He went in front of her, promising to catch her if she missed a foot on the narrow, uneven steps. It was dizzying and nerve-racking, and she clung tightly to the rope that was strung through iron rings mounted to the wall, thinking the whole time, Don’t fall, don’t fall.
But she feared she probably would.
CHAPTER NINE
LUCA WAS RESTLESS and prickly. He blamed the fact he was at a crossroads, having given up the throne, but not yet having found his place in the new order. The work that typically dominated his thoughts now fell to his sister, and the mental vacuum allowed him to dwell on the public’s reaction to his fall from grace.
And the woman who had caused it.
They weren’t dressing for dinner, but Amy had disappeared to call her business partners, leaving him to nurse a drink and contemplate how completely she seemed to have shut down once he’d pronounced that this was only an affair.
Did she want it to be more? Did he?
He felt as though he’d disappointed her with his answer. Hurt her. That frustrated him. He’d been as honest as possible. Up until that moment, she’d been her bright and funny self. An amusing companion who made him feel alive in ways he had never experienced.
Damn but that was a lot of feelings. He didn’t do feelings. They were messy and tended to create the sort of disaster he’d been scrupulously trained to avoid. He’d accomplished what he wanted by giving in to his lust for Amy, but it was time to go back to being his circumspect, disciplined self.
Which meant he shouldn’t have a real affair with her, but the mere thought of denying himself when she was willing caused a host of feelings that were more like a swarm of hornets inside him. Which was exactly why he shouldn’t indulge—
He swore aloud and set aside his drink as though he could set aside his brooding as easily. Filtering through his texts and emails, he picked up one from an old friend, Emiliano. They had met through their shared interest in emerging tech. Emiliano had since increased his family’s fortune by developing tools for facial recognition software.
News bulletin says you’re in Milan? I’m at my villa on Lago di Guarda. Join me if you want to escape the fray.
His villa was a comfortable and well-guarded compound.
Luca texted back.
Grazie. We’re fine, but I’ll be in touch about the solar tiles we discussed last year.
Luca moved on, but Emiliano promptly texted back.
Sounds good. The invitation is open anytime. Tell Amy I said hello.
Just like that, Luca’s agitation turned to a ferocious swarm of stinging jealousy.
Jealousy was the most childish of all emotions, but he was bothered and even more bothered by the fact he was bothered. He was having feelings about his feelings, and it was annoying as hell.
Amy returned wearing a concerned frown.
“Is everything all right?” he made himself ask, trying to overcome his sudden possessiveness.
“Clare’s overseas and Bea has gone off with a client,” she said with a perplexed shake of her head. “When we talked her into joining us, it was purely for legal support, but she got roped into working directly with Ares Lykaios. You would have seen his name on our website. He’s our biggest client. We owe him for putting us on the map.”
“I know who he is.” And there was no reason Luca should feel so threatened that he would ask, “Would you rather be in her place right now?” He hated himself for it.
“A little. Bea must be out of her depth. He’s tough and assertive, and Bea’s shy by nature. It’s always been our dynamic that she helps me work through my internal rubbish and I play her wingman in the external world. She might not know how to handle Ares.”
“But you do?”
Her air of distraction evaporated and she narrowed her attention onto him. “He’s a client whose professional needs dovetail with the services I offer. Why? What are you suggesting?”
“Nothing,” he muttered, disgusted with himself.
“You meant something,” she accused. “I don’t have personal relationships with clients, Luca. That’s why you no longer are one.”
“Is Emiliano Ricci a client? Is that how you know him?”
Her expression blanked with surprise, then she shrugged. “Not that it’s any of your business, but no. He’s not. Why? You said you didn’t care what I’d done or with whom.”
“I don’t,” Luca insisted, pacing the lounge. “You were lovers, though?”
“I met him on a weekend cruise for app developers. We talked about social media and how to play the algorithms to become an influencer. I think I’d rather return my mother’s phone call than continue this conversation.”
He let her walk out. He told himself to let her go, to hold himself at a necessary distance. His feelings were too strong as it was. But the farther away she got, the more he knew he was totally blowing this.
“Amy,” he called from the bottom of the main staircase.
She paused at the top to give him a haughty look from the rail.
“I don’t want to care—” he bit out what felt like an enormous confession “—but I do.”
“Good for you. I don’t.” She sailed along the gallery.
The hell she didn’t! He took the stairs two at a time and opened the door to the guest bedroom that she had just slammed in his face.
She swung around to glare at him.
“I don’t like having emotions I can’t control,” he said through his gritted teeth. “Perhaps I should ask your friend Bea to help me work through them?”
Such outraged hostility flashed in her bright green eyes, he nearly threw his head back and laughed. “See? You don’t like it, either.”
She folded her arms, chin up. “You chased me all the way up here to see if you could make me as pointlessly jealous as you are?”
“I’m not proud of it.” He closed in on her. “But I needed to know whether you were capable of it.”
“Jealousy comes from insecurity. I’m not an insecure person.” She
