Second-Time Bride by Lynne Graham Page B

arms. Tara was, after all, one of them . All that money and attention might turn the head of even the most stable adult, so what effect might they have on an impressionable teenager? She remembered the Ferrari, Alessio’s eighteenth-birthday present, and her stomach turned over sickly.
    â€˜You’re talking as if Tara’s likely to be spending a lot of time in Italy.’
    â€˜You won’t have much choice about that, Daisy. My father is moving into semi-retirement. While he will retain a consultative position within the bank, I’m taking over our main office in Rome next month,’ Alessio imparted. ‘I’ll only be back in London on business trips after that—’
    â€˜But you were looking for a house here ,’ Daisy said involuntarily, struggling to conceal her growing dismay at what he was telling her.
    â€˜I was viewing the house on my parents’ behalf, not my own. They’re looking for a base in London.’
    A base, Daisy reflected dizzily. Only a Leopardi could refer to a house that big and expensive as a base. She surveyed Alessio with dazed eyes. It was a welcome escape from the daunting facts he was hammering her with. He looked gorgeous—undeniably and infuriatingly gorgeous. No sleepless shadows beneath his eyes and, remarkably, not even a hint of yesterday’s strain. His superbly tailored charcoal-grey suit was a spectacular showcase for his lean, vibrantly male physique, but even so Daisy found that she was experiencing a deep craving to see him in a pair of faded, tight jeans again...
    Daisy stopped herself dead, guiltily squashing that train of thought. Why should she get all worked up about the fact that Alessio still attracted her? Wasn’t that immature and narrow-minded? It was only her hormones which were at fault—natural female promptings accentuated by silly, sentimental memories. Alessio was incredibly sexy...that was all. Her body was tempted but her intelligence was safely in control.
    â€˜So you must see that if I am to establish a relationship of any depth with my daughter she will be travelling to Rome on a very regular basis.’
    â€˜Hmmm...’ Daisy sighed absently, wondering if he remembered the time she had tried to take his jeans off with her teeth...seriously hoping that he didn’t.
    â€˜I think that you owe both Tara and me the chance to make something out of this mess.’
    Daisy nodded and wished she had sat beside him instead of opposite.
    â€˜I also want to give Tara what she wants, and I would have to be extraordinarily stupid not to know what she wants after yesterday.’
    With enormous effort, Daisy fought to reinstate rational concentration and lifted exasperated eyes to his. ‘That’s what this is all about, isn’t it? You let Tara tie you up in knots, didn’t you?’
    Disorientatingly, Alessio’s gleaming dark gaze flared with spontaneous amusement. ‘Not at all. When she asked me very loudly in the middle of a crowded restaurant whether I thought I could still fancy her mum, I took it beautifully.’
    The challenging slant of Daisy’s chin wavered as she slowly turned a beetroot shade, horror striking into her bones.
    â€˜It was only half past twelve but I was already waiting for the question,’ Alessio confessed lazily. ‘Tara has no subtlety. She can’t wait for anything either. She just jumps right in and splashes everyone around her. Thirty-two years’ experience of Bianca stood me in good stead.’
    Daisy was mortified. ‘So you guessed what she was trying to do.’
    â€˜She was like a suicide bomber forcing herself out on a diplomatic mission. She told me how she had always thought that you and I had a lot in common with Romeo and Juliet.’
    Daisy went from mortification to sheer agony. “Oh, no—’
    â€˜How divorce destroys children’s lives: that was phase two. She backed that up with several