Chapter Sixteen
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Emilio waited at the foot of the staircase for his wife, impatiently waiting to see what she would step out in. If everything went to plan, this would be a night she wouldn’t forget soon.
Once they reached Venice, they’d be attending the opening of an art gallery.
He’d wanted to surprise Jasmine with a breathtaking outfit of his choice but had realised that wouldn’t be respectful—not to the woman who’d single-handedly been responsible for the success of Style On Point.
Instead he’d told her to pick out whatever she wanted from a personal shopper’s catalogue and that it would be paid for.
She had fought him at first but then graciously accepted.
It wasn’t long before he heard her heels click-clacking towards him and he buttoned up the jacket of his black suit.
Jasmine appeared at the top of the stairs with a broad smile.
Her hair pinned back. Her long neck emphasised by a pair of long, bold, black earrings.
One shoulder bare, the other covered in a strap of black fabric.
Her legs looked delectably long in the monochrome jumpsuit.
Her wrists were adorned with black bracelets that glittered exactly as her earrings did.
On her feet were strappy sandals with a shorter heel than he had seen her wear in New York.
‘Bellissima,’ Emilio said.
‘Grazie . ’ She smiled. ‘Before you get too excited, that is the extent of my Italian.’
Emilio laughed. He couldn’t remember a time when he’d felt so light. ‘I have plenty of time to teach you.’ He kissed her cheek and pulled away before either of them could succumb to temptation. ‘Ready?’
Jasmine nodded and he led her out to the grounds, where a helicopter stood on a private helipad.
He helped her into her seat, working to tighten the belts until he was satisfied.
Then, for the next hour and a half, he basked in the wonder on Jasmine’s face as she looked at Italy glittering in the darkness.
When they landed, he ushered Jasmine into a waiting runabout bobbing in the water, then smoothly navigated the canals, bringing them to a dock where a uniformed man moored the boat. During their short walk to the gallery, his hand never left the small of her back.
The gallery itself was a vast open space with a maze of floating walls. Around each corner was a collection of art installations and an array of sculptures.
‘I love it here,’ Jasmine said, beaming. ‘Thank you for bringing me.’
‘Anything for you.’ He kissed her forehead. ‘Lead the way.’
She took his hand and they moved through the space, ignoring the other patrons and even the waiters. Jasmine only had eyes for the art, lost in its beauty. But the only beauty he could see was her. They could have been in a cell with pure white walls and Emilio would scarcely have noticed.
‘Whatever you want is yours,’ he whispered in her ear.
She spun round. ‘You can’t be serious?’
‘Of course I am.’
Jasmine laughed. ‘Where would we put it, Emilio?’
‘Where do you want it? The penthouse? I’ll let you redecorate. Any of our other homes.’
‘Our other homes?’
‘You didn’t think we just had New York, did you? We could put them in Rome or Tokyo or Paris or London or Singapore. There are more.’
‘We?’
‘ Belleza , my home is our home. Our child’s home.’
‘Emilio.’ Her eyes welled up and, even though they were clearly happy tears, he didn’t want to see her cry. He cupped her cheek. Just as he was about to kiss her, he heard his name.
His blood ran cold.
‘Gia.’
He pulled Jasmine against his side, glimpsing the searching look in her eyes.
‘I haven’t seen you in eight years!’ the familiar voice said.
‘And I would prefer not to have seen you again.’
He felt the truth of the words to his very soul.
Looking at Gia now, she hadn’t changed at all, but he felt nothing: not anger; not sadness; not longing…
nothing. He couldn’t even remember why he’d thought he was falling in love with her.
He knew now how love really felt. Love was what he felt for Jasmine.
Jasmine, who was trustworthy and generous and kind.
Gia was selfish and greedy, and he had never seen what they’d had more clearly. ‘Have a good evening.’
‘Don’t be like that.’ The woman batted her lashes. ‘It’s like fate!’
She was stunning. Brunette, and curvy in all the right places.
Dressed in bright red—sophisticated, if conspicuous for a gallery opening, where the art was meant to shine.
She was shorter than Jasmine by a head despite the pencil heels she wore.
Jasmine disliked her instantly, and not for any reason other than the waves of hostility pouring off Emilio.
A man whom she had come to know as caring. Friendly. Careful.
‘No,’ Emilio replied icily. ‘Fate is how I met the most incredible woman in the world.’
Jasmine looked up to find him glancing down at her with softness and caution in his eyes.
The woman—Gia?—turned her attention to Jasmine now. ‘And who is this?’
‘My wife…’ He placed a curious emphasis on the word. Something strange was going on here. Those doubts Jasmine had tried to ignore began rearing their heads. ‘Jasmine De Luca.’
Jasmine’s fingers were curled around Emilio’s bicep, her engagement ring and wedding band on full display, and she watched the woman’s eyes dip to them, then lower to Jasmine’s belly. She extended her hand. ‘You are…?’
‘Gia Moretti.’ She shook Jasmine’s hand, a hair’s breadth tighter than was friendly.
‘By the looks of it you’re expecting a little Emilio.
’ Her tone was pleasant but there was a sharpness there.
‘I would never have thought you to be the fatherhood type, Emilio, but I guess life sometimes doesn’t work out the way we plan. ’
‘I’m sure it didn’t for you,’ Emilio said evenly. ‘How is that fame and fortune treating you?’
Jasmine had seen Emilio be antagonistic before, had experienced it when she had surprised him with the news of their child, but this felt different. The words were meant to wound. It only made Jasmine more anxious to know what was going on.
‘Come now, Emilio, there’s no need to be nasty. We had fun.’
The floor fell out beneath Jasmine’s feet.
He was with women before you. You knew this.
But she’d never expected to be faced with the reality of it. Besides, her gut told her there was something wrong here, something more.
‘I’d hoped we run into each other,’ Gia continued.
‘How did you know I was back in Italy?’ Suspicion was clear in Emilio’s tone.
‘Come now, Emilio, you must know that you still get snapped, even when you’re trying to fly under the radar.’ Gia smiled. ‘I thought we might have fun again…’
The audacity of this woman! Jasmine was just about to respond when Emilio’s arm squeezed tightly around her. Maybe it was best just to observe, learn everything she could before she launched into confrontation.
‘Why? Because you want back into the limelight?’ Emilio laughed harshly. ‘You’re a selfish, toxic, greedy woman and I want you nowhere near my family.’
Jasmine saw the sneer that formed on Gia’s face. The daggers in her pretty eyes when she looked at Jasmine’s ring. Clearly this woman was used to getting her way and didn’t take well to being thwarted.
‘Has he mentioned me… Jasmine, was it? Did he tell you how we met?’
‘Gia…’ Emilio warned.
‘Did you steal her from Enzo too?’ she asked mockingly.
Jasmine looked at Emilio to find a thunderous expression on his face. His brown eyes, normally so warm, were like ice. ‘Leave.’ His voice was a low growl. Threatening.
‘Oh, come on, you can’t still be angry about what happened.’
‘If you don’t leave right now, Gia, I will take everything Enzo gave you and then some.’
Jasmine had had just about enough. She had had it with this woman.
She’d had it with the secrets that Emilio kept.
She’d thought she could live with it but, if this Gia was one of them, she wasn’t sure she could.
If Emilio was reacting this badly, Jasmine could only imagine how horrible his secret was—possibly as horrible as this woman.
And why would he keep it unless he was afraid that it would affect her…
affect their marriage, his plans? Jasmine fought a shiver.
A chill ran right through her at the realisation that her trust was being betrayed again.
That chill was followed by the red-hot burn of rage. All of this reminded her so much of Richard and Zara. Her stomach roiled, but she wanted answers. She took a single step towards Gia, forcing her to look up. She didn’t often use her height to intimidate, but right now she didn’t care.
‘Clearly you aren’t wanted here, so I suggest you leave my family alone.’
‘Oh, please!’
‘I said, leave.’ Gia must have seen something in Jasmine’s face because with one last venomous glare, she turned on her heel and left.
Instantly, Jasmine rounded on Emilio. ‘What was that about?’
‘Jasmine…’
‘What did she mean, Emilio?’ she asked through gritted teeth, trying to control the hurt, anger, disappointment, forcing them into a box inside her. She had to be rational and she was fighting hard for that rationality.
Emilio sighed. ‘I’ll explain everything to you later.’
‘No.’ She crossed her arms. ‘I want to know now.’
Emilio cursed under his breath and Jasmine knew whatever he was going to say would be bad.
‘I’d rather have this conversation in private.’
‘Then let’s go.’ She wasn’t going to drop this.
She realised if she’d been the old her, the person she’d been with Richard, she would have been so desperate not to make him uncomfortable or look bad, that she would have sucked it up and stayed the rest of the night at the gallery.
She had made herself smaller for Richard in so many ways, but she was done doing that for anyone. Done being that person.
She wouldn’t make this easy for Emilio. She would have nothing less than honesty from him. She didn’t care how controlling that made her seem. How difficult he found her.
Emilio took her hand, but she pulled it away.
‘Please, Jasmine. Give me chance to explain before you reject me.’ The defeat in his voice was like claws in her heart, but she had to remain strong. Stand her ground.
The journey to the hotel was tense and silent. She said nothing, even as Emilio checked them in, and stood away from him in the lift. She needed a clear head for what lay before her.