‘You nailed it,’ she agreed.
‘Thanks to you,’ he said, dipping his head to kiss her once, and then again and again. ‘You know, I never thought I’d say this,’ he admitted when they finally broke apart.
‘Say what?’ Jen prompted.
‘That I really love being with you.’
‘That’s it?’ she demanded.
He teased her with a thoughtful look. ‘That I love working with you?’
‘I think you’re being deliberately provocative.’
‘That I love making love to you?’
‘I should hope you do. And?’ she prompted. Her eyes were probably shining like beacons in the night, which made a nonsense out of everything she’d ever read about hiding her feelings or holding back, but she couldn’t help herself because she was in love with him, and she desperately wanted to hear Luca say again that he loved her too. His stare changed, heated. She knew those signs, and her body responded with enthusiasm. Seeing her answering fire, Luca swung her into his arms, and carried her out of the room. He ran up the stairs. They were both laughing, both on a high, celebrating life and each other.
‘That I love reassuring you?’ he suggested as he backed his way into the bedroom.
‘Not enough,’ Jen protested as he laid her down on the bed.
The look he gave her now said Luca knew exactly what was on her mind.
‘Not nearly enough,’ she complained, sitting up on the bed to brush her lips against his stubble-roughened cheek.
‘Okay,’ he agreed, pulling back and adopting a serious expression. ‘I can see I’ll have to do better.’
‘You’ll have to do a lot better,’ she assured him as Luca began stripping off his clothes. ‘I’m depending on it.’
She was naked seconds later. Stretching out his length against her, Luca drew her into his arms, and, cupping her face in his hands, he kissed her so tenderly that tears stung the backs of her eyes. She’d never been so happy. She’d never thought herself capable of experiencing anything like this.
Pulling back, Luca stared steadily into her eyes, and his expression had changed, from teasing to serious. ‘I love you,’ he said, and then his mouth tugged up at one corner as if he couldn’t believe it, either. ‘Just that,’ he admitted. ‘Pure and true. Love’s more important than anything else, don’t you agree?’
‘Absolutely,’ Jen whispered. ‘Oh, yes, I certainly do.’
As he stroked Jen’s hair after making his declaration, he wanted the moment to last for ever. He had never felt this close to anyone. He had never told a woman that he loved her, apart from his mother, and then he’d been a little boy, and that memory was a distant bell he could hardly hear now. Finding love with Jen was so unexpected it made it even more special. He wanted to frame the moment, and brand it on his mind. ‘I love you,’ he whispered again.
‘We’re stronger together than we are apart, for sure,’ she said confidently.
He laughed. ‘You’re always so certain.’
‘Yes. I am,’ she agreed. ‘Shouldn’t I be?’
He kissed her to reassure her. ‘Of course you should. Why not?’
‘I don’t know,’ she said, frowning. ‘You tell me...’ She smiled trustingly into his eyes.
He might never get another moment like this. Their barriers were down and they were being completely honest with each other. He had been waiting for the right moment, and if he was ever going to ask Jen about Raoul’s intentions, this was the right—the only moment?
‘Is there anything you can tell me about Raoul’s will that you might have forgotten?’ he said.
Jen was sure her blood had been replaced by ice. She stared at Luca blankly. ‘What do you mean?’ Her voice barely made it to a whisper, and then that whisper was hoarse. She couldn’t understand the question. What did he think she knew about his brother’s will? The one thing she could be sure about was that Raoul would never put anything down in writing that might rebound on someone he cared deeply about.
‘Jen?’
Luca was staring at her with that teasing, enquiring expression that she usually loved. It had always warmed and reassured her in the past, but right now it was doing the opposite. How could he think this was an appropriate time to ask the question? Her hands were shaking as she grabbed the sheet to cover herself.
‘It’s a simple question, Jen. All I’m asking is that you tell me any detail that Raoul might have let slip about his will.’
‘His will?’ she repeated numbly.
‘Yes—come on, Jen. Raoul talked to you—he must have mentioned it.’
‘Must he?’ She was still frowning, still confused, and no doubt staring at Luca like a complete idiot, which was how she felt, but not for the reasons he probably imagined. She could sense his impatience rising, which suggested Luca must have been brooding on this for some time. She didn’t want to think too deeply about what that meant, or how it might affect the tender green shoot of their new relationship.
‘Come on,’ he prompted, smiling encouragement. ‘I don’t think I’m being unreasonable. You’ve already admitted that Raoul confided in you. He must have mentioned this—’
‘I admitted?’ she repeated, staring at Luca with fresh eyes. ‘Am I being accused of something?’
‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ he exclaimed, throwing himself off the bed. He began to pace. ‘And don’t look at me like that.’
‘Like what?’ she queried.
‘As if you’re seeing me for the first time.’
‘Maybe I am.’
‘Jen—’
‘What?’ Climbing off the bed, she took the sheet with her, winding it around her like a shroud. It was hard to walk, almost impossible, but the mere fact of arranging yards of white cotton so she could put some distance between herself and Luca gave her something else to concentrate on apart from the seething hurt inside her.
‘Jen—please.’ Coming to her side, Luca caught hold of her.
‘Let me go,’ she warned.
There was something in the tone of her voice that made him lift his hands away. Holding them up, palm flat in a sign of surrender, he demanded, ‘What?’
She didn’t trust herself to say anything. Whatever she said now could only sound bitter and hurt. She’d waited a month for Luca to come back, and now he had returned, the mistrust between them had erupted all over again.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
SHE WAS SICK in the sink. She had retreated to the bathroom and locked the door. Luca was on the other side of the door, his voice ringing with concern. ‘Jen? Are you all right in there?’
All right?
She was devastated. Luca’s words kept washing over her in big, drowning waves. Raoul’s will? What was behind the question? Did Luca think she had something to gain from Raoul’s will? Raoul was broke, as far as she knew. That was what he’d told her. Raoul wouldn’t lie to her. Why would he? She’d never believed in his so-called ‘expectations’. Lots of gamblers kidded themselves about things like that. It hadn’t mattered to Jen. She hadn’t cared if he had money or not, apart from the fact that the lack of it had made things hard for Raoul. She’d tried to help him. She’d never judged people on what they were worth. She had never seen how that was relevant. She either liked people, or she didn’t, and she had liked Raoul very much—
‘Jen!’
Luca’s shout seemed to be enough to upset her stomach again, and she lurched back to the sink just in time.
‘Jen, answer me, or I’m coming in. I’ll break the door down—’
‘Leave me alone.’
‘Jen—I’m warning you—’
‘Shut up!’ Her scream bounced off the walls, and it was she who kicked the door.
Sluicing her face in cold water, she dried her face and stared at her ashen reflection in the mirror with alarm. Grabbing a robe from the back of the door, she belted it securely. ‘I’m coming out.’
Luca had tugged on his pants and stood towering over her like a monument to masculine p
ride. ‘How dare you?’ she challenged him. ‘All this time when I thought we were getting closer, you’ve been brooding about your brother’s will.’
‘Forgive me, Jen—’ Luca was as tense as she’d ever seen him. ‘I haven’t handled this well.’
‘Understatement. I can’t even get my head around it,’ she admitted. ‘You tell me you love me, and ten seconds later prove that your only concern is Raoul’s money.’ She made an involuntary sound of distress as she glanced at the rumpled bed. ‘Was this all part of your master plan?’
‘There is no master plan. There’s a lot more to it than that.’
She huffed a humourless laugh. ‘I’m sure there is.
‘Raoul was a very wealthy man—’
Jen laughed with incredulity. ‘You’re just making it worse,’ she exclaimed as she realised that feelings could change in a moment, and trust could be destroyed even faster than that.
Luca’s stare didn’t waver from her face. ‘I can’t avoid the truth.’