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“I’m sorry,” he said.
“I told you before, I don’t want your pity.”
Her voice was rough from crying, the raw sound making him hate Steven Clark all the more. “I don’t pity you,” he told her truthfully. He didn’t. He admired her. Did he know what kind of strength it took to pull herself free from the hell she had become trapped in? Not only pull herself free, but to begin again?
“What I meant was that I am sorry I accused you of abandoning the palazzo,” he said.
“Oh.” The tiniest of blushes tinged her cheekbones as she looked down at her feet. “Thank you,” she said. “And I’m sorry I lost my temper.”
“Then we are even.” Funny, but he’d forgotten why she’d lost her temper in the first place.
By silent agreement, they started walking toward the production facilities. They’d been in the field most of the morning, Nico realized, or so said the sun beating on the back of his neck. His employees would be looking for him. Wasn’t like him to ignore the winery for so long. Add another uncharacteristic behavior to the growing list.
Even though Louisa’s confession answered a lot of questions, Nico found his mind more jumbled than before. Mostly with vague unformed ideas he couldn’t articulate. Finally, because he felt the need to say something while they walked, he said in a quiet voice. “I’m glad you made it to Italy.”
The sentiment didn’t come close to capturing any of the thoughts swirling in his head, what he wanted to say, but it was enough to make Louisa smile.
“Are you really?” she asked.
She sounded so disbelieving.
“Yes, really,” he replied. More than he’d realized until this moment. The town wouldn’t be the same without her. The palazzo and Monte Calanetti needed her. He...
The thought lingered just out of reach.
He knew he was taking a risk, but he closed the distance between them anyway, reaching up with his hands to cradle her face. “I can’t imagine Monte Calanetti without you.”
Her trembling lower lip begged for reassurance or was it that he begged to reassure her? To kiss her and let her know just how glad he was to have her in Monte Calanetti.
Cool fingers encircled his wrists, holding him. Stopping him. She was backing away yet again. “Thank you,” she said, slipping free.
This time when she began to walk, Nico purposely lagged behind.
CHAPTER EIGHT
“MAY I BORROW you for a moment?”
Louisa was in the middle of attaching mailing labels to boxes when Nico appeared in her doorway. As soon as she looked in his direction, her stomach somersaulted. She blamed it on the fact that he’d startled her.
Along with the fact he looked as handsome as sin in his faded work clothes. How did the man do it? Look so perfect after being out in the fields for hours. None of the other workers wore hard labor as well. Of course there was always the chance he was supervising more than actually working, but standing around didn’t seem his style. More likely Mother Nature wanted to make sure Nico looked a cut above all the rest.
Mother Nature did her job well.
Nico arched his eyebrow, and she realized he was waiting for a response. What had he asked? Right. To borrow her. “Sure,” she replied. “What do you need?”
“Follow me to the lab.”
Louisa did what he asked, her heart pounding in her chest. She couldn’t blame being startled this time. Your palms didn’t sweat when you were startled.
It’d been two days since their conversation in the vineyard, or rather since Louisa had bared her soul regarding her marriage. They hadn’t talked since. Nico continued to leave the house before breakfast and didn’t return until late. To be honest, Louisa wasn’t sure he came home at all. After all, the dinner plate she left last night hadn’t been touched. If it wasn’t harvest season, she’d worry he was purposely avoiding her.
Oh, who was she kidding? She still worried, just as she was worried how to behave around him now. Strangely enough, however, it wasn’t her meltdown—or her confession—that had her feeling awkward. It was the memory of Nico holding her close yet again.
Since arriving in Italy, Louisa could count on three fingers the number of times she’d truly felt safe and secure. All three had been in Nico’s arms, and they were as engrained in her memory as any event could be. If she concentrated, she could feel his breath as it had brushed her lips when he’d said he couldn’t imagine Monte Calanetti without her. The simplest of words, but they made her feel more special than she’d felt in a long time. With his touch gentle and sure on her cheeks, she’d wanted so badly for him to kiss her.
