Her Shameful Secret by Susanna Carr Read Free Book Online

his drink in one swallow.
    “The day after you left.” He curled his lip and set his glass down. “I considered the possibility that I made a mistake.”
    Isabella pulled away from the window. “And?”
    “I made some enquiries.” His expression darkened and he braced his hands on the table. “Only to discover that you had rolled out of my bed and into my brother’s.”
    Isabella closed her eyes as she heard the raw pain in Antonio’s voice. “It wasn’t like that,” she whispered.
    “Right.” His voice was low and biting as he glared at her. “You had already been in his bed before you left mine.”
    Isabella rubbed her forehead as tension pulsed underneath her skin. “I went to Giovanni because you had thrown me out. I had nowhere to go.”
    Antonio snorted with derision. “Hardly. You were right where you wanted to be.”
    She shook her head. “I wanted to be with you.”
    “Until you met my brother.” Antonio walked over to where she stood. “You used your relationship with me so you could get closer to Gio and his money.”
    “I have never been interested in that!” Isabella said. She was surprised that he would think that of her, and she was also hurt that he didn’t really know her at all.
    “I thought I knew you.” Antonio rested his arm against the window.
    “You knew everything.” But either he hadn’t listened or he didn’t care to remember. “Unlike you, I didn’t hold anything back.”
    “Is this another stab at how I don’t communicate?” He leaned forward, towering over her. “I disagree. We talked all the time.”
    She flattened her hand against her chest. “I did the talking. You didn’t share anything. I didn’t know about your hopes and fears. Your family life. You told me nothing.”
    “We’re talking now,” he said softly. “Tell me, how long were you sleeping with my brother when we were sharing a bed?”
    “I was always satisfied in your bed. I didn’t need to look elsewhere.”
    Isabella bit her lip, knowing she shouldn’t have spoken so boldly. She saw the sensual heat flare in Antonio’s eyes. Her skin tingled in response as a kaleidoscope of images swirled in her head. Tension curled around her. It was dangerous to bring up those memories. Isabella nervously cleared her throat.
    “If that was true, why did you go to my brother in the first place?” he asked. “Why didn’t you go back to California?”
    Isabella sighed. She had asked herself that many times in the past three months. “I should have gone back home, but I thought we could get back together. I hoped it was a rough patch we could work through.”
    Antonio’s eyes widened with disbelief. “Work through the fact that you were sleeping with my brother?”
    “I didn’t know you thought that I had!” she said in a raised voice. “How could I? You didn’t share your suspicions with anyone. I didn’t know anything. I only found out about Giovanni’s lies three months ago.”
    Antonio’s eyes narrowed as he watched Isabella’s face. Impatience scratched at him. “Why did you think I dumped you?” he asked as he tugged his silk tie loose.
    “I thought you had found someone else. When your security kicked me out, I tried to get in touch with you,” she said coolly. Her eyes were blank, her composure restored. “You were blocking my calls. I went to your office and couldn’t even get through the door.”
    He had cut her out of his life ruthlessly. He wouldn’t deny that. It had been the only way he could get through the day. The nights had been the worst. He hadn’t thought a man could crave a woman so strongly until Isabella had gone out of his life.
    Isabella shrugged. “So I called Giovanni.”
    “You had his number?” Antonio gritted his teeth. He knew he was being possessive, but he didn’t like the idea of Isabella having had any man’s phone number.
    “I told him what had happened and he invited me to his place.” Isabella looked down and whispered, “I thought he