And then she knew the answer. It wasn’t some mysterious answer that she had to wrestle with. The answer came to her so quickly, so easily that it was startling. No matter how much she wanted to fight it—deny it—she was falling in love with Roberto.
She glanced at the ring again. Ever since he’d put it on her finger, it was like it had pulled the blinders from her eyes. And now she was able to see what was clearly in front of her—Roberto.
He took her hand in his. “What are you thinking about?”
“Um, nothing.”
“That look on your face says otherwise. Must be something good.”
She glanced at him. “I was just thinking this is such a lovely day.”
“It is a really nice day. But I think there’s more going on in that mind of yours than that.”
She shrugged but didn’t elaborate. Some thoughts were best to keep to herself until she decided how to tell him. She didn’t know what he’d say. Would he be happy?
What was she saying? They’d just made love. He must feel the same way or he wouldn’t be here with her in a lava field about to descend into a cave.
Roberto played his emotions so close to his chest that sometimes it was so hard to read him. But with them reaching the mouth of the cave, it was best to leave the subject alone until they returned to the chalet.
* * *
What was going on?
She’d been acting strange all day.
Roberto couldn’t shake the feeling things had shifted with Stasia. He wanted to say that escalating their relationship had been a mistake, but he couldn’t dismiss such an amazing night. But it wasn’t just Stasia who was confused.
And this was why he worked rather than trying to have a relationship. For the most part, his work was straightforward. But this thing between him and Stasia was anything but straightforward. He didn’t know what to say or how to act.
At lunch at the nearby chalet, when she didn’t think he was looking, she would stare at him. She didn’t say anything, but there was a different sort of energy coursing between them. And it had nothing to do with the fresh air or bright sunshine. Nor did the change between them have to do with the delicious meat-and-cheese tray or the local wine. No, this change had to do with him letting go of his common sense and giving in to his desires. And now he didn’t know how to rewind the clock.
“You’re awfully quiet,” Stasia said as they made their way onto the ship.
“I am?” He hadn’t noticed because there were so many conflicting voices in his head.
She nodded. “What are you thinking about?”
He glanced around. A lot of people were returning to the ship at the same time as them. This wasn’t the place for a serious talk. But they had to talk. He couldn’t let things spiral further out of control.
“I was thinking that I’m almost out of time to tell my grandfather what is going on with his business.”
“And that’s all?” She arched a fine brow.
“I didn’t know you were the suspicious type.” He sent her a teasing smile.
“Suspicious, huh?”
They kept walking and he kept the conversation light, which was the exact opposite of how he was feeling at the moment. And somewhere along the way, Stasia had slipped her hand in his. It felt so natural for their fingers to be entwined that it drove home the reason they had to talk.
Stasia wanted more from this relationship than he could give her. He wasn’t the right man for her. He didn’t know how to have a long-term relationship. His parents were terrible role models. And he was a workaholic. Not exactly the criteria for a faithful, devoted companion.
When they reached Stasia’s cabin, she opened the door and stepped inside. He paused at the doorway, not sure he trusted himself to go any farther. All his good intentions were likely to go out the window if she were to turn those big brown eyes on him. He would be putty in her hands, but he couldn’t let her see his weakness because in the end, this thing between them, it wasn’t real.
“Aren’t you coming in?” she asked.
He shook his head. “I can’t stay.”
“Of course. You need to get back to work—”
“Stasia, it’s not that.” Although he did need to find the answer for his grandfather—prove that he was the rightful heir to the Carrass dynasty. But first he had to put right what he’d broken. “We need to talk.”
The smile faded from her face. “It sounds serious.”
“It is.” He wasn’t sure where to begin. “I owe you an apology.”
Her brows rose. “For what?”
“The other night.” He raked his fingers through his hair, scattering the short strands. He searched for the right words.
“The other night was what?”
There was no way to sugarcoat this. His gaze lowered because he just couldn’t stand to see the pain that would be reflected in her eyes. “It was a mistake.”
“A...a mistake?” Her voice was hollow.
When he lifted his gaze, he found she’d turned her back to him. She busied herself by taking off her shoes. Every bit of him longed to go to her—to wrap his arms around her waist—to plant a kiss on the slope of her neck—to hold her in his arms until the sun came up.
Stasia was amazing. If he ever imagined falling in love and starting a family, it would be with someone like Stasia. She was kind but insightful, beautiful but down-to-earth.
She turned to him. “You were saying why this was a mistake.”
He couldn’t read her thoughts. Her expression was blank. This was not the reaction he had been expecting. Still, she stood there staring at him, waiting for him to speak.
“I’m sorry. I acted without thinking. It shouldn’t have happened.”
She crossed her arms. “You don’t think we’re good together?”
That was the real problem. He did think they were good together, but he couldn’t tell her that. “I think I’m not the man for you. And I don’t want to hurt you.”
“I appreciate you trying to let me down gently, but it’s not necessary.”
“It’s not?”
She shook her head. “I didn’t think we were anything serious. We agreed to be a couple for the length of the cruise. It’s only natural being so close that one thing might lead to another, but I didn’t expect this—” she waved between her and him “—to last.”
He breathed a sigh of relief. This was going so much easier than he’d ever imagined. “So then we’re still on track?”
She nodded. “Don’t worry. Everything is good.”
It didn’t feel good. His gaze met hers and he still wasn’t able to get a handle on her feelings. “Then I’ll go.”
“I’ll freshen up and then I’ll meet you at your cabin.”
Really? This seemed too good to be true. “Are you sure you want to do that?”
She didn’t say anything as though considering her choices. “I said I’d help and I will.”
He pulled the door closed behind him and then started down the passageway. He’d noticed how the light in her eyes had dimmed. No matter what she said, he’d hurt her. And that was the last thing he’d meant to do.
DAY FOURTEEN
Naples, Italy
“MAYBE WE’RE GOING about this the wrong way,” Roberto said.
Stasia leaned back in her chair and stretched her sore muscles. Leaning over a laptop for hours made for aches and pains. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, we’re going about this with a micro view. Perhaps we should pull back and go about it with a macro view.”
“But we already went over the balance sheet. It tied in to the supplemental files.” She wasn’t getting his meaning, but she did agree that what they were doing now wasn’t working.
It didn’t help that she was distracted by their earlier conversation. His words had bee
n like nails driven into her heart. But she had no one to blame but herself. She knew from the start that this relationship was temporary.
“I don’t know.” Roberto’s voice drew her attention. “Maybe we have to do spot checks on the expenses because if there’s going to be something unscrupulous, it’s going to be with the outgoing funds. Let’s hope we get lucky.”
“Spot checks? You mean like pick a random number—”
“Or entry. And track it back to its origin.”
She could feel his rising desperation. The cruise was over in less than two days and he so desperately wanted to have the answers for his grandfather. And she wanted to help him find those answers. But was this really the right way to go about it?
His fingers were already moving over the keyboard when she said, “Isn’t this like throwing a dart at a board and just hoping it hits the bull’s-eye?”
Roberto paused and glanced up at her. “If this business were smaller. If the numbers didn’t run in the hundreds of millions, then yes, I would agree with you, but we just don’t have time to do a full-fledged audit. My grandfather wants answers now.”
“And you want to show him that you’re the man to give him those answers.”
His gaze met hers, but he didn’t say the obvious.
After a few minutes, he said, “Okay. I’ve just printed off a couple of pages of entries. Pick a few numbers on each sheet and trace them back to their invoices.”
“Invoices? We don’t have that sort of detail.”
“No. But I have the password and access to the company’s servers. We’ll be able to pull everything, as the system is automated and all the invoices are stored digitally.”
And so they set to work. Time passed quickly with few results because it was a big task. They started with a vendor and then tracked the payments back through the system.
The first number was tracked back to a legitimate invoice.
The second tracked back accordingly.
The third and the fourth did, as well.
Stasia was beginning to think this was a fruitless mission. And the hour was getting late. Dinner had been a number of hours ago and she was starting to get tired as well as hungry.
As though he sensed her restlessness, Roberto glanced up from his laptop. “You should call it a night.”
The idea was so tempting. This was the last place she wanted to find herself. Being so close to Roberto and yet so far apart was excruciating. But she’d told him that she would help him find answers and she wasn’t going back on her word.
Her gaze met his. “What about you? Do you want to get some sleep and tackle it again tomorrow?”
He shook his head. “I want to get through a few more numbers.”
She restrained a sigh. “That’s what I was thinking too.”
He arched a disbelieving brow. “Are you sure? I’d totally understand if you want to go.”
She shook her head. “But can we call for food? I’m starved.”
He smiled. “I like the way you think.”
They continued to work, verifying number after number. Then something didn’t quite add up. Stasia had an expenditure on the reports that tied to an invoice. When she took it a step further, she could not locate a company that went by the name on the invoice.
Knock. Knock.
Stasia was so confused. She refused to give up until she resolved this mysterious company. Because there was a lot of money charged off to it over the years for construction materials.
“I’ll get the door,” Roberto said.
She didn’t say anything as she was caught up in what she was reading on the internet. The company name did not have a website that she could find, and in this day and age of technology, that threw up a red flag for her. And then she typed in the phone number from the invoice. It said it belonged to a woman by a totally different name.
Roberto closed the door and set the food on the nightstand next to his bed since they had the table covered with their computers and papers. “I thought you were hungry.”
“I, uh...” She typed in the physical address listed on the invoice.
Roberto moved to her side. “You what? Did you find something?”
“I don’t know.” Using online global mapping, she tracked the address down to an empty lot. “This invoice, it’s not making sense.”
He crouched down next to her. “You mean the amount isn’t matching up?”
She shook her head. “It matches. But I decided to go a step further with each invoice and check out the company. This particular company, I don’t think it’s legit.”
“Do you mind?” He gestured to the computer.
“Look for yourself. Maybe I’m more tired than I thought.”
He swung the laptop around and started moving through the various reports that were all open on the screen. He repeated all her steps, from doing an internet search for the company name to the phone number and the physical address. All were the same results.
Then he asked to borrow her phone.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“I’m calling the number.” His finger moved over the screen.
“But it’s late.”
“And this is too important to wait around.” He pressed a button and put the phone on Speaker.
It rang a few times, and just about the time that Stasia thought no one was going to answer, a female voice came on the line. Roberto asked if this was the company name on the invoice. The woman said it wasn’t. He asked if she’d ever heard of the company. She said she hadn’t and asked who he was and what he wanted. The woman was very nice, but she was no help as far as finding the company.
After Roberto disconnected the phone call, he dialed again. This time turning off the speakerphone.
“Who are you calling now?”
He held up a finger as he pressed the phone to his ear this time. “Grandfather, I hope I didn’t wake you.”
Roberto asked him if he had ever heard of the company. They continued to speak for a few minutes, after which Roberto told him he wasn’t prepared to report anything on his findings just yet.
After Roberto disconnected the call, she looked at him. “Well...”
“My grandfather said there used to be a company by that name, but they’d gone out of business a number of years ago.”
“Which explains why they don’t have an internet presence. So then why is your grandfather’s business still paying them?”
“That’s what I intend to find out.”
“But first food.” She got to her feet and led him to the food. “Eat,” she said in a firm tone.
Roberto’s brows lifted. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re bossy?”
“If you’re trying to charm me—”
“You think being called bossy is charming?”
She thought about it for a minute. “Sure. I like being taken seriously.”
“Oh, I take you seriously. Especially when you uncover what is surely a case of embezzlement.” He stepped closer to her. “This is it. My grandfather will at last take me seriously and offer me the CEO position.”
“It’s your birthright. Of course he will.”
Roberto shook his head. “You don’t know my grandfather. It’s his way or no way. But this revelation changes things. This is exactly what I needed. Do you have any idea how amazing you are?”
“Stop.” She couldn’t have him flirting with her. It was too painful. He had his answer. Her job was finished. “I have to go.”
She turned and headed for the door.
“Stasia. Wait.”
She kept going. If she were to stop now—if she were to look into his eyes—her bravado would crumble. And she refused to make a fool of herself in front of him by letting him know that she’d fallen for her pretend fiancé.
DAY FIFT
EEN
Rome, Italy
THE CRUISE WAS almost over.
And she’d concentrated on everyone but herself.
Stasia realized that was a pattern she’d developed in her life. First, it was Lukos. She’d given up her dream of a career in order to follow his career. And after she lost Lukos, she let Xander have a say in her future. Even on this cruise, she’d let Roberto distract her from her goals. It had to stop.
Stasia had stayed in her cabin that morning, not venturing on the tour of Rome and all its many splendors. She didn’t have any other excuses—any other distractions.
Everything was taken care of with Roberto. His project for his grandfather was complete. And he was about to step into his birthright. She couldn’t be happier for him.
She would miss him. More than she’d ever imagined possible. Her heart ached at just the thought of not seeing Roberto every day. And even worse, she could imagine him avoiding her at every turn after the way things on this cruise got way more involved than either of them planned.
She sighed. Worrying about the future wasn’t going to help anything. The best thing she could do was to make a final decision on her future.
At last she knew what she wanted—a chance to help people. It fulfilled her. It gave her a purpose. And it would help so many others.
She didn’t have to think any further. She knew what to do. But now she needed to take action—put motion behind her words.
Stasia grabbed her phone. She looked up the email correspondence from the woman at the hospital where Lukos had been treated and she placed the call. When she told the woman she would like to expand on their services and create a foundation, the woman promised to do everything she could to help smooth the way.
By the time Stasia hung up, she was smiling. This foundation would carry her late husband’s name. It seemed so fitting and she hoped Lukos would be proud of her efforts.
For so long she’d told herself she’d secluded herself because she had to figure out her life’s path, but the truth was she wanted a chance to lick her wounds—her deep wounds. And they hadn’t gone away, but they were healing now. The scars would always linger but they were now a part of her, just like Lukos would always be a part of her. She would never be the woman she used to be, but she hoped she would be a better person for having known and loved Lukos.
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