Page 3 of Dark Masquerade
Indio had looked shattered, and for a moment, she had thought he might kiss her. Instead, he had leaned his forehead against hers, and to her astonishment, she had felt tears on his cheeks. “ElliBella, I …” He had choked on the words and, not caring anymore about what was right, she had pressed her lips to his.
“Tell me you love me …please, Indio, say it just once. I know you do. I know it in my soul …”
Indio had grabbed her head and kissed her roughly, then pulled away, his hands dropping from her, his eyes closed. “I can’t. I’m sorry,cara mia, I can’t.”
And then he was gone, and Elli had curled up into a little ball, her heart destroyed. When Enzo, pale and hollow-eyed came to find her, she hadn’t attacked him or blamed him. He was her brother after all.
Indio didn’t love me enough,Elli told herself for years, trying to mend her heart, but something had always told her that wasn’t the truth. But when Enzo had died, her chance of finding out what had really happened between him and Indio was gone. Indio had left Venice and gone to Rome. Elli made herself stay away from searching for him on the internet or reading about him in magazines. She knew he was a big deal in Rome and abroad, his property nous and artistic aesthetic making him a billionaire. He had dated a string of beautiful women and married and divorced a former Miss World within a year, but lately, had disappeared—gone to ground.
Elli sighed and pushed the thoughts of Indio away. She was a master of that; it was just in quiet moments like this one that she wished he was here with her, watching old movies and cuddling under a blanket like back in the old days. In bed alone, sometimes Elli would think about what it might have been like to have sex with him, his big body covering her tiny one, his mouth on hers.
You are twenty-eight and still behaving like a lovesick teenager.Maybe it was the concussion that made her feel so melancholy. She dragged her thoughts back to Aldo Constanza and smiled. What a sweetheart of a man. His gaze had been intense on hers a couple of times, and her stomach had curled, warming at being so obviously admired.
Her phone beeped from the bedroom. Grumbling, Elli emerged from her cozy nook in the corner of the couch, carrying her blanket with her. She made her way the short distance to the bedroom and read the text message.
You may be hurting, girl, but you are also a magician. Aldo Constanza is investing—and he’s investing BIG. I love you! Call me if you need anything! Viv xxx
Elli smiled and returned to the couch. Putting the phone on speaker so she could keep her hands curled around the mug before all the warmth of the tea dissipated, she dialed the office.
“Hey, bruiser!” Vivienne’s voice was typically cheerful, but with an edge of worry. “I didn’t wake you up, did I? How’s the head?”
Elli grinned, although her head ached badly now. “Better hearing that news. No, I wasn’t asleep.”
“You should’ve been,” lectured Vivienne. “You’re supposed to be resting.”
“You texted me,” Elli reminded her. She took a sip of the tea and grimaced, wishing she could magically transport honey from the kitchen to the couch. “But trust me, Aldo tried to make sure I did.”
“Aldo?” Vivienne repeated.
“He carried me in.” Elli tried to gloss past that detail. “Oh, god, Viv, I’m so happy for y you—for the magazine. Thank god I didn’t jinx it.”
“Far from it, El … don’t think you’re getting away without giving me all the dirt! But
Constanza had one little request. That you do an interview with him for the magazine—an in depth, not a puff piece, don’t worry—when you’re better. I think you have an admirer, Elli. A rich, handsome sweetheart of an admirer.”
Elli flushed with pleasure. “He wantsmeto interview him?”
Vivienne sighed and laughed. “Trust you to focus on the work part—I’m telling you, that man wants to fu ...”
“Vivienne Marche, you are over-excited,” Elli interrupted her, laughing and wincing at the corresponding twinge in her head. “Less than an hour ago, the guy was all but singing me a lullaby. Not exactly a precursor to a horizontal tango. Calm down.”
“I’m just saying …you need to get laid and there’s nothing like a sex-god billionaire to get your rocks off.”
Elli shook her head, grinning, although the thought wasn’t exactly repulsive to her. Aching head or not, the shock of the accident had receded more than enough for her to fully realize that Aldo wasgorgeous.“Viv, I’ll talk to him to arrange the interview when I get back.”
“Um …” Vivienne suddenly sounded sheepish.
“What? What did you do?” Elli knew Vivienne’s machinations of old, especially when it came to Elli’s love life.
“Well, he kind of asked for your number, and I kind of gave it to him. I figured he rescued you, so …was I wrong?”
Elli sighed. “No, it’s fine. He probably won’t call anyway.”
Aldo Constanzadidcall that night, about eight p.m., while Elli was stubbornly trying to read in defiance of a headache that just wouldn’t completely go away and contemplating what to eat for her supper, seeing as her fridge was empty.
“How are you feeling, Elliana?”
His voice was deep, sexy, and weirdly already familiar. She settled herself back against the pillows, smiling. Just because she hadn’t thought he’d call didn’t mean she hadn’t hoped. “I’m okay. Just a little tired now. Thank you for today, Mr. Constanza. I mean it.”
