The Italian's Inherited Mistress

‘We could talk over an early lunch at my town house,’ Alissandru suggested, startling her out of her reverie.

‘I don’t think we have anything to talk about at present,’ Isla said in surprise.

‘That’s where you’re wrong,’ Alissandru asserted without hesitation.

‘I wish I could say that that declaration surprises me...but I can’t,’ Isla said ruefully. ‘You always think you’re right.’

CHAPTER FIVE

ALISSANDRU’S TOWN HOUSE lay off a quiet, elegant Georgian square. It was a family-sized house, not at all the ritzy single-man accommodation Isla would have expected him to inhabit and, when she commented, he confided that he needed a spacious property because his family stayed with him when they were visiting London.

‘My mother likes London for shopping and so do my cousins. She usually brings company with her.’

An inner shudder of recoil assailed Isla as she recalled Alissandru’s cousin Fantino, who had cornered her in that bedroom in Sicily and assaulted her. Not that she had recognised it as an actual assault at the time, being young and ignorant of such labels. Tania, after all, had dismissed the incident as a misunderstanding and had angrily warned a distraught Isla not to kick up a fuss over what had happened and spoil her wedding day. Did Fantino come to London? Was Alissandru close to him? The men were about the same age. Suppressing her wandering thoughts, she pushed the matter and that unfortunate connection back out of her mind again.

Alissandru showed her into a contemporary dining room decorated in fashionable shades of soft grey and tucked her into a comfortable chair. ‘Would you like a drink?’ he enquired.

‘No, thanks. Alcohol is off my menu for the immediate future—better safe than sorry,’ she quipped.

‘I didn’t know. In fact, I don’t know anything about pregnant women apart from the fact that they put on weight and get very tired,’ Alissandru admitted wryly. ‘And I only picked up that from listening to my cousins’ complaints.’

His honesty disconcerted her. She watched as an older woman brought in a tray and set plates out for them. It was a light meal, exactly what she preferred at present because, although she had yet to feel sick, her appetite had dwindled and she had lost a little weight.

‘You said that we had to talk,’ she reminded him as she sipped at her water. ‘What about?’

‘About me getting involved in all this,’ Alissandru specified. ‘You’re behaving as if you want me to step back and stay out of things until after the birth.’

Isla glanced up, her violet eyes troubled. ‘That is what I want.’

‘That won’t work for me,’ Alissandru countered bluntly. ‘I’m opening a bank account for you to take care of your expenses. Who are you living with at present?’

Isla flung back her shoulders. ‘A friend, but it’s only a temporary arrangement. I’ll need to find my own place. Alissandru... I really don’t need your financial help, not when I have what Paulu gave me.’

‘I have to contribute,’ Alissandru spelt out resolutely.

‘Even though you’re not convinced that this is your child?’ Isla snapped in exasperation.

‘Even though,’ Alissandru confirmed without hesitation. ‘I also intend to cover all your medical expenses and, with your agreement, accompany you to any important procedures...such as the scan Mr Welch mentioned was coming up. You can’t ask me to stand back and act like this has nothing to do with me. If this is my child I need to take an interest and take responsibility, as well.’

Isla swallowed hard on the flood of disagreement rising to her lips. Alissandru was very much a man of action and she could hardly fault him for stepping up to demand a share of the responsibility. He didn’t want to be excluded. He didn’t want to stand on the sidelines hearing stuff third-hand from her. But his wish to get involved contravened her earnest need to shut him out. Not very charitable, she scolded herself, not very fair. He had rejected her but he was not rejecting the possibility of their child. He was trying to do the right thing and if she denied him, it would only increase his distrust.

Playing for time, Isla toyed with her food. ‘I understand what you’re saying but I don’t need your money.’

‘Allow me to contribute towards your expenses. I want you to have the very best medical care and decent accommodation. I don’t want you worrying about the future.’ Brilliant dark golden eyes rested on her. ‘I must help. That’s not negotiable. I need to be supportive. I won’t interfere in your life, but I will be there in the background.’

Somewhat soothed by that reference to his staying in the background, Isla sighed. ‘I suppose I can hardly say no. I will keep you informed but I don’t want anything else to do with you. I don’t think that you can expect any warmer welcome from me after the way we parted in Scotland.’

‘I don’t want to upset you in any way,’ Alissandru told her. ‘But I do need to be part of this situation.’

* * *

Travelling back to the office, having dropped Isla home, Alissandru took stock at a more leisurely and reflective pace than was usual for him. He was imbued with the energetic conviction that he had plans to make, a lot of plans. First and foremost, he needed to find somewhere comfortable and with good security for Isla to live because at present she wasn’t staying in one of the safest areas of the city. Where she lived was a priority, he reasoned. And Mr Welch had impressed on him that she also needed a healthy diet so he would organise some sort of food service or delivery, as well.

A baby. If it was a little boy, it might be a little like Paulu, he reasoned, startling himself with that thought. Or why not a little girl with Paulu’s sweet nature? He didn’t care either way and his mother would be ecstatic with either possibility, for Constantia Rossetti was still struggling to cope with the loss of her son. A baby would be something positive to focus on and ultimately a comfort to them all.

As long as it was his child...

But why would Isla lie on that score? He had warned her that he wouldn’t marry her because naturally he couldn’t forget the disaster of his twin’s hasty marriage with Tania. Tania had wanted a rich husband much more than she had ever wanted a child. Isla, on the other hand, needed persuasion before she would even accept Alissandru’s involvement and financial support during her pregnancy. She hadn’t snatched at his offer for Paulu’s house, either.

Maybe she was playing a long game and trying to impress him, although it was hard to see what she could gain from denying her legal right to have his support. Maybe he was too jaded after Paulu’s experience to see the wood for the trees, he conceded uneasily, frowning at the mere suspicion that he could deserve Isla’s accusation of irrational prejudice. Regardless, however, he was already beginning to see a much more positive angle to the baby scenario.

His interest had been caught, and was that thanks to Paulu, as well?

‘What’s it all for?’ his twin had demanded that day in Alissandru’s office when he’d admitted his own desire for a child. ‘Who have you built this empire for? You already have more than you could spend in a lifetime. Wouldn’t you like a son or daughter to leave it all to?’

And Alissandru had laughed, deeming that a question for the future, not the present, only now everything had changed and it was amazing how priorities could rearrange themselves in the aftermath of loss. Paulu was gone and there was nothing he could do about that, but a child would give him a fresh focus. A child would need teaching and guidance and love. Alissandru suddenly smiled at the prospect. A baby just might be exactly what he needed...

* * *

Two days later, Isla lay in bed mulling over her final conversation with the father of her child. It wasn’t so much that Alissandru wanted to be part of the situation, more like he wanted to take over. He had already sent her details of three London properties he owned, inviting her to move into any one of them at his expense but, although i

t was a very lavish offer, Isla didn’t want to become Alissandru Rossetti’s kept woman. At the same time she only had a week to find somewhere of her own to live because Lindsay’s flatmate would be returning soon. It would be easier to accept Alissandru’s offer but the easy way wasn’t always the wisest way, Isla acknowledged uneasily.