Page 20 of ‘I Do’ for Revenge

She said, ‘You know you’re an impressive guy, but I’m not here to be impressed.’

Vito was struck once again by the way she seemed to be so determined not to take advantage of his interest. To flirt with him.

Curious, he asked, ‘What do you want for yourself?’

She shook her head. ‘Nothing, really. Oh, no, wait, I’ll need help with vet bills for Benji...but I’ll pay you back for that when I can.’

‘The dog. And the women’s aid centre. Nothing for you.’

She looked at him as if he were talking in tongues. ‘I’ve never had anything...so I’m not sure what you mean. My uncle put a roof over my head and hired tutors. I believed that he used my inheritance for that. Now I know he used it for a lot more. But I can’t be bitter about it because what’s the point? The money is gone. He got his due in the end. I can’t say I’m sorry that he is where he is.’

‘But what aboutyourfuture?’

Now Flora looked shy. ‘I’d like to do some kind of a course. I’ve always been interested in design and graphics. I helped the women’s aid centre come up with a new logo.’

‘I could pay for a course.’

Flora shook her head again. ‘I know you could, without even blinking, but my independence is important to me. My whole life was spent feeling obligated to my uncle. He never let me forget that he was taking me in, caring for me—’

‘While embezzling you,’ Vito pointed out.

‘Yes. That too. But if I do a course, I want to pay for it myself. I’ll get a job and make my own way. Maybe you could just help with some references or something like that...’

Vito couldn’t quite compute this. If Flora was playing a game, it was a very long one. He should know—that was what he’d done with her uncle. But, in his gut, he felt he knew the answer. There was no game here.

For a disconcerting second, Vito felt as if the ground beneath him were shifting. Moving. As if he might have to put out a hand to steady himself. But the only thing within reach was her. And he hadn’t had to use anyone to steady himself in a long time. Hadn’t needed it.

He pushed a piece of paper and a pen across the desk. ‘Write down your contact at the women’s aid centre and I’ll put my team in touch. They’ll set up a meeting and we can ascertain the best way to go about helping them.’

Flora sat down on the chair behind her, almost as if the stuffing were knocked out of her. ‘That’s really amazing. Thank you.’ She wrote down a name and pushed the paper back.

Vito felt something unfamiliar in his chest. A glow. Warmth. Then a little line furrowed between her brows and she said hesitantly, ‘So how would this work exactly? How would we show people that we’re...together?’

Flora still felt a little as if the wind had been knocked out of her. She couldn’t believe that Vito was agreeing to her request with such speed and generosity. Okay, so he was rich enough to do something like this, but she wasn’t used to rich people being generous. Her uncle had been one of the meanest people she’d ever known.

He perched on the edge of the table now and his thigh was in her peripheral vision. She had to fight not to let her gaze drop.

He said, ‘We’ll go to social events together. Which will mean being photographed together. Which will inevitably draw interest once they realise who you are...but we can spin it that after the wedding was called off, we met again and reconnected and a real relationship grew out of the ashes of the business deal.’

He wassocynical. ‘You sound like you have it figured out.’

He shrugged lightly. ‘We need to be prepared because the press interest will be intense. But I’ll make it clear that it has nothing to do with your uncle or mending any bridges.’

Flora felt a small pang for her uncle but then quashed it. He didn’t deserve her concern or sympathy. Her own father had moved away from Italy to get away from his brother, not liking his business methods, and the only reason Flora had ended up with him was because her parents obviously hadn’t expected that something so tragic as a fatal accident would befall them, and there had been no guardian mentioned in their will. Her uncle had been her only next of kin.

It was only in the last six months that his act of benevolence in taking her in had taken on much darker hues.

She forced her mind back to what Vito was saying. ‘So we’d just have to appear together...but won’t people know we’re not together when they see us? We’re not a couple.’

A gleam came into Vito’s eye. It made Flora’s skin feel suddenly tight and prickly. He said, ‘We’ll have to make it look like we’re a couple.’

‘How, exactly?’

Vito stood up and came around the desk. He held out a hand. Flora’s heart thumped. She looked at it suspiciously. Vito said, ‘It’s just a hand, Flora, it won’t bite you.’

No, maybe not. But the thought of putting her hand in his suddenly felt like a ridiculously audacious thing to do. She lifted her hand and slipped it into his palm. His fingers closed around hers and he pulled her up to standing.

Since when had he moved so close that their bodies were practically touching? All Flora could smell was him. Musky and woodsy and spicy. Masculine. She wanted to close her eyes and breathe deep. It was an effort not to do that.