A Passionate Reunion In Fiji / Cinderella's Scandalous Secret. Michelle Smart
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are more obvious to you.’
‘I knew it wouldn’t take long for you to get around to my supposed neglect of him.’
Livia sighed again in lieu of biting her tongue and in a vain effort to temper the anger rising in her. This was a weekend for celebration, not recriminations. Massimo was the one who had to live with his conscience, not her.
‘Your grandfather is very ill, Massimo, but he’s as comfortable and as pain-free as he can be. He’s here on the island he loves with the family he loves. You made this happen, all of it. Don’t spoil things for him by taking your anger at his condition out on those who have done their best for him.’
His jaw tightened as she spoke. For a long time he didn’t respond, just stared at her until his nostrils flared and he gave a sharp nod. ‘I need to call in with the office.’
This time her sigh was one of exasperation.
‘I need to answer any questions the project manager has about the analysis and data before we set sail. Okay?’
She was glad he turned his back on her and strode through to the chalet’s living room, his wretched phone already in his hand. It meant he didn’t see the sheen of tears that suddenly filled her eyes.
LIVIA TAMPED DOWN the gulf of feelings knotting her belly and boarded the white yacht. Although dwarfed in size by the cruise ship it was moored next to, it still dazzled with elegance. After their mammoth journey to the island she would have preferred to spend the day relaxing but this was the trip Madeline had forced Massimo to concede to. Livia knew what her sister-in-law was thinking: that forcing Massimo into close quarters would stop him hiding away.
Unfortunately, Madeline hadn’t reckoned on Massimo boarding the yacht with his laptop case slung over his shoulder and his phone sticking out of his shorts pocket and Livia saw her lips pull in tightly. When they set sail, Livia was the only one secretly pleased when he made his excuses and disappeared inside.
Disappointment was writ large on his family’s faces.
She met Madeline’s gaze and shrugged apologetically.
Barely three hours with Massimo’s family and she’d already made two silent apologies for him.
Sailing at a steady pace over the calm South Pacific, it took only an hour to reach the atoll. They whiled the time away in a lazy fashion, dipping in and out of the swimming pool and chatting. The captain anchored the yacht at a distance far enough away not to cause any damage to the precious reef but close enough for them all to see the clear turquoise water teeming with brightly coloured fish and all other manner of sea life. Madeline and Raul donned their snorkelling gear and jumped in, leaving baby Elizabeth in Sera’s capable hands.
Livia looked out at Madeline and Raul having the time of their lives in the water, at Sera playing happily with her granddaughter, at her father-in-law Gianni, book in one hand, large cocktail in the other, at Jimmy napping in his wheelchair in a shaded part of the deck, at the chefs cooking up a storm on the barbecue and felt a sharp pang rip through her chest.
Massimo should be there with them.
She hurried down the stairs and slipped inside in search of him.
The interior of the yacht was vast and as sleek and as elegant as the exterior and refreshingly cool after the hazy heat on deck. It took a few minutes before she found him hidden in an isolated section of the saloon, tapping away on his laptop. So engrossed was he in his work that it took a few moments before he noticed her presence.
‘Lunch is almost ready,’ she said briskly.
‘I’ll be ten minutes.’
‘And then you’ll turn your laptop off and leave it off?’
‘I can’t.’
She inhaled deeply to smother her anger. ‘Your family have been looking forward to spending time with you.’
‘And they will.’
‘When?’ she challenged. ‘Tomorrow, everything will be about the party and then you go back to LA. Today is the only day when it’s just us and you’re missing out. You’ve travelled thousands of kilometres to be here. It’s not going to kill you to turn your laptop off and spend some time with your family.’
His jaw clenched, his fingers now drumming on the table rather than tapping on his laptop.
Looking at the obstinate set of Livia’s jawline, Massimo knew she wouldn’t give him a moment’s peace until he joined the rest of them on deck.
It wasn’t that he disliked spending time with his family. Not really. It was that they were all so different from him. His approach to life was alien to them. They believed he worked too hard, never understanding that it was only when he was immersed in his work that he felt at peace with himself.
It would be easier to handle these few days with them if Livia weren’t there. It was hard enough dealing with his family’s suffocating love without adding his estranged wife and all the intense emotions she’d drawn back out of him into the mix.
How could he find ease in her company when his attention was consumed by her every movement? She stood a good five feet from him but awareness thrummed through him, a buzz on his skin, an itch in his fingers. Her black swimsuit was designed for functionality and not for flaunting her body but still he reacted as if she were wearing the skimpiest of bikinis. The itch in his fingers became unbearable when he noticed the smudge of mascara under her left eye from where she’d dried her face after her swim. He wanted to rub the smudge away.
He breathed in deeply through his nose and nodded. ‘I’ll turn my laptop off and join you in ten minutes.’
She inclined her head and backed away. Just when he thought he was rid of her she fixed him with a hard stare counteracted by a quirking at the corner of her lips. ‘If you get your phone out at all while we’re on this yacht, I can’t promise that it won’t become fish food.’
Two hours later and Livia almost wished Massimo would return to the saloon and do more work.
After they’d eaten their long lunch; barbecued fish freshly caught that morning and an array of salads, she’d gone snorkelling with Madeline and climbed back on board to find Massimo had removed his T-shirt and draped it carelessly on the back of his chair.
Trying hard to blur his magnificent physique from her sight, she wrapped her beach towel around her waist while Madeline went straight to Raul, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed the top of his balding head. In response, he twisted in his chair and squeezed her bottom.
Livia couldn’t stop her eyes from seeking Massimo, her heart throbbing as she remembered a time when they’d been as tactile and affectionate together as his sister and brother-in-law were. Her insides heated to match the warmth on her skin when she found his gaze already on her. Was he remembering those heady, carefree days too…?
His eyes pulsed before he looked away and reached for the jug of fruit cocktail. He refilled his glass then filled another and pulled out the empty chair beside him. Livia sat, accepting the drink with a murmured thanks, and tried again to blur out his naked chest. Even with the parasol raised to shade them from the worst of the heat, the sun’s rays were slow-roasting them. One of Jimmy’s carers had taken him inside for a nap.
Madeline pulled a bottle of sunscreen from her bag. Once she and Raul had slathered themselves in it, she passed the bottle to Livia, who rubbed the lotion over her face, covered her arms, shoulders, the top part of her chest not covered by her swimsuit and her neck. But she couldn’t reach all of her back.
‘Here, let me.’
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