He had tried commitment once, and had his soul ripped out for his efforts, Leandro thought grimly. His marriage had quickly become a farce that had ultimately turned ugly, and he had no intention of repeating the biggest mistake of his life, despite his father’s nagging.
He’d had dinner with Silvestro Vialli while he’d been in New York and the old man had gone on about him marrying again and, more importantly as far as his father was concerned, producing an heir to secure the future of Vialli Holdings. Leandro had learned early in life that business was the only thing his father cared about.
‘Next time make sure you have a paternity test to prove the child is yours as soon as it’s born, so you avoid the disaster that happened last time,’ Silvestro had advised with typical bluntness.
But there wasn’t going to be a next time. Nicole’s deception had left deep scars, and nothing would persuade Leandro to be metaphorically manacled to a woman for the rest of his life. Memories of his parents’ volatile marriage and bitter divorce when he was seven reinforced his belief that commitment was a mug’s game. He wasn’t interested in a long-term relationship—which made the fact that Marnie had been his mistress for a year all the more shocking.
He couldn’t comprehend how their affair had lasted for so long without him noticing that she had stealthily infiltrated his life. It was certainly not what he’d intended when he had made a spur-of-the-moment decision to ask her to move in with him nearly a year ago. She had needed somewhere to live, and he had assumed he would grow bored with her in a matter of weeks and would find her another flat to move into.
He was unsettled by the realisation that he had not been tempted by another woman since he’d made Marnie his mistress.
A waiter offered him champagne and canapés. Leandro lifted a glass from the tray and took a long sip, needing the hit of alcohol in his bloodstream. His schedule in New York had been hellish, even by his standards, but he always pushed himself to his limits. He was proud of Vialli Entertainment, the business he had built without the support or help of his father. Work was central to his existence and gave him a sense of control that in the past few years had been missing from other areas of his life.
After his marriage had failed he had focused on being a good father, determined that Henry would not suffer from the divorce the way he had done when he was a kid and his own parents had split up. But since he’d received the devastating proof that Henry wasn’t his son he had been left with a void inside him where his heart had once been, and he had vowed never to lay himself open to that level of pain ever again.
His father had spent his life avoiding making emotional attachments, Leandro thought cynically. It was the only trait of Silvestro’s that he was determined to emulate. His mother, on the other hand, had fallen in love dozens of times, with men who had broken her heart, but she hadn’t loved the one person who had adored her—her son.
Leandro forced his thoughts back to the present and Marnie’s unexpected behaviour. What the hell had got into her? He hadn’t tried to stop her from leaving the party because he’d been concerned that she would create a scene in front of his staff. But that was shocking in itself, because generally she was mild natured and until recently had seemed content to take a backstage role in his life.
He frowned as he recalled that when he had phoned her from New York a couple of days ago she had sounded odd, unlike her usual cheerful self. He had almost been tempted to ask if something had upset her. But he hadn’t gone down that route, reminding himself that she was his mistress and he neither sought nor offered to share personal confidences with her.
It might be a good thing that she had demonstrated this volatile side to her character, he brooded. He was frankly stunned that he had allowed their affair to continue for a year, and if Marnie was going to start making emotional demands on him it was time to think about replacing her in his bed.
He was aware that several of his senior staff were trying to catch his attention and told himself to forget about Marnie and enjoy the party. But he had glimpsed the sparkle of tears in her eyes before she’d hurried away from him and his conscience was pricked.