Vicè felt his stomach clench. In that case he and Ciro had already had their revenge. And just like that his hunger for retribution was gone—diluted and washed away by the tears in her eyes.
‘He’s your father,’ he said. ‘Of course he doesn’t want to see you hurt.’
It was meant to be a generic response, only for some reason he found himself thinking about his own father. Right up until his death Alessandro had spent his life protecting him, constantly levelling the playing field so that he wouldn’t have to compare himself unfavourably to Ciro. In fact, it had been that need to protect his eldest son that had ultimately caused his death.
Something jarred in his chest, as if a depth charge had exploded. He’d made this about Cesare, but it was actually about him. It had always been about him and his failings as a son, as a man.
He forced himself to look over and meet her gaze. ‘He loves you.’
She nodded slowly. ‘But he still misses my mother. That’s why he works so much. Only now he’s become obsessed with building up the business, and...’ She hesitated, her face tensing. ‘It matters to him—his name, his legacy. He’s never said anything but I know he wishes he’d had a son. Instead, he’s got me. Only I can’t ever be good enough. He wants me to be tough and ruthless, but he also wants me to be a dutiful daughter. And then there’s Claudia...’
The sudden softness in her eyes cut through him like a blade. ‘You’re close?’ he asked.
She nodded. ‘She was so little when Mamma died. We had nannies, but they didn’t stay long. Papà was so angry, so exacting. Anyway, she always preferred me. And I didn’t mind. I wanted to look after her.’
Her voice sounded scraped and bruised. It made something hard lodge in his throat. ‘You have looked after her.’
‘How?’ She bit her lip. ‘I let her marry Ciro and now he’s broken her heart.’ A tear slid down her cheek. ‘I was supposed to take care of her—’
He caught her hands in his. Her whole body was rigid, braced for disaster. ‘You did—you are. But she’s not a child any more, cara—’
‘You don’t understand. I promised Mamma, and now I’ve broken that promise.’
She was crying in earnest now and he pulled her onto his lap, wanting and needing to hold her close, to hold her for as long as it took to make her feel whole again.
His skin burned with shame as he realised the mistake he’d made. Imma wasn’t her father’s daughter at all. She was just a little girl who had lost her mother and had to grow up fast. A little girl who had been so busy trying to be a daughter and a mother and a proxy son all at once that she had never had time to be herself. He couldn’t bear picturing her little face, her anxious green eyes.
Gently, he stroked her hair. ‘Va tutto bene, cara,’ he murmured. ‘It’s going to be okay. I’ve got you.’
He understood now how her family had pushed their needs ahead of hers. And he had been no better. In fact, he had been worse. Deliberately and ruthlessly using her as a means to punish her father.
His arms tightened and he kept on smoothing her hair until finally she let out a shuddering breath.
‘None of this is your fault, Imma,’ he said quietly. ‘You’re a good sister, and a loyal daughter, but you’re way more than the sum of your parts. You’re an amazing woman. You’re beautiful and sexy and strong and smart. You can be anything you want.’ Pulling the towel from around his neck, he gently patted the tears from her cheeks. ‘And I’ll be there, remember? In the background...’
Her lips curved up, as he had hoped they would.
For a moment they stared at each other in sil
ence.
‘You didn’t sign up for this,’ she said quietly.
‘Oh, I signed up for everything, cara. Kiss-and-tell interview, miniseries, film franchise...’
He was trying to make her relax, maybe enough to trust him. But he was surprised to find that he was also telling the truth.
Her smile flickered. ‘I want to be there for Papà and Claudia, but I want to be myself too. I thought if I could break free just for one night, lose my virginity to someone I’d chosen, then it would all become clear. Who I am. What I want. And maybe somebody would want me for being me.’ She screwed up her face. ‘It sounds stupid, saying it out loud.’
He shook his head. ‘It’s not stupid at all.’
He’d left Sicily to do much the same. Not to lose his virginity, but to put as much distance as possible between himself and his parents’ carefully managed disappointment—and, of course, Ciro’s effortless success.
‘I thought it would be so easy.’ Her eyes found his. ‘And then I met you.’
‘You deserve better,’ he said slowly. ‘You deserve better than me.’ He hesitated. ‘How is she? Claudia? Is she okay?’
Her smile faded a little and for a moment he didn’t think she was going to reply, but finally she nodded.