‘Leo—where are you going?’
‘Paris. I have some business to attend to.’
He fought the urge to climb back into bed with her. The thought of a morning on a plane followed by an afternoon in a courthouse was hardly a fair trade.
‘Will you be gone long?’ She moved the covers teasingly close to her nipples, smiling like the wicked temptress she had become.
‘I’ll be back as soon as my business is done. You have work to complete here too.’
Leo paused, considering his words carefully as she sat up on the bed.
‘It’s time we started wrapping up this deal,’ he said finally, seeing the look of confusion on her face.
‘Is there something wrong?’ she asked.
‘I’m a very busy man, Dara.’ He moved towards the door. ‘We’ll talk when I return.’
* * *
Dara watched as Leo’s car disappeared down the drive and felt her heart sink in her chest. This wasn’t meant to happen. She sat down on the veranda, watching as the sun started to rise over the waves, orange and red mixing in with the mirror-like calmness of the water. He’d said this was just fun—two adults enjoying themselves and burning out an attraction.
When had it become more than that?
He knew she couldn’t give him any sort of future. She had told him she was a lost cause. It would be just like her to get the idea into her head that he felt something more just because they had shared their life histories. She had spent the past five years convincing herself that she was happy alone, and she had almost begun to believe it. Now, after only a week with Leo, she knew just what she had been denying herself.
Angrily, she stood up and got dressed.
Perhaps he pitied her because of her condition. Maybe it was out of some misplaced sense of chivalry that he had stayed so long. She didn’t truly want more, did she? He would never be happy with her. He was a Sicilian—it was in his blood to want children. He had never said otherwise. Sure, he lived a bachelor lifestyle now, but some time in the future he would settle down and start a family of his own. At least he had the choice.
The thought of him with another woman made her throat well up with emotion. When had she begun thinking of him as hers?
* * *
She spent the morning busy inspecting the repair work in the dining hall. All traces of water damage were gone, and the walls had been painted a burnished orange, true to the original style. She gazed up at the newly polished wooden beams on the ceiling, remembering how they had looked when they’d first arrived.
It was hard to believe it had been little more than a week since she had been thrown into Leo’s world. She missed him already, and he had only been gone a few short hours.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a car coming up the driveway. He couldn’t have made it all the way to Paris and back already. She got to the door just as an unfamiliar silver sports car came to a stop in the courtyard.
Umberto Lucchesi stepped out of his car, a warm smile on his face as he embraced her. ‘Dara, so nice to see you again.’
‘Leo isn’t here, I’m afraid. He’s been called away for the day on urgent matters.’
‘Actually, I’m here to see you.’ He smiled, stepping back to look up at the fa?ade of the ancient castello. ‘Don’t look so worried. I simply wanted to come here and explain myself to you.’
Dara frowned. ‘Explain yourself? About what?’
‘Well, I presume Leo has told you he will soon be selling the castle to me?’
Dara felt the betrayal hit her like a gunshot. Her hands dropped to her sides as she took in Umberto’s words.
‘No, he hasn’t mentioned it.’ She spoke as steadily as she could.
‘Yes, the deal was made in Palermo. I’m sure you know that the castello originally belonged to my family?’
Dara nodded, trying to follow his words, but the knowledge that the deal had been done in Palermo cut her even deeper. He had known for days. He had known that he was going to tear her life apart and yet he’d still gone ahead and seduced her anyway.
Hot tears threatened to overflow in her eyes. A lump of emotion was forming in her chest.
‘Did he send you here to tell me?’ she asked quietly, trying and failing to conceal the tremor in her voice.
Umberto shook his head. ‘Look, I don’t want to get in between whatever is going on with you and my nephew. I just want to make sure that you know that the Lucchesi Group will be happy to fulfil this contract of yours with Miss Palmer once the castello is under our brand.’