Page 39 of The Maid Married To The Billionaire

‘What happened next?’

‘I never spoke to either of them again. I didn’t tell anyone what had happened. I felt like such a stupid, gullible idiot for not suspecting them sooner,’ he bit out ruefully. ‘I told my grandparents that I had caught her cheating on me. The rest of it was too sordid for their ears. Allegra and Niccolò set out to use me and succeeded for over two years. I’ve never forgotten that.’

Skye could only begin to imagine how humiliated Enzo must have felt once he knew the truth. They had lied to him and deceived him without shame in a calculated betrayal of trust. ‘Nothing that they did to you was excusable. They should’ve stood up to their families and gone for testing to see if there was any medical reason why they couldn’t be together.’

‘Agreed, but Allegra is why I don’t do love,’ Enzo confided as he buckled in and the jet engines fired up. ‘It blinds you, makes you vulnerable. You can have a very good time with a woman without handing over your soul.’

‘I’m so sorry that happened to you,’ Skye told him and as soon as a light meal had been served, she fell into the bed in the sleeping compartment like a rock dropped from a height.

Skye woke the following morning to dappled sunlight playing across an unfamiliar wooden ceiling, rays and shadows playing over the muslin drapes on the bed and screening the windows. She had a guilty recollection of being roused by Enzo to leave the plane, then stumbling through a busy airport and into transport. She remembered him helping her to undress and sliding into bed and she now felt wonderfully rested for the first time in weeks. There was a dent in the pillow beside hers, telling her that Enzo had slept beside her.

She showered and dug into her case for a bright red bikini. Tugging back the screen doors, she walked out onto the wooden pier outside. The sea, almost as clear as glass, rippled only inches beneath her. She could see pebbles, tiny colourful fish and shells and above her the sky was a deep strong cobalt blue. The sunshine poured down on her and she lifted her face dreamily into that golden heat, soaking up the warmth on her skin.

‘Morning, sleepyhead. I ordered breakfast for us when I heard you in the shower,’ Enzo murmured, and she jerked round to focus on him.

Clad only in a pair of swim shorts, he stood by one of the pier struts, his long, lean, bronzed length gleaming wetly. He had clearly just climbed out of the water and every single strong line of his powerful body, from his wide shoulders to his hard abdomen and narrow waist, was delineated in the sunshine. She watched a water bead slowly trickle down over his muscular torso. Her nipples pinched taut inside her bra and her tummy clenched. As always, he looked magnificent. Clothed or unclothed, Enzo was gorgeous. And she was married to him now. No, don’t get carried away with that knowledge, she scolded herself. Remember it’s not real, it’s just a short-term marriage.

‘I don’t remember seeing a resort last night, but then I don’t remember much of anything.’ She sighed with a guilty wince.

‘The resort is out of view to the right at the end of the pier. This island we’re on is totally private,’ he told her. ‘Only the staff have access. I’m looking forward to skinny dipping at midnight.’

‘Breakfast is on its way,’ she noted, strolling down to the table set in the shade, glancing across at the island, which was covered with lush palm trees running down to a white sand beach. ‘This is idyllic. My apologies for sleeping like Rip van Winkle.’

An appetite-tempting array was delivered to the table. ‘Gosh, I’m starving!’ Skye confided, reaching for a piece of tropical fruit and then a pancake. ‘I was too stressed to eat much yesterday.’

Coffee and tea were poured. Enzo stretched back in his chair, dark golden eyes locked to her as he ate a croissant. ‘Sleepy or not, I still fancy the pants off you, Signora Durante. And I’m appreciating the downtime here. We needed a break.’

Eating her fruit, she rested back feeling gloriously relaxed. ‘Any news about the fire?’

His lean, darkly handsome features tensed. ‘The arson has been confirmed. An accelerant was used and they have the evidence. The stores went up like a bonfire and spread to the factory. The security man saw nothing. Someone came at him from behind. The surveillance cameras may show something but one of them was offline.’

He discussed his plans for the rebuild, confessed that the architect had already sent him some rough sketches and then he laughed. ‘I got up at six and touched base with everyone. Twelve months ago, I never saw the dawn. I was partying half the night but I was incredibly bored. I much prefer work to boredom and I like a routine. I will hate admitting it to my grandfather but blackmail works on me.’

Her smooth brow indented.‘Blackmail?’

Without fanfare, Enzo explained the agreement he had made with the older man following what he referred to as ‘the dinner-party episode’. ‘And the irony is that I’m much happier working than when I was chasing the next big thrill.’

‘I can’t comment because I didn’t know you before.’

‘You wouldn’t have liked me. I was a case of arrested development. I think I’ve finally finished growing up.’

‘You still haven’t told me about the dinner-party thing,’ she reminded him, amusement dancing in her bright eyes.

Enzo grimaced. ‘My companion got under the table and tried to unzip me.’

‘No?’Skye framed in disbelief.

Enzo winced. ‘In the middle of the meal because she was bored stiff. I then had an embarrassing struggle with her to get her back into her seat, but it was more my fault than hers. Neither of us were sober and she had no idea how to behave in company.’

Skye groaned. ‘What were you thinking of?’

Enzo sprang upright, stalked round the table and bent down to scoop her bodily out of her seat. ‘I think much more efficiently around you,’ he told her as she laughed. ‘And I have learned to appreciate common sense.’

‘Common sense isn’t sexy.’ Skye wrinkled her nose.

‘It is when you see the opposite in action. And you come out here in a minuscule scarlet bikini and say you’renotsexy?’ Thrusting open the screen doors, Enzo tumbled her down on the bed.

‘It’s not minuscule. It’s just that I don’t have a lot to put in it,’ she lamented.

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