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      ‘Don’t be silly, Bella,’ he said in a silky smooth voice, the one he used to negotiate difficult deals. ‘I’m not about to make some crass pass the moment Maria goes home this evening. I might be between girlfriends right now but I am at an age where I can manage without sex for a mere month. So eat and drink up, then go have a much-needed nap.’

CHAPTER EIGHT

      BUT THAT’S THE PROBLEM, Bella wailed to herself as she dropped her eyes from his to the food. Any attentions on your part would be welcome. And the pass can be as crass as you like. Tell me you want me. Right here and now. On this table or on the floor. I won’t say no. I want you to strip off my panties and just do it. Without care. Without any words of love, or even liking.

      Dear Lord, what was happening to her here? This wasn’t her, this creature who wanted such appalling things; who suddenly craved them. Of course, it was all just in her head. It wasn’t real. If Sergio actually made a pass at her, she’d probably run a mile.

      But it wasn’t entirely in her head, was it? The heat between her thighs was real. So were the pounding of her heart and the tightening of her nipples. Those things were very real. And very upsetting.

      She had to get away. Maybe not right this second. But as soon as she could without offending Sergio. In a couple of days she would invent a phone call from Hollywood with an offer she couldn’t refuse. Meanwhile, she would keep out of his corrupting presence as much as possible. Suddenly, his going to dinner tomorrow night with that Countess woman didn’t bother her as much as it had, though she still hated the thought of his having sex with her. Which was ridiculous! Why shouldn’t he have sex with her if he wanted to? As he said, he was between girlfriends at the moment.

      But it was no use. Just the thought of Sergio having sex with that woman sent a wave of black jealousy washing through her.

      Her eyes lifted and collided with his, Bella fearful that he would see the guilty hunger in hers.

      Flustered, she said the first thing she could think of. ‘What time will dinner be tonight?’

      ‘Whatever time you like,’ he replied. ‘I didn’t want to ask Maria to cook. She’s been working very hard the last two days, cleaning the villa from top to bottom. I thought we could stroll along to the village and have dinner there. Several new restaurants have sprung up since you were last here. But if you’re too tired to go out, I could throw something together.’

      ‘You can cook?’

      He shrugged. ‘I’m a bachelor living in the twenty-first century. Of course I can cook. If you call steak and salad cooking,’ he added with a wickedly attractive grin.

      Oh, God...

      Bella didn’t trust herself to behave if they had an intimate dinner alone in the villa. Far better they dined out in public. Dining out would also guarantee that Sergio would have some decent clothes on. Who knew what he would wear here at home? The weather was hot. Maybe he’d just put on some shorts, leaving his chest bare. His gorgeous, sexy chest.

      ‘I don’t mind steak and salad,’ she said, dragging her lusty eyes away from that corrupting chest to top up her wine, ‘but I think I would like to go out. Provided I get some sleep first.’

      ‘Fine. I’m easy. You’re not eating,’ he pointed out.

      ‘Oh. No. I’m not very hungry. Just tired and thirsty.’ She swiftly lifted the wine glass to her lips and drained it dry, sighing as she put it back down on the table, hoping that the alcohol would dampen her desire and make her sleep. Scraping her chair back, she stood up, startled to find that her legs were decidedly wobbly. ‘I think I will go up to my room now.’

      ‘Take the plate with you,’ he suggested. ‘You need to eat, Bella.’

      ‘Are you saying I’m too thin?’ she snapped, having grown sensitive to comments about her eating habits in recent years. When she was stressed, she couldn’t eat. On the rare occasions she felt happy, she ate with relish, her weight going up and down like a yo-yo. She often lost more than she should, however. At the moment, she was slightly underweight. But not dangerously so.

      ‘You could afford to put on a few pounds,’ he said.

      Although the comment was honest, it still upset Bella.

      ‘And you could afford to be a little more polite,’ she shot back. ‘I expect to be criticised by the media but not my friends.’

      To give him credit, his expression was immediately remorseful. ‘You’re right,’ he said. ‘I’m sorry. I’m usually more tactful than that. I’m worried about you, that’s all. As I said earlier, you are a very beautiful woman, Bella. You would be beautiful no matter what weight you were. But it’s clear you’ve been working yourself too hard. You need to relax, and to eat, not just drink.’

      ‘Might I remind you, Sergio,’ she retorted, her dander right up now, ‘that you are not my big brother any more. My welfare is not your concern. Neither is my weight. So spare me the lectures on eating and drinking. If I wanted to be lectured I would have stayed in Sydney with my mother. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going upstairs to have some much-needed rest.’

      * * *

      Sergio winced as he watched her flounce off.

      Well done, Sergio. That’s the way to seduce a woman. Tell her she’s too skinny!

      Sergio laughed a dry laugh. At least she recognised that he wasn’t her big brother any more. She’d called him a friend. That was a start. But it suddenly felt a long way from friend to lover.

      Maria came out onto the terrace and glared down at the uneaten food.

      ‘Leave it,’ Sergio said when she went to pick up the plate. ‘I’m hungry enough for two.’ He always ate like a horse when he was stressed.

      Maria made a tsk-tsk noise with her mouth. ‘That girl...she is too thin.’

      ‘I know,’ Sergio said. ‘I told her so.’ And he took a big bite of bruschetta.

      Maria stared at him as if he was mad. Which he was. Stark raving mad.

      ‘You are stupido,’ she said, waving her hands in the air. ‘How you think you get Bella into bed if you say things like that?’

      Sergio almost choked on his food. Still, he should have known that he wouldn’t be able to deceive Maria. She was one smart woman. At least now he wouldn’t have to hide his intentions from her. Or the evidence, if he was ever successful. Which at that moment seemed unlikely.

      ‘How long have you known?’ he asked her.

      ‘That you are in love with Bella?’ She shrugged her shoulders. ‘I have always known. Ever since you were children. You become a different boy when she came into your life. She lit up your soul.’

      Sergio laughed again. She certainly lit up something. But it wasn’t his soul. ‘I am not in love with Bella, Maria. I did love her when I was a boy. How could anyone not love her back then? But she is no longer the enchanting little girl she once was. She’s grown up into a tough cookie with an all-consuming career and a string of lovers a mile long. She’s also grown into the most desirable woman God ever put breath into. So yes, I would like to get her into bed. I won’t deny it. But that’s all I want.’

      ‘You men,’ Maria scoffed. ‘You never know what you want, or what you feel. My Carlo. He thought the same, but once I am having his child, he saw the truth. That it is love all along.’

      ‘Are you talking about me, caro?’ the man himself said as he walked out onto the terrace.

      Carlo was a handsome man with curly black hair and a carefree disposition. He’d had a roving eye in his younger years but was now a devoted family man, proving that people could change.

      ‘Sì, Carlo,’ Maria said, smiling at him.

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