The Secret His Mistress Carried

‘Do you see anything you like?’ Gio enquired, apparently surprised by his wife’s unresponsive silence.

‘I’m not an art buff. I sort of prefer more traditional paintings,’ she whispered back guiltily, and then she stiffened, staring across the gallery at the unmistakeable figure of Calisto, sheathed in a scarlet minidress and virtually impossible to miss.

‘What the hell...?’ Gio breathed irritably above her head.

‘I’ll deal with this,’ Billie announced, startling him, walking across the marble tiles with her wine glass clasped in one determined hand.

‘How did you know we were going to be here?’ Billie asked Gio’s ex-wife without hesitation.

Calisto’s ice-blue eyes glinted. ‘I have my sources, but aren’t you a little out of your depth in this milieu?’

‘I believe you’re the one out of your depth. Gio isn’t coming back to you,’ Billie responded stiffly. ‘This is a waste of your time.’

‘Oh, I don’t think so. Once I heard the terms of your pre-nup, I knew you would be on your way out almost as soon as you arrived,’ Calisto trilled with a scornful smirk. ‘You signed it without reading it, didn’t you? Silly, silly woman. Remember that when Gio dumps you back in the UK without your precious son!’

Billie refused to react in any way, determined not to give Calisto that much satisfaction. The woman hated her: she could see that. It was there in the dripping malevolence of her gaze and the sneering tone of her voice and Billie was challenged to understand what exactly she had done to incite such intense loathing. Simply marrying Gio? Her custody of Gio’s son? Or was Calisto still in love with Gio and feeling scorned by his rapid remarriage?

Gio strolled up and without a word to even acknowledge his ex-wife walked Billie out of the gallery. ‘Only two people knew we were coming here and one of them is Damon, whom I trust with my life,’ he told her grimly. ‘I’ve already called him. He will deal with the leak and the person concerned will be sacked.’

‘I think that would be best,’ Billie said rather woodenly. ‘And perhaps the lawyer, whom you mentioned is her stepbrother? He seems to have talked out of turn about confidential matters as well.’

Gio frowned, making it obvious that he had not overheard Calisto’s final salvo. ‘What confidential matters?’

Billie shrugged as though she meant something trivial, reluctant to think the worst of Gio, averse to trusting anything that witch, Calisto, had claimed at his expense. She would dig out the pre-nup and check it out for herself or arrange to have it looked over by an independent lawyer. It couldn’t be true; it couldn’t possibly be true, she thought in an agony of fear. After all, if that claim of Calisto’s was true, it would mean that their marriage was an empty charade, never intended to do anything but gain Gio legal custody of Theo and she could not, would not believe that of him!

‘Your ex is a bit of a pyscho,’ Billie remarked tentatively as they settled into the waiting limousine.

‘And probably what I deserved,’ Gio breathed in a raw undertone of stress.

‘What’s the matter with you?’ Billie prompted before they entered the fashionable restaurant.

‘Nothing’s the matter,’ Gio insisted.

If you can believe that, you can believe anything, Billie reflected, unimpressed, off-balanced by the odd way he was behaving. He was still holding her hand, still acting as if he were physically welded to her or, ridiculously, as though he were afraid that she might run away somewhere.

No way, Billie thought combatively. He had signed up for a life sentence as far as she was concerned and he was going to serve it, she thought crazily, studying his lean, bronzed, totally gorgeous profile while he talked to Leandros and Billie listened to Leandros’ girlfriend, Claire, who was a British model, talk about the joys of fake tan and the cosmetics range she was planning. It wasn’t riveting stuff but Billie tried her best to be friendly while reaching the conclusion that Leandros was as shallow as a puddle when it came to the female sex.

Gio skated a teasing forefinger along Billie’s thigh below the table and she tensed, thinking, not about what he probably hoped she was thinking about, but instead about what Calisto had said. I’m going to have to ask him, she accepted unhappily.

Was he capable of such a deception through the means of a legal document? Oh, yes, Billie had no doubts when it came to how ruthless Gio could be. After all, in spite of what she had deemed to be a very happy relationship and her warning that she would not be there when he returned, Gio had still gone off and married another woman because that was what he’d felt he had to do. Like a granite rock rolling down a hill on a set path, Gio was not given to second thoughts or doubts or insecurities like frailer personalities and he didn’t think much about the damage he could be inflicting.