one that says you’ve got something important to say.”
“I can’t hide much from you, can I?”
“Do you want to?” Her anxious question startled him. Well, well...beneath her calm facade she wasn’t calm at all.
“No, Gemma. I was teasing. What I wanted to tell you was that while you were out in the sea a few minutes ago, Dimi phoned me.”
“I didn’t realize.” She looked alarmed. “Is your aunt worse?”
“No. He called me because he just got word that my uncle died of liver failure in prison last night. They rushed him to the hospital, but it was too late.”
Gemma sat up and slid her feet to the patio. “I hardly know what to say.”
“That makes two of us.”
“I’m sure he needs you right now.”
Vincenzo nodded. “I’ve already made the flight arrangements for morning. When we reach Milan, we’ll drive to his villa.”
“In that case I’d better start getting packed.”
“Wait—before you go in the room, there’s something else I must tell you. I’ve been hoping you’d break down and talk to me about the thing I want most to hear. Since you haven’t, I’ve decided you need another nudge.”
“I don’t understand,” she cried softly.
“I’m renouncing the title right away. My uncle’s death convinces me even more it’s the right thing to do. Now Dimi and I can wipe the slate clean and be done with it. Even your mother would approve and give you her blessing. I’m looking forward to talking to her.”
A gasp escaped her lips.
“Why the consternation? It’s what you’ve always wanted so we could be together. Deep down it’s what I’ve wanted, too. These days with you have been the happiest of my life. I’m not going to let anything change that now.”
He got up from the lounger to pick up the towels and carry them into the room. She followed with the sunscreen and her book, but when he looked at her, she reminded him of a person suffering from shellshock. Good! The situation couldn’t go on this way any longer.
“While I’m at the front desk making arrangements for an early-morning drive to the airport, why don’t you decide where you want to go for dinner? I’ll be back in a little while.”
“To be honest, I’m not hungry. We had a late lunch.”
“Then I’ll stop at the deli for some snacks in case you change your mind later.” He put on a sport shirt and left the room.
* * *
Gemma put her book down and sat on the bed, alarmed.
Vincenzo was going to renounce his title! He honestly believed that by getting rid of it, he’d be freed of the curse and Gemma would be happy. Her poor darling Vincenzo believed it would open up the way for her mother’s blessing on their marriage.
But Gemma wasn’t happy. Not at all.
She didn’t want him to give up something that was part of him. He was already proving to be a wonderful duca through his vision of the castello and by all the great things he’d done to this point to restore the family’s good name.
Unfortunately, until he could accept the whole of himself—until he could trust himself the way she trusted him—how could they be married? How could she live with herself knowing he was tearing himself and the fabric of his life apart just to be with her?
Gemma couldn’t let him renounce the title, she just couldn’t. She wouldn’t let him. Somehow she had to find a way to stop him.
Oh, help! Her mother wasn’t even home from her trip yet. She didn’t know Vincenzo was back in Gemma’s life! Gemma hadn’t told Mirella about the job at the castello yet, either. She thought Gemma and Filippa were out together looking for jobs.
Propelled by anxiety, she headed to the bathroom for a quick shower. Then she started packing, trying to sort out her thoughts. She wouldn’t be able to work on Vincenzo tonight, not when he had Dimi’s family on his mind. In a few days she would find the right time to beg him to listen to her, but it couldn’t be right now.
As for her mother, Gemma would wait until she returned from England before she told her the news that would shake her mamma’s world once more.
* * *
An hour later Vincenzo returned and could see Gemma had showered. Her bags were basically packed and now she was in bed looking a beautiful golden honey blond. Though she’d opened the same book she’d been reading earlier, the page never turned.
Before they’d come on this trip, she’d claimed to be all mixed up. But these days in Greece had proved to him they were divinely happy doing the kinds of things other couples did on vacation. So why had the announcement she’d wanted to hear caused her to lose her concentration? Whatever was going on, he intended to get to the bottom of it.
She looked up at him with those dazzling green eyes. “Hi.”
“Buonasera. I bought a few spinach rolls in case you want them.”
“Thank you. Maybe I’ll try one in a little while. Vincenzo? When you talk of marriage, do you even know where you’d want to live? You have a huge business empire in New York and are building one here. Once the resort is running smoothly, do you intend to go back and forth to the States? Are you and your friends going to put other people in charge at the castello? Don’t they have to get back to New York, too?”
He unbuttoned his shirt before getting ready to shower and flashed her a piercing glance. “Don’t you think I need an answer to my question first? The most important one I’ll ever ask?”
Without waiting for a response, he went into the bathroom. When he came out later wearing his bathrobe, he discovered her, white-faced, sitting on the side of the bed in her nightgown, waiting for him.
“Vincenzo—I can’t answer your question.”
They’d been through this before. He shuddered. “Why not?”
“Because I’ve thought long and hard about it, and I don’t want you to renounce your title. Not for me. I couldn’t live with it.”
“I’m not doing it for you. I thought you understood me. Isn’t that what our whole trip has been about? Enjoying life like normal people?”
She got to her feet. “But you’re not an ordinary man.”
He shook his head. “Thank you for your nonanswer. I finally understand the meaning of déjà vu.” After shutting off the lights, he climbed in his side of the bed. “I’m tired, Gemma. We have an early-morning call.”
So saying, he turned away from her, unable to deal with this right now. Dimi’s words were screaming in his head.
Just be warned. You’ve been in hell for years. Two weeks with her might still not be enough to make her see the light.
GEMMA HADN’T SLEPT at all and was numb with pain. Vincenzo’s rare show of sarcasm last night, followed by his silence, was worse than any visible anger.
On Friday morning he rented a car at the airport in Milan and drove them to an area off the Duomo with a few secluded properties of the wealthy. She wasn’t surprised when he pulled into the courtyard of a small, exquisite nineteenth-century palazzo. This represented the world he intended to give up.
After what he’d told her last night, she believed him. Her opinion didn’t enter into his decision to give up the title. He’d hated it all his life and didn’t want anything to do with it, period!