Deserving of His Diamonds?

She felt a shiver of apprehension trickle down her spine like a single drop of icy water. ‘I’d rather turn tricks on the nearest street corner than have anything to do with you,’ she threw back.

‘Before you reject an offer you really should discuss the terms and conditions more thoroughly,’ he said. ‘You might be surprised at some of the benefits.’

‘I can just imagine some of the benefits,’ Gisele said, her voice liberally laced with scorn. ‘A rent-free premises in exchange for my body and my self-respect. No thanks.’

‘You really should consider my proposal, Gisele,’ he said. ‘It wouldn’t do to put at risk everything you’ve worked so hard for, now, would it?’

‘I’ve lost everything before and survived,’ she said, throwing a verbal punch.

She heard it land with a sharp intake of his breath. ‘Don’t make me play dirty, Gisele,’ he gritted. ‘I can and I will if I have to.’

Gisele felt that icy shiver again. She knew just how ruthless he could be. She knew he had ways and means to make things very difficult for her, even more difficult than when he had thrown her out of his life so callously just days before the wedding she had planned with such excitement and anticipation. She still remembered the horror of that moment. She couldn’t even look at a wedding gown now without feeling that gut-wrenching sense of despair. But she was not going to roll over for him. ‘I don’t want or need your help,’ she said. ‘I don’t care if I have to beg on the streets. I will not accept anything from you.’

‘I recently designed a holiday retreat for one of Europe’s largest retail giants,’ Emilio said. ‘With a click of a computer mouse I could make your business expand exponentially. Your shop will not just be a local enterprise. It will instantly become a global brand.’

Gisele thought of the expansion she had planned over the next few years. How she had imagined building her business to spread to other suburban outlets and to the larger department stores and, more importantly, increasing her online presence. The only things that had been holding her back were secure finance and the right contacts.

She fought with her resolve. She wanted to say no. She wanted to slam the phone down in his ear. But turning her back on him would mean turning her back on the sort of success most people could only dream about. But then, doing any sort of business deal with Emilio would mean contact with him.

Contact she didn’t want, wouldn’t allow herself to want.

Her stomach slipped like a cat’s claws on a highly polished surface.

Maybe even intimate contact …

‘Think about it, Gisele,’ he said. ‘You have a lot to gain by allowing me back in your life, even if it’s only temporarily.’

‘What do you mean, temporarily?’ she asked warily.

‘I would like you to spend the next month with me in Italy,’ Emilio said. ‘It will give us a chance to see if we can still make things work between us. I will, of course, pay you an allowance for the time we spend together.’

‘I’m not spending the next minute with you,’ Gisele said with a fresh upsurge of resolve. ‘I’m hanging up right now so don’t bother call—’

‘It will also be the perfect opportunity for me to introduce you to the right contacts,’ he said. ‘How does a million dollars for the month sound?’

Gisele’s mouth opened and closed. She couldn’t seem to get her voice to work. Her heart was pumping so hard and so fast she felt as if it were going to explode out from between her breasts and land on the floor in front of her.

A million dollars.

Could she do it? Could she survive a month living with Emilio? She had shared his bed with love in the past. How could she do it this time with hatred?

Would he want her to share his bed?

A shiver ran over her skin. Of course he would want her to. Hadn’t she seen his desire for her burning in his dark eyes when he came into the shop? Couldn’t she hear the spine-tingling rumble of it in his voice now? ‘I … I need some time to think about this,’ she said.

‘What’s to think about?’ he asked. ‘You win either way, Gisele. If after a month we both feel there’s no point in carrying on any further, you will be free to go. No strings. You can take the money and leave.’

She chewed at her bottom lip for a moment. ‘And you’re happy to have me back in your life, hating you the way I do?’ she asked.

‘I understand your feelings,’ he said. ‘But I feel we both need to be sure we’re not making the biggest mistake of our lives by not exploring the possibility of a future together.’

Gisele frowned. ‘Why are you doing this?’ she asked. ‘Why not leave things as they are?’

‘Because as soon as I saw you the other day I knew we had unfinished business,’ he said. ‘I felt it and I know you did too. You can deny it but it won’t make it any less real. You might hate me but I felt your body react to mine. You still want me just as much as I still want you.’

Gisele hated that he knew her body so well that he could read its most subtle of signals. What hope did she have of coming out of this with her pride intact? ‘I want another day or two to think it over,’ she said. ‘And if I agree, I won’t accept less than two million.’

‘I can see why you have done so well for yourself in the time we’ve been apart,’ Emilio said musingly. ‘You drive a hard bargain. Two million is a lot of money.’

‘I have a lot of hate,’ she shot back.

‘I will look forward to dismantling it,’ he said.

Gisele felt her insides clench with unruly desire. ‘You haven’t got a hope, Emilio,’ she said. ‘You can pay all you like for my body but you will never have my heart.’

‘Your body will do for now,’ he said with smouldering intensity. ‘I will send a car for you on Friday evening. Pack your passport and some clothes if it is a yes.’ And with that the phone line went dead.

As Emilio’s driver pulled up in front of her block of flats Gisele told herself she was saying yes for one reason and one reason only. She wanted to make Emilio’s life as miserable as she could for the next month. She would enjoy every minute of making him regret the way he had treated her. He would not find her such an easy conquest this time around. She was not the sweet, shy, rather naive virgin he had met and swept off her feet two years ago. She was older and wiser, harder and more cynical. More battle scarred and dangerously, scarily angry.

Also, being in Europe for a month might give her the opportunity to get to know the sister she had never met until a couple of weeks ago. Sienna was currently living in London, which was a whole lot closer to Rome than Sydney.

Gisele felt her chest tighten as she thought of all the lost years, all the lost confidences and closeness she and Sienna should have had together. Selfish adults who had not stopped to think of the long-term consequences of such a reckless and self-serving deception had stolen it from them.

She was still coming to terms with the heartbreak of finding out the truth. It wasn’t just about the sex tape scandal mix-up, although that was heartbreaking enough. She felt her whole life had been a lie. She didn’t know who she was any more. It was as if Gisele Carter, the Sydney born and bred only child of Richard and Hilary Carter, had suddenly vanished, vaporised into thin air.

Who was she now?

She was not her mother’s daughter. And yet she was not her biological mother’s daughter either as she had never felt her mother’s arms or ever felt the brush of her lips on her skin, or if she had in those first early days after birth she had no memory of it now.

She had been handed over like a package, a one-way delivery, never to be returned to sender. How had her mother, Nell Baker, chosen which baby to keep and which one to give away? Had she done it willingly or had she done it for the money?

A little dagger of guilt pierced Gisele as she thought of what she had led Emilio to believe she would do for money. He thought he could pay any amount to have her back in his life and back in his bed but he was in for a big surprise. She gave a grimly determined smile as she pressed down on the suitcase to snap the locks closed. Once the month was up Emilio would be just as glad to see the back of her as he had been the last time.

She would make sure of it.

Emilio was waiting in the hotel bar when Gisele came. He felt the jolt of awareness hit him like a punch to his abdomen. He had met hundreds of beautiful women but no one had that powerful physical effect on him just by walking into the room. And yet she hardly seemed to be aware of how every male head turned and looked at her.

Her simple but elegant cream dress was nipped in at the waist with a black bow at the front that drew attention to how slim she was. He suspected he could now span her waist with his hands. Her silver-blonde hair was pulled back in a smooth knot at the back of her head, showcasing the swanlike grace of her neck. She was wearing make-up but it was so skilfully applied it looked entirely natural. She had subtly highlighted the grey-blue of her eyes with eyeliner and a brush of smoky eyeshadow, and her lush lips were shiny with pink-tinted lipgloss. It made him want to lean down and press his lips to hers to see if she still tasted the same. He could smell her perfume, her signature summery honeysuckle scent that had clung to his skin for hours after making love with her. He had missed that fragrance. It never smelled quite the same on anyone else.

He stood to greet her, and even though she was wearing shiny patent black killer heels he still towered over her. ‘Did you bring your passport?’ he asked.

She gave him a churlish look from beneath her lashes. ‘I almost didn’t, but the thought of two million reasons why I should made me see reason.’

Emilio allowed himself a small smile of satisfaction. She was here under duress but at least she was here. He led her to a quiet corner in the bar with a gentle hand at her elbow. He felt her bare skin shiver in response to his touch and an arrow of need staked him in his groin. Her skin was so soft and creamy, like silk against his fingers. ‘What would you like to drink?’ he asked. ‘Champagne?’

She shook her head. ‘I’m not celebrating anything,’ she said, shooting him another look. ‘White wine will do.’

Emilio ordered their drinks and, once they had been served, he leaned back in his seat to study her icemaiden features. He knew he deserved her ire. He had thrown her out of his life with a callous and ruthless disregard for her feelings. He had been so convinced she had betrayed him. The red mist of anger he had felt had blinded him to anything but what he believed she had done. The image of her with that man taunted him and had done so until he had found out about the discovery of her identical twin.