Conquer Your Love (11 page)

“Because it’s the truth.” He didn’t hesitate; didn’t even blink. “I was
never involved, Brooke. That’s not the kind of person I am, and I hope one day
you’ll know that deep in your heart.”

Maybe, but that time hadn’t come yet. Jett was a convincing person who
might or might not tell the truth. I needed proof before I was ready to trust
him again.

I checked the time on my cellphone and brushed my hands over my skirt
the way I always did when I was about to leave.

“I have to go. It’s getting late and Sylvie’s expecting me in ten
minutes.” It wasn’t a lie. Without waiting for his reply, I grabbed my bag and
stood, wondering why I wasn’t as pleased with our meeting as I initially
thought I would be.

Maybe because he hasn’t given
you any real answers.

True. In fact I ended up with more questions than before, and I didn’t
like it one bit.

“You’re amazing, you know that?” Jett walked around the table and
stopped in front of me, his height intimidating me, as usual. My eyes lingered
on his lips.
So close.
So delicious.
I held my breath as he brushed a stray strand of hair out of my face. His touch
sent a shiver through me, making me all too aware of just how close we were
standing. My heartbeat started to drum in my ears. I had experienced this
feeling before—at the office back in New York the day I broke up with
him, thinking I had lost him forever. Right before he told me that he loved me.

 
His lips moved just a little
bit closer to mine, hovering inches away. Not too close but enough to make me
aware of his manly scent and the sudden tension in the air. Aware that even though
he had explained his reasons, it was
still
over.

“You really are amazing, Brooke,” he repeated.

“Why are you telling me this?” I almost choked on my words.

“Because I should have told you before, when you would’ve still believed
me. And I should have told you as often as I could so you’d never forget.”

Damn him and his ability to say the right things at the right time. I
didn’t want to fall for him any deeper than I had already. He was gaining the
upper hand again, turning the table on me.

“Jett please, just stop.” I blinked back the telltale moisture gathering
in the corners of my eyes.

“Why?”

Because you broke my heart
once, and there’s no guarantee you won’t do it again.

“I don’t believe you, Jett. Everything you said—I just can’t
believe you anymore. Not until you give me proof.” It was the truth. Even if I
wanted to, I couldn’t trust him. “I should never have come here. Sylvie was
right when she warned me about you.”

“Not everyone’s hell bent on screwing you over, Brooke. Some people
genuinely care about you.” I turned away but he grabbed my shoulders, forcing
me to face him. “If you want to know the truth, don’t ask a friend who’ll tell
you only what you want to hear. Check the facts and you’ll see that, yes, I
made a mistake, but I’m telling you the truth when I say I only tried to
protect you.”

I yanked my hand away from him. Awkward silence ensued. I knew I had hit
a soft spot. I could see it in his face, in his eyes, the way he moistened his
lips, pondering his next move. Eventually, he let out a frustrated groan.

“I lied to you one time when I didn’t know you. Before we decided to
have a relationship. I know I did many things wrong, but I never stopped caring
about you.”

A liar is known to tell many lies but the one who speaks the truth will
always stick to the same story. It was a universal knowledge I had embraced
many years ago. In this case, however, the truth scared me. What if he cared
about me but not enough to avoid hurting me again?

“I need to go, Jett.” I checked the time on my cellphone
again,
silently praying he’d let me go. I was no match for him
if he didn’t. He stepped back but his gaze never left me.

I made my way across the terrace and down the stairs, minding my steps
as Jett followed behind. I reached the waiting taxi in a few long strides. His
strong grip on my upper arm told me our conversation wasn’t over and, as usual,
he was about to fight for the last word.

“Brooke. We never had a real date.” His eyes were two glowing pits of
smoldering heat. I had never seen so much determination in anyone. Then again,
I had probably never seen the real Jett. “In spite of everything that happened
and what I explained to you today, would you go on a date with me? I’m not
asking you to trust me. I know that takes time. I’m asking you to give me a
chance to earn that trust and make things right again.”

My heart hammered in my chest. The attraction was still here, coursing
back and forth between us like an intangible current. “I would. Just prove your
claims are true.”

“They are. Even if you don’t understand things now, sooner or later
you’ll find out I never meant to hurt you.”

“I still need evidence,” I said coolly, holding on to my determination
for dear life.

“And then you’ll give me a chance to redeem myself?”

“Yes.” It sounded fair enough. With proof I could understand his
motives. “I really have to go now. Sylvie’s waiting for me.”

His smile returned with full force and brought with it the most gorgeous
dimples. I held my breath as his mouth came closer. But instead of kissing me,
he whispered in my ear, “I’m still thinking of you. Even though everything’s
messed up, I still want you by my side. I still want to be with you, within
you, inside you, hearing you panting my name.”

I had never
been one to deal with
emotions easily. My heart was racing, my mind was spinning, and my body was
floating in a vacuum as Jett drove me back to the spa. After our conversation
and the few unexpected turns it took, I didn’t know what to believe or think
and, most importantly, I didn’t know what to say to him when letting my guard
down wasn’t an option.

“Thanks for lunch.” My hand hovered on the door handle but something
kept me from pulling it open.

“My pleasure,” Jett said softly. His gaze was focused on me, like
always, but there was something in his eyes that made me instantly aware of the
confined space we were in. He dominated everything: my thoughts, my space, even
the air I breathed. My breath hitched. He was too close for comfort and I couldn’t
get away fast enough.

“I’m sorry, I have to leave.” Without so much as a glance back I
sprinted out of the car, heading for the safety of the spa’s salon.

As I pushed the heavy glass doors open, I could feel his stare burning a
hole in my back. Only once I was inside the reception area did I dare stop and
take a deep breath, searching for him across the street, but the car had
already sped off. I didn’t know whether to feel relieved or disappointed.
Either way, I had to conceal it because Sylvie had the keen eye of a hawk. The
second she got
suspicious,
she’d commence her
interrogation.

Luckily for me, Sylvie’s treatment wasn’t finished for another ten
minutes. I left a message with the receptionist in case I wouldn’t be back on
time and took off down the busy main street, through the gathered crowds of
midday shoppers and tourists. Even though my eyes could see them, my brain
continued to be occupied. Jett’s statements about the club bothered me. I was
ready to take his warnings seriously and investigate his claims. My thoughts
circled back to Jett and the fact that the spark was still there.

What did you expect, Stewart?

I rolled my eyes at my own stupidity. The kind of attraction we shared
wasn’t likely to go away on its own within a few days. Deep down I had known
this all along, and yet I
still
agreed to have lunch with him.

If you really wanted to move
on, you could have done so with someone else—find a rebound, just like
Sylvie. But you didn’t. You reserved a place in your heart for Jett, and you don’t
want to fill it with someone else. You want
him
and you need to see if you can take things slowly. You’re ready to
chase away the demons of your past and make room for a future with him.

I stopped at a tiny corner café that sold gelato cones and freshly made
smoothies, and bought two plastic cups of watermelon frappe before returning to
the spa. Sylvie was typing furiously on her phone when I reached her and handed
her a cup. Her face was glowing and she seemed relaxed. I breathed out,
relieved.

“Ready?”

“Yeah. Thanks.” She pointed at her watermelon frappe and took a sip as
we walked out onto the street. “You were right. It was amazing. Such a shame
you couldn’t come.”

“Yeah.” I shot her a smile.

“How did it go?”

“Good. The shops kept me busy,” I said. “
Wanna
grab lunch?”

Her entire expression changed within an instant. “I thought you were
supposed to do something for the old man.”

Shoot, I completely forgot about my lie.

“I didn’t find what I came for,” I said, grimacing. “I’ll get it
tomorrow. But wait until you see the shops around here. They’re
shop-till-you-drop-worthy.”

Shit, I sounded so guilty I might as well stamp the words ‘I’m hiding
something’ across my forehead.

“There’s a pizza restaurant not far from here.” Leaving the invitation
open, I took a sip of my frappe and directed my vision at the next window
display, pretending to admire a pair of what looked like brown riding boots
with fringes. From her reflection I could tell she was still watching me with
an annoyed frown. I hoped she couldn’t smell fear because my hands had begun to
sweat and certainly not from the heat.

“Great. I’m starving,” she said.

Within five minutes, we were seated at a piazza table, sipping water as
we contemplated the Italian menu.

“Are you trying to memorize your order?” Sylvie asked me.

“As a matter of fact, I am.
Wanna
help me?” I
smiled and waved the waiter over to get our orders. He jotted it down and then
I was alone with her again. My smile froze in place as my mind tried hard to
come up with something to talk about, when all I wanted to do was lock myself
in my room and obsess about my lunch with Jett.

Sylvie eyed me with a frown. “You’re a little quiet. Is everything
okay?”

“Yeah. No. I’m having this headache. Must be the heat.” I wasn’t lying.
My head was pounding hard and I didn’t know whether it was because of the sun,
the tension, or a little bit of everything.

Sylvie opened her bag and fished out a small bottle of aspirin, pushing
it across the table. “Take two. We can’t afford you getting sick.”

Literally. I had no job and no health insurance.

“Thanks.” I swallowed two pills and rinsed the bitter aftertaste with a
few gulps of water. While Sylvie left to use the restroom, the waiter brought
our pizzas. I mouthed a heavily accented ‘grazie’ when the screen of my phone
buzzed to life. I checked the caller. The number was private. Almost expecting
Jett, I pressed the earpiece to my ear.

“Hello?”

An instant later, the line went dead. I frowned.

“Hey.” Sylvie slumped into her chair and grabbed a slice of pizza. “Who
was it?”

“What?”

She took a big bite and pointed at the phone.

I waved my hand. “Wrong number.”

“You get phone calls abroad?”

“Apparently.”

I bit into a slice of pizza and began to chew, my appetite slowly
returning as Sylvie resumed her chat about her impressions of Italy and god
knows what. Thankfully, she was a bit of an entertainer and never needed much
input from me to lead a conversation. As I struggled to listen, my headache
improved but didn’t go away, and Sylvie eventually suggested we drive back to
the estate.

***

The afternoon sun stood high, raising the temperature by a few more
degrees. By the time we made it back it was 5 p.m. and still hot as a desert.

I lay down on my bed as Sylvie changed into her bikini, eager to deepen
her tan. “Are you sure you don’t want to come?” She was standing in the middle
of my room, slapping half a bottle of sunscreen on her already tanned body.

I shook my head, wincing at the jolts of pain blurring my vision. “No,
you go and have fun. I’ll just sleep this off.”

A worried frown appeared on her face. “Want me to get you anything?”

“I’m fine.” I managed a fake smile and shooed her out the door.

“It must be the heat. If you need anything, just call.”

“Thanks, sweetie,” I whispered, leaning back against the cool satin
sheets. Sylvie was right. I most certainly wasn’t accustomed to the Italian
weather. In the silence and the serenity of this place, my dizziness slowly
cleared until I felt confident enough to stand.

I pulled the brocade curtains aside. The sun was setting in countless
shades of orange and copper streaking the evening sky. From the distance, I
could make out Sylvie’s naked legs on an outdoor lounger facing the lake, her
face obscured by a huge straw hat. Shrugging out of my skirt and into a pair of
jeans, I figured I could either join her or do what I’d been waiting to do ever
since Jett told me about the club. If it was the truth, there had to be some
evidence somewhere.