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“Chloe, listen to me.” Gianni steps forward as I step back. “The first time I saw you, it was like seeing a ghost. It was as if she was standing in the room with me. I was horrible to you because I thought you were her. I thought she’d come back to torment me.”
I am back in the shop on that very first day. He’d been rude to me. He’d treated me like dirt, and I’d simply put it down to arrogance. Was he telling me the truth?
“That’s why I argued with Piero. I couldn’t believe he’d employed you, knowing I would have to look at you every day. It was cruel, and I wanted to be rid of you so I wouldn’t be reminded of her.” He gulps before continuing. “I told you we’d argued. I told you things were not good between us. I told you I hated her. Then to have you in my shop, walking around and looking so much like her, was too painful. I avoided you for so long, then I couldn’t anymore.” He softens slightly as I fold my arms. “That day outside when I saw your drawings, I saw something I couldn’t ignore. The day in my office when you told me how you’d checked the stock using the product codes, I saw how clever you are, how ingenious. Even when faced with something difficult, you did not give in. All the times you argued with me, I saw your spirit and determination. And then, the night I spent at your parents’ house, you became Chloe Daniels, whom I admire.”
I absorb his words like a piece of litmus paper, my color changing from red to green. What he’s saying is true.
“What about when Cora came to the shop? Did none of that matter?” His hatred for me then had been unbridled. That wasn’t how you treated a person you admired.
“When she said those things about you, the things you’d done, I did not see you. I saw my wife.”
“But I didn’t do the things she said. You didn’t believe me.”
“And for that, I’m sorry. I am so sorry I did not trust you enough to listen to you. I’m sorry for the things I said. I wish I could take them back.”
I close my eyes. My body sways against the pull of him.
“This is such a mess.” I open my eyes.
“I know.”
“Is this why you won’t kiss me?” I still have the photo pinched between my fingers.
“As much as I have feelings for you, there are still moments when I catch a glimpse of you out of the corner of my eye and see her. I can’t seem to get away from this. I’m desperate to. It’s like Chinese torture.”
I nod, gulping back a large ball in the back of my throat.
I drop the photo on the counter. I can’t bear to touch it anymore. I need to get out of here. I need to be away from him. I need to think.
“I have to go,” I announce.
“Chloe, don’t do this,” he warns.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t be here with you right now. I need to think.”
“What’s there to think about?”
“Let me see, I think you’re trying to say you have feelings for me, but the fact I look like your dead wife is kind of off-putting. Therefore, there can never be anything between us.”
“I’m not saying that,” he argues.
“Then what are you saying? How do you think this will play out? Do you seriously think there could ever be anything between us now I know who I look like? Do you think I could lie next to you, knowing you might think about her?”
“I would never,” Gianni begins.
“But you said you did, outside the coffee shop when Cora was hurling abuse at me. You admit you saw her and not me, and I was the one who got the brunt of your anger. I’m not prepared for that to happen again.”
“But what about last night?”
“What about last night?”
“You watched a man die, Chloe. That shit doesn’t go away easily.” I stare at him, my strength receding slightly. “And what about the man who killed him? How long will it take the police to find him? What if you’re still in danger?”
“Then I’ll take my chances,” I say.
“Like fuck you will. I’m not letting you out of my sight.” He places his arm across the counter as if to block my path.
“Will you keep me here against my will?”
