Page 71 of Once Upon a Time in Venice

Anger and frustration fizzed through Gina. She hadn’t come all this way for nothing, hadn’t rebuilt herself from scratch and reached the top of her profession in order to be pushed around by La Leonessa. Gina was a fighter, and Lucia de Santis had better watch her back.

Issy’s eyelids fluttered as she woke up and stretched languorously in her enormous bed, with its soft pillows and cosy feather duvet. She sensed that she’d been having the most wonderful dream, and she tried to recall it, knowing that she’d felt cocooned in warmth and happiness. Then the events of the previous night came back to her in a rush, and for a moment she was paralysed, unable to do anything but replay the evening in her head.

She had kissed Brad Redford! Oh Lord, she had kissed her boss! And he had most definitely kissed her back. They’d finally pulled apart in the boat, aware that they were approaching the White Palace and conscious that the skipper of the boat might spot them. They replaced their Carnival masks while they crossed the lobby but, alone in the elevator, they’d kissed once again, seemingly unable to get enough of one another.

Even just the memory was enough to make Issy squeal with delight, and she buried herself beneath her sheets, her whole body aflame as she recalled Brad’s lips on hers. He’d accompanied her to her room, like a gentleman, and while part of her had been hoping that he would follow her inside, they shared one final kiss before he huskily wished her goodnight and walked back to his suite.

Issy’s excitement now was swiftly followed by uncertainty. Had she misread the signs and made a fool of herself, she wondered? Would Brad fire her for behaving inappropriately? No, she reassured herself. Brad had been every bit as eager as Issy – in fact, he’d kissed her, she was sure of it. He’d made the first move, and she’d welcomed it.

But what would happen next between them? Her mind was racing, her emotions tangled. Everything had seemed so straightforward last night when they were acting on instinct, surrendering to their passion in the heat of the moment. But in the cold light of day, the situation was more complicated.

Issy checked the time: 9.30 a.m., later than she would usually get up, but Brad had told her not to rush this morning. Nevertheless, she was keen to see him; she would know instantly from the look on his face whether last night had been a mistake.

She showered and washed her hair, letting her russet curls dry naturally as she got dressed and put on her make-up. She didn’t want to look as though she’d made too much effort, but equally, she didn’t want Brad to see her and instantly regret what had happened between them. She settled on a plaid miniskirt with knee-length socks and a cropped sweater – cute and sexy, but not over the top.

Spritzing herself with Angel by Mugler, Issy set off along the corridor to Brad’s suite. She wasn’t even sure whether he’d be there; she knew he had an early shoot and might have left already. Cautiously, she let herself in as usual, and was about to call out when she heard voices – a man and a woman.

Issy closed the door quietly behind her and stood, listening, for a moment. The guy was definitely Brad, but who was the woman?

The voices grew louder, coming her way. ‘Hello?’ Issy called out, not wanting it to look as though she was snooping.

Brad entered the room first, emotions rushing across his face as he caught sight of her. Issy’s heart leapt as she took in how impossibly handsome he looked in dark chinos and a pale grey cashmere sweater, his hair mussed and his jawline peppered with stubble.

Behind him came the woman – tall, blonde, utterly gorgeous, and radiating that A-list glow. She was dressed in slim-fit jeans and an oversized pin-striped shirt that looked as though it might be one of Brad’s. Her hair was immaculate, her make-up perfect, and Issy knew that she could never compete with her in a million years.

It was Brad’s wife, Lexi Parker.

‘Hi Issy,’ Lexi smiled at her icily. ‘Surprise!’

Chapter 31

Brad Redford and Lexi Parker were spotted looking entranced with each other while taking a gondola ride in Venice.

The Hollywood couple reportedly hadn’t seen one another for weeks, leading some to speculate on the state of their marriage, but if these pictures are anything to go by, they’re as deeply in love as they ever were …

Issy threw the copy of Gente magazine down onto her bed in frustration, but the photos still taunted her – Brad holding Lexi’s hand as he helped her into a launch; Brad touching Lexi’s waist as he helped her from the boat in front of a bank of paparazzi.

Issy knew it was ridiculous – Lexi was his wife, while Brad and Issy had merely shared a drunken kiss – but foolishly she’d allowed herself to believe it might be more than that. Recently, there’d been an undeniable chemistry, the two of them growing closer with every day that passed. They worked in close proximity, and on this trip had begun spending more time together outside of work; the lines had become confusingly, excitingly blurred. And then it had culminated in that spine-tingling kiss after the Doge’s Ball, Issy’s body lighting up like fireworks on the Fourth of July. It seemed impossible that the world could return to normal afterwards, the feelings between them were too strong.

And then Lexi had turned up and ruined everything. Brad had quite literally shut down the movie for a day – the planned schedule was cancelled and his co-producers were going crazy – but he’d insisted he needed to spend time with his wife. Issy had barely seen him for twenty-four hours, and she’d spent the time hiding under her duvet, ordering room service and trying not to cry into her gelato. She’d been ignoring her work, and hated to think how much had piled up by now.

What the hell was Lexi Parker doing in Venice anyway? Issy had checked her schedule meticulously and there was no way she should have been able to make these dates. Perhaps Lexi had a guilty conscience, Issy reflected. Maybe that was why she’d made such an effort to fly to a whole other continent to see her husband. Issy wondered how long Lexi would be staying and felt that knot in her stomach all over again. It had all been going so well. Issy’s life had been almost perfect. Which reminded her …

She jumped out of bed to grab her phone, calling her mother’s number. Once again, it rang and rang but no one picked up. That was almost forty-eight hours now. Her mother had gone AWOL before – long sessions involving drink and drugs meant she sometimes dropped off the radar – but this time Issy had a bad feeling. She wondered about calling the local police department, near her mother’s home, but Darlene Winters was known to them for a host of petty crimes, and Issy doubted they’d take it very seriously.

If only she could confide in Brad, Issy thought longingly. She’d been too afraid to before, but now she felt certain that he’d want to help, and would understand why she’d borrowed the money from him. But she hadn’t seen him since yesterday morning, when he’d ushered her out of his suite the instant she and Lexi had clapped eyes on one another.

And Issy was hiding another secret from Brad. She hoped he wouldn’t find out that she’d switched his diary around to try and make sure he didn’t have time to see Lexi. She hadn’t done it to benefit herself, although she could see now that that was exactly how it might appear – keep the wife out of the way and then swoop in herself. No, Issy had done everything in order to protect Brad, and she had a damn good reason for trying to keep him away from his wife.

Marco was in the gym, hitting the treadmill hard, halfway through a swift 10k. His muscles were straining, sweat dripping from his forehead, as he pushed himself through his punishing routine. He’d already spent time on the weights, and the physical exertion had felt good – both a stress relief, and essential for his fitness, to ensure he was on top form ahead of the big stunt. Counting reps while he lifted weights had kept his brain occupied, but now he was doing cardio, Marco’s mind was free to wander.

His thoughts turned, as they often did these days, to Gina.

Her sudden change in attitude was niggling away at Marco, like a puzzle that needed to be solved. He couldn’t work out what had caused it, but it was frustrating as hell, he thought, as he increased the incline to push himself harder, his breath coming faster.

Had he done something wrong, or said something out of turn? Marco had been wracking his brains, and he couldn’t think of anything. He thought back to when he’d turned up in Gina’s office, like a lovesick schoolboy with a bunch of flowers, and Gina told him it had all been a mistake.

There was something about it that didn’t add up. She wouldn’t meet his eyes, physically moving away from him. It was as though she was afraid of something – or someone – and that was not the Gina he’d come to know. The Gina he knew was bold, confident, fearless.