An Invitation to Sin(13)

‘You can’t do that. You can’t get rid of me because of what the media say. You can’t give them that much power and control. I need to speak to Luca. Give me a chance to sort this out.’

But he’d already moved on. People were shouting things at him and his eyes were on the phone in his hand as he read a text. ‘You can’t sort this out. Wherever you go, trouble follows. It’s always about you and never about the film. You’re finished.’

Furious at the injustice of it, Taylor straightened her shoulders. ‘That’s Santo Corretti’s decision, not yours.’

‘Fine. He can tell you himself.’ Standing back, the director gestured towards the low, expensive sports car that had just parked behind her.

Taylor closed her eyes. This was a nightmare. She had to do something but nothing she said was going to rub out that picture of Luca with his hand on her thigh.

She forced herself to stand still as Santo strode towards her, his face black as the sky before a storm.

Judging from the little she’d read about the aborted wedding, he’d had a worse weekend than she had.

‘It isn’t how it seems,’ she said, trying and failing to keep the desperation out of her voice. Part of her hated herself for having to try and excuse herself but she was willing to do anything to keep the part. ‘She’s one of his exes and she obviously followed him and spied on him.’

‘And what were you and Luca doing together in the first place?’

‘I was—’ She broke off, suddenly furious with Luca. If he’d just paid the woman they wouldn’t be in this mess. Her mind raced ahead. She’d make him pay in another way. ‘We were meeting each other. You told me I couldn’t have a relationship, so we were trying to be discreet.’

‘Luca is never discreet. He does exactly what he wants to do with whomever he wishes to do it. He doesn’t care.’

‘But I do, and he respected that. He understands what the press are like and he wanted to protect me.’

Santo shot her a look of undiluted incredulity. ‘Your date at the wedding was some guy called Zach. I heard you on the phone.’

‘And you heard me tell you that Zach isn’t my boyfriend,’ she said truthfully. ‘He’s just a friend.’ And by that she meant that he was allowed one layer closer to the real her than most people.

The truth was she trusted no one.

‘So you were using him to cover the fact that you’re with Luca? You’re trying to convince me that you and my cousin are an item?’

‘That’s exactly what I’m telling you.’

‘My cousin isn’t capable of a relationship.’

‘I think he was as surprised by how quickly our relationship developed as I was. After what you said to me, I made him promise to keep it a secret. I couldn’t change the way we felt about each other, but I thought I could stop you finding out. There is nothing sleazy about that kiss.’ Making a last-ditch attempt to halt the free fall of her career, she shot a look at the director. ‘It was two people sharing a special moment and that woman exploited that. We love each other. Now can we move on?’

‘Love?’ The director started to laugh. ‘You expect us to believe that nonsense? Today it’s Luca Corretti—who will it be tomorrow?’ Perhaps if he hadn’t sounded so contemptuous, she wouldn’t have said it but she was so upset at his implication that she was unlovable, the words fell out of her mouth.

‘It won’t be anyone tomorrow,’ Taylor heard herself say, ‘because I’m in love with Luca and he’s in love with me. We’re getting married.’ People used her all the time. Why shouldn’t she use someone else for a change? And since this was all Luca’s fault, he was the lucky candidate. ‘We didn’t want to say anything on Saturday and draw attention away from the bride and bridegroom.’ She couldn’t for the life of her remember their names. ‘We were trying to be unselfish which is why we sneaked a quiet few minutes together.’ For a few seconds she had the satisfaction of seeing the pair of them silenced. She held her breath, knowing that they were never going to believe her. Never.

Santo was the first to break the silence. ‘If my cousin were engaged, I would have heard.’

‘It’s a secret.’ So much of a secret that even Luca didn’t know about it. Her insides clenched as she realised the enormity of what she’d done. ‘No one knew but us. And because we’re keeping it a secret, obviously we had to be discreet.’ She snapped her mouth shut before she could trip over her own tangle of lies. ‘And now I’d be grateful if neither of you would mention it again. As far as the media is concerned, I’m single. That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?’