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“I should never have let him take those photos?—,”
“You were in a committed relationship with someone you thought you could trust. You did nothing wrong.”
Her eyes swept shut. She hadn’t realized how badly she’d needed to hear that until he spoke the words.
“You are entitled to explore your sexuality, and if that includes photos, so what?”
“I felt like such an idiot.”
“Not an idiot, cara mia. Not anything like one.”
She sucked in a shaking breath.
“The police went to him, he deleted the images and that was that. But it taught me how wrong I’d been to let my guard down. To trust. I thought I knew him, and yet I’d been so wrong.”
He nodded slowly, sympathetically.
“So anytime I felt my guard dropping with you, anytime I started to feel more for you, I pulled back. Because my mother made a litany of wrong choices in her life, and then I’d started to do exactly the same thing with Brock, so why wouldn’t it be the same with you?”
“And then I hurt you,” he groaned. “I did exactly what Brock did, without meaning to. Instead of telling you how I felt, I tried to bully you into being with me.”
Her eyes lifted to his, and she frowned, shaking her head a little. “It’s just…not the same.”
“Isn’t it?” His self-disgust was evident—and the last thing she wanted.
“You weren’t trying to shame me. You just…wanted me in your life.”
“Like Brock,” he pointed out.
“You were willing to give up your property development, just to spend more time with me. You were the one who was making a sacrifice.”
“I should never have asked it of you. If there was one thing in my life I could take back, it would be that night.”
She nodded. “I know.”
“Maddie, there is not a single thing about you I don’t love. To me, you are the epitome of perfection and always will be. But as to what happens next, that has to be—and always should have been—your choice. I came here tonight because I wanted you to have all of the information before making that decision, but that’s all. I will never, ever pressure you, or leverage you, or try to bend your will to mine. You decide what you want.” And he stepped back, to prove that he meant it.
Her heart gave a strange little lurch. Was it possible that the safety and security she’d always craved actually came with something so simple: a promise of independence? An ability to be with someone who would respect her boundaries, and the reason for their existence.
“That’s it?” she asked, scanning his face, as he nodded slowly.
“Si. I’m going to go now. But I would like,” he gave a self-deprecating smile, “to take you for dinner tomorrow night if you are available.” And then, in case she hadn’t fully understood his point, he added quickly, “Just dinner, and the decision is yours. If you tell me to get lost, I will this time.” But because he apparently couldn’t help it, he dropped his head and pressed a quick kiss to her brow, before turning and leaving. This time, she let him.
“So, wait a sec,” Raf was the first to speak, the following morning, in a hastily assembled meeting of the Santoro board members—namely, the cousins. He was calling in via video link, as were the others, with the exception of Dante, who sat by Rocco’s side at the boardroom table. “You’re telling me you’re walking away from this?” He held up the prospectus Rocco had designed for the Hamptons development.
“I’m tweaking it,” Rocco confirmed. He hadn’t slept. He’d been up all night, crunching numbers, doing appraisals, making sure he was ready for this. The idea had been growing on him, since Italy, but last night, it had really hit him.
“Tweaking it?” Marco grinned, and Portia, sitting beside him, looked at him affectionately.
“These houses are old and rundown but they’re also special. They are the essence of the area; they should be preserved.”
His younger brother Francesco made a scoffing sound. “Who are you? Where’s Rocco? Dante, what’s going on?”
Dante lifted a hand in a plea for silence.
Salvatore and Sofia were on a private jet, flying to King Ares, to view the potential development sight and be briefed on the project details. “I’ve always loved that area,” Sofia admitted. “I was sad to think of tearing those places down.”
“Why didn’t you say so?” Salvatore asked, glancing across at her.
