She clasped her hand to her chest. ‘Another great line. Whatever will be next? Let me guess, “I just don’t do relationships, darling,”’ she said, dropping her voice a ridiculous octave. ‘“I was born to be alone.” Am I on the right path?’
He’d gone pale. Stopped halfway down the hall. ‘Why did you want me to meet your family?’
‘I didn’t. It wasn’t like I was going to introduce you to them as my boyfriend or anything, Lorenzo. Heaven forbid.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘I just wanted you to be there. I wanted your support.’
‘No.’ Lorenzo took a deep breath in and reminded himself that he was not going to lose it. Not again. Now was the time for some honesty. He owed her that, at least. ‘I’ve met your father before.’
‘You have?’
‘He was the presiding judge when I was up in court.’
‘What?’
‘Youth court. I was thirteen.’
‘What had you done?’
He shrugged. ‘Graffiti, theft, destruction of property. It wasn’t the first time.’
‘What did he do?’
‘Ordered some community service. Made the order to send me to that school.’
‘Dad did that?’
‘Yes. I had “potential.” They thought it might bring it out.’ And it had—to a degree.
She lifted her brows. ‘And you think what? That your past would put him off you now?’
Of course it would.
‘Doesn’t all you’ve done in the last eighteen years count for anything? Or are you stuck in some kind of time warp? You don’t think what you’ve done with your life since matters?’
He shook his head. She just didn’t get it.
‘So tell me the truth, then.’ She squared up to him. ‘The wine label—it’s a front for money laundering, isn’t it?’
‘What? No.’
‘Is it drugs, then? You’re secretly growing pot in the vineyards?’
‘Of course not.’
‘Oh.’ She sounded disappointed. ‘No illegal activities. You’re not much of a crim then are you?’
‘Sophy.’ He so didn’t need the sarcasm right now.
She didn’t stop. ‘Have you ever been back in court?’
He shook his head.
‘So what’s the problem?’ She folded her arms and eyeballed him. ‘My father believes in justice, Lorenzo. You had a problem. Did some things you shouldn’t have. You did your hours of community service or whatever. Put the wrong right. And he got you into a place that would actually help you. It’s finished. Behind you.’
‘He wouldn’t see it like that.’
‘How do you know?’
‘I just do, all right?’ She was so naïve. ‘Do you really think he’d be okay with what I’m doing with you?’
‘Well—’ her colour deepened ‘—I don’t think he’d want to know any intimate kind of details about anyone I’m with but—’
‘No father wants a man like me to be with his daughter. No father.’
She lifted her head. ‘Someone’s said that before?’
‘More than once,’ he exaggerated. ‘Not good enough.’
‘You need to lose the chip, Lorenzo,’ she said coolly. ‘Anyway—’ she lifted her head proudly ‘—I don’t live with them. I’m grown up. I make my own choices. I can see whoever I want.’
‘You say that but we both know that what your family thinks means everything to you. You’ve been tied up in knots for weeks over what they’d think of your work. What they think of your lover would be even worse.’ He watched her swallow. Knew he’d scored a hit.
‘You’re making far too much of something that happened for ever ago. And even if it did bother Dad initially, it wouldn’t be a problem once he got to know you now.’
‘You just don’t get it. I am not the kind of person who should be with you.’
‘What kind of person do you think you are? Because I know you. And I know—’
‘You don’t know me,’ he interrupted. ‘You’ve got no idea, Sophy.’
‘Tell me, then,’ she shouted back.
‘Tell you what, Sophy? The ugly truth? How rough it was? How rough I am?’
‘Yeah.’ Her anger flared. ‘Why not tell me some more clichés—the abused-boy stories.’
His vision burst with red. ‘What would you know about it? Having to be taken away from your own parents because of the way they treated you? Your father saying you should have been the scum in an abortionist’s bucket?’
Sophy recoiled.
‘Oh, that was nothing, darling,’ he sneered. ‘That was just words and not even the worst. Wait ’til you hear the rest.’
‘Lorenzo, I’m sor—’
He shouted over her. ‘I was beaten for answering him wrong, for not answering soon enough, for not answering at all. It didn’t matter what I did, it happened anyway. With fists, sticks, belts—whatever he had to hand. I wasn’t wanted by him, wasn’t protected by her, and I wasn’t wanted by anyone else after. I’d go to a new house, a new home. Meet a new family. Again and again.’ He was shaking, bunched his fists to try to stop the uncontrollable jerking of his hands.
‘Lorenzo, please—’
His sharp gesture shut her up.
He took a step backwards down the hall, away from her as his agony boiled over. ‘You think you can possibly know about it? I sought approval, Sophy. I tried. I would have done anything to make it okay. And I tried everything. But it never worked. It was me that was wrong—every time. So I stopped trying so hard. Because every time it was the same. Too difficult. Out of control. Angry. I always stuffed up. Labels stick, so why bother trying? Because in the end you know they don’t want you anyway. They never want you.’
‘I want you,’ she whispered.
It made him incensed. ‘No, you don’t.’
‘I do.’ She walked after him.
‘You like the sex,’ he yelled, taking more steps back. ‘This is just an excursion for you. As hard core as you’ve
