‘No, Rio—’
‘Smile,’ Rio insisted. ‘It’s our wedding day and we should be making the most of it—’
‘Oh, I think you’ve already done that,’ Ellie told him before she could think better of that comment.
And Rio laughed with unholy amusement. ‘You’re mine. I needed the proof of it.’
All shaken up and fizzing with conflicting feelings and emotions, Ellie returned to the wedding festivities. Rio kept a hold of her, not letting her stray far from his side. Her body still felt hot and alien, the aftershock of forbidden pleasure and excitement still trapped inside her like a shameful secret. There was wanting and then there was wanting Rio, and he had just taught her that she was the one without the off switch when she needed it. That knowledge made her feel achingly vulnerable.
CHAPTER EIGHT
RIO SCOOPED HER out of the helicopter with precision. The flight had taken less than an hour.
‘Why won’t you tell me where we’re going?’ Ellie demanded.
‘In a few minutes you’ll know exactly where we are—’
‘I wouldn’t bet on that. I haven’t travelled much,’ Ellie admitted as he walked her a few steps down a quay and assisted her into a motorboat.
But as he had forecast, Ellie recognised where she was even though it was a place she had only previously seen in pictures. The view of Venice as the boat sped across the lagoon was breathtakingly beautiful. ‘It’s just like the paintings Beppe showed me,’ she whispered, entranced.
On the Grand Canal, the boat slowed amidst the busy water traffic and nosed in at a smartly decorated landing stage. Climbing out, she accompanied Rio into a magnificent foyer ornamented with huge Venetian glass chandeliers. ‘Welcome to the Hotel Palazzo Sorrentino,’ Rio murmured. ‘The jewel in the crown of my hotel chain.’
‘Sorrentino?’ she queried in surprise.
‘Yes, it once belonged to your family but it was last used as a home by your great-grandfather and even he only lived in a tiny corner of it. Beppe was quoted millions for the repairs that were needed and he sold it to me,’ Rio explained. ‘It was being used as a warehouse by then because it wasn’t fit for habitation. Converting it into an exclusive hotel took years but it was a worthwhile investment. Now it’s fully booked years in advance.’
Recognising that almost every eye in the reception area was on them, Ellie went pink, suddenly conscious of her wedding finery. A little man in a smart suit approached to welcome them and handed her a beautiful bouquet with the compliments of the staff. Rio accepted a key from him and guided her across the foyer and down a corridor.
‘We’re staying here?’ she asked.
‘Not in the hotel. The palazzo came with a couple of attached buildings and I retained one of them for personal use. Beppe uses it regularly. He loves Venice, particularly in the winter when it’s quiet,’ Rio told her, leading her outside and along a wisteria-clad walled alley to a narrow door flanked by Venetian gothic windows. ‘It’s very private here and the staff service it so we don’t have to worry about housekeeping or cooking.’
Ellie walked into a charming wood-panelled reception room that overlooked a tiny lush green garden at the rear. Beyond the garden, a gondola sailed past on a narrow waterway. It was a magical scene.
Rio removed the bouquet from her hold. ‘I’ll stick the flowers in the sink.’
Ellie knew she should go with him and deal with the flowers but the diverse traffic flowing past on the canal commanded her attention and she stayed where she was.
‘I’ll show you round now,’ Rio said lightly, and in a great gilded antique mirror she caught a glimpse of her answering smile that softened her face, and looked away again, dismayed that she could look happy in the company of a man who had implied that she could be a gold-digger.
‘I need to tell you about Violet… The lady in the hospice, who changed her will in my favour,’ she said tightly.
‘Not now, we’ve had enough stress. Leave it until later,’ Rio urged as he opened the door on a dining room where food already awaited them on the table, fearful that any sudden revelations from Ellie would set them at odds again on a night that he very much wanted to be special and all about ‘them.’ ‘We should eat first. You didn’t have much earlier.’
‘I wasn’t hungry,’ she admitted as he pulled out a chair for her. ‘I didn’t think you’d notice—’
‘I notice everything about you,’ Rio incised drily.
‘If that was true, you’d know I’d never have sought out Beppe simply because he was well off,’ Ellie contended uncomfortably. ‘It didn’t matter who or what he was. I just wanted to fill in the blank I’ve lived with all my life and know what happened between my parents. You couldn’t possibly understand how much it means to me to know who my father is and to actually feel a sense of connection with him. It’s so much more than I ever hoped to have.’
‘I understand a lot more than you appreciate,’ Rio countered, his lean dark face setting into grim lines. ‘I will never know who my father is and, frankly, I don’t want to know. I met my mother as an adult and that killed off any sentimental delusions I might have had. My mother and I didn’t have a single thought or feeling in common.’
Ellie studied h
im in shock at that revelation.
‘You were very lucky to find a man like Beppe waiting at the end of your identity trail,’ Rio remarked wryly.