by Donna Alward
Ever punctual, Gabi saw the cloud of dust announcing Stephen’s arrival at precisely seven minutes to eleven. Her stomach was in knots. Will had agreed to remain upstairs until Gabi had a chance to talk to Stephen, and Giulia had gone to work. That left her parents, and the awkward realization that they still thought that Gabi and Stephen were going to set a new date. Things had been easy between her and Stephen before. She hoped they wouldn’t be overtly awkward now.
Oh, mea culpa.
Stephen parked his rental and she stepped to the doorway, feeling as if she might throw up. What a stir she’d caused. And now he’d come all the way out here. There was no way he was happy about it.
When he stepped out of the car she remembered how different he was from Will. Only slightly taller, but with darker hair, darker eyes and a squarer jaw. When he smiled he epitomized tall, dark and handsome. But right now he wasn’t smiling. He wasn’t really showing any emotion at all as he looked at her. Then he shut the door and stepped around the hood to approach the house, and his mouth softened the smallest bit.
“Gabriella.”
“Hello, Stephen.” Always Stephen. Never Steve. Or any other endearment. That just occurred to her now, and yet in a short amount of time she’d found herself shortening William to Will...in her head, and sometimes that’s what came out of her mouth, too.
He leaned in and they bussed cheeks. “Do your parents know?” he murmured, before pulling away.
She met his gaze, her stomach quaking. “No,” she whispered.
His dark eyes cooled. “So they think we’re still engaged.”
Gabi swallowed against a growing lump in her throat. “Y-yes. Are you able to...you know...pull that off?”
He smiled then, warm and lovely. “My dear Gabriella, I’ve spent a lifetime smiling at people I don’t know or don’t like. It won’t be a problem. The bigger question is, will you be able to act like a convincing fiancée?”
She wanted to weep. His words were delivered with a smile but were so sharp and cutting. “Stephen, we were friends, remember? I’d like us to stay friends.”
“You left me at the altar,” he said quietly. “I deserved better.”
She held her tongue because, first of all, he was right. And secondly, she desperately wanted to call him out on insisting on the marriage in the first place, but right now she needed him on her side. Tonight her father would be admitted into the hospital. Later tomorrow he’d have surgery. The question of the company needed to be settled.
“Let’s not talk out here. Come inside to the library where we can have some privacy.”
They entered the house and right away her mother was there, greeting Stephen, offering refreshment. He switched on the charm and accepted a drink of something cold; Massimo came forward to shake his hand and the two spoke warmly. It couldn’t all be an act, could it? Stephen was angry with her but he’d always been so great to her parents. When Massimo mentioned how good it was for him to be here for Gabi while he had his operation, Gabi wanted to choke. She didn’t want solace from Stephen, not anymore. But she’d love to have William beside her, she realized. How things had changed in such a short time.
After pleasantries, Gabi led him into the small library, which was really a home office with several bookshelves. She shut the door and let out a breath. “Thank you.”
“I have no problem with your parents, Gabi. They’re innocent in all this.”
“But I’m not.”
“No, you’re not.” He put his glass down on a table and turned to face her. “If you were going to bolt, why the hell did you say yes in the first place?”
It was hard to breathe, but she had to own up to everything. “Because I wanted security for my family. Because we were friends and I trusted you. And because I’d had my heart broken and my dreams shattered and I thought I could have what I wanted without the messiness of being in love.”
His mouth dropped open. “What?”
It was the thing she’d confessed to William, but hadn’t to her own fiancé. “I loved someone, Stephen. I thought I was pregnant and while the timing wasn’t great, I was happy. I want a partner and babies. When I told him about it, he was so angry. You see, he was already married. Thank God the test was negative.”
Stephen ran his hand through his hair and shook his head. “Why didn’t you tell me this?”
“I was afraid. And at the time I was really focusing on Baresi and doing what I had to in order for us to weather my father’s illness.”
When he said nothing, she spoke again. “Our motivations were the same, weren’t they? You’d had your heart broken, too. You wanted to put your mother’s mind at ease. Give her something positive after your father’s death. I don’t blame you for that.”
His gaze sharpened. “But you do blame me for something, don’t you?”
Heat rushed to her face. “What good does blame do? You have every right to be angry with me. In the end I couldn’t go through with it, and I ran. I panicked. I caused a great deal of...inconvenience. And I’m sorry for that. I truly am.”
“You’re sorry.”
“Yes! And wanted to tell you that in person.”
Stephen was quiet for several moments. He picked up his glass and drank again, then wandered around the room, glancing at shelves, making Gabi more nervous by the second. What was he thinking? Why wasn’t he saying anything?
When she was ready to burst, he turned back to her. “But that’s not why I’m here, is it? For apologies?”
She bit down on her lip, considering her response. “I know you were hurt before, and I’m sorry that I added to it by my actions.”
His nostrils flared, the only outward sign that her words had hit some sort of sore spot. “Don’t worry, Gabriella. We both know this wasn’t going to be a real marriage, with love and hearts and flowers. You didn’t hurt me.”
Maybe not. But she’d caused him great embarrassment, and she sensed that was almost as bad. Maybe worse. Feelings you could hide away from the world. Public humiliation was out there for all to see. And, in his case, comment on incessantly.
He stepped closer. “So I’ll ask you again, Gabi. Why am I really here? It’s not to make amends. I know that. Particularly since it wasn’t you who invited me. It was Will.”
Her annoyance came bubbling up and she spoke before she could think better of it. “Would you have taken my call?”
“Probably not. Will seems to think that Aurora should still invest in Baresi. I disagree.”
Cold ran down her body. She hadn’t thought this would be an easy meeting, but she hadn’t expected a downright refusal. “Please,” she whispered, “don’t punish my father because of what I did.”
“I like your father. But this is business, cara.”
The way he said the endearment made her want to slap his face. “This is not business. This is taking it out on me. Punishing me.”
He shrugged and her temper flared again. “A shrug? That’s your answer? Doing business with Baresi is good for Aurora and you know it! Making a deal wouldn’t have been any sacrifice on your part, just the opposite. But you tacked on the condition of marriage as a way of ‘helping each other.’ That isn’t business. That’s personal. And you’re making it personal again now.”
He was silent again. How could he do that? How could he stay so calm and implacable?
“Well,” he finally said, drawing out the word for emphasis, “I’m the head of acquisitions. So it doesn’t matter if it’s personal or not. I still have to sign off on it. Our contract with Baresi remains the same, don’t worry. I’m not canceling it. I’m just not furthering our investments.”
For a moment, it felt to Gabi as if her heart stopped. Baresi was struggling; not in danger of closing its doors—yet—but the last few years had been difficult. No one knew the business better than her father. But his surgery, recovery and then rounds of chemotherapy
meant he’d be out of the office for months. They couldn’t afford a further decline. And Gabi would do her level best, but if anything happened to Baresi Textiles, how would her parents live? Papa wasn’t old, but he wasn’t a young man, either. He and Mama needed to be thinking about working less and enjoying each other more.
The cold knot settled in her gut. “So that’s it, then,” she said, taking a step back. “I’ve ruined everything.” She was angrier than she could ever remember being in her life. “Because I couldn’t go through with a sham marriage. I thought we were friends. I see how wrong I was.”
She turned to walk away, and had almost reached the door when he called out, “What are you going to tell your parents?”
“I don’t know. I’m not going to cause Papa any more worry today, not when he has surgery tomorrow. But don’t worry, Stephen, I’ll figure it out. I’ll figure it all out.”
She swept out of the room, biting her lip so hard she thought it might bleed. Then she went straight for the stairs. She couldn’t talk to her parents like this. She had to get herself together. And William needed to speak to Stephen, too.
Will’s door was shut and she knocked quietly. There were footsteps, then he opened the door and his face blanked with shock. “What the hell did he say? You look ready to commit murder.”
“I need to calm down and I don’t want to rant at you because he’s your brother and you love him. So please, go speak to him about whatever you need to and leave me here to calm down.”
“You asked him about the deal and he said no, didn’t he?”
“He said a lot more, too. He’s very angry at me, Will. And I’m very angry at me. I put myself in this position and now my family is being punished for it. Please, let me lick my wounds in private.”
He nodded, but as he moved past her in the doorway, he squeezed her hand. “Wait here. I’ll come back and we’ll talk.”
“All right.”
He left and she shut the door quietly, then went to the chair he’d been sitting in and sank into it. He’d left his phone, and his laptop was on a small table, still open. He really did trust her, she realized. While she hadn’t always liked Will’s decisions or attitude, she could say this for him: he’d always been honest with her. Always.
He’d always displayed impeccable integrity and loyalty. But then, so had Stephen, or so she thought. Was she being foolish, trusting Will?
She leaned her head back against the chair and sniffled. She didn’t know what to say to her father. He’d been so happy when she’d announced her engagement. “I know he’ll make sure everything is all right,” Massimo had said. “He’ll look after you.” And in looking after her, Massimo had known that Stephen would ensure nothing would happen to Baresi. That was all gone now.
Her father had trusted him, too, because she’d let him. Maybe it was time to stop being angry at Stephen and take responsibility for her part in it. And that meant coming clean with her parents.
The timing sucked. But if anything happened to her father tomorrow, she didn’t want their last words to be based on a lie.
CHAPTER EIGHT
WILL STARED AT his brother. “So your answer is no. Even though I’ve given you the numbers that prove this could be profitable for us, and not an act of charity. And by the way, even if it were an act of charity, it would be the right thing. Aurora has done business with Baresi for over two decades.”
“My answer is no.”
“Because of your pride.”
Stephen stared at William for a long moment. “Why do you care so much?”
Will struggled to keep his face schooled. What he felt for Gabi wasn’t any of his brother’s business, especially since it wasn’t going to go anywhere. “Because she’s a nice woman who got caught up in a lot of stuff. Because she did the right thing in the wrong way, and now you’re making a point of punishing her entire family for it.”
Stephen’s expression darkened. “What do you mean?”
Will met his brother’s eyes and unease slid through his gut. In four years, he’d never really been at odds with Stephen. To be so now hurt, and he still very much felt like the younger, less wise brother. And yet he knew, deep down, that Stephen was wrong.
“You know I love you. But I can’t pretend that this whole arrangement was okay. I told you that at the beginning. I admire her for not going through with it. It shows an integrity that you didn’t, Stephen. And yes, she could have done it differently and caused less fuss. But you’re punishing her for doing the right thing.”
“Oh, my God. You love her.” Stephen cursed and wiped a hand over his face. “Ten days. Has it even been ten days? And she’s wrapped you around her little finger.”
Will tamped down his anger. “My loyalty is with you, Stephen. It always will be. It doesn’t mean I always have to agree with you. You told me when I screwed up. Well, you screwed up this time. Do the right thing here. Buy an interest in Baresi. It’s right for Aurora.”
“I’m heading back to Rome, and then home. And, William? Don’t issue an order for me again.”
Will’s heart lurched, hating that their relationship was suffering, and yet certain in his gut that his motives were in the right place. “If that’s the way you want it.”
“It is.”
“Fine. I’ll handle everything here.”
Stephen laughed bitterly. “There’s nothing to handle.”
Will went to the library door and held it open for his brother. His disappointment was profound. It was so unlike Stephen to be petty and mean. William had to believe that it was pain and pride wrapped up into one.
“If you think that,” Will said quietly, “I’m disappointed in you.” And just like that, their roles were reversed.
Stephen stopped at the door and met Will’s gaze. “Don’t lecture me, little brother.”
Then he left—straight down the hallway and out the front door, without saying goodbye to anyone. Why had he even come?
William wasn’t just mad. He was horribly, horribly disappointed in his brother.
Lucia came to the library door. “William? Has Stephen left? Did Gabi go with him?”
“No, Mama.” Gabi’s steady voice sounded behind her mother, and Will looked over Lucia’s shoulder to catch Gabi’s gaze. Her chin was set with a determined tilt and there was no biting down on her lip. Her eyes were dry. When she’d gone to his room, he’d thought her on the verge of tears. The woman in front of him was anything but.
“I don’t understand.” Lucia looked from Gabi to William and then back again.
“You will.” She went forward and hugged Lucia tightly. “I need to talk to you and Papa. In the kitchen, okay?”
“All right,” Lucia said, but her eyes were worried as she moved off to find Massimo.
Will looked down at Gabi. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
She nodded. “It’s time I told the truth. There should be no lies between Papa and me tomorrow.” Her gaze locked with his. “You do not have to be there for it, but I would appreciate the support if you want to give it. I understand if not. Stephen is your brother, and I know where your loyalties lie.”
Will clenched his teeth. “I won’t go behind my brother’s back and go against his wishes. That’s true. But I can certainly stand beside a friend when they do a difficult thing.”
“You’re a very decent human being,” she murmured.
“I try to be. Stephen taught me that. That he’s somehow forgotten hurts me. But I’ll sit with you today. And tomorrow, too, if you want me to. I know it’s going to be a long, rough day.”
He didn’t want to have to choose. In fact, he refused to. Being there for a friend during a difficult time should not be a crisis of loyalty. And if it was, he and Stephen were going to have even bigger words once Will was back in Paris.
* * *
Gabi sat at the table, wit
h William beside her and her mother across from them. Massimo shuffled into the room and settled himself in a chair with a sigh, his jovial face tight with concern. Gabi met her father’s gaze and said, “I’m sorry, Papa. It’s time I told you and Mama the truth.”
“It has to do with Stephen?”
“Yes, and me, and a foolish mistake that I’m going to make right. I haven’t been honest with you, and I don’t want there to be lies between us.”
Their gazes held a long time, full of unsaid words. She knew he understood when he answered softly, “Me, either, gattina.” Oh, how it hurt for them both to consider his mortality like this. He couldn’t die. He just couldn’t.
Will sat beside her and put his hand over hers for a brief moment. She was so glad he was here.
“Mama, Papa...” She looked at both of them and felt her heart in her throat. “I wasn’t sick the day of the wedding. I ran away because I couldn’t go through with it. The Pembertons made up my illness so there wouldn’t be a scandal. Or as much of one, anyway.”
Gabi had expected the shocked looks on their faces, so she carried on, since that was just the opening and not anywhere near the worst part. “The truth is, our engagement wasn’t what it seemed. It was more of an...agreement.”
Massimo and Lucia looked at each other, then back at Gabi. “You mean you were not in love with him,” Lucia said, her voice low.
“No, Mama, I wasn’t. And I’m not. We were friends. Or at least I thought we were. Now I’m not so sure.” Her nose burned a little, but she wouldn’t cry. She’d screwed up but Stephen had disappointed her, too. Maybe she was a horrible judge of character.
But then she looked over at Will and saw the reassurance in his eyes, and her confidence returned.
“But why?” Massimo asked. “Why would you agree to marry him if you didn’t love him? Your mama and me...oh, Gabriella. You were raised in a house where there was always love. Why would you settle for less?”
“I know, Papa, I know!” The words came out in a flood. “In the end, that was why I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t marry someone I didn’t love, even if it meant having all the security in the world.”