‘It’s yours,’ Edoardo said. ‘The manor is yours, and so is Fergus.’
Her brows jammed together over her nose. ‘Are you without any feeling at all?’ she asked. ‘That dog loves you. How can you just—’ she waved her hands about theatrically ‘—just hand him over like a parcel you don’t want?’
‘I can’t take him with me.’
‘Why not?’ she asked. ‘Where are you going?’
‘Away.’
‘Away where?’
He slammed the boot. ‘I don’t belong here. It’s your home, not mine.’
She shoved the papers at him. ‘I don’t want it.’
He shoved the papers back. ‘I don’t want it either,’ he said.
She glowered at him. ‘Why are you doing this?’
‘Your father was wrong to give me your home,’ he said. ‘This is your last connection with him. I don’t feel right about taking it from you.’
‘It’s your last connection with him too,’ she said.
He gave a shrug. ‘Yes, well, I have plenty of memories that will make up for that.’
‘You can’t just walk away,’ Bella said. ‘What about Fergus? I thought you loved him.’
Edoardo bent down and ruffled the old dog’s ears. ‘I do love him,’ he said. ‘He’s been an amazing friend.’ He straightened. ‘But it’s time I moved on.’
‘So you’re just going to leave?’ she asked.
‘It’s for the best, Bella,’ he said.
‘The best for whom?’ she asked. ‘Fergus is going to pine for you; you know he will. And what about Mrs Baker? She’s devoted her life to looking after you. Are you just going to walk away from everyone who loves you?’
He opened the driver’s door of his car. ‘Goodbye, Bella.’
Bella put her hands on her hips. ‘You’re not going to say it, are you?’ she said. ‘You’re too proud or too stubborn or both to admit that you care for someone. That you need someone, that you actually love someone.’
His eyes met hers. ‘Will telling you I love you erase the horrible things I said to you?’ he asked.
She gave a huffy lift of one shoulder, her expression still cross. ‘I don’t know... It wouldn’t hurt to try.’
Edoardo felt a corner of his mouth lift up. How cute was she, with that haughty look on her face? She was trying to be angry but he could see the love shining through the cracks of her armour. It gave him hope. It eased the painful ache of impending disappointment he always carried with him. ‘Will telling you I love you make you forgive me for sending you away like that?’ he asked.
She gave another little shrug, but this time a tiny sparkle came into her eyes. ‘I don’t mind a bit of grovelling when it’s warranted,’ she said.
Edoardo looked into her toffee-brown eyes and felt a giant wave of emotion roll through him. How could he not love her? Hadn’t he always loved her? When had he not loved her? ‘I guess I’d better get started, then,’ he said. ‘This could take a while. You’re not in a hurry, are you?’
Her eyes glinted some more. ‘I’ll make the time,’ she said. ‘I wouldn’t want to miss this for the world.’
He took a breath as he captured both of her hands in his. ‘I’m sorry for what I said, for how I treated you, for how I pushed you away.’ He pulled her into his chest, burying his head against the side of her neck. ‘I’m not the right person for you. I don’t know how to love someone without holding back.’
‘Yes, you do,’ she said, pulling back to look up at him with adoring eyes. ‘You do know how to love. I’ve seen it in so many ways. You’re exactly like my father. You don’t say it with words. You say it in actions.’
He stroked her face as if he couldn’t quite believe she was here in person. ‘I’ve missed you so much,’ he said. ‘I can’t believe I sent you away like that. It was cruel and heartless. But if it’s any consolation, I hurt myself just as much. Maybe that’s why I did it. On some deeply subconscious level, I didn’t feel I deserved to be loved by you.’
‘I didn’t betray you to the press,’ she said with a solemn look. ‘Not intentionally, at least. I just didn’t like the way everyone was making you out to be the one at fault. It made me so angry. I wanted to put them straight.’