Chantelle Shaw - Trapped By Vialli's Vows

‘Where have you been for the past five years?’ she said softly.

‘I wish it was Luke here instead of me. As for where I’ve been...’ Jake shrugged. ‘Here and there, but mostly in hell.’ He glanced up at the elegant townhouse. ‘You seem to have done all right for yourself.’

‘It’s not my house. I live here with a...a friend.’

Marnie flushed, but her brother shrugged.

‘Hey, your life is your business, and as long as you’re happy that’s all that matters.’

‘I am happy,’ Marnie said truthfully. ‘Leandro is a great guy. I wish you could meet him, but he’s away at the moment. How did you know where to find me?’

‘I went back to the Silden Estate and found it had been demolished, but I remembered you had a job at a cocktail bar on the King’s Road so I went there. One of the waitresses gave me your phone number and address. I don’t have a phone, since mine broke, so I came to find you.’

Jake grimaced.

‘I’m sorry I haven’t been around, but... Well, the truth is that I spent some time in prison after I was charged with theft. I broke into houses and sold the items I stole to buy drugs. I was in a bad place in my head after Luke died—but that’s not an excuse and I’m not proud of what I did.’

‘Oh, Jake.’ Marnie reached out and grasped her brother’s hand. ‘I wish I’d been able to help.’

‘In a funny way going to prison helped me, because it was hell and I never want to go back inside. I’m sorting my life out and I no longer take drugs. Tomorrow I’m catching a train up to Scotland. I’ve been offered a job as a groundsman on a country estate near Loch Lomond, and I appreciate it that the owner, Lord Tannock, is giving me a chance.’

Jake looked down at Marnie’s fingers, entwined with his.

‘I never forgot about my little sister and I wanted to find you and make sure that you’re all right.’

The lump in her throat prevented Marnie from speaking, and instead she flung her arms around her brother’s neck and hugged him. ‘I’m so glad to see you. Do you have a place to stay before you leave for Scotland?’

Jake shook his head. ‘I spent all the money I had on a train ticket, but it’s a warm night and it won’t be the first time I’ve slept on a park bench.’

‘You must stay here tonight.’ It occurred to Marnie that she had never mentioned to Leandro that she had a brother, but she was sure he would not want Jake to spend the night on the streets. She called his number, wanting to check that it was okay for Jake to stay, but his phone was switched off—as it had been when she had tried to call him earlier. ‘I’ll try Leandro again later,’ she told Jake as she led him into the house.

Jake whistled as he took in the Italian white marble floor tiles in the hallway and glanced up at the magnificent crystal chandelier. ‘Wow, your boyfriend must be loaded. No wonder you’re happy with him.’

‘I love Leandro, and I’d love him just as much if he wasn’t wealthy.’

Marnie’s heart contracted as she acknowledged the depth of her feelings for Leandro. Admitting that she was in love with him made her feel vulnerable, because she had no idea how he felt about her.

She glanced at Jake and thought how difficult his life must have been since Luke had died. Grief was so hard to deal with. She had focused on her studies as a way of trying to forget the ache in her heart. It must have been even worse for Jake because he had lost his twin.

She longed to be able to help him, and an idea suddenly occurred to her. ‘Grandma’s pearls.’

‘Sorry...’ Jake looked puzzled. ‘I don’t follow you.’

‘When Grandma Alice died she left her jewellery to her daughters. Mum had Grandma’s pearl necklace and Aunt Susan was left a ruby ring. Mum didn’t make a will before she took the overdose.’ Marnie sighed. ‘I’ve often wondered if she meant to take her life or if it was a cry for help. But now the necklace belongs to Mum’s surviving children. I wore it recently to a party, but I want you to have it. I think it’s worth quite a bit, and if you sell it you’ll have some money to last until you get your first pay cheque at your new job.’

‘Marnie, you don’t have to give me the necklace,’ Jake protested.

But Marnie had already entered Leandro’s study and slid back a panel in the wall to reveal the safe. When she’d moved in with Leandro he had told her to put any valuable items she owned into the safe. The pearl necklace was the only piece of jewellery she possessed, and she had often wondered why her mother had refused to sell it when they had needed money.

She remembered the safe’s combination and it took her only a few seconds to open the door.

‘Do all those boxes contain jewellery?’ Jake asked, staring at the numerous velvet boxes stored within the safe.

Marnie nodded, busy searching for the box containing her grandmother’s pearls. ‘Here it is.’ She handed the box to Jake and reset the combination to lock the safe. ‘Now, I’m going to cook you dinner. You’re so thin—I bet you haven’t eaten a proper meal for ages.’

Throughout the evening she tried to call Leandro, but his phone was still switched off. The photograph she had seen in the newspaper of Leandro and Stephanie played on her mind, but she reminded herself that her mother’s obsessive love for her father had driven him into the arms of another woman.

As she undressed for bed she caught sight of her naked body in the mirror and vowed to go on a strict diet. It wasn’t just her breasts that had grown bigger as a result of her gaining a few extra pounds. Her hips and bottom looked rounder and—horror of horrors—her stomach was no longer flat but had a distinct curve.

Marnie glanced guiltily at the plate of cheese and crackers she’d planned on eating for a bedtime snack. She remembered what Uncle Brian had said about her aunt developing a craving for cheese during her pregnancy. But there was no way she could be pregnant, she assured herself. She just needed to work on her willpower. Leandro had always said he found her hourglass figure sexy, and she wished he was with her now to reassure her that her concerns about their relationship were groundless.

* * *

‘Marnie?’

The gravelly voice infiltrated Marnie’s dream and she opened her eyes, blinking in the bright sunlight streaming through the open curtains. ‘Leandro?’

‘You sound surprised to see me, cara. Didn’t you get my message that I was on my way home?’

‘No, I’ve been asleep.’

She glanced at the bedside clock and wondered why she was in bed at three-thirty in the afternoon, before the mist clouding her mind cleared and she remembered. Last night her brother had stayed at the house, but this morning when she had got up for work she’d discovered that Jake had left without saying goodbye.

Leandro threw his jacket carelessly onto a chair before he sat down on the edge of the bed. Marnie’s pulse quickened as she inhaled the familiar musk of his aftershave mixed with his unique male scent. She could see the shadow of his black chest hair through his white shirt, and the dark stubble on his jaw added to his raw sex appeal.

‘Why were you sleeping in the daytime? Are you ill?’

‘I fainted at work.’

She recalled that she’d felt nauseous while she had been serving coffee to some customers, and when she’d returned to the kitchen she’d had the weird sensation that the floor was rushing up to meet her and suck her down into a black hole.

‘The head chef thought I might be suffering from heatstroke. Maybe it’s a good thing that the weather is supposed to break and a storm is forecast.’

Leandro frowned. ‘I think you should see a doctor. It seems unlikely that the heat would cause you to faint. Maybe you have a vitamin deficiency.’