Page 21 of Bound by a One-Night Vow

Andrea led her to the front door of the villa but, before he could unlock it, an older woman dressed all in black opened it. Her sun-weathered face was wreathed in smiles and her black button eyes twinkled like the sun-dappled ocean below. A torrent of Italian came pouring out of her mouth but Izzy could only understand a couple of words, which she took to be an enthusiastic welcome. Such a welcome seemed a little surprising given the circumstances of her marriage to Andrea, but then she didn’t know what he’d told his housekeeper.

‘English please, Gianna,’ Andrea said.

The housekeeper beamed brighter than a searchlight. ‘Mi dispiace. Sorry. I am so excited to welcome Signor’s new bride to Villa Vaccaro. You have had a good journey, sì?’

‘Lovely, thank you,’ Izzy said, warming to the older woman’s friendly nature.

‘I have prepared the master bedroom for you,’ Gianna said, sweeping her hand in front of the entrance. ‘You must carry your bride over the threshold, sì?’

Andrea frowned. ‘Gianna. I thought I’d told you not to make a fuss. Isabella requires her own room.’

Gianna rolled her eyes like marbles. ‘You bring a beautiful bride home and you expect me to make up the spare room for her? Pah! What sort of marriage is that?’

‘A marriage of convenience sort, that’s what.’ Andrea’s voice had a thread of impatience running through it. ‘Isabella and I don’t intend for this arrangement to last longer than the six months required to fulfil the terms of her father’s will. I explained all this when I called you last night.’

The housekeeper was clearly not intimidated by her employer’s stern expression. She stood her ground with her arms folded and her dark gaze fixed on Andrea’s frowning one. ‘Marriage of convenience or not, you should still carry her over the threshold. It’s bad luck not to.’

Andrea let out an exasperated breath and turned to Izzy. ‘Do you mind?’

‘Not at all,’ Izzy said, trying not to laugh. She wasn’t used to seeing Andrea backed into a tight corner. It showed a softer side to him she hadn’t seen before. He clearly cared for and respected his housekeeper and was prepared to indulge her even if it was inconvenient to him.

Andrea scooped Izzy up in his strong arms and she linked her arms around his neck. The iron bands of his arm along her back and beneath her knees sent her senses spinning. His jaw was set in a tight line and his mouth pressed flat, but even so she could feel the way his body responded to her closeness. The way his nostrils flared as if he were taking in her scent, the way his hooded gaze went to her mouth. The contraction of his abdomen muscles where her body brushed against him. She couldn’t help wondering what it would be like if she really was his bride of choice. What if their on-paper arrangement was torn up and they gave in to the passion and heat that simmered and smouldered and sizzled between them? How wonderful it would be for him to whisk her upstairs to the master suite and make earth-rocking love to her.

He set her down in front of him inside the villa but he kept hold of one of her hands. ‘You’ll have to excuse my housekeeper,’ he said once Gianna was out of earshot. ‘She’s a hopeless romantic.’

‘I like her,’ Izzy said. ‘How long has she worked for you?’

‘Clearly too long since she’s ignoring my instructions.’ His tone had a dry edge. ‘I’ll get her to show you around. I have some things to see to in my office. Gianna?’ he called out to the housekeeper, who had moved further inside the villa. ‘Please show Isabella to the guest room.’

Izzy followed Gianna up the sweeping staircase, wondering if Andrea had pressing business to see to or whether he was putting distance between them because of the reaction of his housekeeper to his marriage.

Gianna led the way to a lovely suite on the first floor of the four-storey villa with a breathtaking view over the coast. ‘Signor Vaccaro’s suite is next door. See? There is a connecting door here.’ She pointed out the door with a twinkling smile. ‘Not that I think you’ll need the key, sì? I see the way he looks at you.’

Izzy could feel a blush stealing over her cheeks. ‘It really is a marriage of convenience. Neither of us really want to be married and certainly not to each other.’ Hadn’t the housekeeper heard about Izzy’s reputation? It seemed a little odd Gianna was so enthusiastic about their union given all that had been reported about Izzy in the past.

Gianna made another one of her ‘pah’ noises and started fussing over the pillows on the bed. ‘He has known you for a long time, sì?’

‘Yes, but we’re hardly what you’d call best friends.’

Gianna straightened and turned to look at her. ‘Your father was very good to him. He helped him get started in the hotel business. He is not a man to forget those who have helped him.’

‘Did you ever meet my father?’

Gianna turned to a vase of fresh flowers on the table near the window but not before Izzy saw her expression sour slightly. ‘He was a guest here once or twice. He was keen to tell me about all the charity causes he supports.’ Gianna picked up a fallen pale pink rose petal and popped it in her apron pocket. She turned and looked at Izzy again. ‘I was sorry to hear of his passing for the sake of those charities if nothing else. I’m sorry. I’m speaking out of turn. You must miss him, sì?’

Izzy gave a lip shrug. ‘Yes and no.’

Gianna’s gaze narrowed in query. ‘You were not close?’

‘Not particularly.’

The housekeeper shifted her lips from side to side in a musing manner. ‘Yes, well, I wondered about that when Andrea told me about your father’s will. It was a strange thing to do to his only heir, was it not?’

‘Not strange if you knew my father,’ Izzy said with a sigh. ‘We had a complicated relationship.’

Gianna tut-tutted. ‘But all is well now you are married to Andrea. He will take good care of you. He will make sure you get your inheritance. He is an honourable man, not that he boasts about all the good he does for others. No one would ever know about the many charities he supports. He insists on anonymity. I only know because I dust his office and came across the paperwork. You are a little bit in love with him, sì?’

Izzy didn’t like to burst the housekeeper’s romantic bubble but her feelings towards Andrea were complex enough to her, never mind explaining them to someone else, especially to someone she’d only just met. ‘Let’s say I’m starting to see him in a different light.’

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