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“Oh, diddums,” Leo drawled, without any real sympathy.
“Don’t be banal. Don’t act as though this doesn’t matter.”
He sobered. “I understand you’re upset. I’m sorry. I thought that I would back you up. That the ends would justify the means.”
“And what ‘end’ is that?”
He put his arms around her waist, locking his fingers together in the sway of her back. “That we will be on a plane tomorrow, bound for a faraway country. That you can relax and have a holiday, and we can be together again.”
She shook her head. “You’re making it sound too easy.”
“It is easy.” He pressed his lips to hers lightly, and pulled away again almost immediately. “Listen to yourself… Don’t doubt us.”
A sound of rocks scattering underfoot alerted them to the fact that they were no longer alone. As Aurora turned around, she had a glimpse of bright white, and an auburn bun.
“Oh, God. Bea!” She lifted the hem of her dress and ran after her best friend. Her legs were longer and she was in good shape. She caught up with Bea at the entrance to the house. “Bea, listen.”
“So it’s true?”
Leonardo was right behind her, a hand on hers, offering comfort and reassurance. “Yes, Beatrice, it’s true.”
“I wasn’t talking to you,” she muttered angrily, her eyes not leaving Aurora’s face. “Two years?” It was a question loaded with accusation.
Aurora nodded, her eyes bright with unshed tears. “Yes.”
“How the hell did you keep it from me?” She shook her head. “Scratch that. Why the hell did you keep it from me?”
“I didn’t realise we needed your approval,” he drawled with obvious impatience.
Aurora spun around to Leonardo, her face a mask of silent disapproval. “Please stop helping me now.”
He grinned despite the obviously stressful situation. “I’ll be quiet.”
“I’m waiting,” Beatrice snapped, her arms crossed in front of her.
Aurora ran a hand through her hair. She noticed, distractedly, that it was getting cool. “It all happened very quickly. I was in Monaco for a fashion shoot and he was racing. We ran into each other…”
“And what?”
“And went for dinner.” She shrugged. “It was perfectly innocent. Leo is your brother. You’re my best friend.”
“That’s sort of the point I’m making.”
“I know, I know.” She sucked in a deep breath. “We would have both walked away that night…”
“But we fell in love.” Leo interjected, then held his hands up in apology when Aurora fixed him with another angry glare.
“He’s right,” she admitted begrudgingly. “We fell in love. It happened really, really fast.”
“I can’t believe you kept this from me for two whole years.”
“I know. I hated it. I hated that we couldn’t share it with you. Believe it or not, we were trying to protect you.”
“Protect me?” She demanded. “Explain how you thought lying to me was in any way in my best interest.”
“Well, we wanted to stop you from getting caught in the middle if we broke up. Which we did.”
“I wouldn’t have been caught in the middle. Not for long. I mean, God, guys. How many times did we see each other in those two years?” She turned her attention to her brother. “How many times did we see each other in those two years?” Her eyes slid angrily back to Aurora. “You know everything about me, Rors. If I so much as break a nail I call you to discuss it.”
