Milly knew she was being watched at the lake. The instant she recognised the dark-suited men trying not to draw attention to themselves and failing abysmally in their efforts to lurk behind winter-bare trees she almost smiled. Gianni’s employees. He must have had her followed. As long as they left her alone, it was almost comforting to think that somebody was looking out for her.
That sound of brisk footsteps made her lift her head. Gianni was bearing down on her, his hard, bronzed features set in grim lines which detracted not one iota from his devastating good looks, she conceded absently. A light grey cashmere overcoat protected him from the chilly breeze ruffling his luxuriant black hair.
‘This is a very dreary place.’ Both disapproval and impatience rang from every syllable. Gianni slung a deeply unappreciative glance over his surroundings. ‘And it’s freezing. Why haven’t you got a coat on?’
Even before he peeled off his overcoat and dropped it round her with the pronounced casualness of a male who didn’t want to make a production out of doing it, Milly’s sense of isolation lessened. Gianni was exasperated and he was letting her see the fact.
‘What the hell are you smiling at?’ Gianni demanded, thrown by that slight undeniable tilt to her formerly tense mouth.
Almost drowning in the heavy, enveloping folds of his overcoat, and curiously soothed by the warm scent of him that still clung to the silk-lined garment, Milly gazed up at him with rueful blue eyes. ‘I don’t know.’
‘Why did you leave your car behind at the engineering plant? Did it break down?’
‘It’s not my car. The Jenningses bought it when they still thought I was their daughter. I guess I’m not in a very practical mood,’ Milly conceded.
As she lifted her hand to prevent his overcoat lurching off her shoulder, Gianni muttered something raw in his own language and caught her fingers in his. Milly stiffened as he scrutinised the blue-black bruising encircling her wrist.
‘You damned well didn’t do that to yourself!’ Gianni bit out wrathfully.
Milly tugged her hand free and hurriedly curved it out of sight again.
‘Per meraviglia! The cowardly little bastard,’ he growled, well-nigh incredulous, it seemed, that anybody should have dared to lay a rough hand on her. ‘I’ll make him pay for hurting you!’
‘No, you won’t,’ Milly whispered flatly. ‘Those bruises came cheap at the price of what they taught me. Maybe I’m wronging Edward, but I suspect he would have lashed out in temper again once we were married. He really did feel that he was marrying beneath himself. He could never have accepted me as I am.’
Gianni glanced at her other hand, only now noticing the absence of the diamond engagement ring. Milly watched his eloquent dark eyes shimmer with unadulterated satisfaction. On the most basic level, she was beginning to understand Gianni. He was delighted that her engagement was broken. He wouldn’t waste his breath uttering empty conventional regrets.
‘I don’t have any close relatives, do I?’ Milly prompted abruptly.
Gianni frowned.
That frown was answer enough for Milly. She averted her head, determined not to betray that a foolish glimmer of hope had just been extinguished.
‘How did you work that out for yourself?’ It was the tone of a very clever male unaccustomed to being second-guessed.
‘If I’d had a genuine suffering close relation waiting somewhere for word of me, you’d have been sure to tell Robin and Davina so that they could feel even worse.’
A laugh of reluctant appreciation was torn from Gianni.
‘So, since everybody starts out with parents,’ Milly continued doggedly, ‘I presume mine are long gone.’
‘Your mother when you were eight, your father shortly before we met,’ Gianni confirmed unemotionally. ‘You were an only child. As far as I’m aware there were no other relatives.’
So, but for Connor, she really was alone.
‘Let’s go,’ Gianni reached down, closed his hand firmly over hers and tugged her upright to walk her back along the path. ‘Why did you come here anyway?’
‘I’ve spent a lot of happy times here with Connor…but today I felt lost,’ she admitted reluctantly.
‘Even the worst situations have at least one positive aspect. You’ve had an extraordinary experience,’ Gianni told her. ‘How many people get the chance to live more than one life?’
Disconcerted, Milly blinked. That reality hadn’t crossed her mind once.
‘Right now you’re between lives, but no way are you lost. You’ve got me,’ Gianni delivered with supreme cool.
‘You make it all sound so simple.’
‘It is. You don’t belong here. That’s why you feel strange. I know you care about the Jenningses, but they didn’t do you any favours. If they hadn’t claimed you, I’d have found you ages ago,’ Gianni reminded her grimly.