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She laughed. “Oh sure. People would love to see me lead the harvest parade. I can see the headlines now—Luscious Louisa Reigns from on High.”
Why wasn’t Nico laughing? Granted, it wasn’t the funniest joke but he could at least smile at her attempt to make light of her problems. “Actually...” he began.
“You’re joking.” He was joking, right? “You’re suggesting I play the role of harvest queen?”
“It’s not a suggestion,” he replied.
“Good.”
“It’s what’s expected.”
“Excuse me?” Did he say expected? The word ran down her back. She didn’t do expected anymore.
“It’s tradition,” Nico continued. “As owner of Palazzo di Comparino, you are the local nobility. Therefore, people will expect you to take Carlos’s place.”
“No, they won’t.” Nico was the town nobility, she was merely notoriety.
“Yes, they will,” he quickly retorted. “It’s tradition.”
Again with tradition. As if that justified everything. Who cared if it was tradition or not? Had he forgotten about the paparazzi, the whole reason she was hiding out at the vineyard? “I’m trying to avoid having my picture taken, remember? Not encourage the papers by parading down the middle of the street.”
“You won’t be encouraging anything. The festival isn’t for another week. By that time, the scandal will have gone away,” he said.
Says you. “Scandals never go away,” she shot back. They were like weeds, going dormant only to crop up during another season. “People have long memories. Just because the headlines fade, doesn’t mean they will have forgotten who I am. The people here aren’t going to want to expose Monte Calanetti to ridicule.”
An aggravated growl vibrated deep in Nico’s throat. “Madonna mia,” he said, gesturing toward the heavens, “I thought we were past this. You have got to have faith in the people you live with.”
“Oh sure, because the world has been so supportive up until now.” She couldn’t go through another round of sneers and whispers. She wouldn’t.
“Monte Calanetti is not Boston.”
“Maybe, maybe not,” she said. That didn’t matter. “What’s the big deal anyway? So I don’t lead the parade. Traditions can change, you know. There’s no law that says everything needs to stay exactly the same.”
“I know,” he spat.
Then why were they even having this foolish argument? He knew she wanted to stay under the radar. “Look, it’s not just the risk of gossip,” she told him. Why she was bothering to add to her argument, she didn’t know, but she was. “Even if you’re right, and people don’t care about the headlines, I’m not living that kind of life again.”
“What do you mean, ‘that kind of life’?”
“The whole socialite thing. I played that role long enough when I was with Steven.” She was done with plastic smiles and faking happiness. With being told when and where and how.
He frowned. “So you don’t care that when Carlos passed on the palazzo, he passed along the responsibilities that came with it?”
“No, I don’t.” She’d come to Italy to live her life and no one was going to make her do anything different.
“I see,” Nico said, nodding. “Now I understand.”
“Do you?”
“Si. Comparino is merely a piece of property to you. No wonder you ignored its existence for so long.”
Ignored? Ignored? Oh, did he just say the wrong thing. Louisa’s vision flashed red. “Don’t you dare,” she snarled. “I didn’t ignore anything. From the moment I opened the lawyer’s letter, I wanted to be here.” He had no idea how badly. How many nights she’d lain awake wishing she could board a plane and escape.
“Of course you did. Your desire to be here was obvious from all those months you left the place to ruin.”
“I was testifying against my husband!”
Her shout sounded across the vineyard. If the field workers didn’t know her business before, they certainly knew it now. Let them. By this point, the damn trial was public knowledge anyway. What was another mention? Taking a deep breath, she added in a lower voice. “I couldn’t leave the country for an entire year.”
The explanation might have been enough for some, but not Nico. Crossing his arms, he positioned himself in front of her, his broad shoulders blocking the path. “You ignored us for over two years, Louisa, not one,” he reminded her. “Or did the authorities refuse to let you leave the country before the arrest, as well?”
