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Poor Maddie, he thought again, and his insides churned with the injustice of it all. With a staunch desire to somehow change it for her, to fix it. To make it all better.
You know how to do that. The voice in the back of his mind was mocking, and derisive, as if Rocco was being intentionally dim-witted.
Because, of course, the answer lay before him.
Don’t buy the house.
Put the others back on the market and allow them to be purchased by young families wanting to move to the area. Do something good for Jack. For Maddie. Make the street what it had once been.
And give up on his plans?
Walk away from the project he’d poured his heart and soul into for years?
All so he could keep Maddie tethered to her childhood home? What if she was right, and growing up and moving away from that home was actually a good thing for her?
What if it was time for her to start spreading her wings, and she was ready for that?
And what if she wasn’t? He’d been through things. Grief, loss, trauma, disappointment. Abandonment. A fear that came from knowing your parents were no longer there, no longer the support network you’d hoped to always have access to. But at the same time, he’d had his aunt and uncle, his cousins, the villa in Italy that was a touchstone to their broader family, a reminder that he was a Santoro, and that being a Santoro damn well meant something.
Maddie hadn’t known any of those reassuring securities, and the one thing she did have—the house—was about to be sold. To him.
What if Rocco became another man who’d treated her badly, and done the wrong thing by her?
He wasn’t sure he could live with that reality. Not now that he knew her; not now that he understood her.
With quiet steps but an over-loud brain, he crept from Maddie’s bed, dressed, and then left her hotel room, without a backward glance.
CHAPTER TEN
“IMEAN, THEY’RE NICE, but are they ‘cover of a magazine’ nice?” Marcia asked her wedding coordinator, having spent twenty minutes studying Maddie’s draft arrangements with a very critical eye. Because Maddie lived and breathed flowers, she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that her arrangements were incredible. She’d struck a balance between elegant and traditional, steeping each arrangement with a little something different. But they were also freshly contemporary, just the sort of flowers an influencer would seek out.
“The orange blossoms are a beautiful touch,” Lilliana murmured. “I like the sentiment.”
“But will the press?” Marcia pushed, and there was such a hint of desperation in her voice that Maddie’s eyes widened with surprise. Why on earth would someone care so much about the media? Marcia was very beautiful, and stylish, marrying one of the richest men on the planet, who must therefore adore her, she had an engagement ring the size of a planet on her finger. Surely, she had a sound enough sense of self-esteem to not need the world’s adulation too?
“I’m sure of it,” Lilliana agreed, winking at Maddie before giving her full attention to her client.
“Well, I’m not. I mean, I do like them,” Marcia angsted. “But I’d like to see something else. Something…I don’t know. Bigger?”
Maddie glanced at the trestle table, practically overflowing with flowers, and smothered her first response of surprise. These arrangements were extravagant and most definitely abundant.
“There are some practical considerations,” Maddie said thoughtfully.
“Oh?” It was obvious that Marcia didn’t like anything approaching a challenge, but Maddie took her job seriously, and that included giving good advice.
“Such as the centerpieces for the tables,” she murmured. “Conversation is hampered if guests can’t see over the flowers.”
Marcia glanced down at the table, but she was unperturbed. “I need these to be showstoppers.” She turned to the coordinator. “I want every single aspect of the wedding to be wow-worthy.”
Lilliana met Maddie’s eyes briefly over Marcia’s head then glanced back at their client. “I’m wow-ed by these flowers,” Lilliana said confidently. “However,” she gave Maddie the full force of her attention. “Would you perhaps design one final concept this morning and we’ll come by after lunch to view it?”
“I don’t want lunch,” Marcia said immediately. “I have a dress fitting this evening.”
Maddie’s eyes widened. “So, you’re not going to eat all day?” She hadn’t meant to speak but the words had just flown out. She’d had a full breakfast and was already looking forward to lunch.
“I’m not going to eat all week,” Marcia said out of the corner of her mouth, then smiled brightly, totally transforming her face into the beauty of supermodel proportions. “And when you see the dress, you’ll get why.” She spun back to Lilliana. “We’re done here. What’s next?”
Maddie watched them walk away with the countenance of someone who’d just been hit with a bolt of lightning, before turning back to the flowers. They were exquisite, but if Marcia wanted another concept, Maddie intended to go all out.
