Claudia gave a husky chuckle of affection as they stood at the bar waiting for their champagne glasses to be refilled. ‘My big sister, the man hater!’
Bella raised dark brows. ‘I don’t hate all men—just those that have gone through puberty!’
‘Exactly.’ Claudia grinned, her face arrestingly pretty rather than classically beautiful. ‘I wonder if I should go over and say hello to Brian and see if he can introduce me to—No, wait a minute…’ Her attention noticeably sharpened as she looked over Bella’s shoulder. ‘I do believe our darling cousin is bringing him over to meet us!’ Her face brightened excitedly.
No!
Bella couldn’t believe this was happening!
She didn’t even want to look at a man who resembled Gabriel Danti, let alone be introduced to him—
‘And last, but not least, I would like you to meet the two most beautiful women I know after Dahlia,’ Brian said affectionately behind her. ‘Bella, Claudi, can I introduce you to Dahlia’s cousin, Gabriel Danti? Gabriel, my cousins, Claudia and Isabella Scott.’
It truly was Gabriel Danti!
Bella couldn’t breathe. Her mind had gone completely blank. Her knees had turned to jelly. In fact no part of her seemed to be functioning properly.
Luckily for her Claudia had eagerly grasped on to the introduction, and was even now enthusing to Gabriel how much she had enjoyed watching him during his career in Formula One racing, giving Bella a little time to catch her breath as she heard the familiar husky accented tones as he murmured a polite but dismissive response.
Perhaps Gabriel wouldn’t remember her? Bella thought frantically.
Of course he wouldn’t remember her!
Why should he remember the student of art and history called Bella who had once shared his bed for the night?
From his lack of a phone call, she could only assume he had forgotten her instantly!
‘Bella…?’ Brian prompted lightly as she still kept her back firmly turned towards both him and his guest.
Bella drew in a deep, steadying breath, knowing that she had no choice but to turn and face the man she so longed to forget, as he had her.
Gabriel’s expression was blandly polite as Isabella Scott turned to face him. ‘Miss Scott,’ he greeted evenly as he briefly took the cool slenderness of her hand in his before releasing it. ‘Or may I call you Isabella?’
‘I—’
‘Everyone calls her Bella,’ Claudia put in helpfully.
‘May I?’ The icy darkness of Gabriel’s gaze easily held Bella captive.
Violet-coloured eyes were surrounded by thick dark lashes the same colour as that wild cascade of hair down the slender length of her spine…
Bella blinked before abruptly breaking the intensity of Gabriel’s gaze to focus on something across the room. ‘Bella is fine,’ she answered him evenly.
Isabella Scott looked self-assured and incredibly beautiful in an off-the-shoulder gown of the exact colour of her eyes, and, if Gabriel was not mistaken, her small, pointed chin was slightly raised in challenge as her gaze returned questioningly to meet the intensity of his…
‘More guests to greet,’ Brian Kingston murmured apologetically as he glanced across the room. ‘Excuse me, won’t you, Gabriel? I’m sure Bella and Claudi will be only too pleased to keep you entertained.’ He shot a teasing glance at the younger of the two cousins before turning and making his way back across the crowded room to his fiancée’s side.
Gabriel’s gaze was hooded as he continued to look steadily at Bella. ‘Will you?’
An irritated frown appeared between her eyes. ‘Will I what?’ she prompted sharply.
‘Be pleased to keep me entertained?’ he drawled with cool mockery.
Purple lights flashed in the depths of her eyes. ‘Do you need entertaining, Mr Danti?’
‘In truth, I doubt I will be staying long enough for that to be necessary,’ he conceded.
Gabriel hadn’t intended attending this party at all this evening, but at the last moment his father had asked him to represent the Danti side of the family, as he didn’t feel well enough to attend the party of his niece this evening as well as her wedding tomorrow. Gabriel had reluctantly agreed to come in his place, his intention to only stay long enough to satisfy the proprieties.
At least, it had been…
Gabriel Danti wasn’t staying long, Bella triumphed with inward relief. ‘I’m sure Claudia and I can manage a few minutes’ polite conversation, Mr Danti.’
Gabriel Danti gave a mocking inclination of his head before turning his attention to Claudia. ‘Are you enjoying your visit to San Francisco, Claudia?’
Bella allowed her breath to leave her lungs in a soft, shaky sigh as she at last felt herself released from the intensity of Gabriel’s dark, compelling gaze, and she took those few moments of respite to study him more closely.
The man she had met five years ago had possessed the broodingly magnetic good looks of his heavenly namesake. Along with a lazy self-confidence and charm that was utterly captivating, and a warm sensuality in those chocolate-brown eyes that undressed a woman at a glance.
Or, in Bella’s experience, made a woman want to undress for him at a glance!
The man talking oh-so-politely to Claudia still possessed those broodingly magnetic good looks—the livid scar down the left side of his face only added a dangerous edge to that attraction!—but his eyes were no longer that warm and sensual colour of melted chocolate but were instead a flat, unemotional brown, and the lazy charm and self-confidence had been replaced with a cold and arrogant aloofness.
As far as Bella was aware, Gabriel had never married—although, in all honesty, Bella hadn’t particularly gone out of her way to learn anything about his life in the five years since they had parted so abruptly.
What would have been the point? The two of them had shared nothing more than a night of unimaginable and unrepeatable passion.
‘Would you care for a drink?’
Bella raised startled eyes to Gabriel’s, frowning slightly as she saw the glass he held out to her. Champagne. It would have to be champagne, wouldn’t it?
‘Thank you,’ she accepted stiltedly.
Gabriel watched beneath hooded lids as Bella’s cheeks warmed with colour as she took the fluted glass from him with a deftness that prevented her fingers from coming into contact with his.
His mouth twisted derisively as he asked, ‘Is this your first visit to San Francisco, too, Bella?’
‘Yes.’
‘You like the city?’
‘Very much.’
‘Have you done much sightseeing since your arrival?’
‘Some, yes.’
Gabriel’s gaze narrowed at the economy of her replies. ‘Perhaps—’
‘Excuse me for interrupting, Gabriel,’ his cousin Dahlia, tomorrow’s bride, cut in lightly as she joined them, ‘but my brother Benito is anxious to become reacquainted with Claudia,’ she added indulgently.
‘Really?’ The younger of the two Scott sisters glanced across the room to where Benito stood watching her intently.
Bella felt herself begin to tremble as she was overwhelmed with an impending sense of doom. If Claudia left then Bella would be completely alone with—