Walking out of the bedroom, Kelly knew she was pinning all her hopes on tonight; she wanted to fit in and make friends, but not at the loss of her pride and self-esteem. Which was why she was wearing the dress she had bought herself in England.
Taking a deep breath, she walked into the salon. Gianfranco had come down earlier. Olivia, looking stunning in a midnight-blue strapless and backless dress that clung to her every curve, was standing so close to him that they were almost touching.
Seeing her husband looking so incredibly handsome in a formal black dinner suit, smiling down at Olivia, gave Kelly a nasty jolt somewhere in the region of her heart. Straightening her shoulders, she walked into the middle of the room. ‘Good evening.’
It was like watching a tableau unfold. Carmela was the first to notice Kelly, and when she did her perfectly plucked eyebrows rose in surprise.
Then Olivia laughed. ‘Surely you’re not wearing that?’ she said, eyeing Kelly as if she had crawled out from under a rock.
Stiffening defensively, Kelly said, ‘Yes, I am.’ It was a perfectly plain silk-jersey black dress. Tiny diamanté straps supported a bodice that was cut in a straight line across her breasts. The material, cut on the bias, clung slightly from under her bust to just above her knees.
Kelly ignored the babble of Italian that ensued and glanced across at Gianfranco, waiting for him to smile to give her some support.
Gianfranco’s dark eyes made a swift analytical survey of her stiffly held figure as he walked across to her. ‘You look very nice, Kelly.’ In fact, he thought she looked delectable, but he could see his mother’s point of view.
‘Damned with faint praise,’ Kelly said drily as Gianfranco stopped and stared down at her from beneath hooded lids, his expression unreadable.
‘No, really, you know you always look beautiful,’ he said soothingly. ‘But Mamma thought you would have worn one of the gowns she bought for you. She is of the opinion they are much more suitable for a wife during her confinement, and on matters of taste Mamma does know what is best. You would do well to take notice of her.’
Confinement! The old-fashioned term made Kelly bristle with indignation. Dear heaven, her arrogant husband and his sainted mother had got that right! she thought. She was beginning to feel more and more as if she was in jail. Well, to hell with the pair of them, tonight she was going to enjoy herself, if it was the last thing she did.
‘I’ll make your apologies, should it be necessary, while you change,’ Gianfranco continued smoothly. ‘But hurry.’
‘No.’
One ebony brow arched. ‘No! You refuse?’
She almost laughed, he looked so astounded. ‘Got it in one.’
He caught her arm. ‘Kelly, you’re behaving foolishly. Now go upstairs and change,’ he commanded, his dark eyes revealing his irritation.
Kelly glared up at him. ‘I would look foolish if I wore any of the dresses I got yesterday. I’m five and a half months pregnant, not nine,’ she snorted, nervous tension heightening her already rising temper. ‘They make me look like an elephant. You should—you should see them.’
Gianfranco smiled when she began to splutter—a very masculine grin. ‘I see.’ He let go of her arm. ‘Female vanity I can understand,’ he drawled mockingly.
She wanted to hit him; he was so damn condescending. But she never got the chance as Aldo announced the first guests had arrived. Carefully holding her temper under tight control, Kelly braced herself to meet a host of strangers.
It was nowhere near as bad as she had feared. Gianfranco’s friends were not nearly as intimidating as his mother and sister-in-law, a mixture of local people and business acquaintances, and when Judy and Carlo Bertoni arrived Kelly could not hide her delight.
The buffet meal was exquisite, the conversation a mixture of English and Italian. Carmela sparkled and was the perfect hostess, and with Olivia quickly had a group of people hanging onto her every word.
Kelly, finding herself alone for a moment, began to relax. Gianfranco was at the other side of the room, deep in discussion with a group of men in what was obviously a male-only conversation.
Suddenly beside Kelly, Judy chuckled. ‘Aren’t you the dark horse?’
Kelly glanced at her and blushed.
Judy’s eyes lit with amusement. ‘Your local lad turned out to be Count Gianfranco Maldini—what a story! Come on, tell all. How did it happen?’
Kelly told her, ending with, ‘In a way I have you to thank, because apparently when you told him at New Year that I was pregnant he came to look for me, and the rest, as they say, is history,’ she quipped.
‘That’s great!’ Judy asserted with a grin. ‘But let me give you some advice; your Gianfranco has had plenty of women in his time, and he treated them all with a casualness you wouldn’t believe. He is not the type for deep emotional commitment. But you’re carrying his child, and Italians love children, so make sure you make the most of it, and don’t let him out of your sight.’
‘Thanks, Judy.’ Kelly forced a smile. She needed reminding of her husband’s past women like a hole in the head, but that was Judy. ‘But we are marr…’ She never finished the sentence, as someone bumped into her and sent a shower of liquid down the front of her dress.
‘Oh, I’m so sorry.’ Olivia appeared in front of Kelly. ‘I didn’t see you there, and now your dress is ruined. How clumsy of me.’ Kelly glanced up and the malevolence in the dark eyes that met hers froze her to the spot. ‘Now you will have to change.’
Kelly couldn’t believe the pettiness of it… But, overcome with embarrassment, as the dampness had made the fabric stick to her stomach, she did not want to make a scene. ‘Yes,’ she agreed.