‘So, come with her.’
‘No.’ She instinctively denied the possibility. ‘And you can’t take Annalou without my permission.’ She said it, but didn’t really believe it. She knew very well that Gianfranco was a man who got exactly what he wanted. Kelly doubted anyone had thwarted him in his life except herself. If she was honest she was slightly amazed she had got away from him for so long. It was there in the proud tilt of his head, the dark, mocking eyes watching her like an insect under the microscope.
‘With you in jail I will have no problem.’
‘Jail!’ What on earth was he talking about?
Gianfranco set his cup down and the clash when it hit the saucer indicated he was nowhere near as calm as he appeared. He stood up, his mouth curving in a cruel smile. ‘I had Kelly Hope checked out the minute I read the letter. A man was waiting at Exeter Airport when I arrived today with the details. You are a respected widow with a child, who for the past three years has been working for an Ellen Jones who owns a gym. Correct?’
At the mention of her job, Kelly suddenly saw where he was leading. ‘My private life, where I work, is no concern of yours,’ she snapped back.
‘Perhaps not, but I wonder what the Inland Revenue will make of you working—the black economy, I believe is the British term for it, or cash in hand?’ He chuckled without humour. ‘Tax evasion is a serious offence, punishable by a term of imprisonment in some cases.’
Stunned, Kelly could only stare at him. He met her gaze with sardonic challenge as he continued. ‘I would not worry too much—it would be your first offence.’ He gave a very Latin shrug of his broad shoulders. ‘Of course, poor Ellen Jones will also be in trouble. Then there is the kindly doctor, a friend of Tom’s, who, without any formal identification from you, has privately taken care of your health, immunised my daughter. He also will suffer.’
Kelly jerked upright and took a step towards him, rigid with fury, her eyes flashing blue flames. ‘You are despicable!’ she cried. ‘You would hurt innocent people, my friends, just to get back at me?’ She shook her head in utter disbelief. Jail was no idle threat.
‘I don’t have to,’ he injected as she stared at him in outrage and shock. ‘It is your decision, Kelly. You can come with Annalou and me to Italy, or stay here and face the consequences.’ He looked at her with triumphant amusement in the black depths of his eyes. ‘Either way, I get my daughter.’
CHAPTER TEN
IT HAD been no choice at all, Kelly thought, staring down at her sleeping daughter for a long moment before lifting her head and eyeing the huge painted spider still on the wall with distaste.
Even if she’d faced up to the Inland Revenue, though she had done wrong, she doubted she would have ended up in jail. She had never earned enough money to pay tax anyway. At least that was what Tom had told her. But it would have meant betraying Ellen and probably the doctor. The deciding factor, the one thing Kelly had not been able to countenance, had been to allow Annalou to visit Italy without her, and be subject to Olivia’s poisonous presence.
Kelly turned quickly as Gianfranco’s voice broke into her musings.
‘She is a beautiful child.’ He was standing at the opposite side of the bed, his huge body stooped to press a kiss on Annalou’s cheek, and the sheer size and strength of him, along with his state of undress, sent her pulse-rate rocketing.
He was wearing a navy-blue towelling robe, loosely belted at the waist and ending mid-thigh, his toned olive skin and mat of black body hair exposed between the low lapels of the garment. Kelly flushed at where her thoughts were leading and looked away, tension in every line of her slim body.
Despising her weakness at reacting so instantly to his unexpected appearance, she was curt in her response. ‘Yes, she is, and I want her to stay that way, without any influence from your sister-in-law.’ She masked her frustration and fear by prompting coldly, ‘I suppose Olivia will be joining us for dinner?’
They had arrived at the Casa Maldini at four. Much to Kelly’s surprise, her mother-in-law, Carmela, had welcomed her with open arms, and apologised for not being more of a friend to her the last time she had lived at the house. And Anna was still here, engaged and getting married in August.
Annalou had loved the house immediately, unlike her mother not in the least intimidated by the vast building and the servants. By the time Kelly, with the help of Anna, had put the little girl to bed, Annalou in her usual determined fashion had secured a promise she could be a bridesmaid at the wedding. The only person Kelly had not seen yet was Olivia.
Strolling around the bottom of the bed, Gianfranco stopped beside Kelly and glanced down at her with dark, enigmatic eyes. ‘Olivia will not be joining us for dinner, or any other meal. She does not live here any more.’
‘What? But you said last night—’ And she stopped. He had neither confirmed nor denied Olivia’s presence; he had simply said, ‘So, come with her.’ Kelly searched his face but she could read nothing from his bland expression. ‘You let me think…’
One dark brow arched sardonically. ‘What you wanted to think, cara.’ He drawled the endearment. ‘I wanted my wife and daughter back in my home, and I used any and every means at my disposal. In my book marriage is for life. Remember that and we will get along fine.’
‘Olivia left? When?’ Kelly still had trouble believing it, though she had no trouble believing the rest of her indomitable husband’s statement. He was a ruthless devil when it came to getting his own way.
‘A few weeks after you. She is now married to a banker and living in Switzerland.’
Was he broken-hearted at losing Olivia? Lowering her head to hide her astonishment at his revelation, she surreptitiously glanced up at him from beneath the screen of thick lashes. He didn’t look it. In fact, Kelly suddenly noted that his dark eyes were blatantly roaming over her slender body in studied masculine appraisal. She had already bathed and dressed for dinner in a violet satin slip dress with spaghetti straps supporting the bodice, and to her shame she felt her breasts harden against the soft fabric in tingling arousal. She dropped her gaze, but that was worse. Last night he had taken her without even removing his clothes, but tonight, with his robe gaping open, she realised she had never seen so much prime male naked flesh in three long years…which did nothing for her temperature, or her temper.
‘Oh, for God’s sake, go and put some clothes on!’ she exclaimed, brushing past him and heading for the door. ‘Dinner is at nine.’ Damn! She sounded like his mother, and his husky chuckle did nothing to calm her quivering nerves.
Kelly barely touched the food, even though she had hardly eaten anything all day. She’d phoned Ellen to ask her to keep an eye on the house. Then they’d flown from Exeter by private plane to Verona, and the final leg had been the car journey to the Casa Maldini. Everything had happened so fast, she couldn’t think straight; she felt positively light-headed.
A brief glance at Gianfranco seated at the head of the table and Kelly turned an apologetic smile to Carmela and stood up. ‘It has been a long day, and I am rather tired, so if you will excuse me I think I will go to bed.’
‘Of course,’ Carmela responded, ‘I understand.’
‘You have had a traumatic week. You need a rest,’ Gianfranco said smoothly. ‘Sleep well.’