and the air she’d been holding in her lungs whooshed out. She was in so much trouble here. No matter how many times she remembered his suspicions, no matter how often she reminded herself they had to keep a professional distance, she just kept forgetting.
And it clearly wasn’t her imagination that he kept forgetting, too.
ENZO WAS MORE than glad the Restore Venice Association meeting was about to start. That people were finally wandering off to find seats instead of asking him endless questions about the house that was no longer his, talking about how it was going to be ruined if he didn’t get it back, and grilling him on what he was going to do to save it.
He sat toward the back of the room, resisting the urge to slouch in his seat to become semi-invisible. And yes, that probably made him a coward. But since he had no real answers yet, having endless conversations about the house that represented the past seven hundred years of his mother’s family history, and his own, and how he had to keep it from going under the wrecking ball, made his gut churn.
He pulled the program from the pocket of his jacket and just as he was about to look at the meeting schedule, a flash of something bright blue or green in the aisle near him caught his eye. He looked up to see that the flash of color was a dress on what looked to be a very attractive body, at least from the back. The fabric skimmed the curves of a sexy feminine derriere that swayed slightly as she walked.
Who was she? He knew most of the people who attended these meetings and definitely would have remembered that body. The woman turned her head to smile at the person standing to let her sit next to him, and Enzo’s lungs froze in his chest.
Aubrey.
What the hell was she doing here?
Her silky golden-brown hair skimmed her cheek as she sat, and a slender hand shoved it behind one ear as she dug into her purse for something, coming up with the same program he held in his hand.
He and Aubrey had managed to work together without fighting, or, worse, kissing, if he didn’t count that one near miss yesterday. But now the suspicions about her that had stayed on a low simmer—along with the sexual attraction between them—came bubbling into full boil. First she showed up at his clinic to work, and now she’d decided to come to an art and architecture meeting attended only by Venetians and academics from universities in other countries?
Tourists never came. Neither did many Italians from other areas, because they had their own preservation concerns. And yet here she was, and how was he to believe it was about anything other than her ingratiating herself into his life even more? Doubtless knowing all about his family’s problems and the house he loved that she happened to be currently living in.
Did she know he’d owned it before and had rented it out to the UWWHA as he’d planned its renovation? Know that his father had sold it out from under him, and it was about to be resold at a profit? Was renting it from the UWWHA part of her plan somehow?
Enzo’s blood ran cold. If Aubrey was trying to charmingly, spunkily wiggle her way into his life, did that mean Shay had done the same thing with his brother? Was there any way this could be another big coincidence?
Seemed incredibly unlikely, but suspicion without proof just festered, and Enzo had enough to worry about right then. So the only solution was to be brutally frank with Aubrey. To ask her some hard questions, and hopefully be able to figure out if she was being honest with him or not. Which might be very difficult, considering he’d had to consciously fight being attracted to her seeming sweetness and smarts and beauty every hour they’d worked together the past few days, but he had to give it a try.
Barely paying attention to the speakers and conversation, Enzo sat through the first half of the meeting trying to decide if he should tackle Aubrey during the break, or wait until it was over. Feeling on edge, he was still pondering that question during the break when the decision was made for him.
A flash of color had him turning from the coffee stand in the front hallway to see her marching right up to him, a militant expression on her beautiful face.
“Just so you know, I had no idea you’d be here today.”
“No?” The woman must be a mind reader. “Then why are you here?”
“Because I’m interested in Venice’s future. In the restoration of its buildings and artwork.”
“So you know nothing about my current situation.” He said it mockingly, and she frowned at his tone.
“What situation? Unless you’re referring to having to work with me, which you’ve made more than clear is something you’d rather not do.”
“I’ve seen you’re a woman who says what she thinks. So I’m just going to come right out and tell you what I’m thinking. Which is that it’s really bizarre that Shay shows up announcing she’s pregnant with Dante’s baby, and within days she’s married to my brother. Then you and I get together, and two months later you magically show up at my clinic to work.” He set his coffee down and folded his arms across his chest. “And now you claim to have an interest in the restoration of Venice’s buildings, which...shockingly...is my passion, too.”
She stared at him, an even deeper frown creasing her brow. “I’m not following.”
“Then let me be clearer.” He stepped closer, hoping to intimidate her and make her come clean. “What I’m saying is that I can’t help but wonder if you and Shay researched Dante and me, and decided two doctor princes would be a nice catch, then figured out how to weasel your way into our lives.”
“What?” Her mouth fell open in a gasp. “You have an ego the size of Mount Vesuvius, you know that? I’m not even going to dignify that accusation with an answer. You can believe what you want to believe. But if you think insulting me is going to get me to leave the clinic, you’ve got another think coming. I’m staying until my contract is over, so just deal with it. And you’re going to feel pretty ridiculous when you realize your fantasies of me wanting to trap you into something were all in your own small mind.”
She spun away and stalked off, and he stood there long seconds just watching that sexy behind of hers until she went through the doorway to the meeting room again.
He let out a long breath. Maybe his strategy had backfired this time. But if she and Shay weren’t what they seemed, he had to believe that, sooner or later, one of them would tip their hand and the truth would come out.
The president of the association spoke in English as he opened the second half of the meeting. The back of Enzo’s brain absently noted that there must be university guests from other countries for this portion of the presentation and discussion. Then his focus snapped big-time to the speaker when the next words out of the man’s mouth were a name.
Aubrey Henderson.
What the...? He sat up straighter to watch her stand and make her way to the lectern, noticing that plenty of the men in the room seemed to be admiring her swaying walk as much as he had been earlier. Until he’d been shocked to see whose enticing body was wearing that dress.
“Two years ago, Ms. Henderson graciously adopted the renovation of the large fresco depicting angels and warriors in one of the churches at San Sebastiano. The twenty-five thousand dollars she donated have brought this art treasure back to life, and we encourage all of you to visit and admire it. In recognition of this gift, we present this plaque to show our appreciation.”
Applause greeted Aubrey as she accepted the plaque, then stood with the president as photos were snapped. If he’d been surprised before, this time Enzo could barely wrap his brain around what he was witnessing.
Aubrey had donated money to a restoration project in Venice? Two years ago? And not just a little money, but a very nice chunk—enough to completely pay for that project, which was one of so many beautiful old masterpieces in Venice that needed repairs.
Her