Страница 36 из 38
double take before turning to look more closely and
curiously.
Lorenzo had put his hand beneath her elbow in a
very solicitous ma
afraid that she might trip in her high heels and end
up flat on her face and thus disgrace them both, Jodie
reflected as she managed to negotiate the unlevel
ground.
"Jodie…"
She spun round with a genuine smile as she heard
the warmth and pleasure in the voice of the local doctor.
"Dr Philips!"
He gave her an enthusiastic hug and then smiled
down at her. "You’re looking well."
"Italian food, Italian sunshine—"
"And an Italian husband," Lorenzo cut in, making
the doctor laugh.
"I shouldn’t say this," the doctor whispered with a
grin, "but I always thought you were wasted on young
John. A nice enough lad, but a bit on the weak side—
and very much under his mother"s thumb."
"Poor John — that’s not very kind," Jodie protested,
but she still laughed.
Lorenzo lifted two glasses of wine from a passing
waiter"s tray and handed Jodie one.
She still hadn’t seen either Louise or John, although
she thought she had caught sight of Louise’s
parents. She had always liked Louise’s mother, but
she had no wish to see her now. Naturally, as a
mother, she would support her daughter no matter
what that daughter might have done.
And besides, honesty compelled Jodie to admit that
if Louise and John did love one another, then surely
it was only right and proper that they should be together.
She no longer cared what they did, because
her own life and her own feelings had moved on. She
looked at Lorenzo and allowed herself the pleasure of
a private fantasy in which she would suggest to him
that they leave and go back to their hotel. He"d agree
with satisfying alacrity and an even more satisfyingly
intimate smile because of the sensual pleasures to
come. She gave a small sigh as she relinquished this
unlikely but, oh, so alluring scenario.
"Your leg?" Lorenzo questioned immediately, misunderstanding
the reason for her sigh.
Should she fib and pretend that it was bothering
her so that they could leave?
But before she could say anything the vicar and his
wife had joined them, and Lorenzo had become involved
in a discussion with them about Florence.
Jodie took a small sip of her drink, and was looking
for somewhere to put her glass when she heard Louise
saying sharply, "I want a word with you!"
Louise was on her own, and there was no sign of
John.
"Don’t think I Don’t know what You’re up to and
what You’re doing here," her ex-friend whispered angrily.
Jodie could feel her face starting to burn. She was
guiltily aware of her original motive in coming here.
But perhaps there was a chance, instead, to forgive—
to end the bitterness between them?
"This is real life, Jodie, not some romantic novel,"
Louise was saying. "John isn’t going to take one look
at you and throw me over to come back to you."
"Good. Because I honestly Don’t want him to,"
Jodie told her. "Louise, I’m married now, and I—"
"Married? You?" Louise gave her a contemptuous
look. "You might have taken everyone else in, but I
Don’t believe it for one minute. My guess is that you
aren’t married at all — you certainly Don’t look it—
and I think your supposed ""husband"" is some actor
you’ve hired." She glared at Jodie angrily. "No man
as good-looking as he is would want you, with that
leg of yours. everyone’s laughing at you. You know
that, Don’t you? Pretending that you’ve married a
duke. As if! And that ridiculous ring that You’re wearing,"
she added, her lip curling. "It’s so obvious that
It’s fake — just like you and just like your marriage.
I’ll bet You’re still that same pathetic little virgin you
were when John dumped you."
Instinctively Jodie looked towards Lorenzo, a silent
plea in her eyes. He looked back at her.
And then he was coming towards them, responding
to the silent emotional message she had sent him.
Relief filled her. It was all she could do not to throw
herself into his arms and beg him to take her away.
Lorenzo felt Jodie’s pain in his own heart. Fury
and an instinctive desire to protect her boiled through
him. He had heard what Louise had said to her, and
he hadn’t needed the silent plea she had sent him,
begging for his help, to take him to her side. He
wanted to snatch her up and take her away from these
people who did not appreciate her, from the man who
had not loved her as she so deserved to be loved…as
he in his stupidity had tried to refuse to love her. But
now that love was filling him and driving out everything
else, everyone else. Nothing, no one mattered
other than Jodie and her happiness.
He reached her and took hold of her hand, watching
as relief shone emotionally in her eyes.
"For your information," he told Louise coldly, "I
am not an actor. Jodie and I are married, and I worship
the beauty of her body almost as much as I love
the sweetness of her nature. And as for the authenticity
of both my title and my family betrothal ring…"
The look he gave Louise was so withering that Jodie
was surprised it didn’t shrivel her to nothing on the
spot.
"Since you are engaged to a man who obviously
ca
one might expect to hear you expressing ill-informed
and ignorant opinions," he continued levelly. "And so
far as our reason for being here goes…" Lorenzo now
raised his voice slightly, as a curious crowd gathered
around them. "That was my decision. I wanted to see
where Jodie had grown up, to meet the people she
had grown up amongst. And I confess I also wanted
to meet the man who was foolish enough to give her
up. Jodie merely wanted to offer you both her best
wishes."
Lorenzo was still holding her hand, Jodie recognised,
and what was more he was holding it very
firmly in his own as he moved protectively closer to
her. Automatically she leaned in to him, welcoming
the sensation of his body absorbing the sick, trembling
shock of her own.
"What a pitiful creature you are," Lorenzo said to
Louise in a very quiet voice, inaudible to most of
those around them. "You steal a friend"s fiance., and
then, because of your inadequacy and lack of emotional
depth, you are forced to live in fear of losing
him back to her."
Louise turned from red to white as Lorenzo’s cutting
words hit home, and suddenly the woman Jodie
had always thought of as such a beauty actually
looked ugly.
John had come hurrying over to Louise’s side and
was looking helplessly back and forth between the
women. When she looked at him Jodie recognised
how poorly he compared with Lorenzo, and how
weak he was as a man. If she hadn’t already realised
she didn’t love him any more, she surely would have
done so now.
"Are you ready to leave?" Lorenzo asked Jodie.
Silently she nodded her head.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN