The Accidental Engagement (18 page)

Angela came out to join him, plopping down with a sigh of exhaustion. “The kids are finally asleep.”

“Good, then you can join me for a nightcap.”

She nodded to the coffee in his hand. “I’m surprised you didn’t opt for something stronger after the day you’ve had.”

Daniel laughed. She had a point. After the initial emotional reunion with his grandfather, he had been enveloped into the animated and loud family reunion. He’d seen relatives he’d spent countless hours with and met many new additions to the family. It seemed all of his cousins had settled down and were now the proud parents of a small army of children.

“So, who was that woman you were with at the festival?”

Uh oh. Here it comes. He hadn’t missed the looks his family had exchanged when they discovered that he was single and childless—a fate worse than death in this family.

There it was again. The image he’d had the other day of Ivy round with child. Ivy walking down the aisle. Ivy growing old at his side.

Snap out of it, Danny boy. She deserves better.

“She’s nobody, just someone I work with.” He hadn’t meant to sound so defensive. He offered a small smile. “No setups, I’m begging you. Take my word for it when I tell you I am not marriage material.”

Angela feigned innocence. “Who said anything about marriage?” She caught his eye and they both burst out laughing. “Okay, okay. Maria, Juliette, and I may have come up with a few available women we’d like you to meet—I’m serious, stop laughing.”

Daniel shook his head. “You guys are too much. I’ve only been here a few hours and already you’re trying to boss me around. Just like old times.”

Angela pretended to be hurt. “Are you calling me bossy?”

Daniel looked at her in disbelief.

“Okay, fine. Maybe I’m a little bossy. You would be too if you were the oldest of five.”

“Touché.”

They sipped their drinks in silence for a few moments, enjoying the fresh night air before Angela picked up where she’d left off. “So, seriously. What’s the deal with you and that woman?”

Daniel sighed and put down his coffee cup. She wouldn’t stop until he spilled. “It’s complicated. I’d rather not talk about it.”

Angela made a snorting noise and waved away his protest. “That excuse might work on your employees but it won’t work with your family.”

When he still didn’t speak, she kept pestering. “Is she your girlfriend?”

“No,” he said quickly. Too quickly.

Her eyes searched his face. “Does she know that she’s not your girlfriend?”

Guilt swirled in his stomach. Guilt and something else he couldn’t name. Disappointment maybe. Or regret. He didn’t want to be having this conversation. “Why would you think that?”

“Because I’m a
woman
,” she said as though that answered everything. She rolled her eyes at Daniel’s blank look. “I can tell when another woman is in love.”

Love.
The word hit Daniel like a punch in the gut. He’d suspected it from the way she looked at him, the way her eyes lit up when he entered a room. But he had hoped he was wrong. Hoped maybe she was harboring a schoolgirl’s crush.

How had he gotten himself into this? She was everything he’d always avoided in women. And now he’d gone and done the unthinkable. He was going to break an innocent woman’s heart. Despite all of his precautions, he was still no better than his father after all.

Angela had been watching him and her voice lost all of its mockery and flippancy. She talked to him like she did one of her children, like a patient mother. “You care about her too,” she said.

He didn’t respond because he didn’t have to. It wasn’t a question and there was no point denying it. Yes, he cared. Of course he cared. And that was why he had to keep his distance.

Too little too late.
Where had that resolve been a week ago? It was too late to undo what he’d already done, but from here on out he would create distance. He would back away and when the time was right, he would end it for good. A clean break. She was young and beautiful. She’d find someone else, someone who could help her to move on.

He slammed his coffee cup down with such force the table shook and Angela sat up with a start. “Sorry,” he muttered.

“Talk to me, Danny. If you care about her and she’s clearly smitten with you—what’s the hold up?”

He stared at her in disbelief. He’d thought Angela would understand. She’d been there for every missed birthday, every heartbreaking disappointment. She’d watched by his side as his mother hid her tears every time. “You of all people should know what would happen to this girl if we actually stayed together.”

He sighed in exasperation at her confused look. “You saw what life was like for my mother. And for me. I couldn’t put any woman through that, especially not Ivy.”

Her eyes widened in understanding. “You don’t really believe that’s true? You’re nothing at all like your father.”

Daniel squashed a wave of anger. “I’m exactly like him. I made my decision to follow in his footsteps a long time ago and I haven’t looked back.”

Angela pursed her lips. It was clear she wanted to debate the issue further but was holding herself back.

“Trust me, Angela. If you knew Ivy, you wouldn’t wish that for her either.”

“Have you asked her what she wants in all of this? Because it sounds like you’ve made up your mind for both of you.”

“She’s young and naïve. She’ll thank me for it one day.” One day when she was happily married to some other man. There was a loud cracking sound when he accidentally snapped off the handle of his mug. “Stupid piece of….”

He looked up to see Angela smothering a laugh at his expense.

* * * *

Ivy was dying for a moment alone with Daniel. He hadn’t returned to the villa for dinner and she hadn’t seen him before everyone retired to their bedrooms. She was hoping he’d slip into her room if he got in late, but she had no late night visits either. The next morning she sought him out so she could hear every detail of the reunion. Maybe he’d thought to take pictures. Probably not.

Daniel finally made an appearance during breakfast. She tried to catch his eye when the others were talking but he looked distracted. Maybe the reunion hadn’t gone as well as Brunelli thought or maybe they’d gotten into a huge fight after he left. Ivy played with the pastry on her plate and silently urged everyone to leave them alone. Just for two minutes, she begged telepathically. But no such luck. She was forced to smile and play lovebirds with Jack until he left for the office with Brunelli’s son and then Daniel and Brunelli went off to discuss business.

She was in the living room, watching some of the younger children play when Brunelli and Daniel walked into the room. It was Brunelli who finally gave her the golden opportunity.

“Poor Ivy is stuck inside all day, waiting around for Jack.” He made a tsking noise. “Daniel, you know your way around town, no? Take this poor girl out and show her a good time, for heaven’s sake.”

Ivy clapped her hands in excitement. She was desperate for time alone with Daniel but she still had to play the role. “Don’t you want to come? And what about the children?”

He made a shooing motion with his hands. “You both look like you need some sunshine and fresh air. Go, go. No arguments.”

And so Ivy found herself alone at last with Daniel. “First thing’s first.” She scooted across the middle seat and wrapped an arm around his neck, pulling him in for a kiss. He pulled back a little too quickly and put the car in gear. “We’d better keep moving. I wouldn’t put it past Brunelli to have spies watching us.”

Ivy gave him a questioning look but let it go. “So, tell me everything. I’m dying to hear how it went.”

He smiled at her and she felt a chill run down her spine. There it was. There was that dreaded, slick smile she despised. She hadn’t seen that since they slept together.

Shaking off a sense of foreboding, Ivy paid attention as he described the same scene that Brunelli had told her about and went on to give her the gist of his conversation with his grandfather. “We both decided to put the past behind us. He’s in poor health and he wants to put away the grudges and misunderstandings and I told him that I’d like very much to have him back in my life.”

Ivy reached over to squeeze his arm. “I’m so happy for you, Daniel. “

“I know I have you to thank. Well, you and Brunelli.”

“Speaking of Brunelli….” Ivy took a deep breath and recounted the conversation from the other morning. When she was finished, his jaw was clenched.

“Dammit.” He pounded a fist against the steering wheel, causing Ivy to jump.

“Do you think he suspects something? Between us, I mean?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know. But clearly he’s still not sold on you and Jack. Where is he, anyway? The whole point of coming up here is so Brunelli can see the two of you together.”

“He’s been working.”

“Well, he can work all he wants once this deal is signed. Until then, his only job is to convince Brunelli he’s a man in love. And a man in love wouldn’t choose to work over spending time with his fiancée during her first trip to Tuscany.”

Ivy was watching his profile closely. What had happened between yesterday and today?

The rest of the afternoon was a miserable failure as far as Ivy was concerned. She’d been so looking forward to an afternoon alone with Daniel and instead she found herself walking beside a bored tour guide.

“To the left is the first church built in the town, I believe it dates back to the Renaissance.”

She was only half listening. At one point she tried to ask him about his change of behavior but he played dumb and said he didn’t know what she was talking about.

When he wasn’t explaining the history of the town, he was strategizing over how best to sell Ivy and Jack as a couple. After lunch he scrutinized the way they greeted each other, their pet names and how often they held hands. “There’s not enough PDA between you two, that’s definitely a problem.”

She threw her hands in the air in annoyance. “What do you want me to do, throw myself on top of him every time he walks into the room? Shove my tongue down his throat at dinner?”

Daniel cast her a warning look. “This isn’t funny, Ivy. I’ve got everything on the line here. And so does Jack. And so do you, for that matter. It’s time you take this seriously.”

Ivy had to bit her tongue to keep from sticking it out at him like a child. “You think I’m not taking this seriously? I’ve put my life on hold and am lying to everyone I know. Do you know my parents were asked to be on a talk show to discuss my upbringing? Everyone wants the story of my life and it’s one big lie. Don’t tell me I’m not taking it seriously.”

Ivy tried to get it out of him. “What is this really about?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, who are you? You’re not the same guy you have been for the past few days. What’s changed?”

He paused while walking and gave her a serious look. “Get used to it, Ivy. This is the real me. I don’t know what you think was going on but I’m here for one reason and one reason only. Got it?”

Ivy’s breath caught in her throat at his tone. She tried to let it go. She tried to focus on the buildings he was showing her and give them both some time to cool off. She would wait and talk to him when she was calm and collected. It was a lovely thought.

“What happened yesterday?”

He turned to her, looking slightly surprised to find her still walking by his side. “I already told you. I had a nice reunion with my family. Are you ready to head back to the villa yet?”

She was a dog with a bone. No matter how much she wished she could be sensible and let the conversation lie, her mouth had other ideas. “Why are you being such a jerk?”

The look he gave her was that of an overly patient uncle. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Ivy. If I’ve offended you in some way, I apologize.” He started to walk away but she stopped him by stepping directly into his path. “Fine. Don’t tell me what happened. But don’t try to deny that something is different between us. You’re back to being...back to being….”

His cool smile was the last straw.

She jabbed a finger at his chest. “There it is. That smile. I
hate
that smile.”

She saw a muscle in his jaw twitch. There. At least she was getting some sort of reaction.

“I don’t know what’s going on with you but I don’t understand how you can go from being a kind, attentive, loving—” She almost said boyfriend before she stopped herself. Now was not the time to define their relationship, not when he was pushing her away.

She lowered her voice so the passersby on the street couldn’t hear. “You slept with me. You made love to me just two nights ago.”

He pulled her off of the sidewalk where they were starting to garner attention and into a small alley beside a church. When he spoke, his voice was cold and detached. “What do you want from me?”

His cold tone was a knife in her gut. She drew back, stunned by the stranger who stood before her. This man was nothing like the Daniel she had come to know. He wasn’t even the formal businessman she had originally met. The man who stood before her was a stranger.

“I mean it, Ivy. What do you want?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

His tone was condescending. “I think you do. This is about us, isn’t it? About our little affair?” He waved his hand in the air dismissively.

Ivy blinked at him in surprise. He was being cruel. And it was intentional.

“I thought I made myself very clear from the very beginning, my dear. I told you from the start that I wouldn’t let some fling stand in the way of this deal. I meant what I said. Now, I don’t know what sort of childish notions you’ve gotten into your head but it’s time you grow up.”

Ivy’s head snapped back as though he’d slapped her across the face.

“Grow up?” she echoed stupidly.

He rubbed a hand across his eyes as though he was dealing with a petulant child. “I should have known you couldn’t handle a casual affair.” He let out weary sigh. “Did you really think I would give everything up for you? That I would let a little tryst get in the way of a deal that has been two years in the making?”