Deserving of His Diamonds Read Online Free PDF

just as she
    always had in the past. He could not tolerate any other outcome. Failure was
    not an option. ‗I have arranged a flight for tomorrow,‘ he said. ‗We leave at
    10:00 a.m.‘ Gisele gave him a brittle look. ‗You were that certain I‘d come?‘
    He returned her look with measured calm. ‗Let‘s say I know you well
    enough to be quietly confident,‘ he said.

    ‗You don‘t know me any more, Emilio,‘ she said with another hardened
    look. ‗I‘m not the same person I was two years ago.‘ ‗I don‘t believe that,‘
    Emilio said. ‗I know we all change a bit over time but you can‘t really
    change who you are deep inside.‘ She lifted a slim shoulder in a devil-may-
    care manner. ‗Maybe in a month you‘ll change your mind,‘ she said and
    took a sip of her drink. ‗Is your sister still here in Sydney?‘ Emilio asked.
    ‗No, she flew back to London ten days ago,‘ she said, looking into the
    contents of her glass with a little frown. ‗The press were hounding her. They
    were hounding us both. I found it a little scary …‘ She bit her lip and
    drained her glass as if she wanted to stop any more words coming out of her
    mouth. ‗It must have been a very difficult time for you both,‘ he said. She
    lifted her gaze to his; her eyes were like stormy greyblue ice cubes, hard,
    cold and resentful. ‗I‘d rather not talk about it if you don‘t mind,‘ she said.
    ‗I‘m still trying to sort it out in my head. So is Sienna.‘ ‗Perhaps you can
    invite her to stay at my villa for a few days,‘ Emilio said. ‗I would like to
    meet her.‘ She gave another shrug of indifference. ‗Whatever.‘ Emilio
    signalled for the waiter to refresh their drinks. He sat back in his seat and
    observed Gisele as she tucked an imaginary strand of hair behind her ear,
    another one of her I‘m-out-of-my-depth-and-trying-not-to-show-it
    mannerisms. She was not as immune to him as she tried

    to make out. He had seen the flare of female interest in her gaze. He had felt
    the shiver of reaction on her skin when he had touched her. One kiss would
    prove he could have her back where he wanted her. ‗Tell me about your
    shop,‘ he said. ‗How did you come about buying the business?‘ She dropped
    her gaze to the drink the waiter had just set before her. ‗When I came back
    … from Italy I … I wanted a secure base,‘ she said. ‗I liked the idea of
    working for myself. Having more control, that sort of thing. I‘d sold some
    items to the owner in the past and she gave me the first option of buying.‘
    ‗It‘s a big commitment for a young woman of just twentyfive, or twenty-
    three as you were then,‘ Emilio said. ‗Did your parents help you?‘ Gisele put
    her glass down. ‗At first, but then things got a bit tricky after my father got
    sick. He had a few debts we didn‘t know about until after he‘d died. Bad
    business decisions, a bit of gambling with the stock market that didn‘t pay
    off as well as he‘d hoped. I had to help my mother … I mean Hilary out.‘
    Emilio put his drink down on the coaster on the table between them. ‗I‘m
    sorry I didn‘t send a card,‘ he said. ‗I‘d heard he was terminally ill. I should
    have made contact to offer my condolences. It must have been a very
    difficult time for you and your mother.‘ She looked back at the contents of
    her glass; the grip of her fingers was so tight around the stem he wondered if
    it would snap. ‗He took eight and a half miserable months to die,‘ she said.
    ‗Not once in all that time did he ever say anything about me having a twin
    sister.‘ She looked at him at that point, her grey-blue gaze blazing with
    anger. ‗Both my parents knew our relationship had broken up

    because of that sex tape but still neither he nor my mother said a word. I can
    never forgive them for that.‘ Emilio carefully removed the wineglass from
    her stiff fingers and put it to one side. ‗I can understand your anger towards
    them but