‘I’m not marrying Ambra.’
Renzo willed Sonia to turn and face him. He could circle in front of her easily. But he wanted, badly, for her to show at least a glimmer of softening.
Nothing.
‘So it was all a story concocted by the media?’
He grimaced. This was the tough part. ‘Not totally.’ Again, he waited for something from her, some encouragement. Which just reinforced how easy he’d had it all his life.
Renzo sighed and ploughed his hand back through his hair, feeling the tendrils of tension twisting harder from his scalp down his neck and through his body.
‘My parents died when I was a kid and my grandparents raised me. They’re remarkable and I care for them very much but in some things they live in another era. They wanted me to marry someone from a family they approved of.’
‘A rich, aristocratic family, you mean? Like yours?’ He heard no envy or awe in Sonia’s tone, just a dull weariness that didn’t sound like her.
‘Something like that.’ He flexed his fingers, resisting the impulse to reach for her, then shoved his hands in his pockets. ‘I’ve known Ambra for most of my life. She’s like a cousin to me. My grandparents and hers are close and they hoped we’d make a match of it.’ Renzo paused.
‘More than that, they actively encouraged it. Between the four of them they talked about it as if it were a real option and I,’ he hunched his shoulders, ‘I didn’t stop them. For me marriage, the idea of being with any one woman permanently, was too far away to bother about. It was easier not to rock the boat and simply continue the life I wanted. I told myself Ambra wasn’t any more eager to marry than I was. She has her own career, her own interests.’
Sonia swung around, those beautiful eyes pinning him to the spot, making adrenalin spike in his bloodstream. His heart beat faster and he caught his breath.
‘But she wasinterested.’
How did Sonia know? Renzo hadn’t realised himself till two nights ago when they’d met for dinner.
‘I didn’t encourage her, I swear it. I always treated her like a sister.’
‘So you were kind to her, generous, funny, charming and a little teasing.’ Sonia tilted her head as if to study him better. ‘Of course she wanted more.’
The way Sonia spoke, as if he only had to smile to win a woman, might have burnished his ego once. But he’d never set out to hurt anyone, especially people he cared for, like Ambra and Sonia.
‘I took too much for granted. I assumed she felt the same way about the marriage idea as I did. She never intimated otherwise.’ Until this week. He breathed deep. ‘She was in Rome and I’d promised my grandparents I’d meet her and her mother for dinner.’
‘So it wasn’t an intimate dinner for two? It looked like it in the media.’
‘The press have a way of excluding anything that doesn’t fit their story. Anyway, during the course of the evening the prospect of marriage was raised and this time I discovered Ambra was actually in favour of it.’ The look on her face when he’d realised, and told her it wasn’t possible, had made him feel like a heel. He should have known and done something about it long ago. At the very least he’d have chosen to talk with Ambra alone. But when he saw how things were he knew he couldn’t afford to delay, especially as her mother was all but setting the date.
‘Ambra took it well.’ Because Ambra was the sort of woman who wouldn’t make a scene. ‘But not her mother. I found out later she took umbrage at my straight talking and fed that story to the press to go with the photos. I gather she thought it was time I did my family duty and that would force my hand.’
‘You don’t care about duty?’ It was impossible to read Sonia’s expression as she said it.
‘Much as I care for my family, there are limits. I refuse to make a mockery of someone I care for by pretending to love her when I don’t.’
That had become abundantly clear in the last forty-eight hours.
‘But Ambra is in love with you?’
Renzo’s mouth tightened. The truth was he didn’t know. If someone had asked him that a week ago he’d have laughed at the idea. ‘We’ve always got on well. We like each other. But as for love...’ He sincerely hoped not. ‘I hadn’t realised how much pressure her family had put on her. Maybe she saw it as easier to give in to them.’
Sonia looked sceptical. ‘And your grandparents?’
‘That’s where I was yesterday. It was time to put an end to such ideas but I wanted to do it face to face. Marriage was never on my radar and I just shrugged off their talk hoping they’d eventually give up. I should have done it years ago but it never seemed important.’
Renzo felt sweat bead his nape and his temples. His hands were clammy and his belly churned. He was more nervous by far than the day he’d pitched his first design.
‘It’s important now.’ He stared into Sonia’s set face and wondered if she’d ever believe him.
She inclined her head. ‘Because you hurt your friend.’