Page 21 of Awakened in Her Enemy's Palazzo

‘Great—you can put that in your prospectus for potential customers.’ She turned to Theo. ‘Did Nic tell you we have ambitious plans to expand? Several high-class retail outlets have been showing an interest.’

Theo’s brows lifted. ‘That detail is good news. As we’re selling as a going concern, all details are important.’

A going concern?

That was the first she had heard of it. Her impression had been that the estate would be cut up piecemeal. That getting rid of it quickly was more important than profit. But conscious of Nic, who was looking uncomfortable, she didn’t challenge Theo on this.

Instead she responded by simply saying, ‘Notwe.’ She blew a feathery wisp of fair hair out of her eyes. ‘I’mnot selling.’

Maintaining a smile, even though her cheeks were aching with the effort, she was happy to see her words grated on the intended recipient as she got to her feet.

‘If you’ll excuse me? I’ll leave you both to catch up.’

Spine like steel, she turned and walked out of the room. Indignation took her clear of the building, leaving behind a silence that for one man she knew would be awkward and for the other...

Remembering the glint in his dark eyes, she shook her head. She couldn’t figure out what Theo was thinking—which for her peace of mind was probably for the best.

Despite this silent observation she didn’t feel philosophical. She felt frustrated—so frustrated she wanted to scream. Instead she swore softly and fluently under her breath as she walked along the path through the expanse of tall Italian cypress and oak, down the rocky incline towards the beach.

She paused to rest her ankle a few times en route to the horseshoe of sand hemmed in by soft waves that hit the shore with a hiss, dragging fine stones back out as it made its relentless advance and retreat.

The doctor had instructed her to use her ankle and not favour it, but maybe he hadn’t meant her to use it quite this much, she decided, wincing as she stepped on a rock half concealed in the sand. The heat was building, but she had been scrupulous about applying her usual factor fifty, so she peeled off her linen shirt and sat down beside it.

She wasn’t worried about burning.

CHAPTER FIVE

SHECOULDHAVEyelled aloud now, without anyone coming to rescue her, but the sound of the waves had taken the edge off her jagged feelings as she sat in the sand and focused on the hiss of the waves. Until one wave tickled her toes and she realised that the tide had come in while she had been sitting there.

She got to her feet and slung her folded shirt higher up the sand, then stood hands on hips surveying her surroundings: the turquoise water...the white sand. Despite her claim that she had somewhere else to be, actually Grace didn’t. She had grown to love this place with a kind of yearning that went beyond logic, but she couldn’t feel it washers. It would take more than words on paper to make that feel real.

She was shocked by how much shewantedit to be real...wantedto belong to this place. How could Theo want to throw all this away?

The fact remained that she was half owner in name only, and Theo’s appearance had pushed that knowledge home. He had rejected the palazzo and all it involved, but hebelongedhere and she didn’t. The fact that he didn’t want the place seemed irrelevant—certainly to the people who lived and worked on the estate. His absence and his neglect of his father seemed to be forgotten and forgiven.

But then, unlike Nic and Marta, they didn’t know he was trying to sell the place out from under them—well, she assumed they didn’t. It wasn’t information she had shared with anyone else, and she was assuming he wouldn’t be taking out a full-page ad any time soon.

No matter what rumours might be floating around, there was no question that his appearance was viewed with approval—a real Ranieri at the helm. His appearance had changed everything. Like Nic had, people would automatically look to him now—but she was prepared for it.

It wasn’t as if she didn’t have experience of being overlooked. Her family weren’t the shy, retiring type. When they walked into a room they immediately became the centre of attention, and they all thrived on it.

Whereas Grace genuinely avoided attention. She was not an ‘if you’ve got it flaunt it’ sort of person. Glancing down at her modest breasts, she grinned and thought that was just as well, because in some areas she didn’t have much to flaunt!

‘Non-threatening’, her mother had called them when she had complained. At sixteen, Grace had not found this a selling point, but now she recognised that there were plus points—especially on a day like today. She was able to go comfortably braless without worrying about the bounce factor, which was rather nice.

She gave a soft chuckle. While not being resentful about being overlooked, and even though she knew she’d never have the opportunity, it amused her to imagine Theo walking into a room where her family were being their dazzling selves. For once it would be good to see them ignored. Because while her family were dazzling, Theo had that extra undefinable factor that took dazzle to a whole other level.

Her smile faded. Theo would alwaysbelong—and not just here. She was willing to bet that he had never felt like an outsider anywhere...the person who never really fitted, the one who was always a disappointment.

He had rejected his family, not the other way around.

Grace immediately felt a stab of guilt. Her family hadn’t rejected her...they’d tried to include her, made excuses for her.

We think she might have dyslexia.

Because a dyslexic child was preferable to one who got a B minus in English and maths.

When had she stopped trying?

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