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Another burst of Italian, this time from Celine, resulted in Cesare’s heavier footsteps heading towards the landing, and Ava.
‘No. It’s impossible,’ he responded in an implacable voice.
Ava held her breath as they both came into view, Celine’s short steps quickening to catch up with Cesare’s longer strides.
‘It’s painful, I know, but you have to tell her. She deserves to know what’s going on.’
Cesare reached the stairs, saw her and froze. A second later, Celine spotted Ava too. Her eyes widened with alarm before they shut in dismay.
Cesare’s mouth opened but no words emerged. His hands balled into fists and his piercing eyes bored into hers with a mixture of anger and frustration.
Ava tried to swallow, but the throat muscles required wouldn’t comply. Her fingers tightened around the banister and she prayed desperately that her legs would support her for just a little while longer.
‘Ava...’ Cesare finally rasped.
But her pain was too sharp, too decimating for her to stand there, listening to whatever explanation his astute brain had swiftly concocted for her.
‘Save it, Cesare. I may be slow on the uptake, but I’m not stupid.’
His colour faded considerably beneath his tan. A look, curiously close to alarm skittered over his face as he braced a hand on the post next to him.
‘So...you know?’
The depth of his reaction to her discovery only increased her despair. She glanced at Celine, who stood clutching the rail—as white as a sheet.
For a second Ava wondered whether she would go all out and add to the overly dramatic scene by performing a Victorian swoon, perhaps save herself the embarrassment of a confrontation by fainting. But Celine stayed on her feet, even though her hand managed to find Cesare’s arm and grip it.
Tearing her gaze from that proprietorial display, she addressed Celine. ‘I know you’re sleeping with my husband, if that’s what you’re so anxious for him to tell me.’
Cesare sucked in a swift breath. ‘Dio mio—’
‘But as long as we’re still husband and wife, you’ll stay away from him and from our daughter. Do you understand?’
Celine shook her head. ‘No! Per favore, Ava—’
Ava raised her chin. ‘It’s Signora di Goia to you. Now, get out of my house.’
CHAPTER FIVE
‘MADRE DI DIO, Ava, there are no half measures with you, are there? You always have to jump in with both feet.’ Cesare had just slammed the door behind a hastily departed Celine. The fury radiating from his body made her swallow nervously.
She flipped her hair over her shoulder in a show of bravado that was fast fading in the face of his anger. ‘If you mean I don’t tolerate being made a fool of in my own home, then the answer is yes.’
‘Need I remind you that we’re all but separated and this is my house?’
She shrugged. ‘What’s yours is supposed to be mine too, isn’t it? I’m sure I’ve seen that tattooed on a body part somewhere.’
‘Porca miseria. You insult our guest and all you can do is crack jokes?’
‘You should’ve warned me you were sleeping with her. Maybe then I would’ve been on my best behaviour!’
His eyes narrowed, his fury intensifying by the second. ‘I’m not sleeping with Celine,’ he said through gritted teeth.
‘Oh, don’t take me for a fool. You two were making enough moon eyes at each other to keep this villa illuminated for a month!’
‘I’ve known her for a very long time. There is a familiarity between us—’
‘Yes, it’s called sex.’
He took an unchecked step towards her, as if to physically restrain her from speaking. At the last moment he lurched away and stalked to the window. Shoving his fists into his pockets, he stared out into the softly lit garden.
‘Celine is the daughter of one of my father’s oldest friends. I’ve known her since she was born. We’ve always been friends but she was much closer to Roberto.’
Ava tensed at the mention of his brother’s name.
For as long as they’d been married, Cesare had remained close-lipped about his reclusive younger brother. All she’d ever been able to find out was that he lived in a castle high up in the Swiss Alps and only permitted Cesare to visit him from time to time. Ava had never been told why Roberto di Goia had withdrawn from the world.
