Enthralled by Moretti

So his mood hadn’t changed. He was still hostile and contemptuous, still ready to attack. ‘I haven’t been out partying, Alessandro. I... It was my last day at work today. There was champagne at the office, that’s all. I...I’ve come because there are some things I still need to say to you.’

So she had just been cooped up at the office. He felt some of his dark mood evaporate. She had more to say to him? Well, why not? The choice was either that or the rest of the whisky to keep him company. He turned on his heels, leaving the door open and Chase, after a few seconds’ hesitation, followed him into the house.

CHAPTER TEN

SHE FOLLOWED HIM into the sitting room and immediately spotted the bottle of whisky, which was half-empty.

‘How much of this stuff have you drunk?’ she gasped in amazement.

‘I think it’s safe to say that my drinking habits are none of your business.’ The burgundy dress lovingly clung to her body and outlined curves in all the right places. He could feel himself getting turned on and he scowled because the last thing he needed was his wilful body doing its own thing. He subsided on the sofa, legs apart, his body language aggressively, defensively masculine.

‘So, what are you here for?’ he demanded, following her with a glowering expression as she hesitated by the door. He watched broodingly as she took a deep breath and walked to one of the pale-cream leather chairs by the fireplace, a modern built-into-the-wall affair which she had variously claimed to have both loved and detested.

‘I didn’t ask,’ Chase said in a thin voice. ‘But is someone here with you?’

‘Is someone here with me? Does it look like I have company?’ He gestured to the empty room.

‘You’re drinking, Alessandro...’ She nodded to the whisky bottle which bore witness to her statement. ‘And since when do you drink on your own? Especially spirits. Didn’t you once tell me that drinking spirits on your own was a sign of an alcoholic in the making? Didn’t you tell me that your parents put you off giving in to vices like that in a big way? That they were a bigger warning against drinking, smoking and taking drugs than any lecture anyone could have given you?’

Alessandro’s expression darkened. ‘And since when are you my guilty conscience?’ he demanded belligerently. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. It felt as though he hadn’t seen her in a hundred years and, whilst he knew that that certainly wasn’t a healthy situation given the fact that she had been dispatched from his life, he still couldn’t help himself, and that helplessness made him feel even more of a sad loser.

‘I’m not.’ Chase stared down at her entwined fingers in silence for a couple of seconds. Now that she was here, sitting in front of him, the nerves which had been absent on her trip over were gathering pace inside her. She had come to tell him how she felt but her moment of bravery was in danger of passing. She wasn’t his guilty conscience. She was nothing to him. She was surprised that he hadn’t slammed the door in her face, and she took some courage from the fact that he hadn’t.

‘I’ve...I’ve...managed to get a couple of leads on some promising jobs,’ she heard herself saying, a propos nothing in particular. ‘Out of London. One in Manchester. The other in Surrey. I guess I’ll sell my place and move sticks. It’ll be cheaper, anyway. I would probably be able to afford something bigger.’

‘And you’ve come here to tell me this because...?’

‘I haven’t come here to tell you that. I just thought... Well...’

‘Get to the point, Chase.’ When he thought of her leaving London, he felt as though a band of pure ice had wrapped itself around his heart like the tenacious tendrils of creeping ivy.

She sprang to her feet and began walking restively around the room. It was a big room. The colours were pale and muted, from the colour of the walls to the soft leather furniture. It was modern and, when she had first seen it, she hadn’t, been able to decide whether she liked it or not. Certainly, right at this very moment, it chilled her to the bone, but then wasn’t that just her fear and trepidation taking its toll? The hard contours of his face spoke volumes for his lack of welcome. He might not have slammed the door in her face but he clearly didn’t want her in his house. She felt that little thread of courage begin to seep slowly away.

‘Do you remember that...that day, Alessandro?’

‘Be specific. What day in particular are you talking about? The day you lied about the fact that you were a happily married woman, or the day you lied about the fact that the loving parents in Australia were a work of fiction...?’