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The plea dried up when he hauled himself away from her.
She watched, eyes wide, as he dragged impatient fingers through his hair, seeking that control they’d hungrily chipped away. Sleek, beautiful muscles rippled as he inhaled and exhaled to regain it.
Deeply mesmerised, she could only watch him, her heart hammering in her throat as she leaned against the wall. Her breath caught when he pivoted to face her, his face a thunderous cloud of censure.
‘Shall I tell you what that item your sister petulantly helped herself to means to me? To my family?’
Giada stumbled forward, her legs almost too weak to keep her upright. Reaching the sofa, she perched on it, tucking her legs beneath her as he prowled the room. ‘Please,’ she invited softly, instinct warning that whatever he intended to divulge wasn’t to be taken frivolously.
His narrowed eyes examined her, determining if she was worthy of this evidently sacred piece of himself. Without preamble, he spoke.
‘I told you my father paid the ultimate price. What I didn’t say was that he was killed specifically because of that heirloom.’
CHAPTER EIGHT
GIADA’SJAWDROPPED, her insides twisting with sorrow and sympathy for him, and fresh anger at Gigi for putting him through this. ‘I... Oh, God, I’m so sorry.’
The bleakness she’d caught glimpses of arrived and this time it stayed, dulling his eyes and tightening his jaw. It didn’t diminish him one iota though. His proud bearing grew impossibly prouder, her condolences bouncing off him as he continued pacing.
It took a moment to realise he was lost in thought, probably in the past he’d just revealed.
She cleared her throat, her body swaying closer of its own volition. Closer to him. ‘How...what exactly happened?’ she pressed softly.
A muscle ticced in his jaw and for the longest time, she thought he’d ignore her.
Then he shook his head. ‘I’ve often wondered if it was hubris, blind hope or just plain naïveté.’ His mouth twisted but even that motion didn’t detract from her absorption in him. ‘Maybe it was a combination of the three,’ he mused harshly.
Gathering the robe around her, Giada stayed quiet. She understood the need to work through his thoughts at a time like this. She’d needed to do the same after every confrontation with her mother.
‘The Montaldis have held a certain position throughout our history. One of leadership regardless of personal desires or what the world thought we should be.’
She frowned. ‘Which was what exactly?’
That twist of his lips again. ‘I come from a long line of fixers,duci mia. One of my grandmothers many times removed was a powerhouse rumoured to be utterly indispensable to one of the popes. She birthed the legacy I’ve sworn to uphold.’
She didn’t doubt him. ‘And with that sort of power and legacy come enemies.’
His smile dimmed, still a harshly beautiful thing despite his haunted eyes and dangerous subject. ‘Se.Over the years, there have been challenges, regardless of whether or not some of the new generation just wanted a thriving family and to leave behind a legacy they’re proud of.’
‘Are you one of them? I’m finding that hard to believe since you’re happily unattached and are swimming in the deep end of the dating pool, according to the tabloids.’ Why saying that left a trail of acid in her throat, Giada refused to dissect.
She had no rights where he was concerned. None at all.
Nor did she want them.
Ignoring the void that insistence left behind, she focused as he paced towards her.
‘My marital status doesn’t change the fact that I’m a Montaldi. And that I’m duty-bound to right the wrongs done to a father who may have been overly optimistic in his thinking that he could change the course of tradition, but who still didn’t need to give his life for instigating that change.’ The thick, unshakeable vow fell like an anvil in the room from a man who would not be swayed from his destiny.
Giada didn’t even need to voice the questions brimming on her tongue. She only needed to remain silent so he could spell out how very wrong Gigi had been in crossing him.
‘My father was determined to steer the responsibilities of his birthright in a new direction, rather for just the wealthy and privileged—helping fix wrongs for those who deserved it. Those with integrity who would pay it forward so others benefitted. He studied to be a lawyer and he was exceptional at it. He was exemplary at being a fixer. I learned everything I know from him.’
‘But not everyone agreed with the new path?’ she guessed.
He exhaled deep and long. Then his lips twisted. ‘No. The inevitable crooked politicians and underworld drug lords cropped up with alarming frequency. They wanted to use his services. But he wouldn’t be swayed. He ignored all the warnings because he believed he was doing the right thing. And when he told me, I...feared for him.’
‘But you were still proud of him,’ she slid in, the note throbbing in his voice evident.
