Phantom Marriage

‘Si. But Veronica, she not want to go to Blue Grotto.’

‘I’ve seen it before.’ Veronica jumped in before Franco could say anything further. ‘I came here as a day tripper when I was in my early twenties. It’s a very beautiful cave but I didn’t want to queue up to see it again.’

Leonardo nodded. ‘Understandable. Actually, the only way to see Capri is by air. I will take you up in the helicopter tomorrow.’

‘Oh,’ she said, thrilled and terrified by his offer. ‘You don’t have to do that.’

‘But I want to. And you will love it. Let’s go, Franco. I’m sure Veronica is anxious to see her father’s villa.’

Oh, Lord, Veronica thought as the taxi moved off. Her father’s villa. The reason she’d come here. And the last thing she’d been thinking about since the very handsome Leonardo Fabrizzi had stepped off that helicopter less than five minutes ago.

CHAPTER SIX

LEONARDO SETTLED INTO the back seat of the taxi and tried to a

ct normally, not like a man who was finding the girl next to him disturbingly attractive. Disturbing, because he wasn’t in the mood to be attracted to any girl at the moment, having decided after today’s fiasco in Rome that the female sex was nothing but trouble.

At the same time, he owed it to his friend’s memory to be hospitable to his daughter. And to satisfy Veronica’s very natural curiosity about the father she’d never known. It was a pity, however, that she had to possess the type of allure which he’d always found difficult to resist. He adored tall, elegantly slender brunettes, especially one whose hair was long and which, once released from a ponytail prison, would cascade down her back in loose curls like the tresses of some mediaeval princess. Combine that with a delicate oval face, clear porcelain skin and a lush mouth and you had a package which would tempt a saint.

And he was no saint.

Hopefully, when she took her sunglasses off, she would have small squinty eyes and a bumpy nose, but he doubted it. Laurence’s eyes had been one of his best features and his nose had been nicely shaped. If his daughter took after him—and he suspected that she did—she would be a classical beauty, with a superb brain and an enquiring mind.

The many hours Leonardo had spent with Laurence stood out as some of the most enjoyable times of his adult life. It hadn’t been just his house he’d enjoyed but the man himself. His company. His knowledge. His probing questions.

Leonardo sighed as he was reminded how much he missed his friend.

‘I’m sorry I wasn’t there to meet you off the ferry, Veronica,’ he said. ‘I had some unexpected trouble at my boutique in Rome which I had to attend to.’

She turned to glance his way, her jeaned thigh briefly brushing against his. ‘Something serious?’

‘Yes and no. The manager was…what is the expression?…dipping her fingers in the till.’

‘That’s dreadful. Did you have her arrested?’

Leonardo’s laugh was very dry. ‘I would have liked to, but she threatened to ruin me if I did that.’

‘How could she ruin you?’

Leonardo shrugged. ‘Perhaps “ruin” is an exaggeration. She threatened to accuse me of sexual harassment if I had her arrested. In the end, I paid her off and she left quietly. But I’m not sure I trust her to keep her silence. She might still put something nasty on social media about me.’

‘Like what?’

‘She could say that to get her job in the first place she had to sleep with me.’

‘But that’s slander!’

‘Not exactly. I did sleep with her. Once. It was a mistake, but I could not take it back after it happened, could I?’

‘Well, no. I guess not.’

Leonardo noted the dry note in Veronica’s voice. She probably thought he was a playboy. Which he was, in some people’s eyes. But not of the worst kind. He tried not to hurt women’s feelings, but unfortunately the opposite sex often equated lust with love. He glanced over at Veronica and wondered if she was that type.

This thought brought another one.

‘I didn’t think to ask over the phone if you had a boyfriend,’ he said. They’d talked about their professional lives but hadn’t touched on the personal. He’d told her about his sportswear company and she’d explained that she worked from home as a physiotherapist, treating mostly elderly patients. She’d sounded oddly spinsterish over the phone. He could see now how wrong that impression had been. A beautiful woman like her would surely have a love life.

Her face betrayed nothing. But she stiffened a little.