her and her mother so heartlessly? Had their damage and stigma been too much for him?
Faye barely managed to stop herself from making another sound—this one an echo of the pain ripping through her. Instead, she focused on the conversation, aware of Maceo’s incisive eyes fixed on her.
‘But you kept it going? These labs set up to provide vital technology to help the farmers were put in place only a few years ago.’
‘It made good business sense to keep on enabling them to self-sustain. But the legacy is Luigi’s.’
Faye wondered if he’d come here to tell her this. Since Friday night he’d been dropping tiny morsels about her stepfather into their conversations. On Monday he’d told her Luigi had backed his father against the board’s resistance to hire their first female CFO. Tuesday he had revealed that Luigi and Rafael had been childhood friends from their first day in kindergarten, and that Luigi had taken Maceo on his first sky-diving adventure on his sixteenth birthday—much to his parents’ dismay.
While each revelation was a dagger to her heart—because the evidence was stacking up that Luigi had withheld crucial parts of his life, and ultimately left because of her and her mother’s shortcomings—Faye had begun eagerly anticipating these visits and revelations from Maceo.
Was it because she hardly saw him otherwise? Because a secret, entirely foolish part of her hoped for a repetition of what had happened on Friday night, even though she knew it was a dangerous, insane route to take?
She pushed the intrusive questions away. ‘Thank you for telling me. I’m still not sure whether it helps me or not.’
He stared at her contemplatively before he answered. ‘I’m merely providing the information. What you choose to do with it is your decision.’
A knot of bitterness slipped past her guard. ‘But you’re only telling me the good bits. Not whether he ever let you down. Did he ever lose his temper? Make a bad decision?’
A flicker resembling pain dulled his eyes before he blinked it away. ‘Luigi was flawed, like most people. Would my recounting his mistakes make you feel better?’
Yes.
She bit her tongue, suddenly self-conscious, and retraced her barefoot steps to the sofa, aware with each one how small she was in contrast to Maceo’s towering frame. How dishevelled and worn around the edges she looked compared to his immaculate appearance. Under the lamplight his hair gleamed, neat and pristine, his tie was perfectly knotted and his GQ-cover-ready Italian designer shoes were polished to within an inch of their life.
To occupy herself, so she didn’t gawp at him some more, Faye picked up the nearest document. ‘You wanted me to pick two—but you didn’t say two what.’
‘Two production sites you’d like to visit, to see for yourself the work Luigi started,’ he said.
The words ignited something peculiar that burrowed beneath her skin and sparked her blood. And as they sank in she forgot she wasn’t going to stare or appreciate the masculine perfection as he drew closer.
She met his potent tawny gaze full-on and momentarily lost the ability to breathe. ‘I... What? You want me to visit a production site with you?’ she parroted.
He stopped an arm’s length away and shrugged. ‘It’s a twice-yearly opportunity we organise for our employees. The last one was two months ago, so this will be a special trip with just the two of—Cieli sopra!’
The sudden tightness of his voice, charged with powerful emotion, made Faye’s heart miss several beats. Puzzled, she followed his gaze, and flames stormed through her as she caught sight of what had snagged his attention—the bra she’d discarded an hour ago in a fit of frustrated discomfort. She’d thought she’d shoved the frivolous bit of lingerie deep into her bag, but apparently it had been dislodged when she’d kicked off her shoes.
Now Maceo stared at the bright red scrap of lace as if it personally offended his every sensibility. His hand darted to the breast pocket of his jacket, before veering sharply away as if stung.
‘Do you make a habit of disrobing in the office?’
His voice was hoarse, throbbing with a beat that resonated deep inside her pelvis.
Faye nudged her bag with her foot. All that achieved was to drag the bra into clearer view. ‘I... Of course not. It’s after hours. I thought you’d left. That I was alone.’
She chanced a glance at him, and discovered that for some reason her response had made his eyes blaze even fiercer.
‘And my presence is the only reason you’d keep your underwear on?’
Despite her burning face, she glared at him. ‘I didn’t mean that and you know it. Don’t twist my words, please.’ She surged forward with cringe-worthy gracelessness and tucked the bra out of sight, excruciatingly aware of his laser focus boring into her.
‘Are you done here?’ he demanded tightly.
She nodded stiffly. ‘Just about.’
‘Good—then you’ll leave with me.’
‘Oh, please. This isn’t some period drama. You don’t need to protect my honour.’ Especially when her very origins were severely questionable.