Primo glared at him with sombre resentment. He could have said that this man had died the moment he’d set eyes on Olympia, replaced by another who would take any wild risk to claim her. But hell would freeze over before he said this to his brother and enemy.
‘You’re really enjoying this, aren’t you?’ he snapped.
‘The situation has its charm. Serves you right for playing such a tomfool trick! You’re usually such a stick-in-the-mud. Not last night, though. If there’s one man I’d never have expected to pick the lady up and carry her to bed, it’s you. Pity I was there to spoil the fun.’
The last word was choked off as Luke found himself thrust back against the wall with his brother’s hand at his throat.
‘One more word and I won’t be responsible for my actions,’ Primo said murderously.
‘Hey, calm down. All right, let’s leave it.’
Primo released him, leaving Luke to rub his throat and take deep breaths.
‘Another side of you I never suspected,’ he said, slightly hoarsely. ‘Well, well.’
‘I’m warning you, Luke, she’s not for you.’
‘Isn’t that for her to decide?’
‘Stay away from her.’
‘That would be hard since we’re living together.’
‘Don’t fool yourself. She only went with you to revenge herself on me. She cares nothing for you.’
‘You’re sure of that, are you?’ His eyes met Primo’s in a direct challenge.
‘Go to hell,’ Primo said.
‘If I can take her with me, I’ll go anywhere. Ah, here she is.’
Luke went forward to greet Olympia with a kiss on the cheek, but Primo did not see this. He walked away to his own car, got in and drove away.
As Luke drove her home he asked, ‘Did he give you a hard time today, demanding explanations and so forth?’
‘Not at all. He barely spoke to me.’
‘Good. Don’t you go explaining anything. It’s no business of his.’
‘I know. It’s just that it feels like deceiving him.’
‘Not deceiving. Just leading him up the garden path. And let’s face it, that’s how you two communicate.’
She gave a wry laugh. ‘That’s true enough.’
Luke’s home was on the southern boundary of Naples, in a recently built apartment block. Here everything was ultra-modern and shining. The computer was the latest, smoothest, most powerful of its kind. So was the internet connection, the printer, and ‘all the other bells and whistles’ as Luke cynically put it.
The same was true of everything in the kitchen, where the cooking arrangements were so complex that they could have propelled a spacecraft to the moon.
‘But they also do a mean scrambled egg,’ Luke had pointed out the previous night, then proceeded to demonstrate.
The apartment had two bedrooms, both with double beds and acres of wardrobe space. Her suitcases were still only half unpacked in the guest room, and now she hung up the rest of her things.
Luke knocked on the door. ‘I’ve made you some tea.’
‘Thank you,’ she said fervently.
While they were drinking tea she said, ‘I’d offer to cook supper but I don’t think I could cope with your kitchen.’
‘Another time. You have a lot of reading to do, if that stuff you’ve brought home means anything.’
‘Right, and I’m going to have to work hard because it’s in Italian and I’m still learning.’
‘Let me know if you need any help.’
She studied while he cooked, refusing to let her help. Nor would he allow her to help clear away after the excellent meal. After several hours devoted to files, with his assistance over awkward words, she felt she was beginning to get a grip on things.
How would it have felt if it had been Primo here, helping her out, caring for her with kindness? She closed her eyes. He no longer existed.
By the end of the evening she had a strange sense of contentment and safety. Luke even made her a mug of cocoa and said goodnight to her at her bedroom door.
She didn’t see Primo for two days and then he dropped into her office without warning.
‘Getting ready to go?’ he asked, seeing her tidying papers on her desk.
‘Yes, Signora Pattino and I are setting out tomorrow. I’m looking forward to it.’
She tried to speak normally, not letting him see how the sight of him affected her.
‘Good. Enrico tells me that you’re doing well.’
‘He seems to have started with a good opinion of me. That must be down to you.’
‘I told him what I thought, that your executive talents are considerable.’
‘Even though you hate me?’
‘I don’t hate you, Olympia, and I hope you don’t hate me. You did what you had to do. I should have understood sooner. It would have saved us both a lot of pain.’
The pain was there in his face. She saw it when she looked up, and her heart went out to him.
But he didn’t want her heart. He was still unyielding. Nothing in him was reaching out to her in return.
‘Are you talking about Luke?’ she asked.
‘It hardly matters now.’
‘Don’t wave me aside like that. Of course it matters.’
‘I just think you might have warned me that he was in your bedroom.’
‘I told him to stay out of sight while I got rid of you. I meant to do that in ten seconds.’
‘But you didn’t-’
‘I got angry with you and I forgot about him. He was only helping me pack-’
‘And undress.’
‘It was a hired dress. I had to leave it behind. I changed into something plain and useful, as you saw.’ She folded her arms and gave him a challenging look. ‘I promise you, they were not my seduction clothes.’
‘True. I remember.’
‘I’ve got to get going.’ She turned away to her desk but he detained her with a hand on her arm.
‘I just want you to know-I really didn’t throw you down on to the bed. It was an accident.’
She gave a shaky laugh. ‘I guess I knew that. You’re not the caveman type-whichever one of you was there that night.’ She saw him close his eyes suddenly. ‘Hey, I was only joking. It’s the past. Over and done with.’
‘As you say, over and done with. But I wish you weren’t living with Luke.’
‘Maybe I’ll find somewhere else later, when I know more about Naples.’
‘I’ve got friends in the business. I could-’
‘Primo, stop this. You can’t organise me. Not everyone can be bought off with a hefty tip.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean the hotel receptionist who didn’t call ahead to warn me you were coming. He was apologetic when I went down. He didn’t actually say you bribed him, but I guess you have your own methods of persuasion. Primo Rinucci always gets his own way, doesn’t he?’
‘Not always,’ he said sadly. ‘Sometimes even he knows when he has to admit defeat. Goodbye, Signorina Lincoln. I wish you well in your career.’
The soft touch of his lips on her cheek was unnerving. Then he was gone.
She and Signora Pattino were away for a week touring the Leonate factories in southern Italy. They got on well; Olympia drank in information about the firm and her companion was impressed.
Everything she had ever wanted would soon be hers, but now she wanted something more. And she had lost it.
But as they began the long drive back her courage revived. She was haunted by the memory of their last meeting, the sadness she had sensed in him despite his distant manner. He wasn’t cold to her, whatever he might want her to believe. Sometimes she could still feel his kiss on her cheek.
They were working in the same building. She would have a hundred chances to take him aside, persuade him to talk. And out of that talk would come understanding and mutual forgiveness.
Surely it was the same with him. The time apart had allowed their tempers to cool and now they were ready to move on. The future could still be theirs. As she arrived back in Naples she was full of confidence and almost happiness.