VITTORIO'S RUNAWAY BRIDE (The Vittorio Series) (11 page)

His ploy to put some distance between them worked for all of two seconds before Alicia moved in on the pretext of straightening a floral arrangement on the coffee table.
 
She peered up at him in what Logan assumed was meant to be a seductive manner, but her bedroom eyes and pouty lips only revolted him.
 

“I begged Richard to let me redo the whole house and add some color to the drab furnishings, but he insisted my taste was too flamboyant, especially since a lot of his business associates are as uptight as he is.”
 
She gave a little shrug and curved her lips into a sexy smile.
 
“He said my talents were best confined to the bedroom and I could hardly argue with that, now could I?”
 

“So he let you decorate the bedroom?”
 
Logan asked, knowing full well the sexual innuendo was intentional.

“Yes, and I would love to show it to you sometime, but I think I heard Richard coming in.”
 

Instead of going around the sofa to retrieve her robe, Alicia leaned across it with exaggerated slowness to insure her bottom was presented to him in what could only be construed as an invitation.
 
Logan wasn’t the least bit tempted and suddenly felt doubly blessed that he had a wife who didn’t have eyes for anyone but him.
 
At the thought of Shelby, who had seduced him with nothing more than a shy smile, his expression softened.
 

It was his misfortune that Alicia stood up at that precise moment and interpreted the look on his face as one of acceptance to her less than subtle proposition that he sleep with her.

It hadn’t been a problem as long as her husband was around.
 
It was amazing to watch really, the transformation that took place the moment Richard entered the room.
 
Alicia instantly became the adoring wife, latching onto his arm like a limpet as if she was afraid there was some evil plot brewing to tear her away from him.
 
How an intelligent man like Richard could have been duped by this woman was beyond Logan’s comprehension, but it was obvious the man was crazy about her and thrived on the clinging vine routine.
 

Logan decided it wasn’t his place or his responsibility to point out Alicia’s short comings, and since he was confident he would never be tempted to sample whatever goodies she was offering, he didn’t upset Shelby by telling her what happened whenever he found himself alone with Alicia for any length of time.
 
He’d never given Shelby any cause to be jealous or feel insecure and thought she was confident in their love for each other and their marriage.  But that didn’t mean someone like Alicia couldn’t stir up the pot by giving him suggestive glances in front of Shelby and putting doubts in her head.
 
No, he thought it best at the time not to worry his wife, and because of that, he had nearly lost her.
 
 

Logan had escaped his first encounter with Alicia unscathed because Richard happen to get home before she could make any further advances, and once he saw how she acted around her husband, he thought maybe he he’d read her wrong or over reacted.
 
The second incident wasn’t dismissed so easily, and he realized now that he should have handled it differently.
 

Richard had agreed to a late meeting and was due to arrive at Logan’s office around five thirty, so it didn’t surprise him when there was a tap on the door just a few minutes before the appointed time.
 
He was, however, extremely agitated to see Alicia Delatorre slip through the doorway and lock it behind her before sauntering across the room.

He didn’t need to ask what she was up to; that was pretty evident from the plunging neckline of her slinky scarlet dress down to the matching stiletto heels.
 
Her unnaturally blonde hair was swept back into a French twist, her make-up done to perfection, and she made quite a production of swinging her curvaceous hips provocatively as she made her way towards his desk.
 
Logan rose to his feet, thoroughly shaken by the alarming certainty that Alicia intended to plop her fanny down onto his lap if he remained sitting.

“Where is Richard?”
 
he demanded in a voice that was as cold and rigid as the expression on his face.

Alicia stopped short, poising her lips into a sultry pout.
 
“Aren’t you glad to see me?”

“My meeting was with Richard, where is he?”

“He got called out of town unexpectedly and asked me to convey his apologies.”

Logan’s eyes narrowed.
 
“He asked you dress up like a call girl and come to my office in person to tell me he would not be able to make it?”

Alicia visibly bristled.
 
“This is a designer original,” she said icily, “and I assure you no one would mistake me for a high priced call girl!”

“I do not believe I said anything about being high priced,” Logan replied.

A slow smile spread across her face.
 
“What’s the matter, Logan?  Are you afraid you won’t be able to handle a night with me?”

“I think the point here is that I have no desire to spend the night with you,
Mrs. Delatorre
.”

Alicia ran her hands slowly up her body and cupped her own breasts.
 
“You honestly expect me to believe you don’t want to touch me right now?”
 
She licked her lips and moved one hand down between her thighs.
 
“I ache for you, Logan.
 
I want to feel you deep inside my hot, wet…”

A low growl rumbled in his chest as he gripped her arm and propelled her towards the door.
 
“I am a married man, and unlike you, I take my vows very seriously.”
 
He flipped the lock and yanked the door open then shoved Alicia out of his office.
 
“I love my wife and I respect Richard; that alone would keep me from taking you to bed.
 
But just for the record, I do not find you sexually attractive and would not sleep with you even if both of us were single.”
 
He nodded towards the elevators.
 
“I am sure you can find your way out.”

Logan didn’t wait for her outraged reply, although he heard enough of the very unladylike sputtering through the door after slamming it in her face.
 
He waited until he was sure she was gone before leaving his office and then drove around for a good half hour before heading home.
 
He’d needed the time to calm himself and to figure out how in the hell he was going to avoid being alone with Alicia again without throwing up any red flags that might raise suspicion with Richard.
 

Logan remembered how agitated he’d been on the drive home even after stalling for time.  But the second he stepped inside, Shelby was in his arms, the heat of her kisses melting away the tension of the day and making him forget everything except how very fortunate he was to have her as his wife.
 
Shelby was the balance in his life.
 
What other people took from him, she replenished with nothing more than a smile or a touch, and only Shelby could make him laugh when he felt weighted down by his enormous responsibilities.
 
Her love was pure and unconditional, and she’d brought him more happiness than any one man had a right to.

Logan set his glass down when he heard the soft padding of bare feet and turned around just as Shelby stepped outside.
 
She stood there for a moment looking uncertain and incredibly vulnerable but the instant he held his arms out she came to him, a radiant smile lighting her face.
 
She pressed herself close, resting her cheek against his chest while Logan gently stroked her hair.

“I don’t understand why you’re not furious with me,” she said in a wobbly voice.

“I am angry with myself,
cara mia
, not with you.”

Shelby tipped her head back.
 
“But you did nothing wrong!
 
I was the one who let my insecurities come between us and then left without even giving you a chance to explain.”

Logan cupped her face in his hands.
 
“And if I had not left you alone so much or at least made sure you knew how very much I love you, then you would not have had any insecurities to begin with.”

Shelby’s heart did a wild flip.
 
“You…you’ve never said that before.”

“I should have,” he said remorsefully.
 
“I should have told you a hundred times a day how I felt.
 
I love you, Shelby.”
 
Logan lowered his head and kissed her, softly at first and then with such fierce intensity he could feel her quivering against his own trembling body.
 
“I love you,” he whispered, repeating the words over and over as he carried her back to the bedroom.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                             ***

If it was possible to die of happiness, Shelby wouldn’t have survived the night.
 
As it was, she felt like she was soaring above the clouds because Logan was taking her home today.
 
While he and Grady loaded up her car with the things she’d packed so far, Shelby hurried into the room she has converted into a studio and shuffled all the paintings in the closet.
 
She hadn’t given them a thought the whole time Logan was here, but didn’t want him checking the rooms to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything and run across them.
 

It was a shame to hide them away really.  She thought they represented some of her best work, but they were also a sad reminder of how closely she’d come to destroying her marriage with petty, unfounded jealousy.
 
She stopped for a moment to study the last painting before tucking it away with the others and decided the next time she put Logan on canvas she would paint herself right along there beside him where she belonged!
 
Shelby closed the closet door and turned around, letting out a startled yelp when she found herself pressed up against Logan’s broad chest.

“You scared the life out of me,” she said with a nervous laugh.

Logan’s eyes shifted past her to the closet door.
 
“You are leaving your paintings and art supplies here?”

“The paintings were more for myself, and I thought it would be more convenient to leave the supplies behind rather than packing them up again when I come back here.
 
Besides, it’s not as if I don’t have plenty of supplies at home and…”
 
Shelby’s voice trailed off when Logan’s expression suddenly hardened.

“Oh, I see now,” she attempted a smile, “you didn’t keep my things.
 
Not that I blame you,” Shelby rushed to assure him, though she was terribly hurt by it.

“Shelby, I did
not
get rid of your things,” he replied irritably.
 
“It is what you said about coming back here.
 
I will not have you running off every time we have a difference of opinion or you get some silly notion in your head that I have a lover stashed somewhere.”

Shelby couldn’t help laughing despite the dark scowl on his face.
 
“I’m sorry,” she slipped her arms around his waist.
 
“I should have told you I decided to keep the cottage for
us
.”

“For us,” Logan repeated skeptically.

“Yes, I think it would be nice to have a place we can sneak off to for a few days.
 
No family or friends dropping by unannounced or business calls interrupting at the most inopportune times.
 
It would be just you and me.  Doesn’t that sound wonderful?”
 

But Logan didn’t look as if he thought it was wonderful.
 
The corners of his mouth tilted down slightly, as if she’d just told him something terribly disappointing and he was trying not to let it show.
 
Her spirits plummeted to the ground.
 
He didn’t want to spend time alone with her, at least not in an isolated beach cottage that offered no escape route when he got tired of her company.
 
An old, familiar ache began to settle in the pit of her stomach, one she had almost forgotten during the endless months they’d been apart.
 
 

“
Cara mia,”
he said with an indulgent smile, “you know how difficult it is for me to get away, just as you know my management team has to be able to reach me when they need to.”

“You have four brothers, Logan.
 
Surely one of them could cover for you every now and then so we can have some time alone.”

“Simon has relinquished the helm to me and it is my responsibility to keep the company running smoothly.
 
It requires a lot of time and dedication, and it is not something I can shuffle off to someone else whenever I feel like it.
 
You have known this from the beginning so I do not understand why you suddenly feel the need to hide away where no one can find us.”

“You found time for me when were dating,” she argued.

Logan drew in a long breath, desperately trying not to lose patience with her.
 
“Shelby, it is different now that we are married.
 
I spend my evenings and nights with you instead of leaving your place and coming back home to put in a few hours of work.”

Shelby drew away from him.
 
“But that’s just it, don’t you see?
 
Even when you
are
at home, inevitably there is family around or our evening gets disrupted by business calls.”

His brows furrowed.
 
“Are you saying my family is not welcome in our home?”