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Once, only once, she’d allowed herself to be drawn by that magnetic force. Now she knew she needed to be immune. To stay strong.
Emma sat down across from him, busying herself with putting her napkin in her lap as Larenzo settled back into his seat, seeming to take up too much space, too much air. Why had it become hard to breathe?
‘Thank you for coming,’ he said.
Emma took a deep breath, letting the air fill her lungs. ‘I didn’t really have much choice, did I?’
He pressed his lips together and Emma could almost feel the tension crackle between them. ‘This doesn’t have to be unpleasant, Emma.’
‘And how do you figure that?’ she shot back. She’d wanted to stay calm for this meeting but already her composure was cracking, revealing the fear and uncertainty underneath. ‘I’m here to discuss a man with Mafia connections being involved with my daughter—’
‘My daughter,’ Larenzo cut across her, his voice low and intense. ‘She’s my daughter too. Never forget that.’
‘Unfortunately, I won’t.’
He sat back in his chair, his fingers laced together as he gazed at her. ‘Do you hate me?’ he asked, as if it was a matter of academic interest, and Emma could only stare at him, flummoxed. Where had that come from? ‘Because,’ he continued, ‘you seem as if you hate me.’
‘I...’ She searched for words, disconcerted by how much his question had unsettled her. ‘I don’t hate you,’ she said finally. ‘I don’t feel anything for you.’ Which was a bold-faced lie. She didn’t know what she felt for Larenzo Cavelli, but it was definitely something. ‘But I love my daughter,’ she continued shakily, ‘and I want to protect her—’
‘And you think I don’t want that?’
‘I don’t know what to think about you, Larenzo. I have no idea what to believe.’
‘How about the truth?’
‘Which is?’ she demanded, her voice rising. ‘Eighteen months ago you confessed to a long, sordid list of crimes. A week ago, your business partner was convicted of those same crimes, thanks to new evidence, but what am I meant to believe? How on earth do you expect me to trust you?’
Larenzo expelled a long, low breath. ‘I don’t,’ he said flatly. ‘You can’t trust anyone in this world. That’s one thing I’ve come to realise.’
‘Why did you confess if you weren’t guilty?’
He pressed his lips together as he flicked his gaze away. ‘Because there was overwhelming evidence to convict me.’
‘How?’
‘Look, I don’t want to get into all that now. I left that life behind—’
‘And I’m supposed to just accept that?’
Larenzo leaned forward, his gaze glittering. ‘Emma, do you honestly think I’d put my own child in danger? Do you think I’d be here if I thought I’d be hurting Ava?’
Emma bit her lip. She didn’t think that, but she was still afraid. Still reluctant to relinquish control, to let Larenzo into Ava’s life. Into her life, in any way at all, and with a jolt she realised it wasn’t just because of his possible criminal connections. It was because this man affected her. And she was afraid to let him do that again.
Larenzo leaned back in his chair. ‘I left Italy for good and severed all ties to Cavelli Enterprises. Bertrano Raguso is in prison for the crimes he committed. That is all you need to know.’
‘Why New York?’ Emma asked. The waiter came forward to take their order, and she gazed blindly at the menu. She had no appetite at all. Finally she picked a relatively plain chicken dish, and Larenzo ordered for himself, before they were left alone again and he answered her question.
‘I wanted a new start. Cavelli Enterprises had no holdings in America.’
‘What’s happened to Cavelli Enterprises?’
‘Its assets were seized by the government. Everything’s frozen while the investigation continues.’
‘So even though there was evidence...?’
Larenzo’s mouth hardened into a flat line. ‘Bertrano is claiming he is innocent, but the evidence is incontrovertible.’ His mouth twisted. ‘In the meantime the company will most likely be liquidated, and its remaining assets distributed to shareholders.’ He spoke dispassionately, as if it was a matter of indifference to him. Emma searched his face, saw a hardness underneath his bland expression that she didn’t think had been there before.
