She nodded, too chewed up to speak as a terrible sadness rushed over her. What, and have him witness her emotional crumbling as she said goodbye to her old life? Watch as she embraced a future which at the moment looked bleak? Never. Never in a million years. She forced a smile. ‘It’s very kind of you, Ciro—but I’d rather do it on my own.’
Frustratedly, he balled his hands into two tight fists. ‘Your stepmother is moving to London?’
She nodded. ‘That’s right.’
‘So you won’t have anyone round here you can rely on?’
Now was not the time to tell him that she’d never been able to rely on Suzy. That it had been a long time since she’d been able to rely on anyone. Now was the time to convince him she was going to be absolutely fine on her own—even if at that precise moment she didn’t really believe it. ‘I’ll be okay.’
She turned to walk away but he reached out to catch hold of her wrist—its slender paleness making his own hand look so big and dark in comparison. He could feel the urgent hammer of her pulse and the desire to hold her close was almost overwhelming. But he fought it, just as he seemed to have been fighting his feelings all evening.
‘Promise me one thing,’ he said.
She gave a brief laugh. ‘I can’t possibly promise anything until I know what it is.’
He smiled, because wouldn’t he have said exactly the same thing himself in the circumstances? For a small-town girl, she certainly wasn’t stupid. ‘You’ve still got my details?’
She nodded, thinking of his cream business card, which was tucked away inside her purse.
‘Bene. Then I want you to promise me that if you get in any trouble—with the apartment or with your brother, or anything—that you will come to me and let me help you. Will you do that, Lily?’
Lily hesitated. At that moment he seemed to symbolise all the things in life which she didn’t have—strength and power and safety. If it had been anyone else, then she might have accepted. But she knew that there was only one reason why Ciro was offering his assistance—and that was to get her into his bed.
Her fingers tightened around her clutch bag as she shook her head. ‘I appreciate your offer, Ciro, but I’ve already told you that I can’t accept—and I meant it. Thanks again for dinner, and goodnight.’
And with that, she walked away—aware that he must still be standing there watching her because there was no sound of the car door slamming. No sound other than the sudden eerie swoop of an owl as it hooted in a distant tree.
In fact, she didn’t hear his car driving away down the gravel drive until she had slipped upstairs to her room, thankfully without Suzy hearing her. Until she had peeled off the blue dress and thrown it to the ground with an uncharacteristic lack of care.
Wearing just her underwear, she stood looking in the long mirror, her fingers creeping guiltily to her breast and cupping it, just as Ciro had cupped it earlier. And she closed her eyes with sweet, remembered pleasure.
It was only then that she heard the sound of his car driving away, spraying gravel in its powerful wake.
CHAPTER SIX
THE icy water hit her face with a welcome shock and Lily was just dabbing another handful over her puffy eyes, when the doorbell rang. She stilled, cold water dripping down her fingers, thinking that she might ignore it—until she realised that it was probably only Fiona. Her boss was the only person who’d called since she had moved into the tiny apartment. Nobody else had been here apart from her brother and he… he…
Sniffing back another stupid tear, she wiped her hands and went to open the door. No point in hiding away like some sort of cave-dweller and making her sense of isolation even more complete. She pulled open the door and the breath cau
ght in her throat as she saw who was standing on her doorstep. His dark hair was ruffled and he was dressed down in a dark T-shirt and black jeans which hugged the taut length of his thighs.
‘You,’ she breathed, her heart racing as she remembered his kiss in that darkened car park. Remembered the way he’d cupped her straining breast and traced the rough pad of his thumb over its puckered nipple. During that brief passionate interlude, he had made her feel like a woman again and she had wanted him. Oh, God, yes. She had wanted him with a fierce hunger which still haunted her.
‘Me,’ said Ciro, his eyes narrowing with shock as he took in her appearance—her blotchy face and puffy red eyes.
‘Who let you in?’
‘The other waitress. Danielle, I think her name-badge said—but what does it matter? What the hell has happened?’
‘Nothing.’
‘Doesn’t look like nothing to me,’ he observed caustically. ‘You’ve been crying, Lily.’
‘So I’ve been crying. So what? Should I have asked your permission first?’
Ciro scowled as a primitive urge made him want to reach out and protect her. He wanted to haul her up against his chest and tell her not to cry. That he was going to dry her tears and make everything better. ‘Can I come in?’ he said.
Her lips about to frame the word ‘no’, Lily realised it was one of those questions which didn’t really require an answer because he was walking inside and she was actually pulling the door open wider to let him pass. And that was a mistake, she realised. A big mistake. She’d thought that the apartment had looked tiny when her brother had been here at the weekend, but Ciro made it look like toy-town.