‘I think it would be best. Grandfather would approve—if he does join us, that is.’ There was a hint of anxiety in her voice and he suppressed the urge to offer comfort.
After he’d changed for dinner, he sat on the balcony, watching the sun set over an estate that made him seethe with anger for what his parents could have had if ICE hadn’t been so mercenary. Dario Di Sione had pointedly ignored the fact that the company he now owned was only so lucrative because of the businesses it had wiped out. Liev’s father had built his up from nothing, creating an inheritance for his only son, but had been duped by the cunning and underhand deal offered by ICE. Driven by the need to put the past right, Liev had rebuilt it from nothing using his knowledge, intuition and, above all, the need to survive, making it bigger and better. His father would be proud.
‘Ready?’ Bianca asked, dragging him back from the darkness of his black thoughts.
She looked beautiful, even more vulnerable and innocent if that was possible. How could he have fallen for her soft words, her assurances that all that mattered had been that night in his villa?
‘You look lovely.’ He spoke the truth but hoped to pick up the gauntlet where she’d thrown it and lull her into a false sense of security with loving words and gestures. This time he would be well and truly in charge.
‘I don’t think Grandfather will be joining us, so I hope you don’t mind standing on ceremony just to have dinner with me.’
‘It will be a pleasure to dine one last time with my fiancée.’
‘Last time?’ She frowned, looking far more worried than she probably was. ‘So you are happy that we have achieved all that was needed?’
‘Yes. I strongly suspect that the exclusive on the island will more than clinch that deal.’ He kept his voice free of the emotion raging through him. Everything was becoming too mixed up, getting too close to something real, exposing too many vulnerabilities, and he didn’t like it one bit.
‘And the bracelet?’
Did she now regret using her virginity to secure the bracelet? He smiled, fighting hard against the urge to tell her to forget the damn bracelet, but somehow he managed to hold it all together. ‘I will have the bracelet delivered as soon as I am convinced the acceptance I wanted has been achieved.’
‘Thank goodness,’ she said as they left their suite and entered the large family dining room, the table looking odd set only for two. ‘I’m going to be so busy with Dario’s launch I won’t have time to parade our engagement.’
He pulled out her chair and the temptation to place his hands on her shoulders, to kiss the back of her neck, almost made him miss the inadvertent opening she’d just presented.
* * *
Bianca closed her eyes and held her breath as Liev lingered briefly behind her chair. She could almost feel his hands on her shoulders and his lips against her skin. Her heart rate accelerated wildly and memories of just how good his kisses were heated her body.
What had they been talking about? The phone and its launch, yes. ‘It is set to take over the market. There’s nothing else out there that can do as much from just one handset. Business will be revolutionised with it.’
As she spoke, he walked around the table to take his place opposite her, and as he came into her line of vision, she remembered who she was talking to. He might be the man she’d fallen in love with, but he was also her brother’s competitor.
‘You must be very proud of your brother.’ His dark eyes fixed her to the spot, sending a sizzle of desire spiralling through her. How could she still be feeling such attraction to him, when it was obvious that once they arrived back in New York their engagement would be over?
‘I am, yes. He’s worked hard and deserves this success.’
Liev raised his glass to her. ‘To success—for all of us.’
She had the strangest sensation that there was another meaning hidden deep in that innocent toast and had been about to ask him what he meant when the housekeeper, Alma, discreetly entered the dining room with a message from her grandfather’s nurse.
‘Is Grandfather all right?’ Bianca asked, alarmed.
‘He is, but has asked to be excused this evening. He’s very tired.’
‘Of course. That’s fine. I will slip in and say goodbye before I leave.’ She lowered her gaze to the table, worried about her grandfather. He was getting frailer each time she saw him and his disappointment at not yet having the bracelet had been painfully clear. He must have thought her visit was not primarily to introduce Liev, but to reunite him with one of his much-talked-of Lost Mistresses. Sadly, she hadn’t yet achieved that. She vowed that next time she visited would be different.
She turned her attention back to Liev. ‘Would you mind if we left as soon as possible?’
She wanted to see her grandfather before it got too late, reassure him that next time she came home she would have with her the bracelet. And she would. Whatever she had to do, she would have it for him.
BIANCA HAD NEVER been more pleased to see the weekend. Although it was Saturday, she’d still had to work. All week she’d forced herself to concentrate on Dario’s launch, now just one week away, and not think at all about the man she’d fallen in love with. She tried to put aside her grandfather’s words of advice as she’d slipped into his dimly lit room to say goodbye. What he’d seen between her and Liev was just what he had needed to see and very different from the reality. But he must have sensed something because he’d warned her about denying herself love.
With a frustrated sigh, she dragged her mind back to the present and as far away from Liev Dragunov as possible. She was just a week away from the launch and should be focused and alert, but she wasn’t. If it wasn’t the worry of her grandfather and still not being able to give him the bracelet filling her mind, it was that one night with Liev, in his arms as if nothing else had mattered, that haunted her. He took over her mind during the day and infused her dreams at night.
That one night was such a contrast to what had happened since they’d returned from the photoshoot exclusive. He’d dropped her off at her apartment after honouring his word of visiting her family home and meeting her grandfather as planned. The car journey from her Long Island family home had been tense, and each time she’d looked at him, he’d been stern, anger in every move he made, every word he’d said. He’d coolly bid her goodbye, as if they hadn’t shared even a kiss before, and as the week had progressed, his silence had lengthened and she’d begun to wonder what had gone so wrong. And worse—if she would ever get the bracelet.
He hadn’t even contacted her when their engagement exclusive hit the news stands. That photo of him about to kiss her as she’d looked adoringly into his eyes was just about everywhere she went. She thought the saying was that the camera never lied, but it did. They looked so in love, so blissfully happy in that photo, but the reality was so far removed from that loving image it made her feel sick.
She paced her apartment, replaying every word, every touch, and each time the humiliation increased. What kind of fool was she? No longer able to stay inside, she grabbed her purse and left. A walk in the sunshine would help, as would being among the families and couples who would be enjoying Central Park on a sunny Saturday afternoon. When she came back she would be more composed and would send Liev an email request for the bracelet. She didn’t think she could talk to him on the phone and much less face-to-face.
As the elevator doors swished open, her heart thudded to an abrupt stop, her breath caught in her throat, and all she could do was stand and stare. Standing there in all his magnificence was the man she’d unwittingly given her heart to. How should she greet him? What should she say to the man who’d woken the woman within her, then