Desired: Love in London Series 3: New Adult Romance (6 page)

A
couple of days later
, Mia was informed that their PI had completed preliminary background checks on Louise as she listened intently to the information her mother was passing on.

“So mamma, you’re definitely saying that she was known to frequent those bars in Gino’s area and go home with random men?”

“Seems that way, Mia. It’s confirmed now. Apart from the fact that she was choosy about who she went home with. Looks like there are a few bars near Gino’s home, which tend to attract the wealthier clientele. One of the bartenders recalls seeing her face quite a bit over the summer, often going home with different men, but then she simply disappeared.”

Mia was speechless. “Oh my God, she sounds like a total gold-digger. And a tramp.” She exhaled loudly. “Any luck with the phone records?”

“Not yet, but hopefully, within the next few days. Seems like she changed her phone provider and number within the last two months or so.”

“She’s bad news, mamma.”

“I think that too, Mia. But for Gino’s sake, let’s try to remain neutral until we get more proof.”

M
ia’s heartbreak
was soon turning to rage. She paced around her front room, arms crossed as she considered the information. With a quick glance at her wristwatch, it was still early evening so, without thinking it through, she grabbed her bag and raced out of her flat. She pulled the piece of paper from her pocket which held the details of Louise’s home address, which not too far from Gino’s place.

She jumped into a taxi and settled back into her seat as she thought about what she was going to say to Louise. She was enraged that this woman swept into her life and stole Gino from right under her. It was clear she was just looking for a meal ticket and the pregnancy helped trap Gino perfectly into her web. Mia chewed her lip as they approached the new-build flats where Louise was living.

She stepped out of the taxi and looked around for the door number and then walked with purpose towards the entrance.

She was about to buzz Louise’s door when the communal door swung open and a young man walked outside, holding the door open for her. She thanked him and made her way up the stairs to the second floor, noting that there were four flats in this block.

Taking a breath, spurred on by her anger, Mia rapidly tapped on the door. She strained her ears for some sound to indicate Louise was in. A minute passed by and Mia knocked a little bit more forcefully, stepping back and looking around at the same time.

To her surprise, the door flung open. Mia’s mouth dropped as she faced Louise, dressed in only heels and a flimsy black negligee. Her smile dropped as soon as she saw Mia, but she quickly recovered.

“Mia! What are you doing here?” She seemed friendly enough, but her eyes gave her away as she looked at Mia with distaste.

“Can I come in, Louise? We need to talk.” Mia tried her best to remain calm as she watched her peer over her shoulder.

“Um. No. I mean, no, now isn’t a good time, Mia.” She smiled sweetly, but Mia could see beneath her facade. “The thing is, I’m expecting, Gino…so if you don’t mind…” She trailed off, giving Mia a conspiratorial wink.

Mia felt herself flush as pain stabbed through her.
What was going on
, she wondered. She felt deflated and was about to turn around when she heard footsteps rushing towards her. Mia turned, and her eyes widened as she saw Gino approaching, his face filled with concern.

It felt as if everything slowed down as Mia caught the look of anger directed at her from Louise and the look of surprise from Gino.

“Mia, what are you doing here?” Gino stood in front of Mia and looked over at Louise, who was standing there with a seductive smile on her face.

“Er, I wanted to talk to Louise…but it seems like you two have other plans…” Mia began to walk away, her face burning with anger.

“Wait!” Gino called out to her as he spun to Louise.

“What are you doing, Louise? I’ve rushed over because you said you were in pain. You said something was wrong with the baby!” His voice was laced with steel as he glared at her. “What the hell are you wearing? I’m supposed to be taking you to the hospital.”

Louise visibly shrank back from the anger in his voice as Mia watched on, silently. It was becoming apparent that this was another ploy to seduce Gino. She couldn’t help the words that fell out of her mouth as she stepped forward.

“Let me get this straight. You told Gino that something was wrong with the baby? And all the while you were just planning on seducing him?” Mia gestured with her hands, her anger spilling over. “I’m sorry, but that is just
low
.”

“Get out, you bitch! How dare you.” Louise pointed at Mia as her face contorted with rage.

“Trust me, I’ve no plan to stick around. You’re making a fool of yourself, Louise. I’m onto you.”

Gino looked at Mia, his face still a mask of anger and confusion. “What are you talking about?” She flinched at the tone of his voice, feeling the sting of tears at the back of her eyes. He had never spoken to her so harshly and she blinked furiously.

“Gino, she’s playing you.” She spoke softly, but clearly looked into his grey eyes.

“Get out, I said!” Louise stepped outside her flat. She turned to Gino, immediately softening her face. “I don’t know what she’s talking about, sweetie.” She approached him and held out her hand to him. “Come on, let’s go in. I’m fine now, it was just some twinges.” She batted her lashes at him as he visibly recoiled back. Her mouth bent at the corners of her mouth.

“I don’t have time for this, Louise. I was in a late meeting and I left immediately when I received your call.” His voice softened a little and Mia looked away. “I’m glad you’re both okay.”

That’s it, she’d heard enough. Without another word, Mia walked away. She heard Gino calling after her, but didn’t stop as she quickly made her way downstairs and outside into the fresh air. Disappointed that Gino didn’t chase after her, she had no intentions of sticking around.

Quickly hailing a passing cab, she got in and asked the driver to take her home. Suddenly the adrenaline which fuelled her earlier had worn off, replaced with doubt at the situation. She found herself questioning her actions, wondering if she had stepped over the mark. After all, she rationalised, this really wasn’t her business.

She groaned and placed her hand over her eyes, contemplating her next move, if there was to be one. Gino was a smart man and he was obviously annoyed with her for berating Louise, which hurt. She sighed as she heard her phone ringing. Opening her eyes, she looked at the caller display. Gino. She was tempted to ignore it, but knew he would keep trying.

“Gino.” Her tone was flat.

“Mia, what’s going on? Why were you at Louise’s flat?”

“Well, perhaps if you would have heard me out, instead of taking her side, then maybe I would have explained.” She couldn’t help the fury and hurt in her tone. She heard him sigh deeply, could imagine him running his hands through his hair in frustration.

“Mia, I called out to you to stop. But then Louise burst into tears, claiming that I didn’t care for the baby and that we are causing unnecessary stress on her.”

Mia was silent.

“Are you there?”

“Yes, I’m here.” Her voice was dejected. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to cause any trouble.”

“It’s okay. I appreciate you looking out for me…but perhaps it’s best you stay away from her… I’d hate for anything to happen to the baby.”

Mia’s felt a lump in her throat and forced herself to swallow. She got the message loud and clear. “I’m sorry, Gino. It won’t happen again.” She ended the call, not waiting for his response. It was clear that he was already attached to his un-born child and she guessed that it would only be a matter of time before he would feel the same way about Louise.

Mia had to face facts. She had lost him. There was no point in trying to save him or fight a battle that he clearly didn’t want.

C
hristmas was soon approaching
and Mia made her way to work, glancing at the beautiful displays in the shop windows. She smiled sadly. Christmas was normally her favourite holiday, but this year she felt nothing but the blues. She ducked her head as she went along her way, arriving extra early at her studio. Fiddling in her pocket for her keys, she tried to balance her coffee and bag and then heard her phone ring.

Quickly entering, she placed her coffee on the table and grabbed her phone.

“Mamma, Ciao! Is everything okay?”

“Ciao, Mia. I was hoping to catch you early. I have news about, Gino, cara.”

Mia’s heart pulled at the mention of his name. It had been three days since he had basically told her to back off. She sighed. “Mamma. I don’t think I want to be a part of this anymore.”

“Mia, what’s the matter? Has something happened?”

Mia told her of the events, which took place a few days ago. “He wants to be left alone, mamma. I tried to help, but he doesn’t want it…” She trailed off as her mother listened in silence.

“Mia, I think what you are about to see will change your mind. Following this information, we are happy to step in, but I think it will be best coming from you. Put your computer on — I’m emailing you some phone records.”

Her interest piqued at the serious nature of her mother’s tone, Mia quickly fired up her laptop and waited patiently for the email.

She sat watching the screen, drumming her fingers on the counter as she sipped her coffee. A minute passed and nothing had come through yet. Frustrated, Mia kept refreshing the page until finally, the email she awaited, arrived.

With a pounding heart, she clicked on the attachment, scanning her mother’s message as she waited for it to load up.

Minutes later, Mia sat back in her chair, eyes wide open at the information presented to her. She felt her blood turned to ice. Picking up the phone, she spoke to her mother, discussing the details. Afterwards, she knew what had to be done.

With trembling fingers she dialled Nico’s number. To her disappointment, she got her brother’s voicemail so she left a message to call her back urgently. Once again, Mia sat drumming her fingers on the table. There was no way she would be able to concentrate on work now — especially armed with this new information. She jumped when her phone rang and, seeing Nico’s name on the display, she quickly picked up.

“Ciao Mia. Sorry, I was on the phone with the team in Milan. Is everything okay?”

“Hi. Oh yes, sorry.” She forgot about his weekly conference call.

“No problem. We were wrapping up anyway. You sound strange.”

She took a deep breath. “Nico, I need to see you urgently.”

“What’s going on?” His tone changed and his voice was immediately authoritative, taking charge of the situation.

“I’d rather tell you in person. This is huge. Please come, I’m at my studio.”

Mia could hear him giving instructions to his driver to turn the car around. “Hold tight. I’ll be there in twenty.”

W
hilst she was waiting
for Nico, her assistant, Kate, walked in, wrapped up from the cold and smiling as she acknowledged Mia. However, her smile immediately turned into a frown as she rushed over, quickly discarding her hat and scarf. “Mia, are you feeling, alright? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Mia glanced at her, forcing a smile. “I’m okay, thanks, Kate. Just had some unexpected news so I’ll be heading out for a bit this morning. I’ll be back later.”

“Sure, take your time. Is there anything I can do?”

“No, thank you, Kate.” She smiled kindly at her assistant, thinking how great it would be to have her around permanently. An idea formed in her head, but she quickly dismissed the thought for another day. She would work out the finer details and speak to Kate in a week or so.

The buzzer went to the studio and Mia grabbed her coat and laptop. Swinging the door open, she was pleased to see Nico standing there.

“Mia, where can we talk?”

She nodded her head gravely and led him to the coffee shop a few metres down the road. He quickly ordered them two coffees as Mia located a quieter table for them at the back of the cafe. She turned on her laptop, waiting for it to load up as he walked back with their drinks.

“Okay, the suspense is killing me. Talk now.”

Mia took a small sip of her coffee. “When I went home recently, mamma and I had a long talk about Gino.”

Nico nodded, waiting for her to continue. “I thought this might be about him.”

“We both agreed that we didn’t like the situation that he has been placed in with Louise.”

“But Mia, we’ve talked about this. There is a baby involved now and we have to at least try to get on with Louise.” He frowned at her.

“Hear me out, Nico.”

“Sorry, please proceed.” He put a cube of sugar in his coffee and Mia watched him stir the cup.

“So, and don’t freak out, but mamma and papà decided to do a little digging around into her background.”

“What type of digging around? As in use the family PI service? Does Gino know anything about this?” He seemed slightly taken aback.

Mia looked down at her cup and spoke softly. “No, we didn’t think it would be a good idea to tell him. Especially, if we didn’t find anything. The thing is, all of us — the girls — and our parents included, suspected that something wasn’t quite right. So we felt justified looking into her background, if only to protect Gino.”

She proceeded to tell him about the conversation she had overheard at the restaurant and then the incident outside Louise’s flat. He listened intently.

“So mamma called me this morning and basically, Nico, all our suspicions were confirmed. Here, take a look at this.”

Nico read through the information. His face paled and he let out a low whistle. “Mio Dio.” He shook his head in bewilderment. “This is fucking huge.” Pinching his eyebrows together, he thought for a while and then together they formed a plan. A little while later, he made a call, nodding to Mia when he was finished.

“One hour. Let’s head to Canary Wharf.” He called his driver, asking him to collect them now.

T
hey walked
into the huge glass building that was home to one of the biggest banks in London. Nico announced themselves to the receptionist and they took a seat in the waiting area. It wasn’t long before a tall man, similar to Nico’s age, brusquely walked across the foyer, stretching out his hand in greeting.

“Mr. Moretti. Pleasure to meet you. And Miss. Moretti, you too. How may I help you both?”

Both Mia and Nico stood to shake his hand. “Thanks for seeing us, Mr. Brown. As mentioned briefly, this is a personal matter. Is there somewhere we can talk privately?”

“Of course, Mr. Moretti - there is a meeting room here on the ground floor. Let’s go in there.”

“Great. And, please, call me Nico.” He smiled as they followed Jack Brown to the meeting room, which was thankfully vacant.

They sat across from each other on the long mahogany table as Jack tried his best to appear normal, even though his eyes were wary.

Nico looked at Mia and she nodded, allowing him to lead the conversation.

“Mr. Brown—“

‘Please, Jack is fine.” He smiled at both of them, holding up the palm of his hand.

“Sure. So Jack, I understand you know or used to know Louise Knight?”

Jack frowned as he slowly nodded his head. “Yes, I did know her, very briefly.” He muttered something under his breath.

“Sorry, I didn’t catch that?”

Jack’s face coloured slightly. “I apologise. I was just saying good riddance. May I ask why you are asking me about her? We only had a very brief fling.” He looked at them expectantly, waiting for more information.

“Jack, I understand she became pregnant when she was with you?”

His face reddened further. “Yes, that’s correct. But we took care of it.”

“Took care of it?” This time it was Mia who looked on with confusion.

Jack sighed as he sat back in his chair, looking at both of them. “Mr. Moretti, I deeply respect you, which is why I am entertaining this conversation about my personal life. I don’t know why either of you are here, but I can assure you that I haven’t spoken to her in over two months. In fact, after we took care of the, er, situation, I’ve never heard from her. I tried to call a couple of times to check on her — you know, to do the right thing — but her phone line was dead. I even stopped by her place once but her neighbour told me she had moved out. Honestly, I don’t understand why you’re here?”

“Jack, when you say you took care of the pregnancy, can you tell me what you mean?”

“Well, I told her that I was not ready to become a father. I barely knew her and what I did know of her, I didn’t like. I was thinking of ending our fling anyway, when she told me she was pregnant. She pleaded with me to keep the baby but in the end, agreed to have an abortion if I paid her a lump sum to get rid of it.”

“
What?!
” Both Nico and Mia exclaimed in unison. Nico rubbed his hand over his face in frustration. “Let me get this straight, you paid her off to have an abortion?”

“I know it seems wrong, Mr. Moretti. But she promised she would go through the abortion if I paid her twenty thousand pounds.” He hung his head.

They sat in silence for a few moments. “I still don’t understand why you’re here. I’ve told you everything. What’s going on, please?”

Mia spoke softly. “I’m sorry, Jack. She never went through with the abortion.”

His face paled. “What are you talking about? I booked the appointment myself.”

“I’m sorry, Jack. She changed her mind. The clinic would have had to abide by patient confidentiality, so if she changed her mind, she might have told them not to tell you.”

Jack’s face screwed up in anger. “That stupid, lying bitch!” He pounded his fist on the table. “Where is she?”

“Jack, I’m afraid there’s more to it. It looks like she has somehow convinced my best friend that the baby is his. I’m sorry. Seems like she has played us all.”