“I never said that.” Irritation flowed through him, making his head pound. “I can’t prevent what’s already been said, but if that happens, I’ll do whatever I can to protect you.” He grabbed her by the shoulders, stopping her from going into the bathroom. “Don’t run away, Stasia. You’re better than that.”
She jerked out of his grip. “Please, don’t patronize me. You can’t protect me from any of this. I can’t deal with my problems here any longer. I feel like I’m spinning my wheels. I just want to go home.”
“I promise it will all turn out in your favor.” He had no idea if it would, but he was grasping at any reason to keep her here versus watching her vanish from his life. “Isn’t my word good enough?”
Her expression was pained and she shook her head. “Not really. I took everyone at their word my entire life, and look where it got me.” She threw up one arm and went into the bathroom.
He slipped on a pair of jeans, then paced the floor, waiting for her to come out, and when she did, he stopped short.
In less than two minutes she was fully dressed and looking ready to bolt.
“Don’t tell me you’re leaving.”
Pushing past him, she exited the bedroom, calling over her shoulder. “Fine. I’m not leaving.”
He chased after her—and he never chased after women—grabbing her by the crook of her arm and stopping her in the middle of the living room. “What the hell happened? Why are you in such a hurry to get out of here?”
“This feels like too much,” she blurted, pressing her lips together as if she could stop the words that already came out. “I’m not comfortable with our—situation.”
“Because I’m your attorney.” He could relate—what they shared did feel like too much. But he didn’t want to run away from it.
“Exactly.” She averted her gaze, her voice weak. “It’s not right. We shouldn’t be sleeping together.” She sounded all prim and proper, not at all like herself. He wondered if she was telling the truth. Not like he could call her out and accuse her of lying. That would only piss her off further.
“I’ll find you another attorney. Someone else from my office, someone I trust. We can work together on your case,” he suggested. Panic flooded his veins. He didn’t want her to leave. Had the distinct feeling if he let her walk out that door, he might never see her again.
She sighed. “I don’t think I have a case any longer. It’s pointless to pursue it.”
“Why the hell would you say that?”
“Because they hate me no matter what!” She appeared shocked by her outburst.
“Then it shouldn’t matter. Pursue it all you want. It won’t matter how they feel about you.”
“I care what they feel about me. I care too damn much.” She brushed a hand through her hair, that vulnerable expression that got to him every time he saw it flashing across her face for the briefest moment. “I want to make nice with them, not make enemies. Maybe chasing after them with an attorney by my side isn’t the right way to do this.”
“They’ll chew you up and spit you out if you go at them alone.”
“You said they were kind, especially Alex.” She looked away. Looked anywhere but at him. “I don’t want to talk about this. I’m leaving for Italy, hopefully tomorrow. I’m going to book a flight tonight.”
“You’re making a mistake.” He grabbed hold of her one more time, wishing like hell he could convince her to stay. But something wasn’t right. She wasn’t listening, wasn’t open to his suggestions at all. She’d shut down, shut him off and he didn’t understand why. “Leaving the country won’t help you escape your problems. They’ll be waiting for you when you return.”
She lifted her chin, defiantly beautiful. “Maybe I won’t return. There’s nothing here for me. At least in Italy I have my mother. And my brothers are there more often than not.”
They remained silent, staring at one another. He couldn’t believe she was acting like this. “What about—us?” He hated that he asked. But he had to know.
“There is no us.” She extracted herself from his grip, her lower lip trembling the slightest bit. “There never was. Not really.”
He winced. Her words were like a physical blow, brutally painful. “I don’t understand why you’re doing this. You act like you’re the only one who’s ever been hurt. Did you ever consider I’ve been hurt too?” It took everything inside of him to keep his voice calm, level. What she was doing, what she said, slashed at him like a knife. Finally he’d opened himself up, let himself be vulnerable and she did this.
What hurt more? She didn’t bother to respond.
Fuck. He was in a world of pain and he didn’t even fully know it yet. “Don’t think I’ll be waiting for you when you come back. If you can so effectively cut me off without a care, then I can cut you off too.” He sounded like a big baby, but damn it, he was hurting.
She smiled shakily, sadness veiling her gaze. “That’s what everyone else has done to me anyway. I wouldn’t expect any less.”
The front door closed behind her before he could think. Gone. Just like that. No chance to explain, no chance to try and keep her. Just a ‘goodbye, I don’t need you, screw you asshole’ exit.
“Shit.” He picked up a vase, threw it at the wall, watched as it shattered in hundreds of pieces, bits of glass raining all over the bare floor. He thought it would give him a hint of satisfaction at the very least, throwing that useless thing and watching it break, but instead he felt empty.
Alone.
Chapter Fifteen
Two weeks later
The warm, fragrant breeze that blew off the Mediterranean Sea soothed Stasia’s frazzled nerves, eased her overactive mind. She tilted her head back and let the air sweep over her face. She sat out on the villa patio that overlooked the ocean, giant sunglasses covering her swollen, red-rimmed eyes, not wanting anyone to notice. Renzo had fretted over her since she arrived and she didn’t want to worry him further.
She’d received the call not even an hour ago. The DNA results were in—she was a Worth. There was absolutely no doubt. The long, sometimes lonely, mostly infuriating fight she’d gone through since the death of Giorgio Renaldi had resulted exactly how she thought it would. She should feel victorious.
Instead, she’d hung up and promptly burst into tears. After weeping in her bedroom for a solid fifteen minutes, she’d finally composed herself and came outside, hoping the pleasant weather would ease the ache in her heart.
It hadn’t. She was beginning to think nothing could—with the exception of a certain man she’d walked away from without a backward glance.
“Stasia, are you all right?”
A sigh escaped her. She’d hoped for a reprieve for a little longer but it appeared her time was up. “I’m fine, Mama. Where did you go?” Opening her eyes, she studied her mother as Claudia came toward her and sat at the glass and iron table across from Stasia.
Her mama looked much better than the last time they were together. She’d gained some weight, though she was still thin, and those telling dark circles under her eyes weren’t as prominent as they once were.
“I went down to the beach and took a walk. I would’ve asked you to come with me but I—wanted some time alone.” Claudia took a deep breath, exhaling loudly as if she needed to gather courage. “You look so sad, my darling. Tell me what’s bothering you. And don’t say ‘nothing’. I won’t believe you.”
Stasia pressed her lips together, decided it was best not to beat around the bush. “I received the DNA results.”
The look of shock on her mother’s face was unmistakable. Her eyes going wide, she gaped at Stasia for a long, silent moment until she finally asked, “And you’re upset? Don’t—don’t tell me they came back negative. Because that would be a lie and I swear to you…”
“They came back positive,” Stasia interrupted, not wanting to upset her further. “It’s confirmed. Michael Worth was my father.”
Her mother fell back against her chair as if
she’d been pushed, her shoulders sagging, her relief palpable. “Then why do you seem so down?”
Stasia shrugged, confusion filling her. “I don’t know.” She knew, just didn’t want to admit it, especially to her mother.
She missed Gavin. She missed New York. How she wished she were back there, that they could share in this bit of positive news together. He would help her create a plan so they could go to the Worths and eventually work it all out. He knew how to make everything easier. Took some of that burden she carried on her shoulders and shared it with her. She hadn’t realized it until now, but he’d been her partner.
And she’d turned him away. No, she’d run away, just as he’d accused.
So instead she was in Italy with her mama, unsure of what to do next. Scared she’d made the biggest mistake of her life and let Gavin slip away from her completely.
“You miss Gavin,” her mother said simply, as if she were a mind reader.
“No, I don’t.” Stasia shook her head, angry that she denied her true feelings so quickly. She’d confessed all to her mother upon her return to Italy. Telling Claudia that Gavin had been her attorney, not her boyfriend, though she’d also admitted they’d crossed the line into a personal relationship. And that she’d left him to come back here and figure out what she needed to do next.
Her mother hadn’t judged, hadn’t told her what to do. Had merely sat there and listened, offered comfort when Stasia had started to cry. She’d needed that from her. Comfort. Reassurance. They’d become so distant since her father’s death.
“Really?” The doubt in her mother’s voice was heavy.
Since Stasia had returned to Italy, they’d somewhat reconciled, though emotions were still fragile between them. “Fine, I do miss him,” Stasia confessed morosely.
Claudia smiled. “Of course, you do. It’s written all over your pretty face. You’re lovesick.”
“I am most definitely not lovesick. I don’t love him. I…” Did she love Gavin? She wasn’t sure. “This isn’t about Gavin. I need to focus on what I must do next.”
“Why do you need to do anything? You’ve been validated as a Worth. Now they have to accept you.”
“They don’t have to, you know. And I’m still unsure what’s going on with Renaldi. Where my place is within the company, if I even have a place.” Stasia shook her head, cast her gaze out toward the sea once more. Foolishly she wished for a simpler time, when she was younger and had not a care in the world.
But those times were long ago and she’d never get them back, no matter how hard she wished for them.
“Vincenzo was here just yesterday promising you will most definitely have a position at Renaldi. Don’t doubt your brothers, cara. They will do anything they can to ensure you will be back within the fold and soon,” her mother said vehemently.
Stasia knew her mother was right. It had been wonderful, spending time with her brother. Vincenzo had stayed the night before leaving early this morning for business, his handsome face serious as he’d swore to her over dinner they were doing everything in their power to bring her back to Renaldi. They were close, he’d said. Matteo and the lawyers believed they’d found a way to get around the wording of the will so Stasia could take on her position in the company once again.
The more she thought about it, though, the more she wondered if that was what she really wanted. She’d contemplated branching out before her father’s death. Designing her own jewelry, becoming independent from the main accessory line, though she would’ve still been a part of the Renaldi brand.
After they’d worked so hard, though, she couldn’t tell her brothers she wasn’t interested. And what of the Worths? Would she find a place within their family? How would they feel once they knew she had the same blood running through their veins? Would they finally accept her? Either way, she was scared of the unknown.
God, she needed Gavin. More than she cared to admit.
“I do appreciate everything Matt, Rafe and Vince are doing for me, but there is still unfinished business I left in New York,” Stasia said quietly.
Claudia’s expression hardened. “Why go there and face certain humility? Haven’t they done enough to turn you away? Why subject yourself to more?”
Stasia stood, glaring at her mother in disbelief. “It’s not about them turning me away. How do you expect them to feel? They didn’t believe me. They didn’t believe you. It’s hard for them to comprehend the entire situation.” She took a deep breath and shook her head. “I have to go back eventually, Mama.”
Her mother stood as well and rushed toward her, drawing her into a clumsy embrace. “I don’t want you to leave me. I don’t want you mad at me, Stasia. We must stand together, you and I. I refuse to let this rip us apart again.”
“It won’t rip us apart again, I promise. We still need to heal. And I can’t stay here with you forever, Mama. No matter how much I want to hide away and not face the world.” Stasia’s heart was breaking. For both herself and her mother, for their entire family. She wanted to forgive the man she thought of as her father but it was so hard. “You can’t hide here either. Come back to New York with me. Be my support while I deal with my—my other family.”
Claudia shook her head, panic in her eyes. “I don’t think I can.”
“Please? I need you,” Stasia admitted, pressing her lips together. Tears threatened and she pulled her sunglasses off, swiped at her eyes with trembling fingers. “I’ll need your support before I face them.”
“Must you face them? Is it necessary?”
Yes, it was necessary to her. The Worths might not want to see her but she had to try one more time. Tears sliding down her cheeks, she nodded. “I have to. They’re my brothers too, Mama. Family is important to me. Th—they are important to me, even if they hate me.”
Her mother’s face crumpling, she went to Stasia and drew her into her arms. “There, there, don’t cry, my lovely girl. They couldn’t hate you. They’ll love you, just like I do. Just like your brothers here do.” Claudia hugged her so tight Stasia felt as if she couldn’t breathe. “I’ll go with you. How could I not?”
Relief flooding her, Stasia wrapped her arms around her mother’s waist, her familiar scent a comfort she’d missed greatly. “Thank you, Mama. You don’t know how much this means to me.”
“Yes, yes I think I do know.”
“Stasia, it’s good to see you. I’m so glad you could come tonight.”
Stasia stepped inside the tall foyer, her gaze soaring upward. A spectacular pendant light the size of her entire body hung from the two-story ceiling, bathing the entry with a pleasant golden glow. “Thank you so much for inviting me, Gabriella.”
Rhett Worth’s girlfriend hugged her close, her embrace warm and friendly, conveying so much with that one gesture.
Stasia closed her eyes hard, warding off the sudden tears. She wanted to cry after a mere hug, which meant she was in desperate need of reassurance.
And meaningful affection, something she’d been lacking for weeks despite being with her mother. She missed Gavin.
“Everyone else is waiting in the den. Come with me.” Ella took Stasia’s hand and led her through the apartment she shared with Rhett.
Stasia looked around, taking everything in. The place was gorgeous, the colors dark yet warm, the rooms spectacularly large but somehow cozy and welcoming. She saw traces of the bachelor pad it must’ve once been. The giant flat screen TV which hung on the wall, accompanied by an outrageous collection of DVDs in the large entertainment center that framed either side of the television.
Feminine touches mingled with the masculine. Framed photos of family members were scattered throughout or hung on the walls, one picture touching Stasia in particular. The photo was large, at least eleven by fourteen in size. It was of Rhett and Ella on stretched canvas, no frame distracting from the picture. Ella was smiling at the camera, her face full of joy and laughter.
But Rhett was looking at Ella, his expression one of so much love,
it made Stasia’s throat ache.
“That photo embarrasses Rhett,” Ella said, her voice low, when Stasia stopped to study it.
She couldn’t tear her gaze away from the joyous couple. It was so evident, how much they felt for each other. How much he felt for Ella. An unwanted sensation of jealousy threatened, but she pushed it away. “Why?”
“The fact that the photographer caught him looking at me like that. He was mortified the first time he saw the picture, I saw it written all over his face. He’d never admit it, but I know.” Ella smiled, her gaze soft. “He looks vulnerable and he hates that. You know how macho men are.”
Stasia rolled her eyes, thinking of her very macho Italian brothers. “Oh yes, I know exactly what you’re talking about.”
Laughing a little, Ella met her gaze. “Rhett loves to bluster around and act like a badass, but I know the real Rhett. This photo is him to a T. It represents the man I see every morning when I wake up and every night when I go to sleep. So I told him it was going on the wall. He had no choice in the matter.”
“I love it,” Stasia said with utter sincerity. She wished she had a man who looked at her like that. Like she was his everything.
If she’d given Gavin much of a chance she might’ve had that with him.
“Come on.” Ella led her deeper into the apartment, arriving within a room that was small, the walls lined with shelves filled with books, two overstuffed dark blue velvet couches facing each other, a woman sitting on each couch.
“Ladies, this is Anastasia Renaldi,” Ella announced with pride.
The two women stood, both of them smiling, both of them walking toward her with open, friendly faces. Stasia braced herself, waiting for the other shoe to drop, waiting for them to say something spiteful or mean, but it didn’t happen. The complete opposite happened.
“Oh, it’s so wonderful to meet you. I’m Tessa.” The woman wrapped Stasia in such a close embrace she was sure she’d smell like Tessa’s perfume for the rest of the night. Not that it was a bad thing—the woman smelled fabulous. “Alex’s wife.”
Worth Everything: Worth It, Book 4 Page 15