The Wedding Charade (8 page)

Rome was a place she was familiar with, so was Milan, but Bellagio was going to be a challenge; she hoped if she stayed close to the Sabbatini villa she wouldn’t go far wrong. However, if Nic was really serious about taking her with him on all his trips abroad she would have to think of some way of coping. She couldn’t wander around like a normal tourist, reading maps and street names. She would have to stay in the hotel and fill in the time rather than risk exposing her defect. She would rather die than have Nic know she was severely dyslexic. No one knew. It was her shameful little secret.

The housekeeper at Nic’s villa was austere and unwelcoming right from the moment Jade stepped through the imposing front door. Guilia Rossetti gave Jade an
up and down look that would have stripped a century of wallpaper from a wall. ‘So this is Nicolò’s future bride,’ she said, making a guttural sound of disgust in her throat. ‘He could have done much better. I read all about you. You’re not worthy of the Sabbatini name. You will bring nothing but harm and shame to him and to the family, I am sure of it.’

Jade straightened her spine and stared down the dark-eyed Italian. ‘If you want to keep working for my future husband, then I would advise you to keep your opinions to yourself.’

Jade pointed to the bags the driver had placed at the foot of the stairs. ‘You can unpack for me and then I would like a gin and tonic brought up to my room, ready and waiting for me after my shower,’ she said in a haughty tone.

The housekeeper’s eyes were like black diamonds, beady and full of loathing. ‘S
ì
,
signorina,
‘ she said through gritted teeth and bent to snatch up the bags.

Jade tossed her hair over her shoulder and wandered through the villa. It was a glorious place, beautifully decorated with gold and marble, signalling the wealth Nic and his brothers had grown up with and most probably taken for granted, just as she had done until her supply of money had been stopped. She pushed the irritating thought aside and looked at the artwork on the walls, some of which she recognised from some of her favourite masters.

The villa was three storeys high and overlooked wonderful gardens, complete with a lap pool and jacuzzi and a tennis court. Jade walked out through a set of doors into the bright April sunshine. The water of the pool sparkled and a light breeze crinkled the surface.
The lawn was a verdant expanse of green, lush and with that delicious fresh fragrance of having just been mown. A white wisteria was hanging in a scented arras from a stone wall, the hum of bees as they collected the sweet pollen filling the air. Roses were everywhere and in every shade imaginable: pinks and whites and whites blushed with pink, deep blood-red ones, mauve and yellow and apricot. The fragrance collectively was heady and intoxicating and she breathed deeply to take it in.

She walked a little farther and sat on a stone bench overlooking a fountain that had a marble Cupid figure pouring water from a pitcher which then overflowed to the base of the fountain. It was a peaceful, tranquil sound: the gentle splashing of water over centuries-old marble. The urge to paint the scene was overwhelming but she had to restrain herself as her things were still in boxes waiting to be unpacked.

When she went back inside the housekeeper was coming down the stairs. She gave Jade a caustic look. ‘I have put your things in the yellow room,’ she said. ‘After the honeymoon I will move them into Signor Sabbatini’s suite, but not before.’

Jade suddenly decided she would sleep in Nic’s bed just to annoy the housekeeper. It wouldn’t matter because Nic had already told her he wouldn’t be back in Rome before the wedding and would meet her at the church in Bellagio. ‘I am afraid you will have to do so for I am intending to sleep in my fiancé’s bed,’ she said with a don’t-dare-to-disobey-me air.

The housekeeper muttered something in Italian before she stalked off, her footsteps clacking with anger across the marble floor.

Jade let out a breath and walked up the grand staircase, her footsteps muffled as they trod on the priceless stair runner held in place by solid brass bars at the back of each step.

She found Nic’s room without any trouble. It was just as she had imagined it would be. It was huge, as was the bed, and it was decorated in brown and cream with a touch of black in the lamps and bedside tables, giving it an unmistakably masculine feel. The en suite bathroom was as big as her London flat’s bedroom and it followed the same gold and marble theme of the rest of the villa.

The shower was refreshing but she couldn’t help thinking of Nic’s naked body standing right where she was standing. Her mind pictured him with the water cascading over him, over his chest and ridged abdomen, down his hair-roughened flanks and over his taut buttocks and the proud male heart of him. Her breath caught in her throat and she quickly turned off the water and reached for one of the big fluffy towels that was as big as a sheet.

When Jade came back into Nic’s bedroom it was obvious the housekeeper had failed to bring her things through. She drew in an angry breath and stalked out to the landing. ‘Guilia?’ Her voice echoed through the villa. ‘Will you come up here immediately and do as I asked you to do? ‘

There was no response.

Jade stormed to the yellow room and, dropping her wet towel on the floor, rummaged through the wardrobe for something to wear. She didn’t bother drying her hair but left it loose to dry naturally. She didn’t bother with
make-up either. She never did if she wasn’t expecting anyone to be around or she wasn’t going out.

There was no sign of the housekeeper downstairs, although Jade did see a note propped up against the kettle. She looked at it, wondering what the housekeeper had written. The handwriting looked as if it had been done quickly and crossly, but if it was in Italian or English, she couldn’t quite tell. She scrunched it into a ball and left it on the bench.

She filled in the rest of the evening by sorting some of her paints and sketchbook into a smaller bag to take with her to Bellagio. She had seen enough travel shows to know how picturesque the Italian lakes district was. It was the one part of her honeymoon—such as it was—she was looking forward to.

After a light supper of chicken and salad she had found in the fridge, she made her way back upstairs to bed. The villa was scarily empty. There was no sound apart from the ticking of an ormolu clock on a French lacquered table on the second landing.

She slipped out of her jeans and loose-fitting top, her bra and knickers adding to the pile on the floor. The sheets were smooth and cool and fresh and, within seconds of putting her head down on the feather pillows, she felt her eyelids going down as if weighted by anvils.

Jade stretched out a leg and froze. Her eyes flew open and she sat bolt upright. ‘What the hell are you doing here?’ she asked as Nic opened one sleepy eye from right beside her.

He propped himself up on one elbow. ‘Where else would I be?’ he asked. ‘This is my bed.’

‘I …I know but you’re not supposed to be here now! ‘ she said, pulling her legs out of the reach of his long, strong hairy ones.

He sat up in the bed, the sheet that had been covering him slipping to just below his navel. Jade saw the dark masculine hair that arrowed down beneath the sheet and her stomach did a jerky little somersault. He was as naked as she was. She could practically see the outline of his maleness.

‘I came back by private jet after I got a call from my housekeeper,’ he said. ‘She refuses to work for me while you are in residence. What on earth did you say to her?’

Jade pushed her lips out in a pout. ‘She was awful to me from the moment I stepped in the door. She refused to do what I asked and she called me horrible names.’

Nic pushed back the sheet and rose from the bed. Jade swallowed as she saw the masculine perfection of his body. He was so toned and taut, so powerfully male in every plane and contour.

He slipped on a lightweight bathrobe and tied the ends around his waist as he looked down at her in the bed. ‘This has to stop, Jade. You can’t act like this. Don’t you understand? You have to take responsibility for your actions.’

‘My
actions?’ she said indignantly. ‘What about hers? She’s your employee so she should have more respect. It shouldn’t matter who you marry. She should accept your future bride without question or snide and insulting comments.’

‘I am afraid there are times in life when you have to
earn respect,’ Nic said. ‘It doesn’t come automatically just because of whom you are married to or how much you earn or where you were born.’

She gave him a mutinous scowl. ‘I am not going to kowtow to the cleaning staff just so they’ll be nice to me. I will do what I want.’

Nic grasped the end of the sheet and ripped it from the bed. He smiled at her shocked expression. She looked like an outraged virgin about to be ravaged by a devilish suitor. ‘Do I have to teach you some manners myself, my naughty little wife-to-be?’ he asked as he tugged her down by one ankle until she was lying between his open thighs as he stood at the end of the bed.

Her slim throat rose and fell and her breasts, which she had so brazenly flashed at him only days ago, she was now struggling to cover with her hands. Her cheeks were stained a delicate shade of pink and her eyes were wide and uncertain, their long dark lashes giving her a Bambi look that was totally captivating. ‘Wh… what do you think you’re doing?’ she asked in a high-pitched strained sort of voice.

‘I thought I might try the goods before I buy since they are right here in my bed for my pleasure,’ he said, stroking his hand up the smooth length of her leg from ankle to calf. ‘That was your intention, wasn’t it? To get my attention? Well, you got it, baby. I am here and I am all yours.’

She tried to kick out at him but his fingers locked around her ankle. She kicked out with her other leg but he caught that slim ankle too and held it firm.

‘Let me go, you arrogant bastard!’ she said, struggling like a wildcat.

‘Manners, Jade,’ Nic said silkily. ‘You will learn to speak to me with respect.’

Her face was a picture of rage, all flashing green cat’s eyes and white teeth bared in a snarl. ‘I’ll never forgive you for this,’ she said. ‘If you lay even one finger on me I will scratch your damn eyes out.’

‘I bet you say that to all your lovers,’ he said with a mocking smile.

She fought him with a strength he didn’t realise someone of her delicate frame could possess. She bucked and arched and jerked until he had to let go in case she hurt herself. She crawled away from him like a scuttling crab, scooping up the sheet he had tossed from the bed and wrapping it around herself like a shroud before she faced him with a blistering glare. ‘If you think you can just do what you like when you like, you are sadly mistaken,’ she said.

‘Ditto, cara,’ he said. ‘It’s time you learned how to behave, and if I have to teach you myself I will do it.’

Jade poked her tongue out at him.

He laughed. ‘You are going to be absolute dynamite in bed. No wonder you have men following you with their tongues hanging out. I can’t wait to see what fireworks we set off together.’

She gave him a cutting look. ‘If you want to sleep with me you can damn well pay for it.’

‘I have paid for it, Jade,’ he said as he opened the door to leave. He gave her one last up and down stripping look and added, ‘I paid for you with my freedom and I expect to collect on it as soon as we are officially married.’

Jade winced as the door closed on his exit. Surely he didn’t mean it? He wouldn’t insist on sleeping with her
if she didn’t want to. She bit her lip. The trouble was, she did want to.

She wanted to very much.

When Jade came downstairs the next morning Nic was swimming in the lap pool. She watched him from the windows of the breakfast room, his bronzed body carving the water like an Olympic athlete. He made her floundering efforts to stay afloat seem rather pathetic in comparison. It was another one of her failings. She had never learned to swim with any proficiency.

She turned away with a sigh and went to the kitchen. Her supper things were still on the bench where she had left them, so too was a glass Nic had obviously used to have some orange juice before his morning swim. She gave a little shrug of indifference and turned away.

Nic came in through from the doors that led to the terrace. He was naked from the waist up, a towel hanging from his lean hips. ‘Is breakfast ready yet?’ he asked, pushing back his wet hair with one of his hands.

Jade frowned. ‘Pardon me? ‘

He nodded towards the breakfast room. ‘Coffee and fruit to start with and then some fresh rolls,’ he said. ‘I’ll expect you to have it ready by the time I come back from my shower.’

She opened her eyes wide. ‘Are you expecting
me
to wait on you?’

‘Well, it was you who caused the housekeeper to leave in a huff,’ he reminded her. ‘It’s only fair you take over her role until I can find someone to replace her.’

Jade bristled in outrage. ‘I will do no such thing. Get your own stupid breakfast.’

He eyeballed her until she felt the base of her spine
start to tingle. ‘Breakfast, Jade, and step on it. I have an important meeting at my office this morning.’

She pressed her lips together, glaring at him, daring him to make her do his bidding. The air crackled with electricity as their strong wills collided. She felt the power of it, the tension escalating along with her heart rate. She was not going to be a slave to him. He was not going to order her about like some servant in his employ.

She smiled to herself as she planned her next move. She would show him just how little he could control her.

Nic came over to where she was standing. He stopped right in front of her, holding her defiant gaze with the steely determination of his. ‘Do I have to repeat myself?’ he asked.

Jade put on a meekly obedient face. ‘It’ll be ready in five minutes,’ she said.

‘Good girl,’ he said and flicked her cheek with a gentle finger before he left the room.

Jade brewed some coffee and then sliced up some fruit and set it on a plate. She found the fresh rolls in a paper bag on the bench. She assumed someone from the bakery had delivered them earlier that morning. She carried a tray with everything on it into the breakfast room and set it out on the table that overlooked the sunny terrace.