‘That’s what youwouldsay.’
Reluctantly he nodded. ‘True. But in this case my intentions aren’t so devious.’ He shook his head, hampered by the long-standing distrust between them. ‘It’s frustrating that there’s nothing I can say that will convince you to believe me.’
To his surprise Ida laughed. A husky chuckle that rippled through him like a beckoning hand. ‘Believe me, Cesare, I know the feeling.’
Their eyes met and something blazed between them. He was tempted to label it desire, but it felt like more. Understanding? Regret? Rueful acceptance?
For the first time in his life his subconscious was outpacing logic. His responses to Ida seemed to come from a deeper, mysterious, visceral level, hitherto untapped.
His grandfather had taught him caution, strategic thinking and good planning. Now instinct threatened to take over.
It felt dangerous and unprecedented. Yet too powerful to ignore.
‘You’re saying I jumped to conclusions about you.’
Ida lifted one shoulder then looked away, biting into her pastry.
Hadhe done that? Was the past not as he’d imagined?
Had he let his hatred of Calogero taint his view of Ida?
Certainly the things he’d learned about her in the last day and a half gave him pause. She surprised him at every turn.
‘I’m willing to believe circumstances weren’t as black and white as I thought,’ he said, watching her eyes widen. ‘I promise to listen to whatever you want to tell me.’
Cesare prided himself on hearing all sides of a dispute before making a decision. The glaring exception had been his assessment of Ida’s character. The evidence had pointed to her involvement in Calogero’s schemes but had Cesare hadallthe evidence before he judged her?
He wouldn’t bully her about it, however much he wanted to know. Once, in the flush of fury at being forced into marriage, he might have. But no longer.
‘It’s your decision, Ida. If you’d rather not talk about it, I’ll respect that.’
CHAPTER TWELVE
HERESPECTEDHERright to privacy?
Ida stared. But those espresso-dark eyes were sincere.
She sat back, stunned.
She’d discovered a new side to Cesare in the past two days. He might be strong and decisive, bossy in fact, but not in a way she couldn’t handle. Standing up to Cesare actually brought an illicit tingle of excitement. He wasn’t like her grandfather, who met opposition with vicious rage.
Ida knew Cesare wanted to discover everything about her relationship with the old man, hoping for details to help bring him down. Yet instead of bullying her he gave her space.
He put her feelings before his need to know. That was a first in her life.
Ida had told herself she didn’t care what Cesare thought of her. Even if he did come to accept she wasn’t the woman he’d assumed her, what was the point? She’d leave soon and they’d never see each other again.
But itdidmatter. Mattered far more than she’d imagined.
She wasn’t some downtrodden woman who worried about how others saw her. She’d learned to be self-sufficient and her recent struggles had reinforced that.
Yet for some reason, she hated the idea of Cesare believing she was in league with her grandfather. If anything, she and Cesare were allied in their disdain for the man.
She licked a lingering crumb from her bottom lip then finished her coffee.
‘Of course I was excited to see London. And I was curious to meet my grandfather. The first time.’
Cesare’s eyebrows lifted at the wordsfirst time, but he said nothing.