The actor was outlining his personal situation and Alessio angled his dark head, his gaze sharp and acute as he sifted through the facts. You can almost see his brain working, Lindsay thought helplessly, watching his unwavering focus on his client. His astonishing intel
ligence was evident, not only in the observations that he made, but also in the sharp glitter of his eyes and in every line of his hard, handsome features. He was clever. Clever and strong.
Lindsay’s eyes drifted to the dark shadow of his jaw. He was a man to whom decision-making came easily. Not for him the agonies of ‘shall I shan’t I’ suffered by lesser mortals. No wonder people trusted him with their darkest secrets and their biggest problems. He was coldly analytical and decisive, which explained why he wasn’t remotely impressed or intimidated by the presence of Hollywood’s favourite film star.
Most men would have faded into the background.
Not Alessio.
Lindsay smiled politely as Alessio introduced them, fighting down a spurt of panic as she realised that, although she was with one of America’s biggest film stars, the only man she wanted to stare at was Alessio.
The Sicilian lawyer was actually more startlingly handsome than the man whose presence on the screen had made him the object of fantasy for millions of women worldwide.
Deciding that the only way she was going to make it through the evening was to not look at him, or think about him, Lindsay focused all her attention on the actor and his situation.
So he was the one contemplating divorce—
Does his wife know? she wondered. Or was this just an exploratory meeting to ascertain how much a divorce was going to cost him?
‘I should have listened to the old saying—marry in haste, repent at leisure.’ He drained his glass of champagne. ‘Good sex is never a reason to get married.’
‘You sound uncannily like Lindsay,’ Alessio said in a cool tone, a sardonic gleam in his eyes as he glanced at her. ‘She doesn’t approve of relationships based on sex.’
‘On the contrary—’ she lifted her head and smiled ‘—I have no problem with relationships based on sex, providing the parties involved understand that physical chemistry alone isn’t a good basis for marriage. If sex is all you have in common, then fine. Just don’t get married.’
‘That’s the best advice anyone has ever given me. I only wish I’d met you a couple of years ago. You would have saved me a fortune.’ Draining his glass, the actor looked at her thoughtfully. ‘I take it you’re not married?’
‘No.’
‘And you have no problem with relationships based on sex.’
Was it her imagination or was this gorgeous man who was famed for his liaisons with equally gorgeous women actually smiling at her? Flirting with her?
‘I think it’s important to be realistic.’
‘Where have you been all my life?’ The actor was laughing now, a look of sexy invitation in those famous blue eyes. ‘How long are you here for? Come and spend some time with me in Los Angeles after you leave. I’ll show you the sights.’
‘I might just do that.’ Desperately miserable about Alessio and feeling suddenly reckless, Lindsay smiled back at him. Reckless? Since when had reckless been an adjective that applied to her? A week ago she’d never done anything reckless in her life. Now she seemed to be doing nothing but reckless things.
And on top of that it suddenly seemed desperately important to show Alessio that she wasn’t pining. He’d barely glanced in her direction and the message he was sending her had come across loud and clear.
Not interested.
Unlike the actor who barely seemed able to drag his eyes away from her face and body, Alessio seemed hardly to notice her presence. He didn’t address her directly, his gaze didn’t once linger on her bare shoulder or her cleavage and he seemed totally relaxed.
Clearly whatever wild chemistry had possessed him before last night had been extinguished by the heat of that one single encounter.
For him, there was nothing left.
Suddenly it seemed incredibly important for her pride and self-esteem that he didn’t realise just how bad she felt.
And to be fair, it wasn’t exactly his fault that she felt bad, was it?
He hadn’t once lied to her. He hadn’t promised her anything.
He’d been completely true to his nature, which was to keep relationships light and easy.
She was the one who’d broken the rules—by expecting something she couldn’t have.