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Slamming her own cup down, she launched herself in the doorway. ‘You can’t!’
He frowned at her. ‘Why not?’
‘Because...it’s too late. I’ve used the money and Draco knows it. If you go down, so do I.’
‘But you didn’t know it was stolen.’
‘That doesn’t matter. If Draco decides to press charges, I’ll automatically become an accessory.’
Her father’s throat worked as he swallowed. His head bent forward, and she glimpsed weariness in each movement.
Hesitantly, she placed a hand on his arm. ‘Why did you take the money, Dad?’ she asked, because deep down she knew he hadn’t really changed from the upright, hard-working man she’d grown up admiring. ‘Surely you must have known you wouldn’t get away with it? That I’d be in the frame too if you were caught?’
He veered away from her, heading back to the stool. His rejection cut deeper but she stood her ground.
‘I wasn’t...’ He stopped and shook his head. ‘I wasn’t thinking straight. I thought I could sell our old house and replace the money before he found out.’
‘Why? Why was this so important to you?’ she demanded, desperate for some indication that this hadn’t been just duty for him.
‘I promised your mother I’d look after you. It was one of the last things I said to her before...’ He stopped again.
Rebel swallowed the sob that stemmed from her soul. ‘She’s gone, Dad. But I’m still here.’
Her father’s head slowly rose from its heavy slump, then he speared her with haunted eyes. ‘You took her from me. Then you began to turn into an exact copy of her.’
Her heart shrank. ‘You hate me for that, don’t you?’
He shook his head, his blue eyes swimming with sorrow, sharp and ocean-deep, even after all these years. ‘I don’t hate you. I could never hate you. But...I can’t stand to look at you. Not when you were twenty and we fought constantly until you left home. And not now.’
The stark declaration wrenched a sob free as a part of her died.
‘Where do we go from here, Dad?’
‘I don’t know. You’ve always known how I feel about your skiing. I always knew it wouldn’t end well. And it didn’t, did it?’
‘Dad—’
‘You don’t need to talk me round. I know you’ll do as you please, like always. But I know this thing you’re doing with Angelis isn’t the answer. The man is a predator.’
She wanted to refute the allegation. But really, what evidence had she apart from one evening’s conversation where a small part of his life’s story had tugged at her heartstrings? Draco had reverted to type soon enough.
Besides, she had even less of a choice now. After seeing her father still locked in grief after all this time there was no way she could stand by while he suffered for something he’d felt compelled to do because of her.
Heart in her throat, she shook her head. ‘I can’t, Dad. Like I said, it’s too late.’
A full minute passed before he stood. He paused beside her by the kitchen door, but made no move to touch or even look at her. ‘Goodbye, Arabella.’
Her tears came thick and fast long before he shut the door. And it was only through sheer exhaustion that sleep finally overtook her in the early hours.
CHAPTER NINE
THEY LANDED AT Pisa Airport mid-morning, before being flown by helicopter to Olivio Nardozzi’s estate in northern Tuscany.
Draco alighted first before helping Rebel down. Guiding her beneath the rotating blades, he draped his arm around her waist and steered her to the path that led up to the sprawling mid-twentieth-century villa.
Although her mint-green sundress and matching sweater did nothing to alleviate the deep sizzling sensation his touch sent through her body, Rebel was too numb to do more than stay at his side as they approached the wide terrace that overlooked an aqua-tiled Olympic-sized pool.
She’d woken up raw and aching, unable to relive the conversation with her father without experiencing a hopeless, consuming pain at the thought that there could be no easy reconciliation. Not if her father couldn’t look at her without—
‘Whatever is wrong with you, Arabella, I suggest you get it under control right now,’ Draco slashed in a fierce undertone. ‘Now is not the time to drift into a trance.’
Rebel dragged herself back from the edge of the abyss, thankful that the unseasonably warm weather provided her with the perfect cover of her sunglasses as she blinked back rising tears.
‘Not even a love trance with you in the starring role?’
He sent her a glance filled with combative censure, and a touch of disappointment. Reaching down, he plucked the sunglasses from her face and tucked them into his tailored trousers.
