Page 18 of ‘I Do’ for Revenge

Vito’s mouth thinned. ‘If anything it’ll highlight his exile even more. He wouldn’t dare come near me.’

Flora shivered a little. She’d seen what it was like to be on the wrong side of this man.

‘I... I’d have to think about it. I’ve made a bit of a life for myself. I know you might not think it’s much, but I have hope for the future, that I can survive. Me and Benji. We just need help getting on our feet.’

‘Which is what I’m offering you.’

‘Whatareyou offering exactly?’

A look came into his eyes that Flora didn’t like. It was something between knowing, cynical and weary.

‘What do you want?’

Her mind went blank. What she wanted she’d already got in a way—freedom from her uncle. A life of her own. She was happy to work for her own security.

‘What’s your price, Flora?’

She looked at him, eyes narrowed. There it was, the world-weary cynicism. She rebelled against it. Even after everything she’d been through, loss, pain, grief, the sterile care of her uncle and aunt, she still retained some sense of hope and a belief in good.

A little rogue inside her urged her to play him at his own game. She lifted her chin. ‘I want money, Vito. Isn’t that what everyone wants?’

Vito didn’t know why he felt so...disappointed. Underneath it all, Flora Gavia was like everyone else, every other woman. She wanted to feather her nest. And he was offering her exactly what she wanted.

Whether or not she’d manipulated him to this exact point, he still wasn’t sure and that irritated him. Even now when she was brazenly saying she wanted money.

But then...something about the expression on her face caught him. Her eyes. As if she was mocking him, or...felt sorry for him. Instantly he felt exposed.

‘What is it? What are you up to, Flora?’

She stood up. She was slight in her jeans and T-shirt, but he was acutely conscious of her curves under the thin material of her top. The tiny waist he’d noticed on the wedding day. Hips flaring out. The swell of her breasts.

This was a mistake. The woman was a serious irritation and maybe he should just let her and the damn dog—

‘You’re unbelievable,’ she said, cutting through his thoughts. ‘You’re the most cynical person I ever met. Even worse than my uncle, and that’s saying something.’

Vito’s face was like stone. ‘Everyone has a price, Flora, whether they like to admit it or not.’

Flora was about to deny that but she clamped her mouth shut. Maybe she was being hasty here. Vittorio Vitale was one of the most powerfully wealthy men in the world. There was a lot he could do. Maybe she did have a price.

She looked at him. ‘If I did want something...it wouldn’t have to be for me, would it?’

He frowned. ‘Like what?’

‘I don’t know...yet.’

Vito shrugged. ‘You get to decide what you want to do with it. No strings attached.’

Itbeing whatever price she deemed she was worth for Vito to pretend that they were back together? The notion was so ridiculous that she almost felt like laughing. But then she remembered her uncle and aunt, and how every conversation had revolved around money and who had it or didn’t.

She remembered that they had plundered her inheritance. All she’d had left of her beloved parents.

Vittorio Vitale was a man from that world. Where everything revolved around money and power and ambition. No wonder it was the only language he knew. He’d been bereaved as a young man and had set out to avenge his parents, accruing great wealth and power along the way.

Motivated by revenge. And yet, since she’d seen him again he’d shown aspects of himself that she never would have expected of the cold and ruthless man who had stood her up on their wedding day. Flora’s head was whirling.

‘I have to think about all of this... I’m going to go for a walk. I’ll find Tommaso and send him back. I’m sure he has more to be doing for you than walking my dog.’

Flora had slipped out of the room before Vito could say anything else. He couldn’t really believe that she wasn’t negotiating terms. That she wasn’t immediately naming a price.