My Italian Heart

Chapter Nine

The next morning I woke in his arms, still on the sofa. It felt so right until my brain realised the implications. I shot upright, making David jump as I did. I couldn't believe we had been there all night. The sun was coming through the window and I knew from the brightness that it was already later than when I normally would have been in the office. I just prayed no one had noticed I had been gone all night. I would be in enough trouble for missing family dinner, but at least that I could find an excuse for. "s**t! I've got to go. Don't come up to the vineyard for at least an hour."

"Yes, boss." I flashed him an unamused look over my shoulder, and he gave me a mock salute. He had the cheekiest grin on his face and it made me melt inside. I wanted nothing more than to climb back onto the sofa beside him. Forcing myself out the door to stop myself from losing the whole day lost in his arms. There was something about being laid with him all night that was so much more intimate than s*x.

When I arrived at the vineyard, Rylie was standing outside the house. She was leant up against the wall and looked a bit too wobbly to even be outside. Typical for someone to be there to watch me come back. "Morning." I tried my best to hide my flustered self and concentrated on keeping my greeting brief.

"Don't give me that. Where have you been?" I started walking to the front door in the hopes of avoiding the conversation. I knew she already knew something, but it didn't mean I had to spill my guts. For a second I was grateful she was on crutches and wouldn't be able to chase me, then felt awful for it even crossing my mind.

"Early morning meeting. I left really early this morning." I needed to get better at telling fibs. Living in my family, I had never been able to hide anything, so there had been no need to be able to lie convincingly.

"Yeah, so early this morning that it was actually yesterday. Mamma is on the warpath." I already knew she would be. I was dreading seeing her. That woman was like a dog with a bone. She wouldn't let me forget my absence any time soon. I just hoped she wouldn't make the same assumption that Rylie was making. Mamma was all over Emily about her relationship with George right from the beginning, wanting every detail. I just hoped she wouldn't consider for a second that it was a man responsible for my absence.

"Isn't she always?"

"She's taken some lunch down to Pop's because he forgot it. If you wanna get changed unnoticed, I would hurry up." I hadn't even considered that I was still in the same clothes. It was a rookie move. I should have gone straight to the office. I had spare clothes there I could have changed into. Heading straight into the house and up the stairs, quickly. Knowing Rylie was right, it was best to be more put together before I bumped into anyone else. I wanted to kiss Rylie for giving me the heads up. She really was turning into the sister I had never had growing up. The sort that covers for one another no matter what.

"So, who is he?" I span around in nothing but my bra and faced Rylie. For saying she was meant to be struggling to get around, she still managed to follow me quickly enough. She was like a ninja, even on crutches, or maybe I was just too distracted. So much for her not being able to chase me.

"Who said it was a man?" I was more than used to having them barging in on me while I was getting ready. It was the danger of having a house full of women. I shimmied into my lace thong as I spoke. Trying my best to get ready as quickly as possible.

"Come on. I know it was a man. It's written all over your face. Good for you. It's about time you got laid." I chanced a look in the mirror, but I looked like my usual self, except for the smile. I smiled most of the time anyway, but this was different. It was a giddy, childish smile. I panicked. I didn't want Rylie thinking I was out having a one-night stand. Or worse, for her to realise it was David.

"Nothing happened!" s**t! All I had done was admit that I was with someone. I had been in such a hurry to deny anything had happened that I hadn't thought it through.

"Well, that's even better. He must be really special if you spent the whole night together and nothing happened. Especially if that nothing still resulted in that massive grim you have plastered on your face." She had no idea how right she was, but I knew my smile had gotten even broader and I was pretty sure I was blushing slightly, too.

"Yeah. No. It's complicated." I was mumbling and I couldn't seem to stop myself. I felt like I was losing my damn mind. My stomach was full of butterflies and my chest was on fire just thinking about him. It made me feel slightly breathless as I pulled my black knee-length skirt up and zipped it in place.

"You've already slept with him, I can tell. What's with the secrecy?" He's the last man I should be sleeping with, let alone falling for, that's what. Tell her. Just tell her. She will understand. I looked at her and I wanted to give into the demon in my head, but I couldn't. It was too big of a secret to trust it to anyone, even Rylie, especially Rylie. It would tear her in two as she tried to remain loyal to me and Em.

"It's not a secret. I just need to get to work quickly. Has Emily told you what is going on with her and George?" I felt awful. Not only was I sleeping with her dad, I was throwing her under the bus to keep my secret. Whatever it takes to keep being able to f**k him!

"No, why what's going on?" I knew it would be enough to get her off the scent of my night's activities. Rylie was too protective of Em for it not to work. They had been through so much together, and it reminded me that her loyalty to Em would win out.

"She's in love with him. He proposed. His ex-wife died. Overdose. She's a piece of work. He's in Milan at the funeral now. He broke things off with Em and now wants her back again. I like George. He's good for Em on the whole, but he's like a bloody Yo-Yo. She also practically raising his daughter as her own. They have quite the bond." I tried to keep it to the cliff notes version, I still needed to get to work. Grabbing my blouse from the hanger and pulling it over my head to save time, and stuffing it into my skirt.

"She never said anything. I didn't even know she was serious about him."

"She's head over heels. I think she wanted to tell you, but with everything that's been going on, she couldn't find the right moment. He followed her to England. Did Luca not tell you?" Nearly falling flat on my face as I tried to slip my heels on.

"Why would Luca know?"

"He met him at the hospital. I'm sure that's what Em said. I could be wrong." My hair was a complete mess, and I zoned out slightly as I tried to work out what I could do with it quickly.

"I'm going to kill him."

"That's fine, but can you clean up after yourself, please? I don't want to do it twice. s**t. I'm sorry, I didn't mean that." I stopped getting ready and took a breath. "Rylie, I am so sorry. It's all just a lot and I've not been dealing with it very well at all. I'm either crying or displaying outright hostility." What a b***h! I started pulling my hair as tightly as I could into a bobble. Wrapping the rest around the bobble and hoping it would pass for a bun.

"It's fine. I get it. Does the new man help? Yes, we're back to him. Telling me about Em wasn't going to be enough for me to forget." Rylie was no better than Mamma at letting things lie. I knew I had only brought myself time, but I had hoped it would be more time than I actually got.

"Yes, he helps. I just need to keep him to myself for now. Please, don't tell anyone anything."

"As long as you are happy, I am all for it. I won't say anything."

"I'm glad you are happy for me, but I really need to run. Love you." And just like that, I was escaping. Hoping to missing Mamma on my way out. The kitchen was empty as I passed through, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Which lasted right up until I walked near smack bang into Em. "Can't stop. Already running so late." I couldn't even bring myself to look her in the eye. Instead, I scurried away like the awful person I was. I could feel her eyes following me as I headed down the path to the warehouse.

Somehow, sleeping with her dad didn't seem remotely as bad as actually having feelings for him. The burning pain in my chest was still there and I couldn't get images of him out of my mind. Whether it was him swimming naked in the pool or that cheeky grin I had left him wearing when I left. It didn't matter what image it was. All images of him did strange things to my insides. Things I had never even felt before. I had felt lust, of course, but this was nothing like that. It was like my entire body was affected. Every so often, I even caught my legs shaking slightly. There was no denying that it wasn't just s*x, it was something more. That something more was even more of a betrayal, and I felt more split in two than ever.