Luca threw his body in front of hers, and then an arm clamped around her waist from behind, strong as steel, dragging her backwards. Mario.
‘No!’ she cried. But he was too strong. She flailed and kicked, one foot still shoeless, as he held her off the ground, turning so that his back was between her and the shooter. He bundled her into the restaurant, drawing startled looks and exclamations from patrons and waiting staff.
After an urgent exchange with the maître d’, Mario turned to her, his hands, big as oven mitts, folding over her shoulders. ‘Stay here. I am going through the kitchen to the alley.’
She grabbed at his arm with both hands. ‘Please don’t let anything happen to him, Mario. I—’ She gulped in a breath, cutting off her sentence, but the words rang in her head regardless.
I love him.
Then Mario was gone.
Violent tremors ran through Annah’s legs. Her knees gave out and she sagged against a wall, sliding down until her bottom hit the floor. Vaguely, she was aware of restaurant staff herding diners away from the windows. Someone grabbed hold of her trembling hand and gently squeezed, murmuring words of reassurance.
Her vision blurred and she closed her eyes. Around her, everything seemed to slow, the noise growing muffled, until all she heard was the loud thud of her heartbeat pulsing in time with her thoughts.
Please, please, please don’t let him get hurt. Please, please, please—
‘Annah.’
Her eyes flew open. Frantically she blinked, trying to focus on the figure kneeling in front of her. A sob choked from her throat. ‘Luca!’ She threw her arms around him. ‘Oh, my God!’
He gathered her up, walked to a chair and sat, settling her on his lap.
She drew back, her gaze darting across his shirt front, looking for injuries. Blood. ‘Are you okay? Are you hurt? What happened?’
‘I’m fine,’ he said, but his voice was hoarse.
‘Mario?’
‘He’s okay. He disarmed the boy.’
‘Who was he?’
Luca shook his head. ‘Not now, cara. I’ll tell you everything later. The police are here. I need to deal with them, make a statement. Someone is going to take you home.’
Annah frowned. ‘No. I’m staying with you.’
But he gently removed her arms from around his neck and stood.
She protested all the way to the car. Luca ignored her entreaties, put her in the back seat, and leaned in to kiss her. Their lips clung for a long moment, then he pulled back.
‘I’ll see you soon,’ he said. And he closed the door.
CHAPTER TEN
ANNAH CREPT INTO Ethan’s room. Careful not to wake him, she lay on the big bed and curled up on her side so she could watch him sleep. She didn’t care if she creased her dress; she’d get changed in a few minutes. She just wanted to lie here first, take comfort from being near her little boy.
She’d arrived back at the villa ten minutes ago. Luca had called his mother, and Eva had been waiting, a worried look pleating her brow. They’d hugged, and Annah had assured Eva she was okay before heading upstairs.
She took a deep breath and slowly released it, but her heart still beat a crazy tattoo in her chest. Adrenaline. That was all it was. Wasn’t it normal to feel jittery after a scare?
But deep down she knew it was more than that.
I love him.
She squeezed her eyes shut as if she could will away the knowledge.
On her way back to the villa, alone in the back of the SUV, she’d tried telling herself she was mistaken. That her heightened emotions in the midst of the drama had made her mistake fear and concern for love.
But she was lying to herself, afraid to acknowledge the truth. She had fallen in love with Luca—in a little over half a month.
Was that possible? To fall in love so quickly?
Yet hadn’t she fallen in love, just a tiny bit, on that night in London five years ago? Hadn’t a part of her clung to the memory of him as a tender, passionate lover even after she’d convinced herself he’d cruelly abandoned her?
She shivered, the weight of a grim realisation pressing on her chest.
Luca didn’t believe in love.
Which meant Annah had made the one mistake of her mother’s she’d sworn she would never make.
She’d fallen in love with a man who would never love her back.
* * *
‘Mummy!’
Annah jolted awake.
‘You slept in your dress!’
‘What?’ She blinked and sat up so fast her head spun. A giggle drew her attention to Ethan, who knelt beside her on the bed. She glanced around, saw the sunlight poking through the gaps in the curtains.
It was morning?
She looked down at her crumpled dress. In an instant, everything rushed back: the restaurant; the young man with the gun; her unsettling revelation.
A soft throw was draped over her legs. Someone must have put it over her during the night. Luca?
An urgent desire to see him—to check with her own eyes that he was okay—gripped her chest.
She looked at Ethan, put her arms around him, and hugged him tight. ‘Morning, kiddo. How ’bout we get dressed and go have some breakfast?’
‘Yes!’
A short while later, they made their way downstairs to the sunlit breakfast room where their days had routinely commenced over the last couple of weeks. Luca was already seated at the table, and Annah’s heart leapt at the sight of him. Clean-shaven and wearing an open-necked white shirt with rolled-up sleeves, he looked as handsome and vital as ever.
Annah wanted to launch into his arms, but Ethan beat her to it.
Luca’s eyes met hers above Ethan’s head, dark and questioning, and she sent him a sturdy smile: I’m fine.
He set Ethan down, then dropped a chaste kiss on her cheek and murmured, ‘We need to talk.’
‘We do,’ Annah agreed. She sat at the table and poured herself a coffee. She couldn’t manage food. Her stomach quivered too much with nerves. But she was aware of something else, too. A small flicker of hope she knew she should extinguish yet couldn’t.
Eva turned up soon afterwards, and when she suggested to Ethan they walk the puppy—who he’d named Timmy—after breakfast, Annah wanted to hug the older woman.
Once alone, Luca and Annah went straight to his study. The instant the door closed, his arms came around her and pulled her close. Annah couldn’t help herself. She sagged against him, pressed her face against his shirt, and breathed in his scent.
Tipping her chin up, he set his mouth against hers in a slow, lingering kiss that warmed her body from the inside out.
Finally, they eased apart.
‘You were asleep when I got back,’ he said. ‘I didn’t want to disturb you.’
‘Did you put the blanket over me?’
‘Yes.’
‘I wish you’d woken me.’
His smile was rueful. ‘I was tempted.’ He smoothed her hair back, his face etched with concern. ‘Are you okay?’
‘Yes,’ she said. ‘Will you tell me what that was all about last night?’
He blew out his breath. ‘A messed-up kid with an axe to grind.’ Clasping her hand, he led her to a brown leather sofa and tugged her down beside him. ‘His father’s an ex-employee. The man was fencing stolen goods through one of the warehouses. I fired him last week and had criminal charges brought against him.’
It took her a moment to digest that. ‘But why come after you? You did what any employer would do. You could hardly let him get away with it!’
Luca’s expression was grim. ‘The boy thinks I should have punished his father the old way.’
‘The old way?’
‘My father’s way.’
Understanding dawned, sending a cold shiver up Annah’s spine. ‘
How could that possibly be better?’
‘A man heals from a beating, even a kneecapping, and still has his freedom. But prison...’ Luca shook his head. ‘According to the boy, I’ve not only stolen his father’s freedom, I’ve deprived his family of their main breadwinner.’
‘That’s warped thinking.’
‘I agree. But others don’t. I fired the company’s security chief three weeks ago because he sanctioned the beating of a young man caught stealing.’ He rubbed his thumb and forefinger over his eyelids, and for all the strength and vitality he radiated, Luca suddenly looked tired.
Emotion bloomed in Annah’s chest. She placed her palm against his jaw. ‘You’re a good man, Luca, and I’m proud that you’re Ethan’s father,’ she said, holding his gaze so he’d see she meant it.
He wrapped his fingers around her wrist, kissed the base of her thumb. ‘Proud enough to marry me, cara?’
Annah’s heart rate sped up. Heat scored her cheeks at the very thought of the question hovering on her tongue. But she had to ask. Had to know the answer. She drew a deep breath. ‘Do you think you could one day grow to love me?’
For the span of several heartbeats, Luca was utterly still. Even his expression was frozen. Then his eyebrows plunged. His hand dropped from her wrist. ‘You know my feelings on that subject.’
Awkwardly, Annah lowered her hand from his jaw. ‘Yes, but...’ Her voice faltered. This was every bit as difficult as she’d imagined. But she couldn’t run from this conversation. Not when the outcome would affect her future and, more importantly, Ethan’s. ‘What if you’re wrong? What if love isn’t a weakness? What if...?’ She cast around for the right words. ‘What if love is the only thing strong enough to hold a family together? To hold a marriage together?’
He drew back, looking at her as if she’d spouted something outrageous. ‘Why are you raising this at the eleventh hour when you know where I stand on it?’
Because last night changed everything. Last night I realised I love you.
‘Because it’s important,’ she said.
‘Why?’
She hesitated. ‘Because I’m not sure I can settle for a loveless marriage.’ She held her breath, watched his jaw muscles clench and release.
‘What about everything else that can make a partnership strong?’ he challenged. ‘Loyalty. Commitment. Respect. Friendship.’
‘Those are wonderful things—’
He cut her off. ‘Then why aren’t they enough?’
She looked away, the glow of hope in her heart fading like a dying ember.
After a moment, Luca leaned in, took her hand in his. His voice softened. ‘Cara, I know last night was frightening. But I will never let anything happen to you or Ethan. If you are worried, I can increase security, assign you extra—’
She shook her head. ‘It’s not about that, Luca. You would protect us with your life—so would Mario. Or any of your men. I know that.’ It wasn’t Luca’s world she feared. Last night’s run-in with the troubled teen was, by the sound of things, an isolated incident. Most days, the risk of falling victim to someone with a vendetta against Luca was probably no greater than the risk of being run over on a pedestrian crossing by a distracted driver in London. No. The thing she feared most right now was Luca crushing her foolish, vulnerable heart. She swallowed. ‘How do you know love will make you weak when you won’t even let yourself try?’
‘Because I do know,’ he said, his voice low and hard. Releasing her hand, he stood suddenly and stalked to the window. Hands thrust in his pockets, he stared out.
Forcing her legs to move, dismayed to find they trembled, she got up and followed. Stopping beside him, she set her hand on his shoulder, felt the tension vibrating in his muscles. ‘How?’ she pressed. ‘Tell me, Luca. Help me understand.’
There was a long silence before he spoke. When he did, he didn’t look at her. ‘Not long before that final falling-out with Franco, a prosecutor secretly approached me. I don’t know how, but he knew my father and I had conflicting values. Different visions for the family business. He wanted me to gather evidence from inside Franco’s illegal operations. The kind of evidence that could have put him away for a long time.’ He paused, his jaw tight. ‘I should have done it, but I didn’t. Somewhere inside me there was still that kid who’d idolised his father. Who’d loved his father.’ He practically spat the word loved. ‘Even after that final confrontation with Franco, I couldn’t betray him—not to that extent. So I chose exile instead. Walked away from the business, the family, and went to New York.’
He turned to face her, the movement so abrupt it dislodged her hand from his shoulder. ‘Love made me soft. Incapable of doing what needed to be done. If I had, Franco would have gone to prison. His hold over Enzo would have ended. My brother would still be alive.’
The torment in Luca’s eyes broke Annah’s heart. What was it he’d said about her mother when Annah had wondered aloud why Rachel hadn’t given her up for adoption? Perhaps she loved you too much to do the right thing. At the time she hadn’t understood the strange remark. Now it made sense. She looked into his eyes. ‘You don’t know that, Luca.’
‘I do know it.’ Lifting his hands, he stroked over her shoulders, down her upper arms. He breathed in deeply, exhaled slowly. ‘I’m sorry, Annah. I can’t be weak like that again. I can’t love and protect at the same time.’
Frustration made the backs of her eyes burn. ‘Oh, Luca.’ Her voice choked. ‘Don’t you see? It’s your emotion and your compassion for people that make you strong.’
He shook his head, not willing to entertain any other perspective.
A sudden, heart-rending sense of loss and finality swept over her.
Luca was capable of love. She didn’t doubt it for a moment. But he would never surrender to it. Never make himself vulnerable. He offered her so much—security, commitment, family, their amazing physical connection. But if he didn’t let himself love, he would always hold a part of himself back from her—and from Ethan.
Sadness overwhelmed her.
For the first time in Annah’s life she experienced a pang of sympathy for her mother—because now she knew how it felt to desperately want a man’s love.
* * *
He was losing her.
Luca could see it in the way her eyes cooled and her expression shuttered.
A cold fist clamped his chest. In his brain, a denial roared. This was not happening. He would not allow it.
Last night, in that split second when she’d drawn the kid’s attention and the gun had swung towards her, he’d realised two things. First, he could not countenance even the idea of losing Annah. Second, it was he who had placed her in harm’s way. He shouldn’t have taken her out of the restaurant before Mario arrived. He sure as hell shouldn’t have stood on the street kissing her like some besotted fool, oblivious to potential dangers.
It reinforced what he already knew—what he had just tried to explain to her.
He couldn’t protect and love at the same time.
‘Annah—’
‘Don’t.’ She shook her head, her eyes sliding away from his. ‘There’s no point. We’re never going to agree. We want different things.’
He set his jaw, everything in him rebelling against that statement. ‘We both want what’s best for Ethan.’
She pulled away from his hold. Reluctantly, he let go.
‘Of course,’ she said. ‘But that doesn’t mean we’ll agree on what is best.’
His brows drew down. ‘You don’t think our son deserves a stable home and family life with both his parents?’
Her eyes met his. ‘I think he deserves a better example of marriage than two parents who’ll never love each other.’
Frustration simmered in his blood. ‘So this is your final answer?’ His voice was laced with disbelief. ‘You’re rejecting my proposal?’
For a moment, her mouth trembled. Then she firmed her chin. ‘Yes.’
Anger and desperation—and something akin to hurt—sank sharp claws in his gut. ‘I won’t be a part-time father, Annah. It’s unacceptable.’
Her eyebrows snapped together. ‘What are you saying?’
The words bolted from his throat before he could stop them. ‘I’m saying don’t force my hand.’
‘Force...?’ Her eyes widened. Comprehending. ‘You would sue for sole custody?’ Her voice was a horrified whisper. And then her expression changed. In an instant, her eyes were no longer the crystal blue of a summer sky but a dark, stormy indigo. ‘I’ll fight you,’ she said in a low voice. ‘I don’t care how much it costs or how good your lawyers are. I’m Ethan’s mother. You can’t take him from me.’
Instantly, a tsunami of regret and self-disgust barrelled through him. Dammit. Why could he not harness his emotions around her?
‘Annah...’ He reached for her, but she stepped back. He dropped his arms to his sides. ‘Forgive me,’ he said, his throat stiff with remorse. ‘That was my temper speaking. I would never separate you from our son.’
She looked at him for a long time before speaking. ‘I think Ethan and I should leave this afternoon.’
His gut tightened. ‘You’re not scheduled to go until tomorrow.’
‘I don’t see the point in staying another night.’
He fought the urge to pull her into his arms and remind her of their powerful chemistry. Of what she would deny herself. Deny him.
‘Fine,’ he said. ‘I’ll make the necessary arrangements.’
His voice carried a hollow ring, but it was nothing compared to the sudden, yawning chasm inside him.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
‘MAY I JOIN YOU?’
Luca turned his head at the sound of his mother’s voice. He hesitated to respond. He had no particular desire for company, but neither did he have an excuse to be uncivil. After a moment, he gestured with his whisky glass to an adjacent chair on the terrace.
Eva sat, a snifter of brandy cradled in her hand, and for several minutes they sipped their drinks in silence.
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