The Mistress Wife

Vivien gave him a frowning appraisal.

‘And what’s with all the make-up?’ Lucca’s famed self-discipline slipped another notch. ‘You rarely even use lipstick but here you are tonight painting yourself from head to toe! Any guy would be forgiven for wondering if you were going out on the pull!’

‘With your sister in tow, I think that’s unlikely.’ Vivien rose from the dressing stool and hid a smile. Maybe he had expected her to dress all in black and sob in the corner on the day she learned that they were divorced. Well, she was grateful to have disappointed his expectations and if he thought that she was in the mood to party, even better.

As the limo door closed on Vivien and Serafina, the younger woman grinned and shook her head in apparent wonderment. ‘Lucca’s so incredibly possessive of you…it’s sweet. I used to have this very cool image of my brother but he’s in a cold sweat just because you’re looking gorgeous and going clubbing without him!’

Vivien’s smile grew a little less forced and her eyes warmed. ‘You think so?’

‘I never thought I’d see the day but I think so. Umberto had invited Lucca to join his friends tonight but Lucca turned him down. But I bet you anything that Lucca goes now. The men are supposed to be meeting up with us at midnight.’

Seated in a dark corner, Vivien saw Lucca the instant he entered the club.

He was with a group but she saw only him. His height was distinctive. A down light gleamed over his arrogant dark head and gilded his strong cheekbones. Her heart skipped a beat and she breathed in deep. She was planning to play it very cool but she was really relieved that he had decided to come.

She had spent

the evening smiling until her jaw ached and avoiding male advances. Men had continually approached her. Serafina and her friends were split in their opinion of whether it was the leather skirt or the high-heeled boots that was the main attraction. But Vivien knew she should have listened to Lucca. While she had thought it would be nice to be admired, men cornering her to chat her up put her in just as big a panic now as they had done when she was a teenager.

She had thought over what Lucca had said and she felt a lot calmer and a little less hurt and rejected. To be fair to him, it had been a bit late in the day to call off their divorce. She had to be realistic: it was only ten days since they had got back together. He was right too in that they were more together than they had ever been. Without a doubt, she understood him an awful lot better and probably loved him a great deal more. Losing him once had scarred her but it had also, she had finally grasped, made her stronger and more independent. So, what was in a wedding ring? No magic answer, she decided, determined to keep up her spirits.

Lucca sank down behind the table and tugged her towards him. His stunning dark golden eyes locked to hers. Either she moved or he moved or they both moved simultaneously. Whatever, he closed his hands into her hair to hold her entrapped and took her mouth with a passionate urgency that lit her up inside like a bonfire.

‘Lucca…’ she said breathlessly, subsiding against him.

A satisfied smile chased the tension from his wide sensual lips. ‘We’ll get married again as soon as it can be arranged.’

In total disconcertion, Vivien studied him. ‘Why?’

‘You’re happier being married, bella mia,’ Lucca murmured smoothly. ‘I want you to be happy.’

He might as well have prodded her with a hot toasting fork. She pushed herself back from him. She was horribly tempted to slap him but was unsure that she would be able to stop at just one slap. As proposals went it was a killer, for it both patronised and humiliated. How dared he?

‘Of course, it will make me happy too,’ Lucca added belatedly.

‘Then you’ve got a problem because I don’t want to marry you again. Once was quite sufficient.’

‘You want me to get down on my knees in a public place?’ Lucca raked at her in a raw undertone.

She almost said yes just to see him explode. She was furious with him. ‘Which part of the word no don’t you understand?’

‘You’re driving me crazy…’ Lucca groaned, scorching golden eyes welded to her lovely face.

‘Let me tell you something…I’m quite happy being single—’

‘You weren’t happy about it this afternoon,’ Lucca interposed very drily. ‘So what’s changed? Has some toy boy caught your eye?’

‘It would serve you right if one had!’ Her sea-green eyes flashed at him, her temper fully alight.

‘I’d kill him…if another man touched you, I’d tear him apart with my bare hands!’ Lucca swore explosively. ‘Stop playing games with me. Why don’t you want to marry me?’

‘I’ll only marry for love …and you don’t love me.’

Raw frustration blazed in his brilliant gaze. He grabbed both her hands to hold her because she was backing away. ‘Vivi…’

The silence pulsed and roared. She waited. He compressed his stubborn mouth. She thrust him back from her in angry rejection. ‘Leave me alone!’

In the midst of that high-voltage moment, a guy leant over the table to say to her, ‘Can I buy you a drink?’