“I never talk about them, Sienna. To anybody,” he stated softly.
My heart began to swell as I regarded the man in front of me. It felt almost like I was truly seeing him, for the very first time. Before I could stop myself, my hand lifted and cradled the side of his face.
He immediately reached up to grab my wrist, intending to stop me, but then he couldn’t pull it away. I stared into his eyes, and before I could talk myself out of it, I leaned forward and kissed him. This melding of our lips together was heart wrenching. I savored his taste as it seeped into me, sweet and heated, and just like that I became completely lost. I forgot we were in the hospital, and my father’s wellbeing was at stake. I forgot that at any point we could be discovered and that would bring even more troubles to both of us.
Suddenly, there was a thud and in the dull silence of the waiting room it felt too loud. We both jerked apart and looked down to see the can I had completely forgotten I’d been holding had fallen from my grasp and spilled out across the floor. A gasp left my throat as we hastily moved our legs away. I lifted my gaze to Angelo’s to see him staring at me with his eyes hooded and glittering.
“I’ll get it cleaned up,” he said, rising to his feet. Then he froze.
A sick feeling rose in my stomach, as my head whirled around, and my gaze rushed to see what he was staring at.
We had an audience … my grandmother and Charlotte.
I instantly shot to my feet. Time seemed to slow down as a strange fear washed through me. Not for me, but for Angelo. My father was incapacitated now, but what would happen when he again became the lion he was before?
In the deadly silence, Nonna gazed at me, then at Angelo, then she continued on without a word towards my father’s room.
Charlotte made a face at me. “Don’t worry, she saw nothing.”
I sagged with relief. Then I turned to Angelo. “It’s okay. She didn’t see anything.”
Chapter 43
Sienna
That weekend, my family was hosting another banquet to commemorate the winery’s twentieth anniversary. My father insisted he was well enough to attend and the celebration must go on.
The event was held in the barrel room, with its high curved ceiling, the aromas of wine barrels stacked up. Glass doors opened up to the panoramic view of the vineyard and mountains beyond.
There were people I knew and many I didn’t. They treated me differently. It was as if they knew after my father’s health scare that I would soon be the new boss. I didn’t like it one bit. I didn’t want to be the new capo del capo. I wanted my own little artisan business making exquisite shoes. I’d retreated to the food bar and stared at the vast display of food.
Charlotte would have had a blast here, but she had returned to London and left me here to battle the demons of my life on my own.
I picked up what was labeled a sea urchin taco appetizer. I slipped the tiny taco into my mouth ‒ as my eyes scanned the room filled with guests, decked out in tuxedoes and evening gowns ‒ for the one man who’d refused to give up his baseball cap.
Ever since that night at the hospital, things had suddenly changed between us. Angelo seemed to become withdrawn. It almost seemed as if he had completely lost interest in me. I had avoided my grandmother at all costs, the last thing I wanted to deal with was a confrontation of any kind about what she had seen. Even if she hadn’t seen the kiss, my grandmother had sharp eyes. She would have noticed something.
Suddenly, I lost my appetite. I took a napkin to the corners of my lips and wondered for the umpteenth time what I was going to do. Ever since my father’s illness everything had changed.
Yes, he was better, but the incident had imprinted the very jarring reminder of his mortality in my mind. The alliance with Fabio still hung over me, but after that night, maybe he would have changed his mind. I prayed he would have some pride and would give up the idea of marriage to me.
My thoughts were interrupted by the clinking of a cutlery against glass.