this to end now.’
What a telling phrase, she thought bleakly. Not now, but maybe later. Definitely later. ‘When, then?’ she asked, striving to keep her voice even.
He shrugged, the movement dismissive. ‘I don’t know.’
‘When you want it to be over?’ she surmised flatly.
‘Dio, Lucia, isn’t it enough that I want to be with you? I want to protect you, provide for you. I can give you so much—’
She felt herself go cold. ‘Such as?’
‘Clothes, jewels, a villa, a car—whatever you want!’ He smiled, relief flashing in his eyes, as if he were glad they were finally understanding each other. ‘You don’t have to work as a maid. You don’t have to work at all. You can live here—’
‘And await your pleasure?’
He recoiled, his mouth hardening into a thin line. ‘You make it sound…sordid.’
‘You’re the one doing that, Angelo.’ Her voice trembled and she fought against the absurd yearning she still felt, the temptation to accept even this little. She sat back in her chair and closed her eyes. She felt near to crying, and yet too weary to shed any tears.
‘I want,’ Angelo answered, an edge to his voice now, ‘to be with you. You could stay here,’ he continued, sweeping one arm out to encompass the villa. ‘You could have a maid of your own, an entire staff, clothes and jewels. I’ll buy you a car, whatever one you like.’
‘I don’t know how to drive,’ she said flatly. ‘And I don’t like this villa. I told you that last night. It feels cold.’
He stared at her incredulously. ‘Then I’ll hire a driver. I’ll buy a new villa—you can choose it yourself.’
She shook her head. It wasn’t just the villa that was cold; it was the man himself. She didn’t know this man any more. She might have had the most incredible, intimate sex with him last night, but this morning he was again a stranger.
A stranger who still could only see what he wanted from her and the most expedient way to get it. Forget asking her out. Forget even a normal, caring conversation. Even now, when he was trying to be thoughtful, clearly expecting her to be pleased with these tawdry suggestions. He had no consideration of her feelings at all, and he didn’t even realise it.
Everything in her aching, Lucia rose from the table. ‘I need to go to work.’
‘I told you, they’re not expecting you,’ Angelo snapped. He rose from the table, braced his hands on it. His body was taut with emotion, with anger, his mouth a compressed line, his eyes narrowed. ‘Lucia, I can see I’m saying all the wrong things. I swear to you, I am not trying to make you angry.’
Which somehow made it worse. He didn’t even realise how awful, how offensive, his suggestions were. ‘I know you’re not, Angelo,’ she said wearily, and turned away.
He smacked the table with the palm of his hand, rattling the dishes, the crack of his palm echoing through the still air. ‘Dio, don’t walk away from me! I’m not done talking to you!’
She stiffened at the autocratic bark of his voice. ‘I’m done,’ she said flatly. ‘And unless you intend to order me not to work as my employer, we have nothing more to say here.’
He stared at her, his eyes flashing with fury, his body tight with suppressed rage, and then on leaden legs Lucia turned and walked back into the house and then out the front door.
Angelo watched Lucia walk away from him in a kind of dazed incredulity. He had not expected this. He still couldn’t believe it was happening. She was actually rejecting him.
He drove his fingers through his hair, swore under his breath. What was wrong with the woman? He was offering her so much more than she’d ever had before, so much more than she’d ever had with him. He’d spent most of last night awake with her in his arms, trying to think through his own feelings. His own desires. After what they had shared, he knew he wasn’t ready to walk away. He didn’t think she was either. So he came up with a solution—a solution to give her everything she’d ever wanted—and she refused him?
She was mad.
No, he realised suddenly, the insight causing him to tense, she wasn’t. She was angry, because he hadn’t offered her everything she’d ever wanted. If he had, she surely would have accepted it. So what more did she want?
Swearing again, he strode from the veranda. It took him all