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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 smile seemed to light the whole room as she leaned toward the microphone, holding the plaque to her breasts. “Thank you. I appreciate this recognition, but it was our privilege to be able to adopt the fresco project. My late mother, Lydia Henderson, lived her life working to save old buildings from being demolished instead of renovated. She led numerous architectural review boards in Massachusetts and elsewhere in New England. During her illness, we decided to donate to this project because she was fascinated with the history of Venice and had always been drawn to images of angels and warriors. She often said that all of us had a chance to be both in our lives. I’m proud to say that she truly was an angel and a warrior, and I hope to live my life at least a little bit like she did.”
Even from the back of the room, Enzo could see her blinking back tears as she said one more thank you, then headed back to her seat. It seemed she’d taken only a few steps before her gaze lifted to his. Her eyes narrowed and her graceful gait seemed to falter for a moment before she turned her attention to finding her seat again.
Dio. What was he supposed to think now?
He stared at the back of her silky head and had no idea of the answer to that question. But one thing he did know?
He owed her an apology.
Obviously, she had good reason to be at the meeting that had nothing to do with him, and, yeah, she’d been right. He did feel ridiculous that he’d assumed otherwise.
He huffed out a breath, not wanting to have to give her that mea culpa, but knew he had no choice. The meeting seemed to drag on forever, his eyes on the back of her head instead of the speaker for most of it. Finally, the crowd stood and he jostled his way through the throng until he was able to catch her just as she was walking out the door.
“Aubrey. Wait. I need to talk to you.”
She stared straight ahead across the piazza, walking faster. “You’ve already said plenty, Dr. Affini.”
“I want to apologize.”
“For what?” She finally turned to look at him, and if the daggers she was sending from her furious gaze had been real, he’d be lying dead on the pavement. “Accusing me of showing up at your clinic to trap you? Of stalking you at the architecture meeting? Of faking an interest in restoration? You overestimate yourself.”
“I know. And I’m sorry. I am. Truly.”
“Hmmph.” The sound she made wasn’t exactly an acceptance of his apology, but at least she slowed down a little, instead of surging through the crowd as if she were in a sprint race.
He reached for her arm to slow her even more and was glad but a little surprised that she didn’t yank it loose. “Aubrey. Things are...difficult right now. Which maybe is making me think and act in a way I shouldn’t.”
“Now, isn’t that an understatement.”
“So can we put this behind us?” He tugged on her arm to force her to look at him. He wanted to see her soften and forgive him, and why that felt so important, he had no idea, since he still wasn’t sure what to think about her.
“I’ll do my best.” She finally turned to him, and the blaze in her eyes had thankfully cooled. “But only because I love being here and enjoy working at the clinic. And I’m not going to let you ruin either one of those things for me.”
This time, she did pull her arm loose, and without another word she took off at a fast pace again. He slowed and decided to let her go. Time to think up a new strategy on how to handle beautiful and mysterious Aubrey Henderson.
* * *
“Stop being negative. We still have time,” Enzo said to his accountant and fellow preservationist, Leonardo. Not sure if he was trying to convince Leonardo or himself, he paced the upper floor of the one home he had left in his possession in Venice, staring unseeingly at the finely woven antique carpet covering the terrazzo floor. “I’m working on raising more money for the purchase and have also liquidated some assets, which you’ll see transferred to the account in a few days. Almost all our vineyards had a good harvest, with more grapes sold this year to other wineries than last, and our own vintages are selling well. Dante gave me the numbers a few days ago. It’s coming together.”
At least, he hoped it was. His gut tightened at how much money he still needed to buy back the childhood home he loved, but he was determined to make it happen.
“But the new owner told me he expected the sale to the hotel chain to go through within the next three weeks,” Leonardo said.
“Which gives us two and a half to beat them to it.”
“I was looking through all the photos of the house you gave me. Whether the sale goes through or not, I’ll need more of the exterior, the internal courtyard, and the bedrooms to provide to the commission proactively, so they’ll agree to a six-month delay of the interior demolition the hotel is planning. Buy us some time to convince the commission to refuse to allow it. If the sale ends up going through to the hotel, maybe they’d end up selling it back to you if they can’t remodel it the way they want to. So can you get those for me?”
“Yes.” Or at least, he hoped he could. He might not be the one who owned and rented the property to the UWWHA anymore, but he did know a certain beautiful, questionable tenant living there. If she wasn’t so angry she refused to talk to him anymore, let alone allow him in the house. “I’ll get them to you as soon as possible. Arrivederci.”
Familiar burning anger swelled in Enzo’s chest as he hung up, but he fought it down. Holding close the bitterness and fury he felt was a distraction he couldn’t afford. Despising his father and his selfish actions didn’t change a damn thing.
No, Enzo just had to work harder and outbid the hotel chain. That was all there was to it.
Thinking of the house had his thoughts turning to Aubrey again. He could picture her sleeping in one of the run-down but still beautiful bedrooms, her shining hair spread across the pillow. Curled up reading a book in a chair in front of one of the massive stone fireplaces. Wandering the halls admiring the amazing rooms and artwork and antiquities.
He dropped into a chair to stare out over the Grand Canal. Confused was probably the best word to describe how he felt about her. Along with suspicious and extremely attracted.
Were she and Dante’s lover—no, wife, now—two women with an agenda? So many things pointed to yes, maybe. Then again, there was something so appealing, so seemingly genuine about Aubrey, something that drew him to her in a way that he couldn’t quite remember happening with another woman. He’d seen it when she’d cared for Benedetto, then fixed up Enzo’s pants for the child, which made him chuckle all over again. And a number of other times as they’d taken care of patients together.
Yet there were all those coincidences that made it hard to believe she was for real.
So where did that leave him?
The same place he’d always been. Still planning to save his inheritance here and in Arezzo a different way. Through hard work. Still planning to never marry, regardless of what that meant to the future of the properties that should be his.
Except Aubrey didn’t know that.
Feeling oddly unsettled, he decided to give Dante a call. Between his brother’s new wife and his always busy job as a trauma surgeon, Enzo hadn’t seen the man in weeks. He hoped that meant everything was reasonably fine, but he wanted to hear that for himself. With any luck he’d be available to talk, and not in the middle of surgery, and Enzo was glad Dante picked up after only two rings.
“To what do I owe the honor of hearing from my brother, since you haven’t called me for weeks?” Dante said in his ear.
“The phone works both ways, you know. I figured you were busy with Shay and didn’t want to bother you.”
“You’ve been bothering me your whole life, so why change things now?”
“Point taken.” The smile in his brother’s voice made Enzo smile, too. “How’s work?”
“Busy. So busy that we haven’t been able to get back to Arezzo for a while, but we plan to soon. How about you?”
Hearing his brother say “we” when it came to his life and travels sounded so strange, but, with a baby on the way, he’d be saying that for the rest of his life, wouldn’t he? Something everyone would have to get used to. “Busy, too. Always is during the heavy tourist season, as you know. How’s Shay? Feeling all right?”
“She’s well. Getting more round, but feeling good.”
Why the conversation felt so awkward to him, Enzo wasn’t sure, but he sensed that his brother wasn’t feeling awkward at all. He sounded happy, maybe? Excited? Enzo hoped so, and also hoped his brother’s heart wasn’t going to get mashed up over all of it. “Glad to hear it. Well, I just wanted—”
“What’s the situation with the house?” his brother interrupted. “Last time we talked you were having trouble raising enough funds.”
“Still working on it.” No point in adding to his brother’s concerns, since they’d already collaborated to borrow as much as possible against their wineries.
“I heard that Aubrey Henderson is back in Venice with the UWWHA and living at your house now.”
“It’s not my house anymore, remember?”
“It will always be your house.” Dante’s voice was fierce. “I’m still exploring a few other possibilities for raising money, and I know you’re going to find some way to buy it back. No one is as determined as you when you set a goal for yourself.”
“Thanks. And I am determined.” Somehow, his brother’s vote of confidence eased the tightness in his chest a little, even if they were just words and not money in the bank.
“So how’s it going with Aubrey working at the clinic, or shouldn’t I ask?”
“How did you hear about that?”
“You know how women like to talk,” his brother said drily. “I heard it from Shay. But she didn’t have to tell me you went out with Aubrey. I had a gut feeling you’d end up in bed with her when you told me you were going to introduce yourself to ask questions about Shay. Despite my telling you I knew the child was mine.”
His brother’s voice was chiding, but he didn’t sound annoyed with him anymore. But who wouldn’t have wanted to find out more about the woman his brother wanted to marry? “Maybe your gut feeling was just indigestion.”
“Or not. Aubrey’s a beautiful, smart woman and I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist. And neither would she. If there’s one thing the Affini men are good at, it’s charming women, right?”
“I hope we have more going for us than that, since it’s one of the many things about our father that we both despise.”
“Yeah.” Dante’s joking tone disappeared. “Listen, I just got a surgery consult. Thanks for calling, and I’ll talk to you soon.”
Enzo stood to shove his phone in his pocket, sling his camera around his neck, and grab the keys to his boat. He jogged down the curved stone staircase of one of the several homes that had been in the Affini royal family for centuries.
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