He couldn’t imagine her throwing her life away because of some scars that weren’t even that noticeable.
Her soft curves molded perfectly to him. And when a soft moan reached his ears, he wasn’t so sure which of them had made the sound of pure pleasure. Not that it mattered as her fingers wrapped around his neck and raked through his hair, sending a whole new wave of excitement through him. Every nerve ending stood at attention.
“Beautiful day, isn’t it?”
The sound of his father’s distant voice sent them flying apart as though lightning had struck the ground between them. Her cheeks turned a dusty pink and her lips a shade of deep rosy red. She looked as if she’d been ravished. And he’d never seen her look more beautiful.
Stefano gave himself a mental jerk. What in the world had he just let happen? His gaze sought out Jules. He meant to send her a sympathetic look, but her eyes wouldn’t meet his. Instead of making things better, he’d only succeeded in making them worse.
Him, the man who’d sworn off relationships, was standing in the open, drowning in the sweetest kiss. Not that the kiss constituted a relationship. He combed his fingers through his hair. Somehow he had to put things back on track between them. He promised himself that he wouldn’t lose control around her again.
With his father just far enough down the path, Stefano lowered his voice to say, “That shouldn’t have happened. I don’t know what I was thinking. It...it was a mistake. I know neither of us is looking for a relationship.”
He steeled himself and turned to his father, who was making his way to the house from the winery. His father’s eyes danced with merriment, but his face was devoid of the mischievous smile that Stefano could only imagine would materialize after he passed them.
“I...we were just on our way back from a tour of the winery.”
His father nodded. “I guess I don’t need to ask how it went.”
Stefano couldn’t believe he was having such fun at his expense. This was something his father never would have bothered with when he was a kid. Back then his father was quite stoic and didn’t joke around. But lately he’d been seeing more and more changes in him. Any other time Stefano would have welcomed this transformation, but not now—not with Jules. And not when he’d made such a monumental mistake. Whatever made him think that kissing her was such a good idea?
“Stefano, did you hear me?”
His father was staring at him expectantly, but Stefano hadn’t heard a word. “What?”
“I said you better hurry or you’ll never catch up to her.”
Stefano glanced around, finding that Jules had taken off toward the house. Great! Could this get any worse? He stopped that line of thought as he knew all too well that things could always get worse. He swore under his breath.
He started after her. He didn’t have a clue what he would say to her. Maybe it’d be best to just let her go. She’d get over the kiss quickly enough. After all, it hadn’t meant anything. Nothing at all. Except it felt as if it had been the beginning of something—something profound. His teeth ground together as he stifled a groan of frustration.
His world had been orderly until Jules had entered it. He was a widower of his own making. Being alone was punishment for his actions. If he hadn’t been so stubborn, if he hadn’t pushed Gianna into marrying him, she’d still be here—still be alive. His footsteps faltered.
The problems came after they’d married and he’d found out that they wanted different things in life. She wanted excitement and fun. He wanted stability and routine. Where he enjoyed kicking back in front of the large-screen television to watch football, she wanted to dress up and go to the theater. The love they’d initially felt started to dwindle with each passionate disagreement. And then that fateful night.
He couldn’t let the past repeat itself. Though he highly doubted that Jules would take off in his car, he couldn’t take the chance. He couldn’t let this misunderstanding linger between them. There had to be a way to fix what he’d broken. Maybe if he’d have done that with Gianna, she’d still be alive.
When he entered the kitchen, Jules was nowhere to be found. Maria stood at the counter, stirring a pasta salad. She turned to him. It wasn’t often just the two of them stood in the kitchen. He was tempted to ask her if there was something going on between her and his father. He resisted, still unsure how he felt about the idea of them hooking up.
“Did you need something?” Maria wiped her hands on a little white apron trimmed with purple grapes.
“Um, no.” Now wasn’t the time to get into it. He had enough problems on his hands.
“Are you sure? Because if you’re looking for Jules, she tore through here a minute or two ago.” Maria sent him a disapproving look before pointing to the upstairs.
“Thanks. I’ll check on her.” He rushed past Maria and headed for the spiraling staircase. He took the steps two at a time. He didn’t know what he’d say to Jules when he found her. He’d have to wing this one.
* * *
What a fool she’d been.
Jules picked up Apricot and snuggled her nose down into the downy soft fur. A loud purr vibrated through the little kitten’s body. Tears stung the back of her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.
What had she been thinking back there in the field? It was as if she were a kid with the biggest crush in the world. When Stefano had looked at her with desire in his eyes, she’d forgotten everything but feeling the excitement and passion of his lips moving over hers.
Then to have him push away from her and try to dismiss the moment as though it meant nothing hurt more than the rude comments she’d received back in school about her scars. The cruel comments kids threw out about how she was defective and that’s why her own parents didn’t even want her had cut deeply. But Stefano’s actions had surpassed that pain.
Why, oh, why did she ever think that he might be different? Just because his brother had accepted Lizzie with her less-than-stellar past didn’t mean that Stefano would be as open-minded. Sure he said all the right things, but that was just because he was a gentleman. It didn’t mean that everything he said was true—not when it came to her scars or her past.
A knock at her door had Apricot squirming to get out of her hands. Jules moved next to the bed so that the little one would have a soft landing.
“Who is it?”
“It’s Stefano. We need to talk.”
“No, we don’t.” She was being childish, and she knew it. She just didn’t know what to say to him at the moment. Her emotions were raw and conflicting.
“I hope you’re decent because I’m coming in.”
She started for the door, but before she could get to it, it swung open. And there stood Stefano. His large physique filled the doorway. There was no getting past him even if she wanted to. His forehead was creased, and his dark brows were drawn together. His gaze zeroed in on her and made her want to turn away, but she refused to let on how much he’d hurt her.
She leveled her shoulders and crossed her arms. “What do you want?”
“I
