Free The Italian's Secretary Bride by Kim Lawrence Page A

such an attentive host…another couple of minutes and they might have been in another place. Maybe it was just as well that he had interrupted. It was all very well to say she was a free agent, but this didn’t alter the fact she still felt married. Look how guilty she felt simply acknowledging how attracted she was to Luca!
    I’m not ready, she thought.
    When their voluble host had gone Luca showed no inclination to take up where he’d left off; his manner was distant and he seemed to have something on his mind. Whereas earlier they had been talking non-stop, now there were inhibiting silences. Several times as she drank her coffee she caught Luca looking at her.
    â€˜I think I’d like to go now,’ she said finally.
    â€˜Alice…’
    She tensed expectantly as he dragged a hand through the thick glossy hair he wore longer than was fashionable.
    â€˜You were…’ He stopped and inhaled deeply. ‘Are you planning on seeing Seth again?’
    â€˜Seth?’ She shook her head, then shrugged. ‘I suppose so.’
    â€˜Then it doesn’t bother you that he’s married…or maybe you didn’t know?’
    Alice’s eyes widened, her expression growing defensive as Luca surveyed her sternly from under the sweep of those preposterously sexy eyelashes of his with a look that said she was either a callous home-breaker or a total dope who believed any tale spun by a half-plausible stranger.
    Not a person given to physical violence, she suddenly wanted to throw something at him.
    â€˜I think he did mention it…’ She made a show of frowning as though she was trying to recall something and then smiled. ‘Yes…Susan.’ She directed a frowning look of enquiry at his taut face. ‘Isn’t that his wife’s name?’
    His expression remained veiled, but despite this he managed to project a silent but strong aura of disapproval. ‘Yes, it is.’
    â€˜You’ve met her, then?’ He acknowledged this with a curt nod. ‘Is she very pretty?’
    â€˜Very,’ he told her shortly.
    Alice, who had been counting down from ten, reached four before he exploded.
    â€˜The fact he is married makes no difference to you?’
    She affected surprise; she must have done it well because she heard the sound of his teeth grinding.
    â€˜Should it? It makes no difference to Seth,’ she pointed out reasonably.
    While Seth had discussed his marriage breakup she had wondered what it was about her that made men feel they could confide their emotional problems. Natural empathy, or did they think of her as a universal agony aunt? She supposed she should find the fact that Luca automatically assumed she was a tart with ulterior motives refreshing.
    Presumably Luca didn’t like the idea of his friend getting involved with a mere secretary. Ironically he needn’t have bothered; Seth was nice, really nice, but she’d known within two minutes of being in his company that there was no spark between them. It wasn’t that she was expecting a thunderclap when she saw the one , but it stood to reason in her mind that there had to be some chemistry from the first moment for love to stand a chance of developing.
    â€˜Have you no concept of self-respect?’
    Alice could no longer disguise her feelings under a calm exterior. Her eyes flashed wrathful fire as she pinned him with a contemptuous glare.
    â€˜This amount of sanctimonious claptrap coming from a man who sees nothing wrong in seducing his own brother’s girlfriend is rich…really rich.’
    â€˜Ingrid?’ He threw back his head and laughed.
    For a moment Alice was distracted from her objective by this inappropriate display of mirth. ‘You think it was funny?’ she condemned coldly.
    â€˜I think it was bloody hilarious,’ he told her with eyes as cold as blue steel. ‘But we’re not talking about me or Ingrid,’ he reminded her