She stared at him, aghast. “The last thing I’d do now is lie to you. I think there’s been enough of that between us already, don’t you?”
“You’re magnificent even when you attack me, Princess.”
“You’re gorgeous even when you’re being Machiavellian, V.”
He laughed and those crinkles appeared again. And it was damned impossible to hold herself at arm’s length when she badly wanted to melt into his broad frame and beg him to walk away from all this.
To put their relationship first. To put their future first. To put her first.
“I didn’t leak it, V. Whether you believe me or not is up to you. You might not think twice about hurting people but that’s not how I operate. Especially when I can understand how painful it must have been to be that innocent child.
“I’ve thrown my lot in with you. At least for the near future.”
He held her gaze in the flickering light for a long while and finally nodded. “Then it has to have been your lovely stepmother, Greta.”
“That’s an unfair jump. You’re determined to see them all as your enemies.”
“Who else benefits by it?” he pointed out. “I’ll admit that it was a clever move on her part, that it set me back quite a bit.”
“What? How?”
“I lost the support of two members of the BFI board who’d been ready to throw their vote behind me instead of Leo. Stock prices for Cavalli Enterprises have been plummeting ever since the news hit the papers.
“The Brunetti Bastard has quite the ring to it, si? A clever little moniker.”
“Of course it’s not,” Alex replied, the latent bitterness in his words shaking her up. That his plans had been set back gave her no satisfaction in the face of his hurt. But… “Has it made any difference, V?” she couldn’t help asking.
His head jerked up. “Difference to what?”
“To see yourself from a different perspective.
“Face what you’ve done, what you’re doing publicly, going against ethical businessmen like Leo and Massimo, against a revered institution like BFI that they’ve rebuilt into something of value.
“Shouldn’t it at least make you pause and reconsider what you—”
“You think I care what the world’s perception of me is? Or that I’ve been only half-awake for the past two decades while I planned and plotted against them using every weakness I could find to further my cause? You think I can stop now, after all these years?”
She blinked, feeling as if she’d been dropped onto the concrete floor of reality with a bruising thud. But she refused to look away. Refused to back down. “If I can stop running from my life, then you can—”
“Enough, Alessandra! Let it be.”
He looked away from her into the crowd. “You didn’t last long before you broke our agreement, did you?”
She frowned. “Our agreement, which you just dictated by the way, was that I don’t make impulsive, life-altering decisions in the next three months. Standing mutely by your side while you take down people I care about is… Well, let’s just say that will never be me. Honestly, it’s not like I have any ammunition against you. All I have are words.”
“I’m glad you think that,” he said, with a self-deprecation that had her jerking her head up. “You were…brilliant, glowing on the stage today. I can see why the fashion world is bemoaning you leaving the industry.”
“My modeling career grounded me when I was directionless, true. But I’m done with it.” She cleared her throat when he looked up. “It was an impulsive decision initially, I admit. I was disgusted by the working conditions that the cosmetic company was using. But it was just the catalyst I needed.
“I was tired of the constant grind, the relentless probing into my private life…the loneliness behind the bright lights was consuming me.”
“What about that one?” He tilted his head toward the dance floor.
Alex didn’t have to look down to see who he meant. For a minute, she dallied with the idea of embellishing her relationship with Javi just to save her pride. Just to make Vincenzo feel a little unsure of where he stood with her. Wanted to see the flash of jealousy she’d seen that day when he’d asked if he was a rebound for her.
She discarded the idea in the next. Lies and deception had never been her thing.
“Things hadn’t been right between us for a long time. When I told him that I was considering walking away from it all, he revealed his true colors. His use for me was going to be considerably reduced once I stepped out of the limelight.”
She shrugged, even though a part of her still hurt. It had been a long time since she’d indulged in the fantasy that Javi and she shared some big, romantic love, but to learn that for him all her value lay in her modeling career was still a bitter pill to swallow. Just like discovering that she’d only been a duty to her mother—a necessary punishment for the sin she’d committed in having an extramarital fling with Alex’s father.
“He’s still sniffing around you.”
“I was spectacular today, like you said. So Javi’s wondering if he let me go too soon.”
“After that fight, you dumped him instantly and hightailed it to Bali, si?”
“Something like that, yes. But on that occasion my impulse was absolutely right. Realizing that I’m at the tail end of this career now, that retirement is truly what I want at this point in my life…that gave me that extra sparkle on the stage tonight.
“I’m going to finish at the top. No regrets. No looking back as I start the next chapter of my life.”
“You sound determined,” he said quietly.
“Enough to convince you that I mean this?”
“Si.” He straightened from the lazy pose and every cell in her stood up to attention. “Maybe I can suggest the first paragraph in the new chapter? It’s time
