Lindsay stared blankly at the dark, pungent coffee in the tiny cup, wishing for the millionth time that her sister had never taken the job.
For Ruby—young, impressionable and so desperately wounded after her last disastrous relationship—the lure of a job in sun-baked Italy, in the employment of a sophisticated billionaire, had proved too tempting to turn down.
A fresh start, she’d called it.
More like ‘out of the frying pan into the fire’, Lindsay thought wearily, remembering just how hard she’d tried to persuade Ruby to see sense.
‘Alessio is a typical Sicilian male. He might seem very modern and charming, but underneath—’ she tried hard to make Ruby see the truth ‘—underneath he’s ruthless, macho and his view of women is firmly stuck in the Stone Age.’
Dark eyes staring into hers, demanding her attention.
‘You didn’t think he was so unbearable when he saved our necks that night by the Coliseum. If he and his brother hadn’t happened to be passing—’ Ruby gave an expressive shudder. ‘They were amazing. I mean it was like something out of a movie, wasn’t it? The two of them taking on that gang of thugs and they beat them easily.’
Lindsay just looked at her sister helplessly, not knowing what to say.
It was all too easy to see how Ruby might have been seduced by the romance of the whole situation, because for a short time she’d felt the same way.
Once Alessio Capelli had dispensed with the gang who had surrounded them, he’d lifted her gently but decisively to her feet, his sexy dark eyes faintly quizzical as he’d studied her in the dim light.
For that one breathlessly exciting moment, she’d forgotten who, and where, she was.
With his broad shoulders and superior height, he’d seemed so powerful and safe that she’d actually swayed towards him, driven by the delicious and unfamiliar curl of desire low in her pelvis.
Looking back on it now, she realised that she probably would have been safer with the gang that had attacked them.
Fortunately for her, Alessio had released her before she could make a complete and utter fool of herself, but not before he’d awakened a part of Lindsay that she’d previously refused to recognise.
The two brothers had taken them to the bar of the most expensive hotel in Rome, a venue so exclusive that Lindsay wouldn’t have had the courage to put her toe inside the door of such a place if she hadn’t been with them.
Overawed by the opulent surroundings, it had been several minutes before she’d noticed the deference of everyone around her and several more minutes to realise that the arrogant, powerful man currently extending a glass of champagne in her direction actually owned the hotel. Vastly entertained by the fact that she had no idea who he was, he’d introduced himself properly and it was at that point that everything had fallen apart for her.
Alessio Capelli.
Of all the men who could have come to her rescue, it had been Alessio Capelli, the ruthless divorce lawyer who had a reputation for protecting his male clients from ‘gold-digging’ women.
The irony was, she knew him. Their paths had crossed professionally. They’d never met in person, but they’d been interviewed on several occasions by reporters keen to publicise their opposing views on relationships. And as she’d familiarised herself with his opinions, Lindsay had gritted her teeth and fumed. When asked to comment on some of her techniques for predicting marital success he’d been scathing and derogatory in his remarks.
And as if that weren’t enough, she’d worked with some of his clients on an individual basis. She’d seen first-hand some of the damage he’d wrought.
‘Alessio Capelli crushes women,’ she told her sister flatly, but Ruby simply shrugged.
‘Not all women. Just the greedy ones. You didn’t think he was so objectionable when he used his muscle to save you from that lowlife. I bet he’s a fantastic kisser.’ Ruby gave her a wicked look. ‘Rumour has it that what Alessio Capelli doesn’t know about seducing women isn’t worth knowing. Come on, Linny. I know you always use logic and common sense, but you have to admit he’s gorgeous. And if you don’t like your men dark and intimidating, there’s always his cute younger brother…’
Lindsay clamped her lips together, deciding not to point out that only two weeks earlier Ruby had been so devastated over the end of a relationship that she hadn’t seen the point of living.
‘Ruby—try and be a bit more analytical,’ she urged. ‘Think beyond the handsome face. Do you have the same views on life? Do you share the same values? Do you have what it takes to sustain a relationship?’
‘I’m just having fun, Linny. Not planning a wedding,’ Ruby snapped at her. ‘You’re so serious. You should have an affair with Alessio Capelli. It would do you good. A week of sun, sex and hot Sicilian man.’
Closely followed by a lifetime of heartache.
‘I’m not interested in a meaningless affair with someone whose values I don’t respect. And we’re talking about you, not me. I just don’t think you should get involved with anyone else for a while,’ Lindsay said tactfully and Ruby’s eyes clouded slightly.
‘Don’t worry. I’ve learned that lesson.’
Lindsay stared at her cold coffee now.
Had she?
Or was Ruby in the middle of yet another wild, crazy affair that would undoubtedly lead to another major emotional crash?
Her thoughts driving her almost demented with worry, Lindsay reached for her phone and called everyone she knew one more time. But still no one had any news of Ruby.
So now what?
Feeling helpless, she glanced at the clock on the wall of the café. Ruby had less than an hour to make the flight.
She tried to think positively.
There was still time for Ruby to turn up. She knew the importance of reliability in the employment market—she wouldn’t let Alessio Capelli down…
Suddenly Lindsay felt an ominous stabbing pain above her eye and winced as she recognised the beginnings of a migraine. Oh, no, not now. And not here, in a foreign country where nothing was familiar.
Gritting her teeth, she reached into her bag for the packet of tablets she carried with her. But there was no sign of them. With a frown, she emptied the contents of her handbag over the table and rummaged through it. No tablets.
Infuriated with herself for forgetting to replenish the tablets last time she’d used them, Lindsay swept the items back into her handbag and tried to think clearly. Normally she’d take a tablet, lie down for a few hours and emerge revived.
This time she had no tablets and the hands of the clock were relentlessly moving towards four o’clock. She didn’t have time for a headache. She knew what Ruby was capable of doing—
Drenched with sudden panic, Lindsay forced herself to breathe slowly—to think.
What could she do?
With something approaching desperation, Lindsay pressed her fingers against her temples, searching for alternative options.
The knifelike pain in her head increased and she closed her eyes. But with her eyes closed she had a sudden vision of Ruby’s pale lifeless face and she shot to her feet in the grip of an overwhelming panic. It took a moment to wrestle her overactive imagination back under control and remind herself that she had no evidence that anything bad had happened to Ruby.
There was probably a perfectly simple explanation for all this.
Perhaps her phone was broken, or perhaps she’d simply