Her Venice Affair (The Albury Affairs) (19 page)

“I can’t keep you here like you are nothing more than
my mistress. You have dreams, a career you are working toward that you are so passionate
about. Go back to New York and start school. When I’m finished here, I’ll
follow. It won’t take more than a month.”

“A month!” she whined.

Allan chuckled, rocking her softly from side to side.
That whine said it all. He was relieved she was beginning to see reason.

He kissed her neck. “It’s just a month, I promise.”

She turned around in his arms and pressed her hands
flat on his chest. “I know, I just…” she stopped speaking lowering her head.

“Riana.” He was about to tease her when he felt her shoulders
shake. “Riana!” Concerned, he placed his fingers under her chin and pushed her
head up. Her eyes were closed and tears ran down her cheeks to her lips hidden in
her mouth and trembling chin. “Honey, what’s wrong?”

She shook her head. “I just…I…”

He hugged her and she pressed her face to his chest,
her arms around his torso as tight as a vice.
Damn!
He didn’t want her to cry. Tears had never moved him, but
hers did and he felt like a cad every time he made her cry.

He rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head.
“Riana, come on…”

“I love you, Allan!”

Allan froze. Her confession was followed by a stiff
silence, except for the sounds of the sea and the gulls.

The setting was perfect, romantic even,
if
he had any intention of admit to his
feelings and confess them as she had just done. He knew she had fallen for him
and the usual protocol for this kind of complication was…

He let go of her and stepped away. “I’m going to the
upper deck. You should go pack.”

He heard her quick intake of breath as more tears
spilled. “Go pack,” she whispered in a deadpan voice. “I tell you I love you
and you respond with ‘go pack’?”

Allan remained silent. There was nothing he could say
that would salvage this moment. Anything that came out of his mouth would only
make things worse.

He turned around to leave. He had gotten as far as the
railing before he felt something hit his back, making him arch forward in pain
with a hiss. Allan looked down at the offensive object and cursed loudly. “My
iPad
! Of all the stuff in this room you choose my
iPad
? I have work on it!”

She chortled bitterly throwing her hands up. “Of
course, the only thing you love—your damn work!”

He picked it up and cursed again when he saw the
broken screen. “I’m not going to discuss this!”

“Why would you? You are a damn coward!”

Allan’s head pushed forward, not quite sure he had
that right. Did she really call him a coward?

 
“Excuse me?” he
growled through clenched teeth.

“I know you love me, maybe not as madly as I love you,
but why don’t you just admit to what you feel!” she cried in despair, all the
anger drained out of her.

He felt his heart thud hard at her demand. If she only
knew that love was the reason he was sending her home.

Allan sucked in a breath and turned away from her
moving to the upper deck.

“Allan!” she screamed.

He turned around forcefully tossing the broken
iPad
across the room and watched as it slid under the couch
behind her. “What the hell do you want from me?”

She stomped her foot and yelled, “For you to love me
back!”

Allan felt his heart thud harder in his chest. He saw
his shock mirrored on Riana’s face as her hand shot up to cover her mouth. She
hadn’t meant to say that, he could see that, but it was too late for her to
take it back. The damage had been done.

“I’m taking the yacht to dock. I need to speak to
Vittorio.”

“Allan!” she cried taking a step toward him and he
took a step back.

Allan closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his
nose, wishing he could take all this back. “This was supposed to be fun. A
vacation. Nothing more than a two week affair in Venice.”

She sniffed, then whispered, “You turned it into a ten
week romantic getaway with your
girlfriend
in Italy.”

He could hear the accusation in her voice. He deserved
it. It was his fault.

He cleared his throat and faced her. Then he spoke in
a cool, stale tone he reserved for business owners when he was kicking them out
of their companies. “I know that and it was my mistake. Forgive me.”

He quickly turned around and left, ignoring Riana’s
muffled cries. His heart ached listening to her sobs. Against his better
judgment, he stopped at the third step and looked back at her. She was on the
floor, hugging her knees to her chest, rocking back and forth as she cried.

Allan felt his throat sting, a huge lump of regret
lodged tightly in it. He wanted to go to her, take her in his arms and take
back what he said as he begged her for forgiveness. But he couldn’t do that. He
needed to keep her safe and alive and far away from Anthony.

Allan scoffed at himself with disgust. He was really
going to use that as a cover for his lack of balls.

God, she
was right. I’m a fucking coward!

And to drive the point home, he ran up the steps to
the wheel of the yacht. He needed to get some distance from her. He needed to
get to shore fast before he did something stupid like…tell her he fell in love
with her the moment he saw her crying in The Ritz hallway. And he’d only grown
more in love with her with each passing day they shared.

Shit!
He punched the wheel, cutting his knuckles. He was a
fucking bastard! Why didn’t he just leave her alone? He should have just walked
away from her right from the start.

Venice was supposed to be their revenge against Steve
and Theresa. It had only turned out to be a complete nightmare.

* * * *

Riana shoved her things into the suitcase. She’d
thought about leaving everything he’d bought her, but decided against it. When,
not if, he decided to get another bedmate to keep him company, there was no way
she was going to let her wear the stuff Allan had bought for her. Each piece
held a wonderful memory for her. And despite Allan being such a bastard, she
was going to treasure each and every memory and someday tell it to their child.

Riana rested her hand on her belly and permitted
herself two minutes to cry. She fell onto the bed and sobbed for the end of a
love affair, for the unrequited love, for the future that would never be, and
for the child who may never have an active father in its life.

When she was done, she sat up, wiped the tears away
and promised herself to never ever shed another tear for Allan Sinclair.

She wrote Allan a goodbye note and placed it in the
case that once held a diamond pendant—which was now in one of the six suitcases
she was taking. Well, it wasn’t exactly a goodbye note but it was bound to give
him the shock of his life.

She hadn’t figured out how she was going to get to the
airport with all six suitcases of clothes, shoes, and jewelry, but she was
determined. She’d figure it out.
Maybe I
should call Von, he’d help.

“What’s the matter,
bella
?”

Riana jumped quickly turning around. “Anthony, what
are you doing here?”

He stepped into the room, completely blocking her only
exit. Riana felt nervous and scared. She didn’t want to be alone with Anthony.
Allan, why did you have to leave me alone?

He looked down at the suitcases. “Going somewhere,
cara
?”

Riana took a step back, bumping into the bed. She
looked down at it then looked up and met his leering smile. She didn’t like
that smile. She liked the look on his face less. What she liked least was the
step he took toward her.

* * * *

“Allan! Allan!”

Allan looked up at Vittorio. “What?” he barked.

Vittorio raised a brow, taken aback by his hostile
tone. “Trouble in paradise?”

Allan shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “None of your
damn business!”

“We are trying to set up a command structure for
Casa
Italiano
and you are not paying attention. You are just pouting!”

Allan shot him a sizzling glare. “I don’t pay you to
worry about my personal affairs!”

Vittorio leaned back in his seat, his arms crossed at
his chest. “When you asked me to hire a bodyguard for
bella
rośe
it became my business.”

When Allan didn’t respond, Vittorio groaned. “Tell me
you didn’t treat her like one of your
insensibile
amante
?”

Allan sighed. Riana was far from a coldhearted
mistress, she was…no! That chapter was closed. It was time to move on. “We are
done.”

Vittorio shook his head disappointedly. “I’ll call
someone to escort her to the airport. Tell me you at least gave her money to
get her home?”

“I deposited two hundred thousand dollars in her
account this morning.”

He’d thought about giving her more, around a million,
but it didn’t feel right. He already knew she was going to throw a fit over the
money and he wasn’t looking forward to that fight, especially after how he
broke things off. That’s why he did it without telling her.

Vittorio snorted. “Paid her like a high priced whore!”

Allan shot out of his seat his body shaking with
anger, but Vittorio just flicked his chin with the back of his fingers in an
Italian insult. He took out his phone and called Von. It was a short conversation
followed by a ‘where is she’ spat at Allan.

“What do you care?”

Vittorio shot out of his seat with a string of Italian
curses and yelled back, “Because she is not in the hotel and wherever she is,
she is alone and Anthony is nowhere to be found you
figlio
di
puttana
, fucking son of a bitch!”

Allan didn’t wait to hear anymore insults. He ran like
his life depended on it back to the dock. How could he be so stupid as to leave
her alone, especially in the dark? He was in such a hurry to get away from her he
had tied the yacht and rushed away without a second thought. Now Riana was
alone and he could only pray that Anthony wasn’t with her. He just found out he
had lost everything, including his villa and according to Mr. Torino, he was in
a murderous rage.

He felt his heart drop when he noticed there were no
lights turned on the yacht.

Maybe she
cried herself to sleep
, he tried
to rationalize.

 
Or maybe
Anthony had gotten to her.

Oh God,
please no!

“Riana, Riana!” He yelled out her name, his chest
screaming for air and his legs burning from exhaustion at the long run to the
yacht and the sheer panic he was feeling.

He boarded the dark yacht and stopped in his tracks
when he smelled smoke. It was coming from the lower cabin. His heart dropped.
The kitchen and the bedroom were right next to each other. If the gas cylinder
were to blow, and Riana was down there, she would have no way out.

He rushed for the stairs only to stop and back track
when he came face to face with a gun coming up the steps.

“
Signore
Sinclair!” Anthony began in a friendly tone and signaled for Allan to step
back. But Allan couldn’t do that. Riana could be down there.

And Anthony just came from there…

Allan felt lightheaded. Was she…she couldn’t already
be…
Oh God no!

“Step back or your
puttana
will die!”

Allan dragged in a shaky relieved breath and stepped
back.

“You didn’t listen,
Signore
Sinclair,” he started in a singsong voice. “You stole
Casa
Italiano
from me, and I’ve done the same.”

“What?”

“You took what is important to me so I took what is
important to you,” he announced with a sadistic laugh.

Alan felt his chest crush into his heart.
She couldn’t be…she just couldn’t be!

“The beautiful Riana is dead. But I made sure to taste
her wonderful charms before I put a bullet in her kind warm heart.” He kissed
his fingers. “
Deliziosa
!
”

“You are lying!” Allan yelled.

He refused to believe she was dead. He refused to
believe Anthony had violated her. Riana was strong. She would have fought. She
would have found a way to get away from him.

With new hope, Allan asked, “She isn’t even here is
she?”