Page 207 of Modern Romance Collection May 2024 Books 1-4

Vaulting off the bed, he snatched at the first piece of clothing he found, anger infusing his every jerky movement as he pulled on the drawstring pants and started to pace backwards and forwards, hands planted on his lean hips. His Italian blood had always run red-hot with passion, and in recent days she’d seen him overwhelmed with feeling about his past, but Rae had never seen his temper heightened to such a degree and she was immediately wondering what had set it off.

‘Domenico, what is it? What’s happened?’

But he was already pacing away from her, brushing the flowing white curtain aside with an impatient hand and striding out onto the terrace, and Rae could only stare after him, bewildered.

Because in the space of thirty seconds the whole mood of the morning had changed and Rae was utterly unsure of what to do next. Not so long ago, she would have thought twice about rushing after him and querying his upset because she was so wary of being rebuffed. But things had changed a lot since then. She had changed, and the landscape between her and Domenico was shifting as well. The ground they had broken last night had been significant, and it was those moves that they had made to know each other better,to trust each other, which gave her the confidence to follow the instinct firing from her gut and follow him outside, where she hoped he would tell her what was bothering him.

The morning view was stunning, but all Domenico could focus on was the pressure pounding at his temples. The call from his assistant had delivered the worst news possible and with so much importance and emotion attached to the deal, and so much of his own self-worth tied to its success, his frustration was lodged so deeply he could barely think straight.

Hearing the gentle sound of footsteps on the tiles behind him, he emitted a sigh. ‘Go away, Rae. Please.’ The last thing he wanted was her witnessing the state he was in. He understood that he needed to be more open, and he was proud of the barriers he had been able to bring down last night, no matter how painful doing so had been, but this cut to the deepest and darkest of his fears and he was in no way ready to cast them into the light.

‘Sorry. I can’t do that,’ she replied, her voice soft as she came to stand beside him. For a woman who bordered on being petite, only five-foot-four in height, he felt her presence immediately. ‘Do you want to tell me what’s going on?’

Absolutely not.

Turning his dark head towards her, Domenico was ready to repeat his earlier command, but as his gaze caught on her and he was hit between the eyes with the bright shine of her blue eyes and her long hair gleaming with the kiss of sunlight, he felt the knots around him loosen and, to his shock, heard himself start to speak.

‘Lorca cancelled our sit-down today. His assistant phoned Nico ten minutes ago. She said that Lorca no longer has the time to meet me and that he sends his sincerest apologies, but still hopes to see us at his party this evening.’

Rae’s brow furrowed slightly. ‘You don’t believe that?’

‘He invited me out here to have that meeting, so why cancel it at the last minute?’ he grated out, his voice frayed with aggravation. ‘Unless he’s stalling the deal on purpose.’

‘Why would he do that?’

Domenico pushed his long fingers through his dark hair. ‘I don’t know. But every instinct I have is telling me that’s what is going on.’

Rae’s eyes rested on him, gentle and kind, and yet they seemed to burn him with their scrutiny. ‘This deal with Lorca obviously means a lot to you. A lot more than any other deal I’ve ever seen you make,’ she observed, and he could see her thoughts ticking over, trying so desperately to understand. She really was incredible. He’d neglected her emotionally, failed as a husband, but she was still standing at his side, trying to help him. Heal him. If it hadn’t been clear to him before that moment, it suddenly was—he hadn’t appreciated her enough in the past. Her strength, her kindness, her loyalty. He’d been so focused on his feelings, on the void in him that she had obliterated, he’d overlooked entirely the sensational woman he had been lucky enough to find. ‘Is it because this was Raphael and Elena’s dream? You’re trying so hard to make it happen for them?’

‘Yes, that’s exactly it.’

‘No, it’s not,’ Rae challenged gently, after a long moment studying him. ‘You should know by now that I know when you’re shutting me out, Domenico, when you’re holding something back. What is it?’

In front of him, his hands curled into tight fists as he felt the truth bludgeoning its way to the surface from the depths where he had tried to bury it. ‘I do want to do this for Elena and Raphael. I just also want it for myself too. To prove that I am deserving of the life that Elena gave me, that she was right to keep me, right to give me the position of her son and heir.’

He stared straight ahead, his eyes fixed on the neutrality of the sky, but all he could feel was the poison of that feeling slinking through his blood, making his heart race with the fear that it was the truth.

‘Why would you need to prove that?’ Rae asked on an aghast breath. ‘Elena left you in charge of the company because she trusted you so much, and she gave you everything that she did because she wanted to, because she loved you.’

A muscle worked tightly in his jaw as the insecurity continued to needle at him ‘She never made it official though, did she? She never formally adopted me, so there must have been some doubt in the back of her mind if I was worthy of all that she had to give.’

‘Domenico, there could be a dozen reasons why Elena didn’t adopt you, and none of them have anything to do with you not being good enough,’ Rae argued. ‘You are deserving. You are worthy. Your mother choosing to abandon you as a baby is a lot more damning of her character than of yours. You were just a baby, you did nothing wrong...’

‘But maybe...’

‘No maybe. You did nothing wrong. Look at me.’

Abandoning his forward stare, he turned his head.

Rae moved a step closer and pressed her hands to his chest, her eyes blazing with vehemence. ‘You did nothing wrong,’ she repeated, slower than the first time. ‘There was nothing wrong with you. And even though your mother couldn’t or didn’t love you, Elena did and you have nothing to prove to her. But if you feel that you need to make this deal happen to believe that, then let’s make this deal happen. Forget about the cancelled meeting. You’ll speak with Lorca tonight at the party instead,’ she said simply. ‘All you need is a few minutes to talk through whatever is bothering him and sort it out. I’ve seen you close deals in less than fifteen minutes, Domenico, so you can do this, no problem. Don’t let him cancelling today be a big thing. Take the opportunity to have a day to yourself, to take it easy. Enjoy the island.’

‘I’m not someone who spends a lot of time taking it easy,’ he muttered. ‘You should know that.’

‘I do know that. Which is all the more reason to do so now. You’ve been under a lot of pressure. You need some time to rest and destress so you’re relaxed for tonight.’

She might be right, Domenico conceded with his eyes on the water below. He had been pushing himself harder than usual, partly because of this deal but also to avoid dwelling on his grief for Elena and his feelings about Rae’s return. Maybe a day of leisurely pursuits would restore him to his usual pragmatic self and release some of the strain from his coiled body.

‘What do you have in mind for this day of relaxation, then?’ he asked her.

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