Page 22 of Her Dirty Secret
Alessandro gives a half-hearted smile. “Well, I imagine he wants to make sure you’ll be ready to run things when he’s retired. That’s nothing to laugh at,” he replies.
“Are we really going to sit here and talk about work?” I ask bluntly, unable to handle it anymore.
Alessandro uncrosses his legs and leans his arms on the table. “What would you prefer we discuss?”
“How was your trip?” I ask, not wanting to accuse him of anything directly.
He smiles faintly. “It was wonderful, until it wasn’t. I had to cut it short and come back to work.” He leans back in his chair. “How was your honeymoon?”
I give him a skeptical look and huff a dry laugh. “I’m entirely sure you don’t want to hear about it,” I reply. “I need to know something, but I don’t know how to ask you, Alessandro.”
He scrubs a hand over his face. “Then just ask.”
I take a deep breath. “Did you bring Bryce’s sister with you to Italy?”
He stares at me impassively. “Yes.”
I’m not sure if I didn’t expect the honesty, or if, deep down, I didn’t really think I was right, but his answer is like a punch to the gut.
“How could you do that?” I bark at him.
The waiter chooses that moment to come back and take our orders. It gives me a moment to calm down, at least. Once he’s gone, I give Alessandro a minute to respond, trying not to look like I want to smack him.
“Have you talked to her?” he finally asks.
“Not yet,” I reply. “She’s avoiding us. But I’ve known you longer, anyway, and I think I deserve an explanation.”
“If it makes you feel better, she’s avoiding me too,” he says drily. “Though in my defense, I didn’t think it would upset you.”
“That you had a fling with my sister-in-law? That whatever happened upset her so badly she won’t talk to anyone?” I have to work to keep from screeching the words at him.
The sadness in his eyes spreads, and his face falls. “I’m sorry,” he replies. “I didn’t intend for any of this to happen. But for what it’s worth, it wasn’t a fling. Not to me. Even if I didn’t realize until it was too late that it was for her.” And he looks so thoroughly miserable, I have no choice but to believe him.
“I may not be able to get ahold of her,” I reply firmly, “but if this was just a fling to her, she wouldn’t be this upset.”
He raises his eyes to mine. “Do you really think so?”
The hope in his voice is evident, and I realize there’s much more going on here than I imagined. “Alessandro,” I gasp. “You’re in love with her, aren’t you?”
He shakes his head. “How can you be in love with someone who only thinks of you as their dirty secret?”
“You are in love with her.” I’m in awe. I was sure after he’d given up on me that he’d gone back to dating casually, read man-whoring, wholly put off by relationships after everything we’d been through.
He sighs. “Yes.”
“I’m seriously confused right now,” I admit. “Let’s back this up. What happened at our party?”
“I can’t say it was love at first sight, if that’s what you’re asking. Even I’m not that clichéd. But as soon as I laid eyes on her, I did feel like I’d met her before. The feeling that I just knew her grew stronger with every minute we spent together.” He sighs again, something I’m getting the sense he’s done a lot of lately. “I think she was emotionally overwhelmed by your announcement and just needed to do something drastic. So when I invited her to come with me, I don’t think it was because of me that she said yes.”
“But you got close that week.”
“I fell in love with her that week,” he admits, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. “It’s very strange, telling you these things. Knowing it upsets you. I didn’t—”
I throw up a hand to stop him. “I was upset because I thought you were just working your charm on her, or using her for a good time or something,” I explain. “I didn’t know how you felt.” I pause, thinking about what he’s said. “Why do you think she thinks of you as her dirty secret?”
Alessandro smiles wryly. “Emily seems to believe she’s got nothing to bring to the table in a relationship. Or, at least, that’s what I thought was holding her back until she informed me she could never have a relationship with me because of her brother. That she only meant for us to be a ‘vacation fling.’ I’m afraid I said some things at that point that I’m not proud of.”
Our food is delivered then, giving me time to process while we eat in silence. But I’m too distracted to care much about the food, and it’s not long before I put down my fork.