‘Yeah, Nella, I didn’t grow up with a billionaire father, so I need to work.’ He pinched the bridge of his nose, which he was doing a hell of a lot more of these days.
Work.
‘I know you hate it, butinstinctis all I have to go off because I don’t make all my decisions about people based off a 2007Cosmoarticle about relationships. There are other things going on that you don’t know about.’
‘Like the fact you’re dating my paralegal?’
‘You’re really going to do this here?’
‘The fact that you and Avery are now best buds?’
‘Okay, so we’re doing this.’
They stared at each other for a moment that was only punctured by Daisy and Ariana’s giddy laughter from inside the house at something Roman had said.
‘What is it with that guy?’ Jett said. ‘Does his dick drip wine?’
‘Don’t worry, I don’t think he’s after Daisy. I mean, unless he’s also asked her for a moonlight boat ride this evening ...’
‘You’re serious? He’s already asked you out?’ Whatever irritation had been simmering under Jett’s skin before, it was boiling through now. But Nella had no idea what to make of that. ‘Aboat ride? What, like, on one of those dinghy things we passed at the docks that smells like fish guts? I thought European men were supposed to be romantic. Does he really expect you to develop an insatiable infatuation with him after aboat ride?’
‘Becauseyou’rethe expert on making women develop insatiable infatuations?’
‘Please.’ He mimicked her posture, arms clenched, eyes serious, but his mouth was tilted up wickedly. ‘I don’t need a fuckingboator themoonlight. All it would take is five minutes in the backseat of my car.’
The pause was excruciatingly long. Nella had no idea what to say. She always knew what to say. But there was no witty, sarcastic quip tingling on her tongue.
Because it’s probably true.
If the kiss in the office was anything to go by ...
What was wrong with her?
‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘I didn’t mean ...’
‘I know.’
The air thinned, oxygen filtered in and the tension was gone again. She opened her mouth but was cut off by a voice from inside the house. Daisy.
‘Nella, you need to come and look at this.’
And she knew, before she saw, that something was very, very wrong.
26
Nella
As her life crashed around her, Nella sipped her Aperol Spritz outside on the terrazza of her hotel. Her drink was the same colour as the setting sun – a brilliant, beautiful scene oblivious to the silent apocalypse of her entire world raging and ending inside her.
‘AI can do all sorts of things to images, can’t it?’ Nella said in Italian as Roman handed the last of the boxes of wine to his colleague, a forensic expert of some sort. Wine forensics. As if that was even a thing.
It was, clearly. And all they were going to do was confirm what Nella now knew.
Matteo La Marca was right. And he’d been playing her all along.
‘But AI cannot yet doctor what is inside a wine bottle,’ Roman said. ‘Forgive me, signora, but have you not found what it is you came for?’ He sat down opposite her, signalling to the waiter to bring him a drink.
‘I came to clear my family’s name! What was in that house was supposed to prove the wine was made solely bymynonno. Not a joint collaboration with Antonio La Marca!’
