She bit back the exposing sob that rose to her throat when he slowly rose again and stepped back.
‘Goading me for a reaction isn’t going to work out for you,cariña.’
‘Are you sure,elskan?’ she tossed back. ‘I do so love a challenge. And you’ve shown me that you’re not averse to playing dirty by finding a loophole not to answer my questions. So you see, two can play that game.’
He smiled a purely predatory smile. ‘And have you thought about the consequences of those actions, or do you merely exist in the moment? Unable to grasp the big picture?’
She shook her head. Right in this moment the big picture was too depressing to contemplate. Any picture where he didn’t feature, even abstractly, commanded a swell of sadness so profound she wanted to curl into herself and beat her fists against the ground. But she was damned if she would let him see her crumble.
‘You sayconsequenceslike it’s a bad thing. Some consequences are born through soul-changing adventure.’
His whole body froze and between one nanosecond and another his expression turned cold and austere. ‘And others shatter joy and wreck lives forever.’
The bleak devastation in his voice shrivelled every last ounce of defiance in her. She was barely holding herself up when with one last arctic glance, he stalked away. She was still there repositioned on her backside and hugging her knees when she heard him open and shut the front door.
For a full hour, she remained alone in the cabin. She had no idea where he went but when he returned his mood was no better improved.
It became clear that lunch would be a chillingly silent affair when he icily and blatantly ignored her after setting a bowl of her favouritekjotsupain front of her. The hearty lamb stew wastasty, but she barely took a few bites before she lost her appetite completely.
Setting down her cutlery, she cleared her throat. ‘Are you going to tell me what you meant?’
Grave silver eyes clashed with hers. ‘You know very well what I meant.’
‘If you’re talking about Helga, I would—’
‘Is there anything else that has shattered your life beyond not having a phone within easy reach so you can revel in false praise from faceless strangers?’ he mocked icily.
She forced a smile to hide the wounds of his words. ‘You want me to appreciate and respect you instead of my devotees, Valenti? Here’s a tip. Stop playing at being a guardian from afar. Show me the role means something to you besides writing a cheque once a year or sending a trinket on my birthday. Those I can have with a click of my fingers from my raft of admirers.’
She tossed that last one in just to gauge his reaction. Predictably, his nostrils flared. The high of getting a reaction from him barely lasted. Valenti might be possessive and proprietary over her—for reasons she desperately wished were angled more in her favour instead of her dead sister’s memory—but until he did something about it, it truly meant nothing.
‘All of this over questions I don’t feel inclined to answer?’ he derided.
But she saw through that haughty scoffing.
She’d rattled him, somehow. She would go as far as to surmise that nothing had gone as he’d predicted since they’d boarded his helicopter.
And perhaps that was her solution. To keep him destabilised. Long enough…
For what, exactly? A slither of apprehension wormed its way through her bravado. Did she have what it took to knock him offhis foundation long enough for him to throw in the towel? Either accept her for something other than a burden or…let her go?
She had to. She refused to live in limbo for another three years.
‘If that’s what it takes. The better question is, what are you afraid of? Who will know the answers to these questions besides you and me?’ she challenged.
Charged silence pounded through the small space. Lotte wanted to believe she’d won the small battle when after a string of seconds with his jaw clenched tight, he threw down the napkin he’d swiped across his lips and rose to take their plates to the kitchen before resting one lean hip against the counter, arms folded.
His gaze snagged hers after that.
‘Your sister loved Gunnar, just as she loved you,’ he said abruptly, the words torn from deep within him. ‘But as the eldest she had a duty to ensure she wasn’t blinded by that love when it came to your welfare. She knew Gunnar’s strengths and weaknesses. It didn’t include being responsible for a challenging teenager on top of pursuing a fledgling medical career.’
She set down the water glass she’d been toying with, drawing her legs up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. If he saw that as a defence mechanism, so be it.
Since his reappearance in her life, he’d seen her at her worst.
He would be gone again soon enough, anyway. But if nothing else, she’d managed to pierce Valenti Domene’s seemingly impenetrable armour. Sure, it wouldn’t keep her warm at night, but it was a win she would treasure nevertheless.
‘But why you when you clearly didn’t want the job?’
