What would happen if she went past her self-imposed boundary?
Luca took her hand and smiled down at her. ‘Ready? One step at a time. Take all the time you need.’
Artie sucked in a deep breath and went down the steps to the footpath. So far, so good. ‘I’ve done this before, heaps of times, and I always fail.’
‘Don’t talk yourself into failure, cara.’ His tone was gently reproving. ‘Believe you can do something and you’ll do it.’
‘Easy for you to say.’ Artie flicked him a glance. ‘You’re confident and run a successful business. You’ve got runs on the board. What do I have? A big fat nothing.’
Luca stopped and turned her so she was facing him, his hands holding her by the upper arms. ‘You have cared for your father for a decade. You quite likely extended his life by doing so. Plus, you’re a gifted embroiderer. I have never seen such detailed and beautiful work. You have to start believing in yourself, cara. I believe in you.’
Artie glanced past his broad shoulder to the front gates, fear curdling her insides. She let out another stuttering breath and met his gaze once more. ‘Okay, let’s keep going. I have to do this. I can do this.’
‘That’s my girl,’ Luca said, smiling and taking her by the hand again. ‘I’m with you every step of the way.’
Artie took two steps, then three, four, five until she lost count. The gates loomed closer and closer, the outside world and freedom beckoning. But just as she got to about two-thirds of the way down the path a bird suddenly flew up out of the nearby shrubbery and Artie was so startled she lost her footing and would have tripped if Luca hadn’t been holding her hand. ‘Oh!’ she gasped.
‘You’re okay, it was just a bird.’
Artie glanced at the front gates, her heart still banging against her breastbone. ‘I think I’m done for one day.’
He frowned. ‘You don’t want to try a little more? We’re almost there. Just a few more steps.’
She turned back to face the safety of the castello, breathing hard. ‘I’m sorry but I can’t do any more. I’ll try again tomorrow.’
And I’ll fail just like every other time.
Luca stroked his hand over the back of her head. ‘You did well, mia piccola.’
Artie gave him a rueful look. ‘I failed.’
He stroked her cheek with a lazy finger, his gaze unwavering. ‘Failure is when you give up trying.’ He took her hand again with another smile. ‘Come on. It’s thirsty work wrestling demons, sì?’
Once they were back inside the castello in the salon, Artie let out a sigh. ‘It’s not that I don’t want to go outside…’
He handed her a glass of mineral water. ‘What are you most frightened of?’
She took the glass from him and set it on the table next to her, carefully avoiding his gaze. ‘I’m frightened of hurting people.’
‘Why do you think you’ll hurt someone?’
Artie lifted her eyes to his. ‘It was my fault we had the accident.’
Luca frowned and came over to sit beside her, taking her hands in his. ‘But you weren’t driving, surely? You were only fifteen, sì?’
She looked down at their joined hands, her chest feeling so leaden it was almost impossible to take in another breath. ‘I wanted to go to a party. My parents didn’t want me to go but like teenagers do, I wouldn’t take no for an answer. They relented and I went to the party, which wasn’t as much fun as I’d hoped. And when my parents picked me up that night…well, my father was tired because it was late and he didn’t see the car drifting into his lane in time to take evasive action. I woke up in hospital after being in a coma for a month to find my mother had died instantly and my father was in a wheelchair.’
Luca put his arms around Artie and held her close. ‘I’m sorry. I know there are no words to take away the guilt and sadness but you were just a kid.’
Artie eased back to look up at him through blurry vision. ‘I haven’t ever met anyone else who truly understood.’ She twisted her mouth wryly, ‘Not that I’ve met a lot of people in the last ten years.’ She lifted her hand to his face and stroked his lean jaw and added. ‘But I think you do understand.’
A shadow passed through his gaze and he pulled her hand down from his face. ‘You don’t know me, cara. You don’t know what I’m capable of.’ His voice contained a note of self-loathing that made the back of her neck prickle.
‘Why do you say that?’
He sprang off the sofa in an agitated fashion. ‘I haven’t told you everything about the day my father and brother died.’
She swallowed tightly. ‘Do you want to tell me now?’ Her voice came out whisper-soft.
Luca pulled at one side of his mouth with his straight white teeth, his hands planted on his slim hips. Then he released a ragged breath. ‘It was my fault they drowned. We were on holiday in Argentina. We had gone to an isolated beach because I’d heard the waves were best there. I wanted to go back in for another surf even though the conditions had changed. I didn’t listen to my father. I just raced back in and soon got into trouble.’ He winced as if recalling that day caused him immeasurable pain. ‘My father came in after me and then my brother. The rip took them
