Leo didn’t even bat an eyelid. “No threat of ruin will make me forget my priorities, Cavalli. You think you had it hard? You didn’t have our father filling your head with poison when you barely knew right and wrong. You didn’t have to unlearn toxic truths about why your own mother would desert you.
“I had to protect my family, and myself, from him, when I was barely a man. And Alex has been a part of this family for a long time.”
Again, Vincenzo stayed silent.
Alex chewed her salad, feeling a spark of hope for the first time in weeks, while Leo and Massimo started casually chatting about the upcoming bicentennial celebrations of BFI. The preparations were already in full force.
She had told neither Leo nor Massimo about Vincenzo’s plans for the villa or BFI. God, she hated being the bearer of bad news. Especially when there was nothing she could do to help them. Fortunately, both of them had been out of town when she’d returned that night, still reeling under the impact of all she’d learned.
“Did you clear your calendar for the celebration, Alex?” Massimo asked. “There will be journalists, of course. But also, a photographer for the family’s photoshoot for the feature they’re doing on BFI’s history.”
“I’ll sit that one out if you don’t mind,” she replied.
Vincenzo covered her hand on the table, his gaze filled with a wicked humor. “Of course, she will come. We will both be here to celebrate the success of such a long-standing venerable institution as BFI. Especially on such a momentous day.”
If Greta heard the resounding mockery in his words, she didn’t let it show. Slowly, she pushed her chair back, and stood. She pressed one hand into Alex’s shoulder and then walked away. Without a word.
The stoop of Greta’s proud shoulders made a lump settle in Alex’s throat. Greta’s past actions and Alex’s present sat like painful, snarly knots in their relationship. She hadn’t realized how much Greta’s implacable but quiet presence in her life meant to her. Until Alex had lost it.
Massimo and Leo followed Greta.
The moment it was just them, Alex turned on Vincenzo.
To find him frowning, a thoughtful tilt to his mouth.
“What are you doing here at the villa? What new game are you up to?” she demanded.
“Following your dictates,” Vincenzo replied silkily, sitting back in his chair.
Alex slammed her wineglass down, hard enough for it to slosh over her fingers. “Please, V. No more games.”
“I hate living like a bachelor in hotels when I have a perfectly nice wife here at the villa. I realized you were right all along.”
“You mean you realized you can torment Greta in her own home?”
“Asking me to behave as if I finally found my long-lost grandmother is a bit much, even for you, bella.”
Why had she thought bringing Vincenzo face-to-face with the Brunettis would be a good idea? Already, her head was pounding. “If you think you’re going to wear her down into regretting her actions, you’ll wait forever. To her, the past is done, V. She had to deal with the consequences of every selfish, vile act Silvio perpetrated, and that has turned her into stone.”
“Consequences that became the crumbling foundation of my life.”
“I’m not asking you to forgive her.”
“Bene. Because I hate disappointing you.”
“Do you really? Is this all anything other than a game to you?” she demanded.
She’d had enough. It felt as if she was still dreaming, amidst the fitful sleep she’d caught on the flight back to Milan. Wondering if all the pieces would ever come together. Wondering if she would always feel ripped apart by conflicting loyalties.
She pushed away her chair, every inch of her vibrating with an internal fight she couldn’t win. “I’m out of here.”
“Alessandra—”
“I have to get ready. There’s a designer launch in Milan. I have to show my face.” Although the thought of being in front of cameras right now made her want to throw up.
Vincenzo followed her down the steps. “I contacted your agent and got you out of it.”
Alex stilled. “What? That’s… How dare you?”
“Alessandra, you look like you’ll collapse if someone blows hard enough.”
“And whose fault is that? I just spent an entire week going through my mother’s things. Sorting what to keep and what to give away. For Charlie. Her entire life…in boxes, V. Then I came back to this. I know why you can’t forgive Greta for what she did to you and your mother. Even I can’t. But…have you thought for one minute that I might actually need you? That I might want to lean on you?”
“Of course, yes.”
“I’m so foolish. I can’t believe I actually thought it would be a good idea for you to be here. You’re right. I’m pathetic and—”
His arms enveloped her so tightly that Alex was forced to stop shivering. “Shh…tesoro. Shh…breathe, Alessandra.”
“Sometimes, I feel so alone. It doesn’t matter what I do, or where I run. In the end, I’m always terrifyingly alone.”
“Look at me, bella. Concentrate on me.”
Alex looked up and the panic that had been closing in on her receded. She focused on her reflection in the gray of his eyes. Breathed in until that fresh, crisp scent of him was an anchor in her blood. Let herself drown in the warmth his body gave off.
A tear rolled down her cheek and he held her gently. As if she was the most precious thing in his life. “You’re not alone, Alessandra. I’m here. Mi dispiace… I’m sorry, you were right. I forget how much you’ve been through.”
In that moment, he was the haven she’d been looking for all her life. He was the prince she’d always wanted. He held
