Page 35 of His Innocent's Passionate Awakening

Artie blinked at him in surprise. ‘Really? But wouldn’t that have incurred a considerable loss of income for him?’

Luca shrugged one broad shoulder. ‘Don’t worry. I’ve more than compensated him.’

She chewed at the side of her mouth, touched that Luca had gone to so much trouble and expense for her comfort. ‘I guess I can hardly call myself a cheap date, now, can I?’

His fingers squeezed hers, a smile playing about his mouth. ‘You’re worth more than you realise, cara. My grandfather certainly thinks so—he was in much better spirits today. Meeting you has done him the power of good. He told me when you were using the bathroom earlier today that he’s decided to go ahead with the chemo for his cancer. I have you to thank for his change in attitude. He wants to live now. You’ve given him a reason to.’

‘I’m so glad,’ Artie said. ‘But I hope the chemo won’t be too gruelling. He’s not a young man.’

‘No, but he’s a tough old guy.’ Luca stroked his thumb over the back of her hand and added in a heavy tone, ‘It’s something I’ve been dreading—losing him. He’s the last link to my father and brother, apart from my mother, of course.’

Artie could sense the deep love he had for his grandfather and it gave her hope that he might one day learn to embrace other forms of love—romantic love. Love-for-a-lifetime love. Her love.

‘Has your mother been to see Nonno recently?’

His mouth twisted, a shadow passing through his gaze. ‘They talk on the phone now and again. My mother hates flying back to Italy. It reminds her too much of our flight back from Argentina with my father’s and brother’s bodies.’ He released her hand and picked up his wine glass, staring at the golden liquid with a frowning expression.

Artie placed her hand on his other forearm where it was resting on the table. ‘I can only imagine how devastated you both were on that trip home. I can relate to it with my own journey home from hospital after the accident. It felt surreal, like I was having a nightmare or something. I kept expecting my mother to be there when I got home, but of course she wasn’t. And my father was a shell of himself. A broken shell. I blamed myself, just as you did and still do.’

Luca leaned forward and took both of her hands in his. ‘We’ve both suffered terrible tragedies. Nothing is going to change the past. It’s done and can’t be undone. But it’s important to live your own life.’

Artie looked down at their joined hands. ‘At least I’m living my life now, thanks to you. I think I was asleep to myself for the last ten years.’ She raised her gaze to his and continued, ‘I didn’t realise how much I’d let my fear control me. It kind of crept up on me until I was completely imprisoned by it. But somehow you got me to change my focus, to shift my thinking. How can I ever thank you for that?’

‘You don’t have to thank me. You did it all by yourself.’ Luca idly stroked her hands with his thumbs. ‘You’re doing so well now. I can’t tell you how shocked and delighted I was to see you appear at the hospital the other day. I thought I was dreaming.’

‘I was sick with nerves,’ Artie confessed. ‘But knowing you were there at the end of my journey really helped. It gave me a clear goal to aim for.’

Luca smiled and released one of her hands, then took a flat rectangular jewellery box out of his jacket pocket. ‘I have something for you.’ He placed the box on the table between them. ‘Open it.’

Artie prised open the lid to find a beautiful diamond and sapphire pendant and matching earrings. ‘Oh, Luca, they’re absolutely gorgeous!’ She picked up one of the dangling earrings. ‘But they’re the same design as your grandmother’s engagement ring. Does that mean they’re—?’

‘Sì, they were Nonna’s. I want you to have the whole collection.’

‘But they’re priceless heirlooms. Why are you giving them to me?’

‘Don’t you think you’re worth it?’

She put the earring back in the box, and ran her fingertip over the fine gold chain of the pendant. ‘It’s not that so much...’ She glanced up at him. ‘It’s more that I feel uncomfortable with you being so generous to me when we’re only going to be together for six months. I mean, I seem to be the biggest winner in this arrangement of ours. I get to keep the castello and all this amazing jewellery, and what do you get?’

His eyes held hers in a strange little lock that made the hairs on the back of her neck tingle. ‘I get some wonderful memories of our time together. Plus, my grandfather will hopefully recover now he’s agreed to go ahead with the treatment.’

Artie frowned. ‘But don’t you want more than that?’

A screen came up in his gaze. ‘What more could I want?’

Me. You could want me, for ever.

Artie couldn’t bring herself to say it out loud but she wondered if he could hear her hopes in the ringing silence. ‘Don’t you want to keep your grandmother’s jewellery in case one day you change your mind about marrying someone else?’

‘Not going to happen.’ He sat back in his chair, lifted his wine glass from the table and took a measured sip. ‘I have no plans of that nature.’

Not going to happen.

The words taunted her for the rest of the meal.

Not going to happen.

He was so adamant about never falling in love.

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