A Shadow of Guilt(12)
There’d been a stand-off between the two men. Mario had cajoled, ‘Gio … come on.’
Gio had just looked at Mario for a long moment and then shrugged lightly and said, ‘We’ll see.’
Mario had grinned in triumph and clapped his friend on the shoulder, saying, ‘Wait here, I’ll just change.’
He’d left and Gio had looked at Valentina, causing that inevitable self-conscious flush to rise up through her whole body. She ignored it. ‘Gio … you can’t let him near that horse … something will happen to him. You know he’s not as good as you.’
Gio had come close and touched his finger to Valentina’s chin, tipping it up slightly, making her heart beat fast and her body ache with a peculiar restlessness.
‘Don’t worry, piccolina, I won’t let anything happen to him.’
Indignant fire had raced up Valentina’s spine and she’d jerked her chin free. ‘Don’t call me that, I’m not little.’
Gio had said nothing for a long moment, just looked at her so intensely that she’d felt breathless, and then in a slightly rougher tone of voice, ‘I know you’re not … and don’t worry. I’ll have him back to his boring books before midnight, just like Cinderella.’
Mario had reappeared and gave Valentina a hug and walked out the door, Gio had followed with a quick glance backwards. ‘Ciao, bellissima.’
And that had been the last time she’d seen Mario. When she’d seen Gio in the hospital later that night she’d run to him, distraught, hysterical. ‘You let him go on that horse, didn’t you, didn’t you?’
Gio had just stood there, white-faced, and said, ‘I’m so sorry.’
Her mother and father had been so proud of Mario. Everything, all of their hopes and fears, had rested on him. Valentina had resigned herself to the fact that she wouldn’t have the same opportunities. She was genuinely happy for her brother to succeed and he’d often told her, ‘Val, when I become a lawyer and I’m making lots of money, I’ll send you to a cordon bleu school in France….’
Tears pricked her eyes, but just then a knock came on Valentina’s apartment door, wrenching her back to the present. Surprised, because she wasn’t used to visitors, she dashed away the dampness on her cheeks and stood up. When she opened the door and saw who it was she sucked in a breath. ‘You.’
CHAPTER THREE
GIO LOOKED GRIM in the dim light of the corridor. ‘Yes, it’s me.’
Still too shocked to make much sense of this she just said, ‘How did you get up here?’ The front door was at ground level and there were five apartments in the ancient crumbling building which was on one of Palermo’s less salubrious streets.
‘Someone was coming in just as I arrived.’
‘How did you know where I lived?’
Gio’s mouth tightened. ‘I asked around.’
Valentina could just bet he had—and who wouldn’t give a Corretti the information they wanted? Seeing him here like this in the flesh when she’d just been feeling so vulnerable made Valentina prickly.
‘What do you want, Gio?’ She saw the flash in his eyes and realised she’d just called him Gio. Flutters erupted in her belly.
‘I’d like to come in for a minute if that’s OK?’
‘No, it’s not OK.’
Valentina started to close the door but was surprised when she felt the resistance of Gio’s hand. Suddenly he looked quite intimidating.
‘We can conduct this conversation here in the doorway and give your neighbours something to listen to or you can invite me in.’
Valentina heard the tell-tale creak of her neighbour’s door just then and very reluctantly let Gio come in. He went and stood in the middle of the small living area, which had the kitchen area just off it and a tiny bedroom and bathroom on the other side. Palatial it was not, especially when she thought about his castello.
She smiled with saccharine sweetness. ‘Well, I don’t think you’re here for tips on how to live in a small space.’
A corner of his mouth turned up and the flutters in Valentina’s belly intensified. Damn him.
‘No. That’s not why I’m here.’ He turned to face her then and she noticed that he’d changed out of his polo shirt and jeans, into a white shirt and chinos. His overlong hair curled over his collar, a lock falling near his eyes.