LEAH WATCHED AS Jaco stretched out his arms, then placed his linked hands in his lap. He leant back, crossing one long leg over the other at the knee, his posture relaxed, but his expression one of fixed determination.
She felt her insides shrivel, mourning for the man she had thought she knew—the witty, charming, fun-loving Jaco who had stolen her heart. But even now—even faced with this new, formidable, baffling version of him—she couldn’t stop her pulse quickening, her body from thrumming with forbidden need. Despite everything, she knew she still wanted him.
‘So.’ The fingers of his clasped hands twitched. ‘In view of the fact that we share a child, perhaps it’s time I knew a little more about your family.’
‘There’s nothing to know.’ Leah immediately went on the defensive.
‘It’s just you and Harper and your father, sí?’ Jaco ignored her. ‘I remember you saying that your mother died when you were young. Twelve, wasn’t it?’
‘Yes.’
Leah was not going to feel flattered that he remembered. That balmy evening on her first visit to Capezzana, when they had cosily shared some of the details of their lives seemed like a massive mistake now. The compassionate way Jaco had looked at her as she’d told him of her mother’s tragic shotgun accident, reaching for her hand and holding it in his lap, now seemed as fake as everything else about him.
In retrospect she wished she’d kept her mouth shut. Instead, sitting there sharing a bottle of delicious Capezzana wine, watching the fireflies darting through the night, she had blurted out her whole life story: her mother’s death, her father’s descent into alcoholism, the shock and misery of discovering that she had kidney failure, the four years of dialysis before she had been able to have a transplant, her twin sister being the selfless donor.
Yes, she had told him everything. At the time it had seemed like the most natural thing in the world. It was only later she had realised how little Jaco had divulged about his background, his family. Now she could see that he knew everything about her and she knew nothing about him.
‘And how is your father?’ Jaco wasn’t letting the subject go.
‘He’s fine, thank you.’ Leah’s reply was clipped to the scalp. But at least it was true. Angus McDonald had been sober for well over a year now.
‘And does he know about Gabriel?’
‘No, he does not.’ She pulled her ponytail over her shoulder, twiddling the hair between her fingers.
‘So your sister is the only person you have told?’
‘Yes.’ Leah glared at him.
‘And you can trust her to keep quiet?’
‘No, I can’t!’ Jumping to her feet, Leah moved over to the window, then swung round to confront him again. ‘Because if I had been able to trust her she wouldn’t have told you and Gabriel and I wouldn’t be in this mess!’
Leah was going to have very strong words with her sister when she next saw her. That was assuming she ever saw her again.
‘Actually, it was Vieri who told me.’
Ah, yes, of course—that figured. Old friends watching each other’s backs.
‘He, at least, recognised that I had a right to know.’
Leah gave him a silent scowl.
‘So—and this is very important, Leah—can we establish that, apart from ourselves, Harper and Vieri are the only two people who know that Gabriel is my son?’
‘Yes,’ Leah hissed back. ‘We can establish that.’
‘Well, that’s something, I suppose.’
She saw his broad shoulders flex as he reached to pick up his coffee cup. Leah tensed. Why was he so obviously relieved that no one else knew about his son? Suddenly it felt like a personal slight against her and against Gabriel.
‘So you can see your dirty little secret is quite safe.’ She sniffed haughtily.
‘My son is not a dirty little secret.’ Jaco was on his feet in an instant, towering in front of her. ‘Far from it.’
‘Really? Then how come you don’t want anyone to know about him?’
‘I have my reasons,’ Jaco replied. ‘But when the time is right I will be only too proud to show him to the world.’
‘What reasons, Jaco?’ Leah glared at him in frustration. ‘Why can’t you tell me?’
‘Because you are better off not knowing.’
Leah stared at him, his chilling words seeping into her bones. He turned stiffly from her, but it was too late. His curt statement had already given him away. Not for the first time, it occurred to Leah that Jaco Valentino might be involved in something bad. Really bad.
She was still staring at him when he turned back, his harsh features pulled back into line.
‘In any event...’ He looked at her with cold disdain. ‘You are hardly in a position to criticise me for wanting to keep Gabriel a secret. You haven’t exactly been shouting his arrival from the rooftops.’
‘No.’ Leah glared back. ‘Because I have my reasons too.’
‘So go on, then. Explain them to me.’
‘That’s easy.’ Leah hurled the words at him like a grenade. ‘Because I have discovered the sort of man you really are.’
A flash of shock fleetingly crossed his face before his expression hardened, like quick-setting concrete, all emotion banished.
‘Meaning what, exactly?’
Leah forced herself to meet his gaze, not to look away again. Something about his stiffened posture, the sharp light in his eyes, had betrayed him. Oh, yes, he was trying to cover it up with intimidation now—all hard-angled jaw and imperious scowl—but it wouldn’t work. It was too late. She didn’t know what nefarious plans he was trying to hide, but she did know he was a two-timing cheat. And that was more than enough to damn him.
She bit down hard on her lip to stop the avalanche of pain that threatened to break through the fragile walls of her self-control. Being faced with him like this hurt so much. All the suffering he had put her through—the heartbreak, the loneliness and terror of giving birth so completely alone, then trying to cope with a newborn baby—was welling up inside her, waiting to be released in a torrent of misery and bitter recriminations.
But she had got through it—she had survived. And now she had Gabriel and he was the most wonderful blessing in the world. He was the only thing that mattered, in fact.
She took in a breath. Was there any point in confronting Jaco with his infidelity? Would it actually achieve anything? Or would she just be exposing her own weakness, her own hurt? Another thought occurred to her. Maybe the fact that she had discovered this other woman could be used to her advantage at a later date. Saved as some sort of painful trump card. Because at the moment it certainly felt as if Jaco held the entire deck.
‘I’m waiting.’
She looked up, having almost decided to keep her counsel. But as she caught the fierce glint in his eye all reason, all logic, was suddenly drowned out by the beat of blood in her ears. He was looking at her as if she were the guilty one here. Looking at her with something bordering on disgust. How dared he?
‘Very well.’ She leapt to her feet, tossing back her head so that her ponytail swung across her bare shoulders. ‘I will tell you the reason I chose to keep Gabriel a secret from you. I did it because...because...’
A buzzing sound stopped her in her tracks. His wretched phone was going off in his pocket!
‘Un momento.’ Holding up his hand to silence her, Jaco retrieved it, briefly scanning the screen before swiping to accept the call. ‘We will continue this conversation very shortly.’
Without a second glance, he put the phone to his ear and strode from the room, speaking in rapid Sicilian that Leah had no hope of understanding.
Unbelievable.
Left alone, Leah growled in helpless desperation. Jaco obviously cared so little about her explanation, about her, that a random phone call was of more importance. Or maybe it wasn’t so random—maybe it was the lovely Francesca. No doubt he would drop everything for her. Literally everything.
Shaking with miserable frustration, Leah forced herself to be strong. You know what? Her internal monologue helpfully cut in. He’s had his chance and he’s blown it. If Jaco had so little respect for her—if he was so arrogant as to assume he could pick up their conversation at any time of his choosing—she needed to teach him a lesson.
She was glad she hadn’t blurted out the truth. From now on she was going to make sure that she didn’t tell him anything.
Staring through the window, she watched him walking away, the phone still clamped to his ear. Having crossed the decking area, he started down some rocky-looking steps, rapidly disappearing from view.
What she wouldn’t do to have access to a phone...
Leah looked around her. Her own phone had to be here somewhere—now might be her chance to find it.
After glancing quickly out of the window again, to check that there was no sign of him, she hurried out of the kitchen and down the corridor in the opposite direction to her room. One of these rooms had to be where Jaco slept. And that was most likely where her phone was hidden.
She found his bedroom easily enough. At the far end of the villa, it was the mirror image of hers, except the view was open to the sea. For a moment Leah stood in the doorway, looking around. Something about being in Jaco’s personal space was making her breath catch. As her eyes scanned the room she was aware of him all around her—his intoxicating male scent in the air, his expensive clothes scattered carelessly around. But it was the bed that drew her gaze, the tangled twist of the white cotton sheet, the way he had tossed several of the feather pillows on the floor, leaving just one remaining, still bearing the indent of his head.
Leah stepped over the threshold. She didn’t have time to stand around. And she certainly didn’t have time to let her imagination run riot, thinking of Jaco in that bed. Pulling herself together, she went into full search mode, opening drawers, looking in the wardrobe and under the bed.
It didn’t take long because everywhere was completely empty. Apart from the bag he had obviously brought with him, he didn’t appear to have any possessions here at all. Maybe this wasn’t even his villa. Leah didn’t know anything any more.
She quietly moved into the en suite bathroom. His toothbrush was lying by the side of one of the twin washbasins, a razor sticking out of an unzipped wash bag. Guiltily Leah opened up the bag and peered inside. No phone in there. Neither was it in the cabinet or any of the empty drawers beneath.
She went back into the bedroom—it had to be here somewhere. Moving over to the bed, she looked under the pillow, then ran her hand along the underside of the mattress. If she could lift the mattress up, she’d be able to see better.
Heaving one corner of it onto her knee, she balanced there as she paused for breath. It was huge, and surprisingly heavy, and all this effort was making her hot. Bending her head, she peered underneath, squinting to see if there was anything vaguely phone-shaped under there.
‘Checking for bedbugs?’
Leah pulled out her head with a start. The mattress dropped down with a thump.
Jaco was leaning against the door frame, one long leg crossed over the other at the ankle, the toe of his handmade leather shoe resting on the floor.
‘If you want an invitation to my bedroom, you know you only have to ask.’
‘Where is it?’ Leah raged at him, not even bothering to try to cover up what she was doing, why she was there. His supercilious smirk had smashed through her paper-thin control.
‘What?’
‘You know perfectly well what—my phone.’
‘Ah, yes...that.’
Easing himself from the door frame, he casually strode towards her. Leah’s fury increased with every lazy step.
‘I’m afraid you won’t be getting that back until we leave the island.’ He narrowed his eyes. ‘But rest assured I am taking good care of it for you.’
Leah felt so angry she thought she might combust, right there in front of him, leaving nothing but a swirling spiral of smoke. Shooting Jaco a furious glare, she pushed past him and fled from the room, the need to get away from him suddenly more imperative than breathing itself.
* * *
Jaco stared after her retreating figure. For all her posturing, her show of defiance, he could see how vulnerable Leah really was. On the surface she was all blustering confidence, still trying to give the impression that she had some control over her situation, when clearly she had none, but deep down he knew she was struggling.
It shouldn’t have bothered him. He told himself that he need have no conscience as far as Leah McDonald was concerned. Considering the way she had treated him, she deserved no sympathy. But still she got to him: the flash of anxiety in her eyes, the way she bit down on her soft lip, nipping it under her teeth, the way she curled her hair around her finger for reassurance. It all affected him somewhere deep and low. Somewhere he had no intention of examining.
He ran a troubled hand over his jaw. He had known from their very first meeting that there was far more to Leah than might at first appear. Fun and light-hearted on the surface, she ran a lot deeper than her vivacious, carefree behaviour seemed to suggest. Persuading her to open up about her past during that first visit to Capezzana, he had discovered she’d been through a lot—not least health issues, with her kidney failure and the subsequent transplant.
It was one of the reasons he had resisted the immediate sexual spark between them—fought against it with all his might, actually—and that had been some test of his willpower! But something had told him that this woman was different...special. That she deserved his respect. He had strongly suspected that when they finally did get together there would be no going back. And, boy, had he been right about that. Just not in the way he had thought.
Yet even now, despite everything he knew about her, Jaco found his body still thrummed for her, and his libido refused to accept what his brain was telling it: that Leah McDonald was nothing but trouble. One look from those flashing hazel eyes and his body was instantly gearing up for action, as if she was hot-wired to his groin.
He had recently worked out with a jolt of shock that he hadn’t had sex with anyone for over a year—since the last night he had spent with Leah, in fact. He hadn’t so much as looked at another woman—which was not like him at all. He’d told himself he’d had a lot on his mind. That once this wretched business with the Garalinos was over he would pick up where he’d left off.
Luigi Garalino. Just the evil bastard’s name was enough to turn his stomach.
But he was nearly there. Soon all his careful planning would come to fruition and he would finally have the first part of his revenge. Not the revenge he might have chosen, perhaps—an extremely long and painful death would have been too good for Garalino, in his opinion—but seeing the entire family locked up for several decades would certainly be a good start.
Step two—proving that Garalino was responsible for the death of his parents—came next. Jaco was already well on the way to getting the evidence he needed, and once word spread that the family had all been arrested he was confident that his sources would start squealing like pigs.
In the meantime he would have to content himself with the knowledge that their reign of evil tyranny was at an end. And, best of all, that meant Francesca could come out of hiding. She could finally start her life over again.
Her life as a woman.
The long and painful medical procedures were over and Jaco’s little brother, Franc, was no more. The skinny little waif who had been plucked from the children’s home alongside him, who had been systematically insulted and abused by his adopted family, no longer existed. Instead a dignified and beautiful woman had been born.
And Jaco couldn’t be more proud of his new sister. He couldn’t wait to show her off, to spoil her, to bring her back to Sicily. With the Garalinos’ pervasive influence everywhere it had just been too dangerous for her to return to their homeland, and she had spent the last five years in exile in New York. But very shortly all that was going to change and Francesca would come home.
Leaving the bedroom, Jaco followed Leah back down the corridor, catching sight of the flash of her yellow dress before she turned into the living room. He was reminded of an angry bee, buzzing away from him. Or maybe a wasp in a jar would be more accurate.
It was clear that she was never going to accept the situation she found herself in. If they were going to be sharing this villa for the next couple of weeks, for the sake of a bit of harmony maybe he needed to find some way to placate her.
The obvious immediately sprang to mind—only to be firmly squashed down. The thought of angling his head to access the sweep of her exposed neck, trailing his lips up to her earlobe, breathing into her ear before letting his mouth travel to her lips... It was an extremely tempting one. More than tempting. He could almost taste the kiss, and the memory of how her mouth had felt beneath his was suddenly pulling at his groin.
Kissing Leah had felt amazing. Their sex had been amazing. How had it ended in this tangled mess?
He followed her into the living area, intent on finding some way to ease the hostility between them. Leah was standing quite still, peering down nervously at the wide strip of glass flooring that cut the room in half.
‘It’s okay—it’s quite safe.’ Moving to stand in front of her Jaco took a couple of hefty jumps on the glass to prove his point.
Leah flinched, backing away.
Jaco’s mouth twisted into a smile. ‘Come on.’ He held out a hand to her, which she pointedly ignored. ‘I promise you, you won’t fall in!’
Designed by a brilliant young architect, this villa had some quirky features—especially as Jaco had given the guy free rein to do whatever he wanted. The swimming pool running underneath the villa was one of them, as was the idea of leaving some of the boulders in situ and carving them into seats, and having the decking hang over the edge of the cliff.
Jaco had been very pleased with his work. Clearly Leah was not such a fan. From a safe distance away, she was still looking at the sparkling water running beneath Jaco’s feet as if it might surge up and suck her under.
‘You’re not scared, surely?’ He couldn’t resist issuing the challenge, winding her up.
‘No, of course not.’
Tossing back her head, Leah brushed past him, stepping purposefully across the glass floor to the other side. Jaco noticed she didn’t look down.
‘There—happy now?’
Jaco raised his eyebrows. ‘Being here isn’t some sort of endurance test, you know.’ He moved towards her. ‘It would be better for all of us if you could just relax and accept the situation.’
‘Better for you, you mean.’
‘Why don’t you try and think of it as a little holiday?’
‘A holiday?’ Like a bull before a red rag, Leah looked ready to charge. ‘A holiday where I am forbidden to leave. Where I’ve had my phone stolen from me. Where I don’t even know where I am!’
Jaco hesitated. He could tell by the fierce glint in Leah’s eye that she was far too stubborn, too feisty, to let this drop. He needed to come up with some sort of explanation for keeping her here if he was ever going to get a moment’s peace.
He raked a hand through his hair. ‘I can appreciate this is a difficult situation for you.’
‘Can you, indeed?’ Her voice was laced with sarcasm.
‘In terms of where you are, this is one of my private islands. And the reason you are here is simply to keep you and Gabriel safe. That’s all you need to know.’
‘No, it’s not, Jaco.’ She pouted angrily. ‘I need to know a lot more than that. And I’m never going to shut up until you tell me.’
Jaco let out an exasperated sigh. He knew exactly how he would like to shut her up—by taking her in his arms and covering those velvet lips with his own, making her forget all about her furious demands in the most pleasurable way possible. But he put the brakes on—fast. He was standing too close to her—he needed to find some space.
‘Look...’ He tamped down the smouldering fire. ‘If you want to come outside for a minute I will do what I can to explain.’
She didn’t need telling twice. As Jaco slid back the glass doors she was right behind him, stepping out onto the wide decked terrace that ran the length of the villa, so close she was like his sunshine shadow.
She raised a hand to shield her eyes from the sun, scanning the view. No doubt she was trying to sight land, or maybe a boat that might rescue her. Jaco noticed that she had also clocked his laptop, at the far end of the terrace under the awning. Well, she would have no joy there—even if she did manage to get her hands on it she would find it locked. Now, more than ever, Jaco was meticulous about security.
‘Take a seat.’ He gestured to one of the padded sun loungers lined up on the deck and waited for Leah to sit on the side of one of them before he did the same opposite her.
‘While I can’t tell you a great deal, what I can say is that I am in the middle of some very delicate negotiations.’ He chose his words carefully, intending to tell her as little as he could possibly get away with. ‘And these negotiations are reaching a critical stage.’
‘So?’ Leah frowned impatiently. ‘What has this got to do with me and Gabriel?’
‘The people I am dealing with are not honourable men.’ Jaco fought to conceal his hatred. ‘They would be keen to exploit any weakness they could find. If they were to discover I had a son, he could be a potential target.’
‘A target for what?’ Fear gripped her voice.
Jaco shrugged, unwilling to divulge any more.
‘You mean he might be kidnapped?’ Leah jumped to her feet, her hand at her throat.
Or worse.
Jaco refused to process what might happen if the sting backfired and the Garalinos realised he had a baby son.
‘No harm will come to him here, on the island, I can assure you of that.’ He stood up to face her.
‘I don’t believe this!’ Colour flooded the column of Leah’s neck, spreading to her cheeks. ‘You are prepared to put our child in peril just because of some dodgy business deal?’
‘It’s rather more than that.’ Jaco clenched down on his jaw. ‘And may I remind you that up until a few days ago I had no idea I had a child.’
‘So these are the sort of people you do business with? Thieves and crooks?’ Leah was in full flood now, fire flashing in her eyes. ‘Are your greed and ego really such that you are prepared to go to any lengths to feed them?’
Jaco met her furious gaze full-on. He was not going to be spoken to like this. ‘You need to learn when to hold your tongue, Ms McDonald.’
Reaching forward, he circled her upper arm in his grasp.
‘Or what?’
Leah pointedly stared at his hand and Jaco immediately released her, taking several steps away, appalled by the way this woman could make him lose his self-control.
Leah shook her head as if vindicated by his action. ‘What sort of man are you, Jaco Valentino?’ Her eyes glittered with murderous scorn. ‘Actually, don’t bother to answer that. I don’t even care. You can keep your horrible dark and devious secrets to yourself. Just don’t expect me to be impressed by all this.’
She gestured dramatically at the beautiful setting around her. Despite himself Jaco found his eyes drawn to the hitch of her breasts beneath the cotton fabric.
‘Because no doubt it has only been acquired through the misery of others, through dodgy deals or blood money...or worse.’
‘I can assure you it has not.’
‘Well, whatever... Right now I have no idea who you are—what you are capable of.’
‘No.’ Closing the gap between them, Jaco leant forward, blocking her with the height of his body. ‘Maybe you don’t.’
He caught the flash of fear in her eyes, mixed with a sort of stunned surprise. But if she was determined to perpetuate this bad boy image of him he would go along with it. Maybe it was the only thing stopping him from making an even bigger mistake. Taking her to his bed.
A sharp silence fell between them, broken only by the mocking call of the cicadas in the ancient olive trees around them.
‘Let me past.’ Her voice faltered, her bravado slipping. ‘I need to check on Gabriel. Thanks to you, who knows what terrible danger he may be in.’
Frustration coursed through Jaco, hot and fierce. His instinct was to reach for her, to pull her close, make her see that he was doing this precisely to keep their son from danger. But Leah’s shimmering hostility, the alarm on her face, brought him to his senses and he took a step away.
‘You are safe here, Leah. I guarantee it.’ If he could only make her believe one thing, he wanted it to be that.
‘Yeah, right.’ Leah swept past him, her head held high, her ponytail swinging behind her. ‘If it’s all the same to you, I’ll be the judge of that.’