“YOU’RE BACK.”
It was almost lunchtime when Bianca dragged herself to the main house. She glanced over at Gia as she entered the kitchen. Bianca smoothed a hand over her mussed-up ponytail. She’d forgotten that her sister had turned the place into a boutique hotel and that there might be guests lurking about. She peered past her sister, relieved to find her alone.
“I got in late last night.”
Gia had already turned in by then, but Enzo had still been awake. He knew Bianca was upset but he hadn’t pried. He just let her know he was there if she wanted to talk.
She turned her back to her sister to avoid questions about the shadows under her bloodshot eyes.
“I loved the photos you sent,” Gia said. “Do you have some of the wedding?”
“Um... I do. But not on me.” The last thing she wanted to discuss was the royal wedding. “I was so tired last night that I forgot to plug my phone in and now it’s dead, kind of like me. Do you have some coffee you can spare?”
Gia made them both a cup and then joined Bianca at the kitchen island. “You don’t look so good, considering you just planned the wedding of a lifetime.”
And had my heart torn out and shredded.
“How am I supposed to look?”
Gia shrugged. “Like you’re on top of the world. The phone has been ringing like crazy with people trying to reach you to plan their wedding.”
“Sorry about that.”
“Sorry?” Gia studied her. “Now I know something is wrong. Bianca, what is it? Tell me what has you looking like you just lost your best friend.”
Bianca needed someone to talk to and so she started at the beginning. She left out some of the steamy bits, some things weren’t for sharing. And then the proposal—
“And you turned him down?” Gia’s voice rose.
“Shh...” Bianca glanced at the doorway to assure herself that they were still alone. “I don’t want anyone to know.”
“I wouldn’t want anyone to know you lost your mind either. I mean, it’s obvious by the look on your face when you mention Leo that you love him. And he’s a prince. What else do you need?”
“You don’t understand. What happens when the DNA test says I’m not a Bartolini?”
“You’re still you and he loves you.”
Bianca shook her head. “He loves the idea of me. But when I pointed out about the DNA tests and that I could be anyone’s daughter, including a criminal’s, he went silent.” It was only when her sister’s face paled that Bianca realized she’d said too much. “Gia, I didn’t mean that. I... I was just being thoughtless.”
“It’s okay.” The look on her face said it was anything but okay. “It’s the truth. We don’t know anything about the biological father.”
Not sure what to say, Bianca opted to distract her sister with her story about Leo. “Anyway, Leo didn’t say a word and then he walked away. That was all the answer I needed.”
Gia grabbed a tray of pastries and placed them in front of Bianca. “I think you’re going to need these.” When Bianca arched a questioning brow, Gia added, “You know, comfort food.”
Bianca’s gaze moved to the tray. “I’m going to need a lot more sweets than this. Do you have any chocolate?”
Before Gia could answer, sounds of a commotion came from the front of the villa. What was that all about? Some rowdy guests?
“I’ll be right back.” Gia rushed out of the room.
Bianca browsed the cabinets for some chocolate. The voices in the front room grew louder and she could hear Gia’s raised voice. Alarmed, Bianca pushed the cabinet door shut and rushed after her sister.
Bianca came to a halt when she spotted Leo.
Her heart leaped into her throat.
What was he doing here? Not that she should care. Whatever they’d shared was over.
“Go away.”
Leo braced himself for a prickly reception. He just hadn’t expected the hostility to come from Bianca’s sister. It didn’t surprise him. He’d handled things poorly with Bianca. He just needed a chance to make it up to her.
Luckily for him, the private jet had returned earlier than expected and he didn’t have time to wait until noon for the commercial flight. It was refueled and ready to go early that morning. Still, it had taken him longer to get to the Bartolini estate than he’d planned because he had to make an important detour. It was a crucial part of his plan to win Bianca back. He hoped it would prove to her once and for all how much he cared about her...if only he could get past her brother and sister.
“I’m not leaving until I speak to Bianca,” Leo said as Enzo continued to stand in front of him with his fists pressed into his sides.
“She doesn’t want to see you,” Enzo said while Gia agreed with him. “I don’t care if you are a prince, you can’t hurt my sister.”
“You don’t understand—”
“I understand that my sister was crying and that’s all I need to know.”
The fact he’d caused Bianca such pain weighed heavy on him. He had to make it up to her, if she’d let him. “I can fix this.”
Gia stepped between the two men. She leveled her shoulders and tilted her chin upward. “If you’ve come to tell my sister that she’s not good enough to be a royal, you can leave now.”
That’s what she thought? It couldn’t be further from the truth. But he didn’t want to explain himself to Bianca’s siblings. The person he needed to explain things to was Bianca—
“Leo, you shouldn’t be here.” Bianca stepped into the room.
“Don’t worry about him,” Enzo said. “He was just leaving.”
“No. I wasn’t.” Leo frowned at the man. And then he turned his attention to Bianca. “I need to speak with you. Alone.”
“We have nothing left to discuss.”
“Listen, I messed up and I’m sorry.” He pulled a huge bouquet of red roses from behind his back. “These are for you.”
Bianca’s eyes paused on the flowers before meeting his gaze once more. He couldn’t read her thoughts. It was as though she’d put up a protective wall and now he had to find a way to breach it.
“Please go, Leo. It’s over. It was a mistake.” She turned and walked away.
He desperately wanted to follow her—to tell her that nothing was over between them. They were just getting started, but her two protective siblings weren’t about to let him get past them.
He placed the flowers on a stand by the door. “I’ll be back.”
He wasn’t giving up. He loved Bianca. And she loved him too. She was afraid of the results of the DNA test and he had to prove to her that they didn’t matter to him.