An Invitation to Sin

‘Oh.’ Shaken by that unwelcome news, Taylor spun a few more layers of protection between her feelings and the world and kept it professional. ‘I’d like to think you’d judge me on my performance now, not on something that happened years ago.’

‘The whole world is judging you on your performance at the Corretti wedding.’ His face was scarlet with anger and for the first time Taylor noticed the newspaper clutched in his hand.

‘The wedding never happened, but even I couldn’t be blamed for that, surely?’ Confused, she eyed the newspaper. Did people even still buy those things? If she ever wanted to glance at headlines she just used her phone. ‘If you’re worried about the fact the wedding didn’t go ahead, then don’t be. I’m sure Santo Corretti will deal with it. The publicity might even be good for the film.’

His mouth opened and closed. ‘“Good” that the movie-going public see you as a man-stealer?’

She looked at him blankly. ‘A what?’

‘Just in case you were too drunk to know what you were doing, you can read it for yourself.’

Taylor almost lost her balance as he thrust the paper at her. ‘I don’t drink. And I remember everything.’ An image of Luca’s handsome face floated into her head and she pushed it away as she fumbled with the newspaper.

‘Portia Bateman.’ He enunciated every syllable. ‘Are you going to tell me that name doesn’t mean anything to you?’

‘Yes, that’s exactly what I’m going to tell you because it doesn’t. I’ve never heard of Portia Bateman.’ Taylor’s mind was working in slow motion. Her fingers were clumsy as she unfolded the offending paper. ‘In fact, I don’t know a single person called Portia—’ The words stuck in her mouth as a snippet of conversation rose in her mind.

So who is this woman you’re hiding from?

Apparently her name is Portia.

Driven by a horrible, awful suspicion, she shook her head. ‘Oh, no, no, she can’t have done that. I checked. I looked…’ She muttered the words to herself but the director was watching her keenly.

‘So you do know someone called Portia.’

‘No, I don’t! I’ve never even met her. She’s just someone he…’ She scanned the piece, saw the photograph of a tearful blonde woman under the caption Exclusive—Taylor Carmichael Stole My Man. And there beneath the caption was a photograph of her and Luca. His bronzed hand was plastered against her bare thigh and they were kissing. Not just kissing. Devouring each other. Passion was painted into every line of the photo and she stared at it in dismay.

Her fingers gripped the paper.

The sounds faded around her.

Dizziness washed over her.

She’d congratulated herself on the fact that no paparazzi had caught her moment of indiscretion. She’d forgotten that since the advent of camera phones, everyone was a photographer. And this one had hit the jackpot.

Bathed in horror, Taylor closed her eyes. This couldn’t be happening to her. It just couldn’t be. She couldn’t think through the panic. ‘Why did she wait a day to publish this?’

‘She says she offered Luca Corretti the chance to buy the photograph but he just laughed and told her to go ahead and sell whatever story she wanted to print. So she did. She sold her story to the highest bidder.’

He’d laughed?

Taylor felt cold.

What had she done?

The answer to that was nothing, but no one looking at this photograph was going to believe that. She’d dropped her guard for a few moments, that was all, and this was the result.

Keeping her expression neutral, she handed the newspaper back to the glowering director. She wanted to wake up and start the day again. She wanted to wind the clock back. She wanted to never have gone to that damn wedding. Most of all she wanted to kick Luca Corretti in a place that would ensure he’d never seduce a woman again.

‘I understand your concerns and I realise that the story looks bad, but I’m asking you to trust me. This piece isn’t—’ how on earth could she even begin to justify it in a way that would change his expression from sour to sympathetic? ‘—accurate. Please judge me on my acting ability, not the media circus that follows me.’

‘You think that pack of journalists are interested in your acting ability? Your movie comeback is over before it began. Santo Corretti is on his way here now and I can tell you he is not amused. After that wedding fiasco he isn’t in the best of moods as it is and this project means a lot to him. He doesn’t want it hijacked by your never-ending need to grab the headlines.’

He wasn’t interested in an explanation, Taylor thought numbly. The truth wasn’t going to help and a small part of her couldn’t even blame him for that because the picture did look incriminating. It had just been a kiss. Other people kissed all the time and did a whole lot worse and no one knew or cared. She slipped for one moment and the evidence was plastered everywhere and she had her mother to thank for that. She’d ensured the media had been fed a steady diet of Taylor Carmichael from the first moment she’d stuck her child in front of the camera.

Taylor wondered if Luca had even seen the pictures.

He’d probably laugh, she thought bitterly. It wasn’t his naked thigh that was up there for the world to see. It wasn’t his career that was ruined. Even if the board refused to give him more responsibility, he still had the fashion house. And anyway, he didn’t appear to care what the world thought of him. In fact, he seemed to behave in a way designed to invite and encourage salacious headlines.

‘I can tell you that Luca Corretti isn’t involved with that woman. It’s a kiss and tell. He rejected her and she’s getting her revenge.’

‘So you’re trying to tell me that picture is Photoshopped?’

‘No, but—’

‘It’s not you he’s kissing?’

‘Yes, it’s me, but—’

‘It’s not your dress that’s ripped?’

‘The dress isn’t ripped. The stitches came undone.’ Feeling like a fox with a pack of hungry hounds snapping at her heels, Taylor gritted her teeth. ‘They sewed me into it which I knew was a stupid idea right from the start.’

The director looked disgusted. ‘This story is everywhere. Tell me how I’m supposed to deal with this. How am I supposed to focus on making this movie when every single person on my set is looking at the bare thigh of my leading lady and sniggering? Just being this close to you is making me feel dirty.’

The whole world is going to know you’re dirty, Taylor.

Her breathing grew shallow.

Anger burst free inside her. This was all Luca’s fault. Because he didn’t care what people thought of him, he’d exposed her. He’d stripped her, almost literally, with no thought to the consequences. If he hadn’t been so careless with that Portia woman’s feelings, this would never have happened.

‘The press have embellished this to make it look bad, but it isn’t how it seems.’

‘The truth doesn’t even matter.’ The director made a hand gesture to signify two minutes to someone over her shoulder. ‘I can’t work in this circus. You’re off the movie.’

Those words turned Taylor’s limbs to water. ‘What? No!’ Composure deserted her. She wanted to act. More than anything else she wanted to act. It was all she wanted to do.

‘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?’

The director let out a stream of profanities and raised the palms of his hands. ‘I can’t work with this. If you want me on this project, I demand another actress.’

Santo stood in silence, a frown on his brow.

Taylor felt sick. So that was it. It was all over. She was just about to slide back into her car and hide her humiliation behind tinted glass when Santo spoke.

‘Taylor stays on this project.’

The director’s eyes narrowed. ‘If she stays, I go.’

‘Then go.’ With a total absence of sympathy, Santo nodded his head at Taylor. ‘We’ll talk to the press and then get on with the job we’re here to do.’

‘You just fired the director.’ Stunned by his unexpected support, Taylor could hardly speak. ‘And yesterday you told me to be discreet and not say anything to the press.’

‘That was when I thought you were likely to stir up a scandal. Taylor Carmichael engaged to Luca Corretti isn’t scandal, it’s news. It will stop the media focusing on your past and it will shift attention away from my family’s wedding fiasco. Don’t look so shocked—’ he placed the flat of his hand on her bag and guided her towards the press pack ‘—you’ve finally done something right. Relax, you still have a job.’

There were only two thoughts in her head. The first was that when Santo found out the truth, he’d fire her anyway, and the second was that Luca Corretti was going to kill her.

CHAPTER THREE

‘I’VE BEEN CALLED before the board, no doubt to answer for my sins. This promises to be a gripping meeting, Jeannie, the general tone of which will be that I’m a very bad boy who can’t possibly be trusted with the company even though my brother has just very inconveniently gone AWOL and another of my disgruntled cousins is trying to take over our flagship hotel.’ Hiding his bitterness beneath layers of boredom, Luca leaned back and put his feet on his desk, earning himself a reproving look from his long-suffering PA.

‘You could try not to be so shocking all the time.’

‘Where would be the fun in that?’

‘I’m just saying it might help if you were more…’ She hesitated and he lifted an eyebrow to prompt her.

‘More?’

‘More conventional.’

‘Conventional?’ Just saying the word made Luca shudder. ‘In the fashion business that word is death. And talking of death, whose idea was it to put lilies in my office? Get rid of them. They remind me of funerals.’

She put a strong cup of coffee in front of him and glanced at the extravagant display of fresh flowers that dominated the centre of the table he used for internal meetings. ‘I’ll have them changed. Gianni is having a meltdown. He wants to know if you’ve approved the location for the fashion shoot? The agency is driving him mad. He wanted me to remind you the theme is nautical, using unexpected twists on classic elements.’

Luca rolled his eyes. ‘Roughly translated from designer-speak to normal language, that means the sea, yes?’

‘The agency wants to use your yacht but Gianni wants something more edgy.’

‘I don’t want them on my yacht. It’s my bolt hole from press madness.’

‘Talking of press madness, they’ve been calling all morning about your latest—’ she cleared her throat ‘—indiscretion. Is there anything you want me to say to them?’

‘Yes. You can tell them to mind their own business.’ Irritated, Luca swung his legs off the desk. ‘Don’t look so shocked about it. You’ve worked for me for ten years. I know nothing shocks you.’

‘I just get upset when I read bad things about you.’ Jeannie’s voice was fierce and Luca frowned slightly.

‘Don’t let it bother you. I don’t.’

‘That’s why I let it bother me. One of us has to care, and it doesn’t seem to be you. I could strangle that Portia woman with my bare hands. How dare she tell those terrible lies.’

‘Ah, yes, Portia. I underestimated her.’ He wondered how Taylor was coping with the publicity and then shrugged it off. If anyone was capable of dealing with a media feeding frenzy, it was Taylor Carmichael. Her past was almost as messy as his. ‘The lawyers are dealing with it. I’m not worried.’

‘I’m worried enough for both of us. Between you and your brother, you keep the media going—’

‘Talking of my brother, I don’t suppose anyone has heard from him since he ran off with the bride?’ Shaking with laughter, Luca checked his phone for messages while Jeannie gave a despairing shake of her head.

‘It isn’t funny! What about poor Alessandro?’

‘“Poor” Alessandro had a narrow escape. He’s been saved from a miserable marriage followed by an expensive divorce. He should be celebrating his good fortune.’

‘You don’t really think that.’

‘I try to think about marriage as little as possible.’

‘Your parents were married for years.’

Luca stilled. If there was one thing worse than thinking of marriage in general then it was thinking of his parents’ marriage. ‘Did I miss the memo about introducing boring topics into office conversation?’

‘Sorry.’ Jeannie flushed. ‘But where do you think Matteo is?’

Luca shrugged. ‘Holed up somewhere enjoying wild honeymoon sex with his cousin’s almost-bride, I suppose, which makes it all the more galling that the board are proving so intransigent. They need a Corretti to run the company in his absence to stop that snake Angelo getting his claws on the company. They should be embracing me.’

‘Judging from the pictures of you and Taylor Carmichael, they probably think there’s been more than enough embracing.’

Taylor Carmichael.

He could still feel the silk of her hair against his fingers and the soft slide of her tongue against his mouth. In those few moments before she’d pushed him away, they’d created enough heat and energy to power a small country. The blaze of sexual chemistry had shocked him as much as her, the only difference was that he hadn’t wanted to fight it.

Before he could respond to Jeannie, the phone on his desk rang and she leaned across to answer it.

‘Signor Corretti’s office—no, he is currently out of the office….Which rumour?’ She paused, her calm professionalism visibly disintegrating as she listened to the person on the other end of the phone. She lifted shocked eyes to Luca. ‘No, I don’t have any comment to make….Yes, I’ll tell him you rang.’ Her hand shook as she replaced the phone and it immediately rang again. Luca clamped his hand over hers as she reached for it.

‘Leave it—it’s just the press wanting more details on that kiss. Don’t feed the frenzy.’

‘They didn’t want details of the kiss.’ Jeannie looked at him nervously. ‘You’re not the sort of guy who would shoot the messenger, are you?’

His radar for trouble on full alert, Luca released her hand and leaned back in his chair. ‘That,’ he drawled slowly, ‘depends on the message.’

She swallowed hard. ‘They want to know when you’ll release a statement on your engagement.’

‘I’m sure when he said that no one was to disturb him, he didn’t mean me.’ Taylor shot a dazzling smile at the security guard who was left blinded.

‘Well, er, he hasn’t mentioned you as such, Miss Carmichael—’

‘Of course he hasn’t. We agreed not to speak about each other.’ She stepped closer and lowered her eyelashes just enough to ensure he wouldn’t be able to think about anything but her all day. ‘If he talked about me, our relationship wouldn’t be a secret, would it?’

‘I suppose not.’ Sweating, he slid a finger around his collar. ‘Knowing Mr Corretti, I’m sure he’ll be only too pleased to see a beautiful woman walking into his office.’

‘Good.’ Striding into the express elevator before he could change his mind, Taylor hit a button and closed the doors. Safely inside, she switched off her megawatt smile and checked her reflection in the mirror.

She was going to kill the bastard.

First she was going to rip his elegant suit from his perfect body and then she was going to injure him in places that would ensure he’d remember her for ever.

It had proved difficult to persuade Santo to give her a few hours off from filming, but in the end he’d decided that they’d be more productive if they dealt with the media first.

Taylor hadn’t revealed that the only person she was going to be ‘dealing with’ was Luca.

The doors opened and Taylor stepped out into a contemporary office space like no other she’d seen. The walls were lined with photographs. Famous models in various poses pouted at her, their razor-sharp cheekbones accentuated by the powerful beam of sunlight pouring from an atrium above. It was a shrine to beauty and elegance.

The wide glass reception desk was unoccupied and she looked through the open door beyond and saw Luca Corretti at the same moment he saw her.

Their eyes locked.

Just for a moment she was back in the maze with his hand pressed to her bare thigh but then she remembered that was the reason she was here and her temper spurted.

‘Well, well—’ his sarcastic drawl carried across the open space between them ‘—it’s my fiancée. What an unexpected pleasure, angelo mia.’

‘In the circumstances, how could I stay away?’ Head held high, in full battle mode, Taylor stalked across the marble floor and into his office wondering how on earth they were going to unpick this mess.

She was going to kill him and how was she going to explain that to the press?

‘Leave us, Jeannie,’ Luca ordered in a silky tone. ‘It’s not every day a man gets engaged. I need to savour the moment. I might even indulge in desk sex so better not come in without knocking.’

The woman sent him a troubled look and then retreated from the office and closed the door behind her.

Taylor went straight into attack mode. ‘How dare you? How dare you play with my life just because you don’t care about yours! You should have paid that woman.’

‘If I paid every woman who threatened to take stories of me to the press I’d be broke.’

‘Maybe you should stop seducing women and then the problem would go away!’ She paced the length of his office, her attention caught by yet more black-and-white photographs on the walls. ‘You have photographs of women everywhere. You just can’t help yourself, can you?’

‘I run a fashion house. What do you expect?’ He looked effortlessly sophisticated in a suit designed to accentuate his physique and dark good looks. ‘Is that jealousy I hear in your voice?’

‘Don’t be ridiculous. I couldn’t care less whose picture you have on your wall or who you kiss.’

‘Really? Isn’t that rather a liberal attitude for someone who only recently decided I was the only man in the world for her?’

Livid by his flippant response, she glared at him. ‘Right now the only thing standing between you and death is the fact that I don’t want more negative headlines.’

Dark brows rose above eyes that glinted with mockery. ‘So much passion so early in our relationship. Not that I’m complaining. I love a woman who isn’t afraid to show emotion.’

‘Damn you, Luca, are you ever serious? Do you know how hard I’ve worked over the past few years to get people to take me seriously? This was a fresh start and then you—you…’ Her hands curled into fists and she turned away from him, hating the loss of control. Hating the attraction she felt towards him. Hating him.

‘And then I—what?’

‘You know what! You—you kissed me. You had your hand on my—’ Just thinking of the photograph made her close her eyes in horror. ‘It looked as if we’d—’

‘Do you ever finish your sentences? You’re like a walking crossword and I’m too lazy to fill in the blanks.’

‘I’m—I’m just so mad with you.’

‘Don’t worry about it. I’m sure it will be good for you to express honest emotion once in a while.’

‘Don’t mess with me, Luca.’ Furious, she stabbed her finger into his chest and then wished she hadn’t because all she felt was muscle. ‘Be careful. I haven’t eaten carbs for three months and I’m always dangerous when I’m hungry.’

‘For what it’s worth, I’m mad with you too, and my diet is fine. My taste has never run to women who suppress their real selves. And now let’s get to the point.’ The snap of his voice raised the tension in the room several more notches. ‘Why the hell did you announce that we’re engaged?’