Log In
Or create an account ->
Imperial Library
Home
About
News
Upload
Forum
Help
Login/SignUp
Index
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE IN THE London headquarters of Curtis Electronics tensions simmered. Employees hurried in, anxious not to be late, wondering who would be promoted and who pensioned off. ‘They’re not getting rid of me,’ Olympia Lincoln said firmly. ‘Not after all the work I’ve put into this firm, and the plans I’ve made.’ ‘It is rotten luck, this happening now,’ Sara, her secretary, said sympathetically. ‘Mr Tandy was bound to retire soon, and then you’d have had his job.’ ‘Grr!’ Olympia said with feeling. ‘The worst thing is not knowing when the new people will be here.’ Sara sighed. ‘Right. Even Mr Tandy doesn’t know. “Some time soon” is all he can say. Maybe today, maybe next week.’ ‘Surely not today,’ Sara objected. ‘It’s Friday. What sort of person makes his first day a Friday?’ ‘Someone who’s trying to catch us out,’ Olympia said at once. ‘I’m blowed if I’m going to let anyone take me by surprise.’ ‘But today isn’t just Friday,’ Sara objected. ‘It’s Friday the thirteenth.’ ‘Don’t tell
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO WITHOUT waiting for a reply, Olympia got back into her car and started up with a vigour that threatened to finish off the engine. Primo sighed, returned to his own car and pulled out. What happened next was something he was never quite able to analyse, except to say that he was still mentally in Italy, where drivers used the other side of the road, and the steering was on the other side of the car. In daylight he might have coped better, but with lights glaring at him out of the darkness he briefly lost his sense of direction. The next thing he knew was an ugly scraping sound of metal on metal and a hefty clout on the head. He swore, more at the indignity than the pain. Olympia appeared, pulling open his door. ‘Oh, great. All I need is a clown to ram my new car—hey, are you all right?’ ‘Sure, fine,’ he lied, blinking and making a vain effort to clear his head. ‘You don’t look it. You look as if you were seeing stars. Did you hit your head?’ ‘Just a little bump. What about y
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE OVER coffee he said, ‘Considering the mess I made of your car last night, you’d have been quite justified to have abandoned me to my fate.’ ‘Yes, I would,’ she said promptly. ‘I can’t think why I didn’t.’ ‘Perhaps you’re a warm-hearted, forgiving person?’ She considered this seriously before dismissing it. ‘That doesn’t sound like me at all. There must be some other reason.’ ‘Maybe you preferred to keep me around so that you could inflict dire retribution?’ ‘That sounds much more like me,’ she said triumphantly. ‘How did you come to have such a nasty accident?’ ‘I forgot that the English drive on the wrong side of the road.’ His droll manner made her laugh again, but then she said, ‘You really do spend most of your time in Italy, then?’ ‘A good deal. I’m at home in many places.’ ‘And you’re part of Leonate, and that’s why you’re over here?’ ‘Uh-huh!’ he said vaguely. ‘And then you have to report back?’ ‘I shall certainly describe what I find, but I think, for the sake of
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR IT TOOK him a while to stop choking with laughter and sit shaking his head as he regarded her in delight. ‘You should be ashamed of yourself,’ she said sternly. ‘So should you,’ he riposted at once. ‘Now tell me, was Cedric’s information worth the price?’ ‘No, I’m afraid Cedric’s knowledge is limited. He couldn’t even say what Signor Rinucci looked like, although he’s met him. “Tallish”, is the best he could do.’ ‘Yes, I don’t think noticing details is poor Cedric’s strong suit.’ ‘But you’ll know. Is he good-looking? What sort of things does he enjoy? Come on. Tell.’ ‘Are you planning to seduce him?’ he asked, avoiding her eyes. ‘Certainly not. I’ll be far more subtle than that. Seduction merely complicates things. Besides, when you say seduction, what exactly do you mean?’ ‘I’m disappointed in you, Olympia. I thought you were a strong woman, not one who backed away from facts. You know exactly what seduction means. The whole thing. Admit it. You haven’t thought this throu
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE AS DAWN broke Olympia became half awake, seeming to exist in a limbo where there were no facts, only feelings and misty uncertainties, but they were very sweet. Perhaps more sweet for being undefined. She seemed to be back in his car, dozing as they made the journey home. She couldn’t see or hear him, but she was intensely aware of him. When he took her hand in his she was pervaded by a sense of deep contentment, as though she had come home to a place of safety, where lived the only person who understood. She was smiling as she opened her eyes. For once, the hours ahead of her were unknown, the decisions in the hand of someone else. After only two days he already seemed to fill her world. She was looking forward to the moment when she would meet him today and see in his eyes that he remembered last night, how they’d laughed and gazed into each other’s minds and recognised what they found there. When the phone rang she snatched it up eagerly. ‘Olympia?’ ‘Jack? I knew it wou
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX HE STARED at her. ‘Your ex? Are you sure?’ ‘Yes, that’s David—I think.’ ‘Does it matter?’ he asked, shocked to realise that she was trembling. ‘It’s not as though you still love him—do you?’ ‘No, of course not. But it’s the first time I’ve seen him since we split. Perhaps it isn’t him,’ she added, almost hopefully. ‘But you can’t be easy until you’re sure?’ Suddenly her carefully honed confidence deserted her. ‘What can I do? I can’t walk over there and take a look.’ ‘You can if we’re dancing.’ ‘But—’ ‘Olympia, you’ve got to do this. If you flunk it you’ll never be able to look yourself in the mirror again.’ She knew it, but she was too nervous to think straight. ‘Let’s leave it,’ she whispered. ‘The past is the past.’ His hand tightened over hers. ‘Nonsense. The past is never the past until you’ve faced it and told it to get the hell out of your way. What happened to the “can do” tycoon I’ve got to know?’ ‘She turned into a “can’t do” wimp,’ she said with a shaky laugh. ‘N
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN ‘THERE it is,’ he said as the volcano came into view in the distance. ‘That’s what you’ve been watching for, isn’t it?’ ‘Vesuvius,’ she said ecstatically. ‘How fierce and magnificent it looks.’ The plane turned and now the lights of Naples were below them, like arms curving around the bay. Another few minutes and they were down. Then they were in the taxi, climbing the hill to the Vallini, the grandest hotel that Naples had to offer. As soon as she stepped through the door she was enveloped in luxury. Uniformed staff murmured, ‘Signorina,’ as they ushered her to her suite. There she found a double bed of antique design but modern comfort, a marble bathroom and a sitting room with a balcony that looked out over the bay. ‘I’ll leave you for a while,’ he said, ‘while I check my apartment. I’ll be back in a couple of hours.’ When he’d gone she had a long soak in scented water while the hotel laundry service pressed the creases from the black dress she’d worn to the nightclub.
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT FOR a long moment Olympia felt absolutely nothing. What she was seeing was so impossible that there could be no reaction. Her hostess was explaining, ‘Primo was the son of my first husband, Jack Cayman. His mother was a Rinucci and he took the family name when he came to live here.’ Olympia barely heard the words. Her stomach was churning as the dreadful truth finally became real, sharp. This was Primo Rinucci. The man she had trusted, confided in, to whom she had revealed her whole ambitious strategy, had been keeping this secret all the time. What a laugh she must have given him! ‘So that’s Primo,’ she said at last, surprised to find that she could speak normally. ‘No, I don’t know him.’ She fought to remain calm. Nobody must suspect that she’d received a shattering blow. That would be to pile disaster on disaster. Instead she would smile and smile, concealing the turmoil in her heart. ‘I never knew him,’ she repeated quietly. It was true. She’d thought she knew him so
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE PRIMO stayed at the party as long as he could endure it, partly for his mother’s sake and partly because he was afraid of what he might do if he followed Luke and Olympia. In the early hours he departed and drove around the city disconsolately until at last he turned the car to the place he had always intended to go. As he drew up outside the Vallini he saw that the lights of her suite were still on. So she hadn’t carried out her threat to leave. He let out a long breath of relief, discovering that his whole body was aching with tension. The young man on the desk smiled, recognising him from a few days earlier. ‘I’ll just let her know.’ But Primo stopped him reaching for the phone. ‘I want to surprise her.’ ‘I’m really supposed to call ahead, signore.’ A note changed hands. ‘I guess you forgot,’ Primo said with a conspiratorial smile. ‘Si, signore.’ She took so long to answer the door that he wondered if she’d left after all. But at last she opened it. Her face set when sh
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN PRIMO, descending into Leonate’s underground car park prior to departure, saw his brother just drawing up and noticed sourly that he had a flashy new car. Which explained, he thought, why he hadn’t recognised it outside the hotel the night before. Luke got out of the car and hailed him cheerfully. ‘Is she ready and waiting for me?’ ‘Since I haven’t seen Signorina Lincoln all afternoon, I couldn’t tell you,’ Primo said frostily. ‘Very formal suddenly. I expect that was her idea, and it’s no more than you deserve. Did nobody ever explain to you that it’s customary to introduce yourself to the lady at the start? With the right name, I mean. It does wonders for putting them in a good mood.’ ‘She told you?’ Luke shrugged. ‘I hardly needed telling. At the party last night, it became very obvious what you’d done.’ ‘And I suppose you jumped at the chance to serve me an ill turn,’ Primo raged. ‘Something you’ve been waiting to do.’ ‘Don’t blame me. I’m innocent in all this.’ ‘Am I s
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN OVER breakfast Luke called his mother, then announced that he was taking them all to the villa that night. Her parents exchanged looks and Olympia realised with dismay that this had given another twist to the screw of her supposed love affair with Luke. But it was hard to deny it right now when she was still sore from Primo’s behaviour. At least Luke was saving her face, which perhaps was his kindly intention. Living together was possible because his manner towards her was never loverlike. Then she put the thought aside to concentrate on making her parents’ visit memorable. They were guests of honour at the villa, treated like royalty, with the whole family lined up on the steps to greet them. Toni kissed Angela’s hand, followed by Francesco, then Carlo, then Ruggiero, then— ‘Look who’s here,’ Hope said excitedly to Olympia. ‘But I expect you already knew.’ ‘No, I didn’t know Primo was back,’ she said, trying to catch her breath. She felt her hand taken into his, the sho
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE OLYMPIA saw her parents off at the airport. ‘We’ve had such a lovely time, darling,’ Angela said, ‘and it’ll be so lovely coming out for your wedding. Luke’s a delightful young man, but don’t you let the other one put a stop to it.’ ‘The other one—put a stop to it—?’ ‘Primo, the one who stands about scowling at you and Luke. Watch out for him, because he’ll block it if he can.’ ‘I’ll be careful,’ Olympia promised. ‘But don’t count on my marrying Luke. Things aren’t always what they seem.’ ‘Don’t be silly, dear. I’ve seen the way he looks at you. Goodbye, now.’ Three days later there was news from England. ‘Mamma’s done it!’ Luke announced triumphantly as he came off the phone. ‘Don’t ask me how, but she’s made Justin and Evie see sense and the wedding’s going to take place here, next month.’ Olympia spent an evening with Hope, who was happily deep in wedding plans. She had a natural gift for organising that was almost as great as Olympia’s own, and soon the entire family
CHAPTER TWELVE
← Prev
Back
Next →
← Prev
Back
Next →