AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He shook his head. ‘No. He needs to rest. Besides, this evening is just for you and me.’
She wasn’t going to apply any deeper meaning to that. He’d all but said outright this morning that he’d be finally stating his demands.
Her insides continued to twist into knots as he ushered her into the lift. Strained silence ticked between them, with Odessa grasping and discarding subjects she’d once been able to freely discuss with this man who was a complete stranger to her now.
She stepped out in relief when the doors opened—relief which was immediately shattered when he caught her hand in a light hold.
She glanced up and saw the pointed look in his eyes.
Right. To the outside world, they were getting married. Because she’d asked him and, for soon-to-be-disclosed reasons, he’d obliged.
And now what? They must pretend to be happily about to be engaged?
She swallowed a snort before it could escape, eager to get outside, where hopefully a dose of fresh air would clear her head. But awaiting them were eager staff who jumped when they saw him coming, hotel guests who eyed them with wide-eyed speculation, and the latest model Ferrari supercar idling kerbside. She knew it was worth over a million, because Flávio had greedily and openly coveted it for the last six months.
Sliding in, she felt her senses immediately latch on to Ares’s unique scent, seemingly imprinted in the space. It only intensified when he dropped into the bucket seat beside her, his large frame shrinking the interior until it felt as if he was all she could see, all she could breathe.
In a wild bid to dissipate the charged atmosphere she revisited the subject they’d skimmed minutes ago, as Ares gunned the engine and accelerated into the Rome night.
‘What you said about Sergios... Is he all right? Did the accident—’
‘How do you know about that?’ he demanded sharply, his body stiffening.
‘We have TVs in Alghero, you know. Besides, I could hardly miss it. You seem to be a big deal these days.’
He eased the car into the road, the clench-unclench of his thighs playing in the strobe of passing streetlights. ‘Am I?’
‘Self-effacing doesn’t become you.’
A layer of tension released and the corner of his lips quirked. ‘You’ll be hard pressed to find anything that becomes me, agapita,’ he murmured evenly, but she heard a slight bite behind the statement.
She wondered again what had been involved in his meteoric rise to the top in just a short decade. Before she could ask, he was continuing.
‘My father likes to pretend he’ll live for ever. And as much as I’d like that...’
His lips pursed and she saw a flash of bleakness that was stark and stomach-hollowing under the next passing streetlight.
‘They discovered a heart condition during his recovery.’
Her heart squeezed. ‘I’m...I’m sorry. Is it serious?’
He remained silent for a tight stretch. ‘Most heart conditions are—especially at his age.’
It was said in a finite way that didn’t invite more speculation or questions. But she was reluctant to return to the charged silence...reluctant to probe her own feelings too closely.
‘And you? You were in a coma for a while.’
She felt his probing gaze when he pulled up at a traffic light.
‘You were paying attention that much, agapita?’
That edge was present in his tone, but there was something else. Surprise? Curiosity? The tiniest softening? Or was it wishful thinking?
‘No matter what happened between us, I never wished you ill, Ares.’
His chest moved and her heart lifted with...hope? But his lips had tightened again.
‘That’s good, because in the telling of our brief story you would’ve been hard pressed to come out the victim at any point.’
