Rich and Outrageous. Melanie Milburne

      ‘Leave it, Rachel,’ he said.

      ‘Did I do something wrong?’ she asked.

      He gave her a rueful movement of his lips and then reached out and touched her cheek with his fingertips. ‘No, you did nothing wrong.’

      Rachel put her hand over his. ‘Is it your illness?’ she asked softly. ‘Are you worried you—?’

      His brows snapped together and he pulled his hand out from under hers. ‘I said just leave it, Rachel,’ he said tightly.

      Rachel swallowed. ‘I’m sorry.’

      He let out a breath, which relaxed his tight expression. ‘Don’t apologise,’ he said. ‘You’ve only been here a couple of days. For now I would like simply to spend time getting to know you as a person. I have just invested a large sum of money into your business. I want to know everything there is to know about you.’

      ‘There’s not much to tell,’ Rachel said.

      ‘I am sure you are underselling yourself,’ Alessandro said. ‘For instance, I did not know you could cook. What other talents do you have now that you didn’t have before?’

      ‘They’re not really talents,’ Rachel said. ‘More like interests, I guess you would say.’

      ‘Such as?’

      ‘I love wandering around art galleries and museums,’ she said. ‘I once spent the whole day in The Victoria and Albert Museum in London.’

      ‘When did you visit London?’ Alessandro asked.

      ‘A couple of years ago,’ she said. ‘It was after my father lost everything. I wanted to escape for a while.’

      ‘How long were you abroad?’

      ‘Two months,’ Rachel said. ‘I went to Paris too. I spent days and days wandering around there. It’s such a beautiful city.’

      ‘It can be a very lonely city on your own,’ he said. ‘It is best to be there with a lover.’

      ‘I am sure you have been there many times with many lovers,’ Rachel said.

      ‘I know Paris very well,’ he answered with a ghost of a smile. ‘I will look forward to sharing it with you next week.’

      Rachel tried not to think of all the beautiful women he had escorted all over Europe. She’d bet he had not rejected their advances the way he had hers just now. Her doubts and insecurities haunted her all over again. Craig had berated her so often on how she turned him off. It was hard to know if Alessandro was experiencing the same turn off or whether he was still struggling with the limitations from his illness. Either way she felt ashamed about admitting so openly how much she wanted him. It gave him so much more power over her.

      ‘You didn’t think of coming to Italy during that trip?’ Alessandro asked.

      She looked at his expression but couldn’t read it. ‘I did think of it. I had heard you had become successful over here. But I didn’t think you would want to see me after what I did.’

      ‘So you think I should have forgiven you by now, do you, Rachel?’ he asked, still with that unfathomable look on his face.

      ‘I think being bitter doesn’t help anyone in the long run,’ she said. ‘I have many regrets over the past. But I like to think I have put in place steps that will stop me making the same mistakes I did back then.’

      His dark eyes held hers for a lengthy moment. ‘I guess the next two and a half weeks will prove that one way or the other, will they not?’

      ‘I want to make amends, Alessandro,’ she said. ‘I really do.’

      He didn’t answer immediately. She watched as he rose from the sofa and reached for his crutches. ‘Goodnight, Rachel,’ he said. ‘I will see you in the morning.’

      Rachel got to her feet, her hands going to a twisted knot in front of her body. He was dismissing her again, showing her he was not the lovesick young man of the past. He was all sophistication and control now. He had kissed her but he had so easily pulled away while her body still hummed and throbbed like a tuning fork struck too hard.

      ‘Goodnight,’ she said, her voice coming out soft and husky, but he had already turned and left the room.