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“Thank you. But my big brother, he’s a bit overprotective.”
Enzo’s frown deepened. “Fine. You can talk to her, but you leave when she tells you to.”
“Fair enough.”
“And I’ll take care of these cuties while you talk.” Bianca held out her hand for the leashes.
Ric handed them over. “Thank you.” He glanced over at Enzo, who still didn’t look happy. “Thank you both.”
And then Bianca directed him to Gia’s house on the property. He just hoped Gia wasn’t as stubborn as her big brother. Because she’d stolen his heart, and he couldn’t imagine life without her.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
WHEN SOMETHING WAS bothering her mother, she would clean.
Gia decided to follow her mother’s example, and she set to work cleaning her one-bedroom house. She should be working at the hotel as Ric’s program had once more filled their reservations for the near future and beyond, but her manager, Michael, appeared to have everything under control. And he knew to call her if anything came up.
Gia had stripped her bed that morning. Now her linens were fresh and the bed was made. After cleaning and dusting the bedroom and bathroom, she’d moved into the living room. She’d had to borrow a ladder from the main house to reach the curtains. She hadn’t decided if they needed dusting or something more drastic.
Knock. Knock.
“Come in,” she called from atop the ladder.
She heard the door open and footsteps. She fully expected it to be her brother or sister. It seemed they were taking turns checking on her. How many times did she need to tell them that she was all right until they believed her?
“Gia?”
That voice. That was Ric’s voice. Ric was here?
She spun around. She moved too fast. The old wooden ladder lurched to the side. Her body followed the ladder.
And then Ric was there. He braced the ladder with his arms. She’d rather his arms were around her. As soon as the thought came to her, she dismissed it. She refused to let him see that his nearness got to her.
She lowered herself to the floor before lifting her gaze to meet his. “Ric, you shouldn’t be here—”
“We need to talk.”
She shook her head. “We said everything that needed to be said back in Rome.”
His eyes pleaded with her, pulling at her heartstrings. “Just hear me out.”
Her mind said no. She couldn’t risk being hurt again. But her heart urged her to listen to him. Torn between the two, she closed her eyes and shook her head, attempting to clear her mind.
“I’m so sorry, Gia.” His deep voice was so close. “I was wrong.”
What exactly was he saying? For so long she’d been making things up in her head the way she’d wanted them to be, and that had brought her nothing but pain. This time she wasn’t going to jump to conclusions. This time she needed Ric to spell everything out to her, clearly and with no gray areas.
She opened her eyes and turned to face him. When his sorrowful gaze met hers, her heart leaped into her throat. How was she supposed to resist him when he looked at her with those sad puppy eyes?
She swallowed hard. “About what?”
“I was wrong to think I didn’t need anyone in my life.” His gaze searched hers. “I was wrong to accuse you of not believing in me.”
His words were what she’d longed to hear. “I’ve always believed you could do anything you set your mind to. I just wanted to help. I never meant to make you doubt yourself.”
“It wasn’t you. It was me. I thought I was past those old insecurities from when I was young, but I guess they’re still there lurking in the shadows. Will you forgive me?”
Gia bit back the yes that rushed to the tip of her tongue. She wasn’t willing to let him off the hook just yet.
