But what had she expected?
She’d said, ‘I love you.’ Half asleep and softened by the intimacies they’d shared, she’d said, ‘I love you.’ And from that point she’d watched their relationship unravel with supersonic speed and hideous inevitability, like dropping a ball of wool from the top of the Empire State building.
And that was what happened when you indulged in a wild, crazy affair with no future.
That was what happened when you let physical chemistry dictate choices.
It would have been very easy to wish she hadn’t delved into his background, or said those three little words—but she knew that it wouldn’t have changed anything. The ending had always been coming.
And she would have done the w
hole thing again.
She’d made that choice.
* * *
Lindsay relaxed in the soft leather seat, pretending to be absorbed in the file on her lap. To add authenticity to the pretence, she occasionally scribbled something in the margin. But she was scribbling nonsense and her mind wasn’t on the contents of the file—it was on the man seated opposite her.
Gone was the sexy lover. Alessio Capelli was once more the ruthless divorce lawyer. Since boarding his private jet, he’d been on the telephone, speaking in rapid Italian to a non-stop stream of people who were clearly desperate for his advice.
After one such call he glanced up at her, his handsome face blank of expression. ‘There’s a message on my phone from Dino. It seems that he and your sister are back in Rome.’
‘Oh. Right.’
‘He says they’re engaged.’
Lindsay wondered why she felt so numb. ‘I’m so pleased for them.’
‘Pleased?’ His dark brows locked in a dangerous frown. ‘How can you be pleased? I would have thought it was the last thing you wanted for her.’
‘One thing you taught me was that you can’t live someone else’s life for them,’ she murmured, turning her head and looking out of the window. He’d taught her other things too, things she was never going to forget. Like the fact that sometimes the right choice wasn’t obvious. ‘I hope they’ll be happy.’
‘They’ll probably drive each other up the wall.’ He gave a faint smile. ‘And I suppose you’ll end up counselling them.’
‘And if I fail, you’ll end up doing their divorce.’
‘Stay with me in Rome.’ His blunt command was so unexpected that for a moment she simply stared at him.
‘Pardon?’
‘This doesn’t have to be over, Lindsay.’
His words were so unexpected that for a moment she didn’t breathe.
He was offering her more.
He wanted to extend their relationship into the future. Sexually, intellectually they would be good together—
Willing to agree to anything that would give them a little more time together, Lindsay opened her mouth to say yes. But she couldn’t do it.
How could she say yes, knowing that he didn’t feel anything for her? For him, it was all about the sex and she knew that marriages based on sex didn’t last.
She wasn’t like her mother. For her, the price was too high.
‘You’re offering me that coveted position as your mistress?’ Somehow, she managed to make a joke of it. ‘Well, I can certainly see some advantages. For a start I’d be given that phone number. At least I’d be able to contact you when I wanted to without having to doorstep you in your office.’
‘So is that a yes?’