assistant what she wanted. She felt every eye on her as she took her purchase and left, wondering if she had been wise to buy the test locally, given everyone knew she was Rafaele Fiorenza's new wife.
The test was positive.
Emma stared at it for several heart-chugging seconds, her pulse so heavy she felt every beat of it in her fingertips as they clutched at the basin in the en suite.
The phone started to ring in the bedroom and she left the test on the counter to answer it. 'Buongiorno, Villa Fiorenza.'
'Buongiorno, Emma,' Rafaele said with a smile in his voice. 'I see you are practising your Italian.'
She ran her tongue over the dust-like dryness of her lips. 'How is your business trip?'
'It is the usual run of boring meetings,' he said. 'How are things with you?'
'Um...things are fine...' she said, trying to inject some life in her tone.
'You sound distracted, Emma.'
'I-I'm not.'
He gave a soft chuckle of laughter. 'Are you missing me, tesore mio?'
'Are you missing me?' Emma asked in return.
'What do you think?' he asked.
She felt the velvet drape of his voice all over her skin and suppressed a little shiver. 'I think you have probably found some way to distract yourself,' she said. 'I can't imagine you pining away in your hotel room all on your own.'
There was a small silence.
Emma heard the thud thud of her heartbeats and felt another wave of nausea wash over her. She swallowed thickly and clasped the phone a little tighter to keep control.
'You have no need to be jealous, Emma,' he said. 'I have told you before, I am not interested in anyone but you.'
'For the moment,' she said in an embittered tone.
He gave an impatient sigh. 'I have not got time for this. I have another meeting in a few minutes.'
'In the bedroom or the boardroom?' she asked.
This time the ensuing silence had a menacing quality to it.
'If you want me to find someone else to make the accusations you toss at me true, then that can easily be arranged,' he said. 'Is that what you want?'
What Emma really wanted was for him to love her the way she loved him, but she knew it was pointless telling him. 'No...no, of course that's not what I want...' she said in a broken whisper.
'I want you, Emma,' he said in a tender tone. 'I wish you were here with me now.'
'I wish I was there too,' she said, caving into his charm. 'I miss you.' And I am carrying your baby, she wished she could add if circumstances were different.
'I will be back as soon as I can,' he said. 'Take care of yourself while I am away.'
'I will...'
There was another little pause.
'Emma?'
'Yes?'
'Nothing,' he said after a moment. 'It can wait. I will talk to you when I get back.'
Emma hung up the phone once he'd ended the call and went back to the en suite, and, picking up the pregnancy test, looked at it again to make sure she hadn't been imagining it. The truth stared back at her, making her heart pump with dread all over again...
CHAPTER TWELVE
EMMA was in the pool enjoying the peace of the evening when Rafaele returned. She hadn't heard his car on the gravel driveway and felt at a disadvantage when he came out to the deck and found her dripping wet as she hastily tried to wrap a towel around herself.
His hands stilled her clumsy movements and the towel slipped to deck at her feet. 'You don't have to be shy with me, Emma,' he said. 'I like seeing your body. It is beautiful.'
Emma felt suddenly exposed. Could he see how her breasts were slightly bigger? she wondered. Her cheeks grew hot under his lazy scrutiny and one of her hands crept to the flat plane of her belly, just to reassure herself there was no sign of the tiny life growing there.
He bent his head and kissed her soundly on the mouth. 'You know something, Emma?' he said, looking down at her with that sooty gaze of his. 'Right now all I want to do is kiss you and take you to bed. I have missed you more than I realised.'
Emma could feel herself weakening and nestled closer, her arms going about his neck to bring his mouth down to her. 'I missed you too...so much.'
His mouth connected with hers in a prolonged kiss of passion, his tongue thrusting against hers in a sexy motion that sent her senses spinning out of