She grabbed Sasha’s arm in desperation. “Darling, you can’t do this to your father. He can’t go to jail.” She began to sob. “Besides, the deal’s already—” another sob “—signed and delivered and—” sniff “—no one’s ever going to know. Not unless you tell them.”
“I can’t not say anything, Mum.”
“He’s your father.”
“Yes, and I’m married to a Valente.”
“The Valentes have plenty of money. They won’t miss this.”
Sasha couldn’t believe she was hearing this. “Mum, I can’t—”
“Darling, look, don’t do anything yet. Think about it all first. I’m sure you’ll see that remaining quiet is the best thing.”
“Mum—”
“Promise me, darling,” her mother said, her voice getting shrill. “At least promise me you won’t do anything just yet. Give me a chance to speak to him. I’ll get him to pay back the money somehow.”
Sasha was torn and confused and she just wanted to be alone for a while to think things through. “I don’t know.”
“Getting the contract freed up other monies and your father has the money to pay the Valentes back now. He’ll have to find a way to do that without raising suspicion, but I promise he’ll rectify the situation.”
Could she believe that?
Did she even have a choice?
She sighed. “Okay, I won’t do anything yet.”
Her mother hugged her. “Thank you, darling, thank you. We’ll sort things out, you’ll see.”
Sasha made a hasty exit after that. It was hard to believe her father had done such a thing.
It was even harder to believe her mother was sticking up for him.
Chapter Nine
“Something wrong?” Nick asked, watching as Sasha jumped slightly, her green eyes looking nervous all of a sudden.
“Wrong? Why do you say that?”
He’d been watching her over the top of his newspaper. “You were quiet during dinner and didn’t eat much, and now you’ve been staring at the television like it has you under its spell.”
A hint of pink stained her cheeks. “I find this show fascinating.”
He looked at the television screen and saw they had gone to a commercial. “You were watching the news, Sasha, and I wouldn’t exactly call the news fascinating. Interesting, but not fascinating.”
“That’s your opinion.”
“Let’s not quibble about words. Something’s the matter.” He hesitated to bring this up but “If it’s about the party and Brenda—”
“It isn’t,” she dismissed without hesitation. “And I’m not giving that a second thought, okay?”
“Okay.”
There was something definitely bothering her. She was too pale and not herself.
“I guess it’s the renovations,” she suddenly said. “There was a lot of work to be done in the initial stages.”
Why did he have the feeling she was just saying that to stop him prying further?
“Is it too much for you?”
She looked horrified. “No! That wasn’t what I meant. I love it. I really do. But with coming back from England, then the wedding, then working on the redesigning, I suppose I’m just a little tired tonight.”
It made sense yet.…
The news returned and she pasted on a smile that surpassed the false one on the newsreader’s face. “The news is back on.”
“Then don’t let me stop you from being fascinated,” he drawled.
Her smile couldn’t hide her wariness as she returned to look at the screen. He still wasn’t convinced there wasn’t something troubling her.
He was even more convinced ten minutes later when he heard the telephone ringing out in the hallway and Sasha didn’t move. She didn’t even appear to hear it. Normally she would get up to answer it straightaway.
He was just about to do it himself when he heard Iris pick up the phone. Then the housekeeper popped her head around the door. “There’s a telephone call for Mrs. Valente. It’s her mother.”
Apprehension crossed Sasha’s face, then vanished. “Iris, please tell my mother I’ll call her back later.”
“Yes, Mrs. Valente.”
Nick scowled as the other woman left. “You don’t want to speak to your mother?”
She darted a look at him, then away. “I only saw her today. It can wait.” She turned back to the television but there was a flush to her cheeks that gave her away.
Something was definitely wrong.
And it had something to do with Sally Blake.
Half an hour later he walked into the kitchen and found Sasha talking on the telephone.
“I said I wouldn’t say anything,” she was whispering, “and I won’t. But—” Suddenly she saw him standing in the doorway and went pale. “Mum, er … I’ve got to go. Nick’s just walked in.” She hung up.
Nick leaned against the doorjamb and crossed his arms. Her words had been a warning to her mother, not a comment.
“Is the hot chocolate almost ready?” he asked, reminding her why she’d come here in the first place.
“Wh-what? Oh yes. I was just about to make it.” She hurried over to the refrigerator and took out the milk.
“Your mother has a problem?”
She darted him a look. “You heard?” Without waiting for an answer she turned and took some mugs out of the cupboard. “It’s um … women’s problems,” she said, not looking at him now. “Nothing you want to know about.”
So, she was using that age-old excuse, was she? How could he refute it?
“Nick, why don’t you go back in the living room. I’ll bring in the drinks shortly.”
He nodded, then turned and let her be, but if she thought she’d convinced him that nothing was wrong then she was in for a shock. He fully intended to keep an eye on things. Sally Blake had a secret and Sasha knew what it was. And that was fine as long as it didn’t impact Sasha too much.
But by her reactions, it did.
Sasha had a restless night until Nick growled and pulled her into his arms, where she promptly fell asleep.
But her thoughts returned as soon as she opened her eyes the next morning. Dear Lord, how could her father cheat Cesare that way? Not to mention the whole Valente family? How could he cheat his own family like that? It put her in a terrible position.
“How about meeting me for lunch today?” Nick suddenly said, doing up his tie. “You’re coming into the city anyway to talk to your suppliers.”
His words brought her back to the moment and Sasha rolled on her side and watched Nick finish dressing for work. He was so handsome. So virile. She loved him so much.
And she might have to give him up.
Oh God, this might be her last chance to spend time with her husband. Her world would fall apart soon enough.
She leaned up on one elbow. “I’d love to have lunch with you, Nick.”
He looked pleased. “Good. Leo will come back and pick you up in a couple of hours. He can drive you around while you do your business.”
“I can drive my own car.”
“Leo’s not doing anything until he takes me home again. You may as well make use of him.”
Her lips curved upward. “Make use of his services? Yes, I think I can do that.”
“Hussy,” he murmured, kissing her before he left.
She lay there in bed, just letting her love for Nick be a part of her. He was a part of her, and she would never doubt that again.
She had her mother to thank for realizing that. Going to her parents’ place yesterday had shown her Nick was not like her father.
Nor was her parents’ marriage the same as her own marriage. At first she’d been scared and had projected her fears onto Nick. Nick Valente would not do what her father had done. Nick was good and honest. He’d been open and aboveboard about everything. And despite Brenda’s phone call, Sasha was convinced the other woman had just been trying to make trouble. If Nick had called Brenda then it had been for an honest reason. She’d bet her life on it now. Nick was to be trusted.
Her father was not.
She kept those good thoughts of Nick close to her heart for the rest of the morning. Hopefully having only good thoughts would keep the bad thoughts at bay.
“You seem to be enjoying the view,” he said over lunch at the harborside restaurant.
Sasha turned to look at him with a smile. “Their menu boasts they have the most glorious view in the world. I was merely checking it out.”
“And?”
She surveyed the Harbour Bridge and Opera House through the large glass windows. “I’d say their claim is well-supported.”
He smiled, then, “So, what’s on the agenda for the rest of the day?”
“I’ve got a couple more places to visit before I finish up.”
He took a sip of wine. “By the way, how’s your mother today?”
She dropped her gaze to her plate so he wouldn’t see the panic in her eyes. She was sure he hadn’t believed her last night about her mother’s medical problems. If the positions had been reversed she wouldn’t have believed him.
Taking a breath, she looked up. “I only spoke to her last night, so I don’t think anything’s changed since then.”
His eyes had a speculative look. “Aren’t you concerned for her health?”
“Of course, but it’s nothing urgent. My mother will be fine.” Time to change the subject. “By the way, you didn’t tell me about the U.K. launch. Did it go well?” She’d been understandably preoccupied last night and had forgotten to ask him about it.
His gaze held hers for a second too long, as if he was considering why she had changed the subject. “It went very well by all accounts. We’re launching it on the Continent next.”
She was grateful he didn’t mention Claudine and any upcoming launch in France.
“It’s a gorgeous perfume, Nick.”
“I notice you wear it a lot.”
“It’s my favorite.”
“It’s every woman’s favorite.”
She smiled at the usual show of Valente arrogance, and all at once he smiled back with the full power of a Valente smile. The breath hitched in her throat.
The waiter returned to refill their glasses, allowing her to mentally break free of Nick.
When they were alone again Nick said, “How would you like to go on a harbor cruise on Wednesday? We have some prospective customers visiting from the States and I need to take them out to lunch and show them the sights. They’re only here for a couple of days.”
For a second, sharp anxiety twisted inside her. Would her father have paid back the money by then? Or would she have to gather her strength for Friday’s deadline? How did a person knowingly send their father to jail?
“The women aren’t anything like Claudine,” Nick reassured her, thankfully reading her hesitation wrong.
“It sounds like fun.”
They ate in silence for a while, until Sasha’s cell phone rang. She left it in her handbag, ignoring it and wishing she’d thought to put it on silent.
“Aren’t you going to answer it?”
“No.”
“It could be important.”
Nothing was as important as lunching with Nick. Every second with him counted.
She gave an unconcerned shrug. “It’s only about the renovations. I’ll get to it later.”
Her phone stopped ringing.
“Would you like dessert, madam?” the waiter asked, suddenly appearing at her side.
“Um …” Her cell started to ring again. She opened her handbag and went to turn it off, but not before she caught the number displayed. It was her mother.
“No, just coffee,” she said, trying to appear unconcerned as she switched the phone off.
Nick asked for coffee, too, then glanced to Sasha, “Was it a contractor?”
Flustered, she said the first thing that came to mind. “What? Oh, no, it was just my mother. I’ll call her back later.”
Nick’s eyes were full of questions. “I’d have thought you’d want to talk to her.”
Oh hell. Was she giving too much away?
“It’s not exactly a subject to be discussed over lunch,” she pointed out.
Nick grimaced. “True.”
Just then Nick’s cell phone began to ring.
He glanced at it. “I don’t know that number.”
“Let me see.” Her heart sank. “It’s my mother.”
He frowned. “Then it must be important if she’s calling me,” he said, handing it straight to her.
There was nothing for it except to answer the phone, but Sasha got a shock as she listened to her mother’s tearful voice. Oh God, she shouldn’t have ignored her previous calls.
“My father’s had a heart attack,” she whispered to Nick in an aside, then spoke to her mother again. “I’ll be there as soon as I can, Mum.” She finished the call.
“We’ll be there soon,” Nick said, gesturing to the waiter, and a few minutes later hurried her out to the waiting car. “What’s his condition?”
“I don’t know.”
Could she have been the cause of this? Her mother would have had to tell him she knew. And having his daughter threaten him with exposure and probable jail would certainly cause him stress enough to have a heart attack.
Yet how could she not do something about what she knew, she wondered, feeling like she was shriveling up with stress herself as they headed to the hospital.
Nick squeezed her hand. “You know, my dad’s heart attack looked bad at first but it ended up only being a mild one.”
She’d forgotten about Cesare’s heart attack. Suddenly she felt guilty. “Nick, you shouldn’t have come with me. I appreciate it, but I don’t want you to go through it all again with my father.”