‘No, I’m not saying that. Let me finish.’ He ran a hand over the back of his neck. ‘This is so hard.’
‘It isn’t hard, Alessio.’ She looked at him wearily, all the fight draining out of her. ‘I fell in love with you, yes. But as you rightly point out, I’m not the first woman to do that. You’ve walked away before, you can walk away again. And you don’t need to feel guilty about any of this.’ She waved a hand vaguely towards the window. ‘I honestly don’t care. They’ve probably done me a favour. I needed a change.’
‘How much of a change?’ His voice hoarse, he took her face in his hands again, tilting her chin so that she was forced to look at him. ‘Would it be too much of a change to be married to a wicked Sicilian divorce lawyer?’
‘You don’t believe in marriage, Alessio.’
‘I think expecting two people to stay together is asking a lot,’ he admitted, ‘unless they truly love each other.’
She stilled. ‘What you feel is passion. And passion is no better a basis for a marriage than guilt.’
‘That’s true, and I understand why you believe that after what you told me about your parents. But you’re missing one important fact and
that’s that you can have passion and love,’ he murmured, taking her face in his hands. ‘And that’s what we have.’
‘No, we don’t.’
‘I know I’m not saying the right things, but I’m not good at this! I’ve never told a woman that I love her, before! I’m probably saying it all wrong.’
Lindsay stilled. ‘You haven’t said it at all.’
‘Sì, I told you.’ His tone was impatient. ‘I told you that I love you.’
‘No.’ She covered her mouth with her hand and shook her head. ‘No, you didn’t say that to me.’ Her legs turned to jelly.
‘Well, I’m saying it now,’ he growled, removing her hand so that he could crush his mouth against hers. ‘I love you, tesoro.’
She felt light-headed and terrified at the same time. Terrified of believing him. ‘You’ve never loved anyone—’
‘No.’ He folded her in his arms. ‘I haven’t. I saw how much pain loving my mother caused my father. In the small village in Sicily where I grew up, divorce just wasn’t an option. And frankly, I don’t know whether he would have divorced her even if he’d been given the chance. But I lived with his misery and I felt—helpless. I suppose that’s why I saw divorce as a good thing. He should have moved on—maybe met someone else.’
Lindsay looked up at him, understanding. ‘It’s so hard when you’re a child—you want to help, and you can’t. And they think it’s just about them, but it affects you, too.’
Alessio nodded. ‘I’ve never talked to anyone about it before.’
‘You don’t have to tell me—’
‘I want to. You need to know what you’re marrying.’ His gaze was wary. ‘I’m not exactly experienced when it comes to relationships, but I know you are so I’m relying on you to teach me what I need to know.’
Lindsay gazed at him, tears blurring her vision. ‘You really think you love me?’
‘I know I love you.’ He gave a wry smile. ‘And if you knew how much I’d changed over the past two weeks, you wouldn’t even question me. Twice I’ve suggested to prospective clients that they try counselling and just this morning—’ He broke off and Lindsay looked at him quizzically.
‘What happened this morning?’
Alessio’s face hardened. ‘He had two little girls,’ he muttered, ‘and I couldn’t stop thinking of you and Ruby.’
‘You didn’t take the case?’
He hesitated. ‘We’re going to act for the wife.’
Lindsay gave a soft gasp and then laughed. ‘You’re kidding?’
‘I want to make sure those two little girls suffer as little as possible. You see what you’ve done to me?’ A gleam in his eyes, Alessio dragged her back into his arms. ‘I’m going to be a magnet for every gold-digger in the Western hemisphere.’
‘Just as long as they’re only interested in your professional skills,’ Lindsay murmured, standing on tiptoe and pressing her mouth against his. ‘I’m proud of you. And I do love you. Very, very much.’
‘Just keep saying it.’ Alessio hugged her tightly. ‘And now I need to give the press something to photograph.’ He took her left hand and slipped an enormous diamond solitaire onto her finger.