Chapter Nine #2
‘It’s certainly paid off.’ Addie waited a beat before adding, ‘No doubt there are a lot of very grateful women out there.’ And now she was one of them.
One woman in a long line of women. And she wouldn’t be the last. Many would come after her, no pun intended.
What right did she have to think his time with her would make him change his casual dating ways?
Sure, it had been special for her, how could it not be?
But to Vic Jacobetti it was probably just sex.
But it wasn’t just sex for her. Making love with him had shown her the depth of her feelings for him, the way they had grown from a crush to genuine love.
She admired him, trusted him, wanted to be with him longer than this short time in Lake Como but how could she ask him to extend their time together?
He had laid down the conditions and she had accepted them.
A frown formed on his forehead and his expression became serious. ‘I know what you read about me in the press is entertaining and salacious at times, but a lot of it isn’t true.’
Addie raised her eyebrows. ‘Are you saying you’re not a profligate playboy?’
Vic’s mouth twisted in a rueful manner. ‘I’m too busy running my hotel empire to have as many lovers as the press make out. I only have to be seen in the company of someone for the press to jump to conclusions.’
Addie thought about the women they had passed while they were shopping and the comment one of them made about her. ‘Not beautiful enough to be his lover.’ But what if someone else had seen her with Vic and sent a photo to the press?
Vic reached up to smooth her frown away. ‘What’s that serious look for, hmm?’
Addie drew in an uneven breath. ‘You know we’re only a photo away from being exposed. Those women down when we were shopping—’
‘Were wrong, for one thing,’ Vic interjected. ‘You are beautiful.’
As much as his compliment thrilled her, she still was worried about how the press would portray her.
And if they realised she was Solange Featherstone’s daughter, there would be comparisons for sure and not flattering ones towards her.
‘But what if the press was to find out? And how will we explain it to Marcus and Isabella?’
He stroked his finger down the slope of her nose in a tender fashion. ‘Let’s not worry about things that might not eventuate. This is between us for now.’
Addie captured her lower lip in her teeth, her gaze slipping out of reach of his.
‘I’d better go and check on Katerina. She often wakes this time of night.
’ She moved out of his loose hold and getting off the bed, slipped her bathrobe back on, tying it securely around her waist. Leaving to check on Katerina was an excuse to put some distance between them, to collect her thoughts, to reflect on her situation now that she recognised she was in love with him.
She didn’t want to make a fool of herself by suddenly blurting it out, especially so soon after making love with him.
It would make her appear an even more naive and gauche person than she already was.
‘Addie.’ His firm deep voice sent her gaze back to his. ‘The app on my phone will alert us to Katerina waking. Stay for a bit longer.’ He patted the bed she had just vacated but somehow, she summoned up some willpower and resisted.
‘I need to use the bathroom.’ She gave a self-conscious smile and added, ‘And I know this sounds terribly unsexy, but I’m starving.’
He gave a deep rumble of laughter and tossed off the sheet that was half covering him. ‘You go and do what you need to do, I’ll check on Katerina and then I’ll make us some supper, okay?’
‘It sounds wonderful.’ And it did. But she was a fool to think this fairytale was going to last. A romantic location, mind-blowing sex, a handsome and tender lover, a midnight supper with only the moon watching on.
It all sounded so dreamy, something she had never thought could ever happen to her.
But the sooner she accepted this was temporary, the better.
But oh, how she wished it could be for ever.
A short time later, Vic stood over Katerina’s cot watching as she slept deeply.
He could see his friend’s features in his goddaughter’s angelic face, but he could also see his half-sister’s Italian colouring and even his mother.
Genetics was an intriguing thin…how it passed on DNA from previous generations.
He had ruled out having children of his own because he didn’t want any child of his suffering the loss he had suffered.
Losing his father so young had made it impossible for him to envisage a life where he would be responsible for keeping his loved ones safe.
Every day on the news, families of all shapes and sizes were shattered by tragedy.
There was no escaping the vicissitudes of life and his only way to navigate through it was to control what he could.
He could avoid grief by not loving someone the way he had loved his father.
But looking down at little Katerina, so soon after making love with Addie, made him begin to realise what he was missing out on.
There would be no day in the future when he would look down at his own sleeping child.
There would be no day when he would watch that child grow from an infant to an adult.
Those thoughts had never bothered him before.
He had simply dismissed them, not allowing them any traction in his mind.
But making love with sweet and innocent Addie this evening had triggered something inside him.
A sliding doors moment. Something that made him wonder what his life would look like a couple of decades from now.
Would he still be satisfied with the long hours he worked, the financial success he had accumulated, the no-strings casual dating he engaged in?
He had poured so much of his time and energy into his company, rebuilding it from the ruins his stepfather had left it in.
He had thrown himself into the challenge, channelling his anger at his circumstances into producing one of the most luxurious hotel chains in the world.
He had done it to honour his father who had not only missed out on seeing Vic grow from child to adult but had also missed out on seeing the business he founded grow into the successful empire it was today.
This very villa was going to be Vic’s ultimate achievement, to turn his family home into the most salubrious hotel of the Jacobetti chain.
But would he be satisfied at all he had achieved at the end of his life?
It wasn’t something he had dwelt on much in his quest to build the hotel chain into what it was today.
He was not unaware of people’s regret at the end of their life over the choices they had made, the things they would have done differently with the benefit of hindsight.
Would he be one of them? Full of regrets instead of gratefulness?
And why was he bothered by these thoughts now?
Making love with Addie had been a wonderful experience; he would even go as far as saying it was the best sex he had ever had.
The chemistry between them was explosive, a slow burn that had fizzed and sparked into combustible heat.
The sensual touch of her hands, the sweetness of her mouth, the tight wet warmth of her body had made him feel honoured and privileged that she had chosen him to be her first lover.
His body was drawn to her by an irresistible force, like lightning was drawn to metal and his pleasure had been just as earth-shattering.
He couldn’t remember feeling pleasure and satisfaction like it. It was like making love for the first time but without the clumsy awkwardness and embarrassment. His body still hummed with the sensations she had evoked in his flesh; the drumbeat of ongoing lust was rumbling like background thunder.
But what to do now? Was it fair to leave it as a one-off event?
Surely Addie deserved more than a one-night stand?
But if he continued their sexual relationship he would be drifting into dangerous territory.
There were risks involved, risks he wasn’t sure he wanted to take.
What if she developed feelings for him? She was not a worldly type of woman; she had zero experience in the world of casual dating.
She had a big heart and it would be bruised if not broken if she wanted more than he was prepared to give.
And there were other risks, ones he didn’t want to acknowledge existed, but he would be a fool not to factor them in.
His relationship with Addie was unlike any other in his circle of friends, unlike any of his casual encounters.
She was unique and therefore he had to be careful not to trigger feelings he didn’t want to possess.
He wasn’t incapable of love; he loved his mother and his half-sister, he loved his friends, most particularly Marcus who was the closest thing to a brother he could get.
But falling in love was not something he had ever done or ever wanted to do.
Addie Featherstone was someone who deserved to be loved.
She deserved to be treasured and adored for a lifetime, not a short time.
But Vic wasn’t the man to do it. Why then did that make him feel uneasy, unsettled, edgy?
Katerina murmured in her sleep and turned her head to the other side of the cot facing the wall, and Vic held his breath, hoping he hadn’t inadvertently disturbed her slumber.
But after a few more moments, she let out a sigh and settled back down again.
Vic tiptoed out of the nursery, closing the door as he left.
He wished he could close the door on his troubled thoughts just as securely.