An Invitation to Sin

‘I want you to come and see me often.’ The old lady patted Taylor’s hand. ‘Luca calls me Nonna, but if you prefer you can call me Teresa.’

‘Teresa?’ Startled, Taylor glanced up at him and Luca gave a dismissive shrug.

‘It’s a good name.’

She didn’t speak until they were safely inside the car. ‘I thought Teresa was some random name you picked and it turns out it’s your grandmother’s name and she’s this wonderful, amazing person.’ The choke in her voice surprised him. He was so used to her hiding her real feelings that this new Taylor unsettled him.

‘She liked you a lot.’

‘She’ll hate me when she finds out this is fake.’

‘It’s me she’ll be angry with.’

‘I wouldn’t be so sure about that. She adores you. I didn’t even know you had a grandmother. What did she mean that you were raised on drama?’

‘We’re Sicilian. Drama is in the genes. Why be calm when you can explode?’ But he could see his smooth response hadn’t fooled her and the tension of the morning reappeared.

‘You never talk about your childhood. You’ve never told me anything.’

‘I’ve never been one to coo over old baby photographs.’ Luca felt sweat prickle at the back of his neck and started the engine. ‘Let’s go.’

‘What was your mother like?’

He kept his eyes on the road. ‘She was very beautiful. Still is.’

‘I wasn’t asking you what she looks like—I know she’s beautiful, I’ve seen pictures. I was asking what she was like as a mother.’ There was a wistfulness to her voice. ‘What is she like as a person?’

Desperately insecure, volatile, a danger to herself. ‘Why do you want to know?’

‘I’m just interested. I guess I’m wondering why you’re so freaked out about relationships. Is she the reason?’

He doesn’t love me, Luca. What do I have to do to make him love me?

The sweat turned to a chill. ‘Does there have to be a reason? Maybe I was just born with good instincts for staying out of trouble.’

‘You’ve spent your whole life in trouble.’

‘I would argue I’ve spent my life having fun and pleasing myself.’

There was a tense silence and when she turned to him the warmth was gone from her eyes. ‘You never let your guard down, do you? You insist that I don’t hide anything from you but when it comes to your own secrets you’re as impenetrable as Fort Knox. I thought what we had here was more than just superficial, but clearly that was my mistake.’ Her voice was tart. ‘No worries. Forget I ever asked. I’m not used to trusting people anyway so I have no idea why I’d start with someone like you.’

‘Taylor—’

‘No, really, you’ve made it clear you don’t want to talk and that’s fine with me.’ It was obvious from her tone that it wasn’t fine. She was all business. ‘I gather Santo and Ella have agreed to let you use the set for the photo shoot this morning. I’m not a model but if you tell me what you want I’ll do it.’ No self-doubt. No insecurity. She didn’t hunt for compliments or press him for reassurance that she’d be able to do the job.

It occurred to him that not once in all the time they’d spent together had she asked for reassurance about her appearance. In fact, she hadn’t asked anything of him except to be her fake fiancé.

He tightened his grip on the steering wheel. ‘I just want you to be yourself. Taylor Carmichael.’

‘Which version?’ She was back to being her usual guarded self and although he knew he should have been relieved, he missed the laughing version of the night before.

‘The real version. You’re edgy, modern, strong. Sure of who you are. It shows in the way you carry yourself, in the way you deal with people and in the way you face the world. You’re a self-sufficient high-achiever who has learned to depend on no one but yourself because everyone you’ve ever met has used you so you’re not going to let that happen again.’ He kept his eyes on the road as he described how he saw her. ‘You were let down by your mother, by your father and by a man you trusted and every secret you ever had was blown over the pages of newspapers. It’s left you vulnerable, but it’s also given you strength because there’s no way you’re ever going to let anything like that happen to you again. You’re so afraid of being hurt again you shut the world out and hide behind the tough-girl act. That’s what I want to see when you’re wearing the clothes.’