Sweet Seduction (19 page)

Antonio held his breath through the long, brittle silence.

‘You’ll always be that man.’ The pain in her face broke his heart.

She pulled free. He stood frozen, staring after her. The lift doors opened and she disappeared.

He fell back against the wall. The seconds ticked by, but it could have been minutes. The lift opened, his heart leapt. He ran down the corridor. Sergio emerged from the lift. Antonio looked past his uncle, hoping against hope Sienna was with him.

‘Sienna?’ he said, gripping his uncle by the shoulders. ‘Have you seen her?’

‘I’ve seen enough to know that you are not deserving of the Moretti name,’ the old man said, shaking himself from Antonio’s grip. Antonio’s gaze flashed to his uncle’s face. For the second time, disgusted disappointment burned back at him.

‘Mistresses, shotgun weddings, illegitimate children . . .You bring disgrace upon the family with everything you do.’ Sergio stood, his old face shattered in shame.

‘Zio, I’m sorry. I don’t have time for this,’ he said, trying to move past his uncle. He had to find Sienna before . . .

Sergio gripped his arm with surprising force. ‘You will listen to me,’ Sergio said, his voice strangled. ‘This life you lead, do you think your parents would have been proud? Do you think Rosa and I are ignorant about why you came here?’ he said, his voice cracking. ‘Rosa wanted to believe . . .’

Antonio stared into Sergio’s tired, proud eyes.

Sergio shook his head sadly. ‘You have no honour.’

‘Zio . . .’ Antonio began, but what could he say? He was everything his uncle accused him of and more. He was right. His parents would be horrified at the things he’d done.

He slid from Sergio’s grip. Why would Sienna love him? Why would anyone love him? Nausea gripped at his stomach. Sienna was right to leave. He only knew one way – to use people for his own ends. Sienna deserved more.

‘You will never get your hands on this hotel.’ The words were cold and exact.

Antonio barely heard them. He watched the old man walk slowly away. Strangely, winning the Villa Paradiso seemed unimportant.

He leant heavily against the wall. Without Sienna, nothing seemed important. He closed his eyes. She’d been so happy this morning, the wind in her hair, laughter in her face . . .

He bolted upright. What was he doing? He didn’t know whether to laugh hysterically or cry. Suddenly everything was so clear. His life was nothing without Sienna. Everything turned to hell without her. He didn’t need to shut himself away from the world – he needed Sienna. Sienna was his path back to a real life, to happiness – to love.

He froze. The air shot from his lungs.

I love her.

He ran and hurled himself down the five flights of stairs just as he’d done as a child.

I love her!

Racing through the lobby, he was vaguely aware of Sergio discreetly comforting Rosa behind the reception desk. He’d make that right later. Breaking out into the afternoon light, he looked wildly around the gardens. Nothing. He ran to the pier, the rose garden and then back towards the hotel. Breathing hard, he wiped the sweat from his face.

A flash on the hill road out of town caught his attention. His Maserati disappeared from sight, Sienna at the wheel.

Icy rain dripped down the back of Sienna’s shirt. Melbourne in the winter could be vicious. The freezing wind howled up from the Antarctic and cut through the fabric of her old black suit.

The trip home to Australia had been hell, with numerous flight delays. She’d just missed a baggage handlers’ strike in Italy only to find herself in the midst of industrial action in London. It had taken her over three days to arrive. Then, half a kilometre from the Plaza, the airport bus had broken down. Of course she could have caught a taxi and charged it to Antonio’s credit card, but she didn’t want to owe that man anything.

She stopped and wiped the rain from her eyes. The modern buildings looked dull under the muted glare of the streetlights. Not a cobblestone in sight and the excitement and wonder of Italy was now just a memory. How could she slot back into her old life? Now that she’d tasted love and passion, how could she go back to the beige confines of the Plaza?

Taking the handle of the bag, she pulled it roughly up the hill. She needed to get home, to see her father and save the hotel. Trundling her bag towards the Plaza’s entrance, she noticed the driveway had been repaired. She frowned. Where had the money come from for that?

No one staffed the entrance. Due to the financial difficulties, she’d had to let the late-night bellboy go. She reached for the door, but it swung open before she could push it.

‘Welcome to the Plaza.’ Antonio held the door, his light tone contrasting heavily with the apprehension in his eyes.

Her jetlagged body leapt to attention. Sienna’s case fell to the ground as she stared, open-mouthed, at the man who had turned her world upside down. The man who’d introduced her to everything she’d ever wanted then shattered her life.

It took every ounce of her strength to pick her bag and push past him. ‘As you can see, I’m back. You and all your cronies can leave. Now.’

‘I’m not going anywhere.’

How could he sound so annoyingly calm when the tangle of emotions flooding her body threatened to overwhelm her?

‘I’ve nothing to say to you.’ She hated the way her voice wavered.

He smiled, his eye twinkling. ‘I don’t believe that for a second.’

His fingers brushed her hand as he took the suitcase from her and put it aside. For a moment she could think of nothing more wonderful than falling into his strong arms, having him hold her close. Then the words in the report flashed before her. Exhaustion. Jetlag. Lack of sleep. They were messing with her mind. She hated him. Every smile, every kind gesture – all manipulation to get what he wanted.

He took her hand. ‘I have plenty to say to you,’ he said.

She yanked her hand from his grasp. ‘What – how the contract is null and void since I left without finishing our fake honeymoon?’ Her voice cracked.

‘Something like that.’

His smooth tone infuriated her. ‘You can shove your contract! Now I know about the fraud, I can make the hotel work without you.’

‘Good idea,’ he said. Pulling a sheaf of papers from his pocket, he held them up for her to see. She recognised the contract she’d signed a few weeks earlier. Gripping the ends, he ripped it down the middle and handed her the torn pages.

‘Consider our contract annulled,’ he announced.

Okay, she hadn’t expected that.

‘And the marriage.’ She swallowed hard. ‘I suppose it can be annulled too.’

‘No,’ he said, reaching for her coat and sliding the sodden garment from her shoulders. She was too tired and defeated to protest. The familiar scent of his citrus aftershave teased her senses.

‘I have a new proposal for you,’ he said, laying her coat over a nearby chair.

‘Who are you planning to swindle this time?’ she said tightly. ‘For all I know, you planted that accountant, organised the fraud.’ She knew that couldn’t be true, but she wanted to throw every cruel word, every accusation she could think at him. She wanted him to feel some of the pain and the hurt he’d inflicted.

‘With the evidence we’ve accumulated against him, he’ll be behind bars for a very long time,’ Antonio said.

At least that was some good news, but he wasn’t off the hook.

‘So are we going back to Villa Paradiso to continue where we left off – cheating decent people out of their life’s work?’

‘Actually, Sergio and Rosa know everything.’

Sienna stared at his smiling eyes. Had she heard him correctly? ‘They know? You told them?’

‘Every sordid detail.’

‘So the hotel . . .’

‘Will never be mine,’ he said, matter-of-factly.

‘But . . .’ She swallowed. ‘Your family . . .’

He stepped closer and tipped up her chin with his hand. ‘I want to start a new family.’

His simple touch brought tears to her eyes. Another game, another trick. He needed her back and he knew her weakness.

‘You’ll have a family.’ She stepped away, determined to keep him at bay. ‘With Amy.’ Her voice choked again.

‘The child is not mine.’

‘I don’t believe you.’

‘Amy agreed to a paternity test. I received the result after you left. She confessed she’d slept with someone else. Someone she didn’t want a child with. For some ridiculous reason, she thought I’d make a good father.’ Sienna could tell by his voice this wasn’t a lie. If it were, she’d find out soon enough – with the rest of the world.

‘Congratulations,’ she bit out. ‘No burdensome children to weigh you down – just how you wanted it.’ Grabbing the handle of her case, she marched towards the lifts. She heard Antonio barking instructions and a bellboy appeared from nowhere and took her bag. Fury coursed through her veins.

‘How dare you,’ she said, her cheeks aflame. ‘This is my hotel. What right do you think . . .’

Antonio strode to her and pulled her into his arms. He laid a finger on her lips. ‘Just listen. Then, if you want, I’ll go . . . forever.’

A lifetime without Antonio . . . beige walls . . .

She wriggled from his arms. She couldn’t think straight with his body so close to hers. His smell, his touch, his voice. She missed him in every way possible.

‘You have one minute,’ she said with more defiance than she felt.

‘Not enough – I want a lifetime,’ he said. ‘I love you, Sienna De Luca, and I’ll do anything to prove it.’

It was as though the world dropped away around her. She blinked stupidly.
Love?

‘How can I believe you?’ Angry tears sprang into her eyes. She brushed them roughly away. She couldn’t take lies about love. Not from him.

Antonio sighed.

‘All my life I’ve been filled with shame, guilt and anger. I blamed myself for my family’s death. I turned my heart to stone, as it was the only way I knew how to survive. I wouldn’t let anyone close; I couldn’t. I was afraid of letting them down or hurting them.’

The desire to comfort him nearly neutralised her anger, but she’d been down that road before and it ended in pain.

‘As for having children, I . . .’ He paused and drew in a deep breath. ‘I was afraid. But you changed all that. With you, whatever happens, we’d handle it together.’ He drew her close. ‘The episode with Amy made me realise that if I ever did have children, I could only have them with you.’

Sienna blinked hard but it didn’t help. Tears fell freely from her eyes. ‘Oh, Antonio.’ She slipped her arms about him. What did he have to gain from lying now?

He held her so tightly Sienna thought she’d stay melded to his body forever.

‘I love you
, cara
,’ he said. ‘I’ve loved you from the moment you threw me out of your office.’

A lightness filled her spirit. She laughed. ‘You have no idea how terrified I was.’

He brushed his lips over hers. ‘Not terrified any more?’

‘You’re the one who needs to be terrified,’ she said, dropping light kisses on his lips. ‘I haven’t told you how many children I want,’ she whispered in his ear.

He cupped her face in his hands. ‘I’ll have a dozen if that makes you happy,’ he said.

‘Let’s not get too carried away.’

‘Okay, let’s start with one.’ He scooped her into his arms and hit the button for the top floor.

She laughed. ‘You’re staying in the penthouse?’

‘You know me, nothing but the best.’ He walked into the lift. ‘And now I’m going to spend the rest of my life making sure you get the best.’

‘I only need you,’ she said.

He shook his head and looked serious. ‘What would have happened if I hadn’t found you?’

‘Let’s leave the past behind,’ she said. ‘Let’s go and make the future.’

‘That sounds like a good plan,’ he said.

When he kissed her, she knew all her grief and loneliness was over.

Sienna looked across the Plaza’s crowded ballroom. Everyone chatted happily. As she caught people’s eyes, they smiled and waved. Everything looked incredible. Antonio had poured money into the place since they’d been engaged – for real this time.

She’d managed the renovations and her father had gradually taken up some of the management responsibilities. They’d hired him an assistant and everything was running smoothly again, just like in the hotel’s heyday.

She turned her gaze again to the gorgeous man sitting next to her in his wedding suit. She couldn’t imagine it was possible to love a man more. Antonio had insisted on holding another wedding, the wedding she’d always dreamed of. One where her father walked her down the aisle, where friends and family packed the pews and where every word of her vows was said with a heart bursting with love.

Antonio’s arm slipped about her shoulders. ‘Have I told you how beautiful you look?’

‘Only a few hundred times, but I’ll never get sick of you saying it.’

‘You were right,’ he said.

She arched an eyebrow. ‘Right?’

‘Your mother’s wedding dress is so much better than that meringue Mario designed for you.’

She looked down at the antique lace with its hand-sewn pearls. ‘Mum would have loved this day,’ she said quietly.

‘Your father certainly seems to be enjoying himself.’

She looked up, following Antonio’s line of sight to the table off to their left. Marco De Luca had his head in close to an Italian lady, like he’d used to do when listening intently to her mother. He looked happy. Happier than she’d seen him in the past three years.

‘Who is she?’

‘My godmother, Julia Madonsa. Her husband died of cancer ten years ago.’

Her father threw his head back and laughed. Could this day be any better? Sienna hadn’t seen him laugh for years. She blotted her eyes with the tip of her napkin.

‘I can’t believe Dad’s laughing,’ she said, her voice catching slightly.

‘Julia mentioned she wanted to see a bit of Australia. Perhaps we could encourage your father to accompany her.’

‘Are you playing matchmaker?’

‘Well, I’ve done a pretty good job for myself.’ He kissed her lightly on the lips. ‘Look at that,’ he said, gazing past her.