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.

Outside the window, the Venetian skies were grey and cloudy, though the forecast was much better for tomorrow when the big stunt would take place. Even just the thought of it made Marco’s heart race, and he knew he needed to put Gina out of his mind and focus on his work. He increased the speed on the treadmill, put his head down and ran, determined to block out the world and feel nothing except the physical exertion.

Issy marched down the corridor towards Brad’s suite. She wasn’t sure what she was going to say or do, but some instinct had propelled her out of her bed and towards his room. Before she could give herself time to think about what she was doing, or talk herself out of it, she rapped on the door.

It opened almost immediately and Issy jumped. Lexi was standing there, the ice queen looking as immaculate as ever in a denim jumpsuit that emphasized her long, slender legs and handspan waist. Issy wished she’d made an effort, instead of storming down to the room. Then again, even if she’d had a year to prepare, she would never look as stunning as Lexi Parker with her glowing skin and perfect features.

‘Issy.’ Lexi’s tone was cool. ‘Can I help you with something?’

‘Yes. No. I mean, I wanted to speak to Brad.’

‘He’s filming,’ Lexi explained. ‘He won’t be back until late. Shouldn’t you know that? I thought you were all over his diary,’ she drawled, and Issy caught the sarcasm in her tone.

Does she know I changed the schedules?

Issy gathered herself, determined not to be intimidated. ‘Well perhaps you and I should have a chat,’ she suggested smoothly.

Lexi’s full lips pursed tightly, her beautiful face creasing into an expression of distaste. ‘I don’t think so,’ she said, moving to close the door on Issy.

‘I know you’re having an affair with Jacob Scott,’ Issy blurted out.

Lexi stopped abruptly. Her eyes turned cold, but Issy could almost see her mind working quickly. She glanced up and down the corridor to see if anyone had overheard, but it was deserted. ‘Well then,’ Lexi said tightly. ‘You’d better come in.’

Marco stood beneath the hot water of the gym shower, enjoying the feeling of it pounding over his body, his muscles taut as he soaped himself clean. He’d wanted to push himself harder, but he didn’t want to exhaust himself before tomorrow, he reflected, as he stepped out and dried himself, changing into casual clothes for the short walk home.

He was looking forward to seeing Daniela, he thought, as he pulled on his jacket and walked out of the gym. Rosina was collecting her from school, and the two of them should be getting home any moment, so—

‘Marco!’

Marco looked around as he heard a familiar voice call his name. And then he spotted him. Edoardo was leaning against one of the ornate lampposts, seemingly oblivious to the crowds rushing past him. Something about his demeanour told Marco he was drunk.

‘Edoardo? What are you—’

‘Francesca told me you were here,’ he slurred. His eyes were dark and unfocused, yet glittering like chips of ice. ‘I called into the office to see you, but she told me you’d left already to go to the gym.’

‘Yeah,’ Marco replied slowly, wondering what was going on.

‘Nice, easy life for you, huh?’ Edoardo replied in a sing-song voice laden with bitterness. ‘A couple of hours pushing papers around a desk, then a sauna and massage, right? You don’t know what it’s like to do a hard day’s work, do you? You just get everything handed to you on a plate.’

Marco paused, knowing he had to tread carefully. Edoardo was clearly drunk and behaving irrationally. ‘Hey, Edoardo, shall we go somewhere to talk about this?’ Marco suggested, extending his arm to try and shepherd Edoardo away from the bustling streets.

‘Get your fucking hands off me,’ Edoardo hissed. ‘Unless you want a black eye before your big day tomorrow?’

Marco doubted Edoardo could land a hit on him right now, given the fumes of whisky that were emanating from him. He turned and walked away, calculating that Edoardo would either leave him alone, which was fine by Marco, or follow him, so Marco could lead him to quieter area where he was less likely to make a fool of himself. He’d barely taken a few steps before he heard Edoardo calling after him and realized he’d opted for the latter.

‘How did you do it, hmm?’ Edoardo asked, in a voice that was almost a snarl.

Marco turned and frowned. He’d led him down a side street that ended by a canal; a dead end, like the one where he’d first met the mysterious woman on the opening night of Carnival. A chill breeze whistled along the passageway; they were in shadow, shielded from the sunlight, and the February wind was bitingly cold. ‘What do you mean?’

‘My family. Every single one of them is on your side. You turned all of them against me.’

Marco shook his head. ‘No, that’s not true.’

‘Stephana. Daniela. My father. Even my mother defends you over me. How did you do it, Marco? How long have you been planning this?’

Marco sighed. He was tired of trying to assuage Edoardo’s paranoia, of listening to his alcohol-fuelled rants, of being blamed for everything that had gone wrong in his brother-in-law’s life. ‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ he retorted, his patience finally snapping.

‘Is that what you thought when you first met Stephana? That you could wheedle your way into the family, take over the business, push out the only son? You’re like a cuckoo in the nest, Marco.’

‘Stop it, Edoardo.’

‘Here.’ Edoardo walked towards him quickly, his arm outstretched, his words slurred. ‘I want to shake you by the hand. You’ve completely outplayed me. Managed to turn my whole family against me – even my own parents prefer you to me.’

Marco took a step backwards, wanting to put some distance between him and a clearly volatile Edoardo. ‘If your father doesn’t trust you, it’s your own fault,’ he told him harshly. ‘When you behave like this, how can you blame him? Of course he can’t put you in charge of the company when you can’t control your mouth or your temper.’