Di Sione's Innocent Conquest (The Billionaire's Legacy) (14 page)

CHAPTER ELEVEN

A
S
MUCH
AS
he had wanted to stay and join in with the celebrations, Matteo really did need to leave and head back to New York.

Even more so than before now.

With time differences and flying time, it felt odd that it was still Sunday, albeit late in the evening when he drove towards the Di Sione estate.

Giovanni had appointments all week and, if Matteo wanted to speak with him, then it had to be tonight.

Matteo had told Giovanni that he was coming and he knew that the old man would be hoping it was because Matteo had good news for him.

He wondered how his grandfather would take the news.

Alma let him in and said that Giovanni was in the lounge and Matteo thanked her and walked through.

Giovanni was sitting, staring out to the lake, and Matteo knocked on the open door to alert him that he was here.

‘Matteo!’ He turned and gave a smile of delight and went to stand but Matteo waved him down and went over and kissed him on the cheeks.

A pang of guilt hit Matteo when he felt the frail shoulders beneath his hands and saw his grandfather’s tired, lined face.

‘You’ve been busy,’ Giovanni said.

‘Yes, I have to say I like the motor racing world.’

‘I see your team won the cup. I got up early and watched the race.’ Then Giovanni’s face grew serious. ‘It’s not good news, is it?’

It felt like good news to Matteo.

He was crazy about someone for the first time in his life but, no, there was no need for Giovanni to know all that.

‘Not really,’ Matteo said and he took a seat. ‘I tracked down the necklace. It had been bought by...’

‘Ellison!’ Giovanni rolled his eyes. ‘I guessed that much when I saw you with his daughter. I don’t think you’ve ever been with a woman that long.’

‘Her name’s Abby,’ Matteo said. ‘And I’ve been sponsoring her team. When I first met with Ellison he said that he wanted me to get his daughter to a function that he’s holding this Friday. If Abby’s wearing the necklace, then it’s mine.’

‘And?’ Giovanni frowned. He didn’t see the problem. ‘Surely she can wear it for just one night?’

‘It’s her mother’s necklace,’ Matteo said. ‘Abby wore the necklace the night that her team placed first. I’m sure it must mean a lot to her and I’m not going to take it from her.’ He continued. ‘I can’t.’

‘Even though you know it means everything to me.’

‘Even knowing that,’ Matteo said.

‘You’re in love?’

‘I think so.’ Matteo admitted as much as he dared, because love wasn’t a place that he knew. ‘What I do know for sure, though, is that I care about her and I’m going to do whatever it takes not to cause her pain.’

He was not his father’s son, Giovanni realised.

Matteo was very much his own man.

‘I hate letting you down.’ Matteo continued to speak as Giovanni took the news in. ‘I know that I told you I’d bring the necklace to you but, at the end of the day, I can’t do that to her.’

Giovanni sat back in the chair and looked out to the lake. He wanted the necklace so badly. A part of him had hoped that finding the Lost Mistresses, and having them together again, might somehow heal his fractured family. And yet, while he ached to have the necklace that meant so very much back in his possession, maybe its magic had already worked. Giovanni had never heard his youngest grandson speak of anyone in this way.

‘Could I see it again,’ Giovanni asked. ‘Do you think, if you explained things to Abby, that maybe she would let me hold it one more time?’

‘I think so.’ Matteo’s response was cautious. ‘The thing is...’ He blew out a breath. ‘It might take a bit of time to get her to agree. I’m going to have to tell Abby that the necklace is the reason I first got in touch. If I know Abby at all, then that isn’t going to go down very well.’

‘You’re going to be in trouble again.’ Giovanni smiled.

‘For sure,’ Matteo agreed. ‘Let me work on it.’

And work on it he did.

It was quite a busy few days for Matteo but he did make the time to call Abby and he could hear the surprise in her voice.

‘I just wanted to see how everyone pulled up after the celebrations,’ Matteo said.

‘Well, I don’t think anyone has pulled up yet,’ Abby admitted. ‘I don’t think anyone’s coming back to earth any time soon. We’ve got the big presentation and party in LA on Friday. You could come...’ She tried to keep her voice light, to not build her hopes up that he had called her.

Actually, Matteo couldn’t be there for the presentation in LA, not that he could tell her why.

‘I can’t make it on Friday. Will Hunter be there?’ he checked.

‘Nope,’ Abby said. ‘He’s gone to ground.’

‘Good. So when will you be back?’

‘On Saturday afternoon.’

‘Would you like to go out for dinner?’ Matteo casually asked, as if he hadn’t already booked the restaurant, as if all the plans he had made this week didn’t depend on her response.

There was a long stretch of silence before she answered.

Long, because she hadn’t expected his call and now an invitation to dinner on the very night she got back was a little more than she dared to glimpse.

He might just want to discuss the team, Abby attempted to warn herself, but her heart refused to be reeled in.

Oh, please don’t hurt me
, Abby thought.

Please don’t get my hopes up high because I accepted a one-night stand when you said it could be no more than that.

‘Yes.’ Abby cleared her throat and did her best to sound as if it wasn’t such a big deal. ‘Dinner sounds great.’

‘Saturday, then. Text me your address. I’ll be there about eight.’

He didn’t await her response; Matteo, too, was having trouble keeping things even.

On Friday he walked into a very exclusive jewellers.

‘I’ve never worked so hard,’ the jeweller said and when he showed Matteo the final piece Matteo could see the hours and skill that the jeweller had put into this masterpiece.

Even though the jeweller had only a photo to go on, it could have been made by the same designer!

The emerald sat up high on a platinum setting and it really was a work of art.

No, he hadn’t had a replica of the necklace made.

You could never fully replicate the real thing.

And the necklace was the real thing, Matteo was very sure.

And so he’d had made a ring.

‘I can’t see anything on the photograph of the necklace to indicate origins,’ the jeweller admitted.

‘It’s all a bit of a mystery.’ Matteo was also bemused but his grandfather had remained unforthcoming.

‘She’s a very lucky lady,’ the jeweller said as he nestled the ring into a box Matteo had had designed to match the case for the necklace.

‘I might have to remind her of that,’ Matteo said, imagining Abby’s reaction when he told her the truth.

He was nervous to tell her about the necklace—of course he was—but with this ring...

He got back to his apartment and put the photo of the necklace and the ring in his safe and then lay back on the bed and tried to plan his speech for tomorrow. Matteo didn’t get very far. He could never quite get past the bit where he told Abby that he’d stood in her father’s study and come up with a plan to sponsor her, without imagining his face being slapped.

Deciding that he’d just have to wing it at dinner tomorrow, he dozed off.

Matteo woke to his phone buzzing and the sight of a skyline that was backed by a dusky pink sky.

‘Abby?’ he said, sitting up. ‘What time is it there?’

‘Eight,’ Abby said and Matteo frowned because it looked as if it was evening and LA was a few hours behind them but then she explained. ‘Matteo, I’m already in New York.’

‘How come?’

‘Hunter arrived this morning and—do you know what?—I just didn’t want to be around him. It’s Pedro’s night and I don’t want anything to get in the way of that and so I decided to head for home.’

‘Good.’

‘I need a favour,’ Abby continued. ‘Well, I don’t need one but it would mean a lot if you could do this for me.’

‘Name it.’

‘I’m on my way to my father’s...’ Abby took a breath. ‘I know I said that I wasn’t going to go but I’ve changed my mind. It’s not such a big deal. I’m just going to put my head in for a couple of hours. It would be great if I could say that you were coming too.’

‘Abby.’ Matteo was already off the bed. ‘I’ll come with you. I’ll just get changed and then I’ll pick you up.’

And ’fess up!

He was already undoing his belt as he spoke but speed wasn’t going to save Matteo.

‘No, there’s no need for that,’ Abby said. ‘He wants me there by eight and I’m already running late. Look, I get it if you don’t want to come but it would help a lot if you could. I’ll text you the address...’ She looked out of the window of the car and saw that she’d arrived. ‘I’m here now. Wish me luck.’

It really had been a last-minute decision.

Abby had arrived home and opened up her case and had seen the gorgeous silver dress that she had worn on the night they had won in Dubai.

Why not? Abby had thought.

She had pinned up her hair to show off the necklace to full effect and had just decided to play the game for one night.

No, she had long ago realised her family would never be close but surely an occasional function or get-together was doable.

Now the car that her father had sent for her pulled up at the house that had never really been a happy home and the door was opened for her.

It had been years since Abby had last been here.

Emails and the occasional phone call had been all she could manage since that terrible time, sitting in her father’s study and being told Hunter wouldn’t be called to answer for his actions.

She was ready to put it all behind her and, nine years on, Abby felt a lot more together and capable than the last time she had walked up the stairs to the entrance of her family home.

‘Abby!’ Cries went up from everywhere as she entered.

‘Congratulations’ were offered from all directions, as well as, ‘Wow, look at you!’

‘Abby!’ Her sister, Annabel, came over and gave Abby a kiss on the cheek but it felt like a sting. ‘You changed your mind about coming?’

‘I did.’

‘The prodigal daughter returns triumphant!’

Abby could have given a bitchy retort. She guessed Annabel thought she was only here to gloat because her team had won but, no, it had nothing to do with that.

‘Just try and behave tonight,’ Annabel said. ‘This is important for Daddy.’

Annabel’s husband came over and gave Abby a very guarded smile. ‘Abby.’

Aside from that frosty greeting the night went well. Her father was too busy chatting people up to pay Abby much attention, which suited her fine.

Abby’s phone buzzed and she saw that it was Matteo texting her.

I’m on my way.

She fired a text back.

No rush.

And then Matteo sent another.

Abby, we need to talk.

Abby frowned at the second text and then wondered if Matteo was doing one of his
I don’t do relationships
things, and was maybe annoyed that she’d asked him to come. She decided she would explain when he arrived that this really wasn’t a meet-the-father moment.

She was soon distracted when one of her father’s friends called her over and asked about the race in Dubai.

‘It was amazing,’ Abby said for perhaps the fiftieth time that night but she was more than happy to talk about it. Realising that Matteo would be here soon she went upstairs and took a moment to refresh her make-up and check her hair and then stepped back and looked in the full-length mirror.

Yes, the necklace and dress worked but it was the woman wearing them who felt so different tonight.

She remembered coming down in the elevator and the smile on Matteo’s face when he saw her and the wonderful times they had shared and she simply couldn’t wait to see him again.

Abby went to head back down to the party. Oh, she would never be one who loved these types of events but she was glad that tonight she had made the effort. She felt confident...

Happy.

For the first time she could remember she felt happy, confident and beautiful in her own skin and then she looked over and saw the man who had made all three possible walk into the Ellison home.

He was wearing a smart suit and his black hair flopped forwards and he brushed it back with his hand as he stood for a moment looking around, Abby guessed, for her.

‘Matteo!’ Her father saw him and Abby frowned at how pleased her father seemed to be that he was here.

Of course they would know each other from similar functions but it was a very friendly handshake that he gave Matteo. Her father even patted him on his shoulder and, as Abby walked down the stairs, she watched as her father and Matteo disappeared into his office.

Matteo had very much been hoping to speak with Abby before her father but, without that chance, he followed Ellison in, determined to have his say.

‘Congratulations,’ Ellison said.

‘It was an amazing win,’ Matteo agreed and then he looked to the photos Ellison had walked him through on the day they met and anger grew in his stomach. There was the photo of Hunter with Abby and this bastard knew what he had done to his daughter and yet still had that photo on the wall.

‘I’m not talking about the win,’ Ellison said. ‘I was referring to your achievement in getting Abby here. I have to hand it you—I thought she might come tonight, albeit reluctantly, but she’s been the belle of the ball. The necklace is yours... You’ve certainly earned it.’

Abby stood at the ajar door and somehow stayed standing as the floor seemed to disappear from beneath her.

What achievement?

It didn’t make sense.

Yet it was starting to.

Her father had wanted her here tonight wearing the necklace and she knew—oh, yes, she knew—how low he could stoop.

Why had she thought better of Matteo?

Because, despite clear warnings, she’d gone and fallen in love.

She was tempted to turn, to just walk away and pretend she hadn’t heard what was said and to simply make it through the night without creating a scene. It had nothing to do with the fact she was on strict instructions to behave tonight; it was more than that—she didn’t want the dream to end.