A handful of lights sent a soft glow across the pearl-gray carpet, the cloudy morning leaving the remainder of the floor in silky shadow. Even in the dim light Constantine could see the questions building in Gianna’s expression. He kept his distance, careful not to touch her. If he made that mistake again, he wouldn’t be able to keep his hands off her. And from there it would be a short, sweet step to making her his in every sense of the word.
“It’s very elegant,” she offered without hesitation. “I love the openness and the understated elegance. It really showcases your business.”
“Thanks.” He gestured toward the corner office. “That one’s mine.”
She immediately crossed to look. “Mmm. Nice.” She took a deep breath and swung to face him. He could see her steeling herself to say something, something he wouldn’t like. “Just one question…”
He tempted fate by taking a step in her direction and cut straight through to the heart of the matter—the issue that had hovered between them like an angry, black cloud ever since his return. The issue that had driven her into d’Angelo’s arms and come so close to ending in disaster.
“Why did I wait so long to return to you?” he asked. “Is that what you want to know?”
The question provoked an immediate reaction. The anguish filling her eyes threatened to snap his control. “You said you’d come back.”
“And I did.”
She shook her head, her mouth tightening. “It took too long. Far too long.”
“I came as soon as I could,” he argued.
“You never responded to my emails or phone calls. You actively discouraged our communicating and you flat-out refused to let me visit you in Italy.” She stepped closer. “Couldn’t we have done that much, at least?”
“I warned you about that. You agreed to it.” Didn’t she get it? “I didn’t dare communicate or visit. I sure as hell couldn’t have you with me in Italy. It would have distracted me and I’d never have gotten my business off the ground.”
Gianna swept a hand through the air to indicate the plush area around them. “You had time for this, though. You had time to build Romano Restoration into a going concern.”
“And why do you suppose I did that?” His accent thickened, just as his voice lowered. Darkened. “Why do you suppose I left you?”
“You said…” Her chin wobbled precariously for a brief instant before she clamped down on the helpless betrayal. “You claimed you weren’t in a position to support a wife, but that would change. I understand that you wanted to bring more to our relationship than just a name. I really do get that.”
“If you get it, then—”
She cut him off with a swift, chopping sweep of her hand. “You said soon.” Anger warred with her tears. “Damn it, Constantine, it’s been more than a year and a half. That isn’t soon.”
He couldn’t argue her point. Each month he’d been away from her had felt like a year. “I know, sweetheart. I really do. It couldn’t be helped. If there had been any other way—” he stopped her before she could speak “—any other way that I could have lived with, I’d have taken it. Please believe that.”
“I just wanted to be with you. We could have found a way, either in Italy or here.”
Gianna took another step in his direction, and Constantine clamped down on the clawing need to settle this once and for all in the most basic way possible. “As much as I wanted to be with you, I am not the sort of man who can live off the generosity of others. I watched my—” He broke off, switched gears more roughly than he’d have liked. “I’ve seen others live that way. But I won’t. Ever. You do understand that, don’t you?”
Her chin shot upward. “Do I understand that your pride is more important than anything else? You made that abundantly clear.”
His anger broke free. “How do you think I spent the past year and a half? When Lazz and Ariana married, I’d just scraped together enough money to launch my company in Firenze. I worked day and night to build a small, modest business into something prosperous enough that I could afford to relocate here. Do you think such a thing happens overnight? Do you think it easy to acquire the contracts necessary to give me the start I needed over here? Do you think I could have accomplished such a thing in nineteen short months if I hadn’t funneled every ounce of drive into my business?”