Page 38 of The Maid Married To The Billionaire

‘Enzo...Enzo,’ Brodie sounded out importantly for his little sister’s benefit.

‘I suppose we’ve had our first row,’ Skye remarked when she took her seat by his side at the bridal table.

‘Merely a difference of opinion,’ Enzo contradicted.

‘The next time you want to know something about me, I’ll do a brick-wall shutdown on you.’ While Skye knew that their sexual chemistry was amazing, Enzo’s ongoing refusal to confide in her merely emphasised the fact that their marriage wasn’t a real one, she conceded ruefully.

An unexpected chuckle fell from Enzo’s lips. ‘I will give you a hint. The stories I refuse to tell you are the ones that make me feel like a fool.’

‘Like the dinner-party disaster,’ Skye guessed, in more charity with him after that admission.

‘My grandparents and Alana have offered to look after the kids while we’re in the Maldives,’ Enzo imparted. ‘Nonna pointed out that a twelve-hour flight for such young children wasn’t the best idea and we are only going to be there for forty-eight hours.’

‘I thought Alana was coming with us.’

‘She told me that she doesn’t much fancy being a third in a party for two. We’ll be spending our wedding night on the jet. I’d prefer to take Brodie and Shona away when we have more time to spend with them.’

It was a sensible suggestion and Skye simply ensured that she enjoyed time with the children that afternoon, freeing Alana up to chat to other guests and dance. It was wonderful to see her sister relax and have a good time for a change. Alana had changed so much after the death of their parents, focusing only on work and how much she could earn, where once she had been focused purely on art and money hadn’t seemed to matter to her. Now she worked endless overtime in a menial job. Their sudden responsibility for their younger brother and sister had forced them both to grow up faster than was comfortable and much of the fun had gone out of their lives, Skye acknowledged ruefully.

It was a lively celebration, powered by catchy music, dancing and laughter. Italians, Enzo told her with pride, knew how to party. Skye’s throat ached with talking and she had to dig deep for the energy to stay on the dance floor and keep up with Enzo. When it was time to leave, she went upstairs with her sister to remove her wedding dress and change into a comfortable outfit in which to travel.

‘That was a very long day and you are very tired,’ Enzo commented in the limo on the way to the airport as she flopped back in the corner.

‘But it’s our wedding night.’ As soon as she said it, her cheeks burned an almost painful red because once again she felt as though she was parading too many feelings that he did not share. It was a sham marriage and they were lovers but not in the romantic everlasting sense. Enzo could live without her. Enzowouldmove on to other women. The promises they had exchanged at the altar were meaningless.

‘All you’ll be doing on the flight is sleeping. You’re dead on your feet,’ Enzo said drily. ‘Tomorrow we’ll wake up to sunshine and blue skies.’

‘Yes,’ she conceded sleepily, smiling.

He took her hand as they walked into the airport flanked by his security team. ‘Her name was Allegra—the name of the woman I loved,’ he told her in a driven undertone.

‘Tell me about her...if you want?’ Skye tacked on that last qualifier on a questioning note at his unexpected willingness to talk.

‘I don’t want to, but I shouldn’t have secrets from you,’ Enzo conceded tautly as they boarded the jet. ‘You have kept none from me.’

Warmed by that belated concession, Skye sank down into a seat in the opulent cabin.

‘Allegra’s cousin, Niccolò, was my best friend at university. We were both equally into sport and I met Allegra through him. They were cousins who grew up together in close families. Their fathers were twin brothers who’d married sisters and they all lived in the same town. They even looked like siblings.’

‘What was she like?’ Skye interrupted, surprised that he was choosing to tell her so much about his former girlfriend’s background.

‘A vivacious brunette who loved to dance, the life and soul of every party. I fell for her very quickly and I was with her over two years before I asked her to marry me. We planned to marry after our graduation.’

‘What went wrong?’ Skye asked when he fell silent.

‘I went home for the weekend to tell my grandparents. I got a mixed reaction. Nonno had no objections, but my grandmother thought Allegra was what she termedsecretiveand that I shouldn’t rush into setting a date. That night I drove over to the apartment Allegra shared with her cousin and as I was parking my car, I saw a silhouette behind the blinds of a couple kissing. They often had friends in, so I thought nothing of it,’ he admitted.

A sinking suspicion infiltrated Skye and she stiffened in dismay.

‘They weren’t expecting me. They had no guests either. I just looked at them together...and Iknewbut I couldn’t understandwhythey were pretending that their relationship was only familial. Everything else fitted in. Allegra had refused to move in with me, insisting that her parents wouldn’t like it. Although I spent the night with her there occasionally, she never gave me a key. Behind closed doors they were free to do as they liked.’

‘What did you do?’ Skye whispered sickly.

‘I confronted them. Ironically it was Niccolò who came clean first. I think he’d been so jealous, he almost enjoyed telling me. Allegra, however, lied to the bitter end. Apparently, they fell for each other as teenagers and their families were horrified. Although being with a cousin is not illegal, their parents believed that they were too genetically close to ever be a couple, so their relationship went underground but it never stopped. They had continued having sex the whole time I was with her. That turned my stomach,’ Enzo admitted with a grimace.

‘I’m not surprised,’ Skye commented, feeling a little queasy too at the extent of the deception that had been practised on him.

‘I was shattered. I had fallen in love with a girl who didn’t exist. She had picked me out and told him to become my friend. She needed a boyfriend to keep her family in the dark. Being with me and Niccolò being my friend gave them endless excuses to be together without rousing any suspicions. She was planning to go the whole way and marry me. I doubt if any children we might have had would have been mine.’

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