if it’s a very private affair.’

‘But we will still be married in the eyes of the law.’

‘Yes, this is true. But when Alfonso...when the time comes, the marriage can be annulled.’

He had thought this all through, hadn’t he? And for some reason, that only made his calculated deceit, both to his godfather and to her, seem even worse.

‘However, if you decide that you can’t go through with it, then I will respect that decision. I will go in there and tell Alfonso the truth, this afternoon, as soon as he awakes from his nap. You will be free to go. You need never see him again.’

Harper felt her heart plummet. The thought of not even saying goodbye to Alfonso was unthinkable. But then so was the idea of confessing that they had lied to him, that the whole engagement was a sham. He would be so disappointed. No, more than that, he would be devastated. Harper knew she could never do that to him.

She dragged in a breath of cold air to steady herself.

‘Okay, I will do it.’ She forced herself to meet Vieri’s midnight stare. ‘For Alfonso’s sake, because I can’t bear to think of him upset, I will agree to marry you.’

‘Thank you.’ Taking hold of her hand, Vieri squeezed her cold fingers in his firm, warm grasp. ‘I do appreciate it.’ He rose to his feet, dropping her hand but still holding her eyes. ‘I will see to the arrangements right away.’

He turned, his job obviously done, and began to stride purposefully back towards the castello.

Harper watched his retreating figure, so tall and imposing. So unmistakeably Vieri. This impossible, arrogant, gloriously perfect specimen of manhood who had turned her life upside down. Who drove her completely crazy in every possible way. And from whom, no matter how short their so-called marriage might be, whatever might happen in the future, she feared she would never fully recover.