Never Say No to a Caffarelli

He couldn’t help thinking of Poppy, how she had offered to come with him to support him. He had pushed her away because that was what he always did when he had to focus.

He missed her.

It was hard to admit it, but he did. He missed her in a hundred different ways—her smile her tinkling-bell laugh; the scent of her, a mixture of sugar and spice and all things nice.

But he would damn well have to get used to missing her. He couldn’t take her with him back to Italy once this was sorted out. It had been crazy to think of a future with her, or a future with anyone right now. He had even more responsibilities on his shoulders now. How could he possibly think of settling down when Raoul was in such a state? It would be selfish and crass of him to rub his brother’s nose in it by announcing his own engagement.

But you love her, you idiot.

Hang on a minute. His sensible control-centre cut in. What fool would fall in love so quickly? It was lust, that was what it was.

He should never have got into an affair with her in the first place. He’d been blindsided by lust. It had affected his judgement. It was uncharacteristic of him to act so impulsively and now he had to deal with the consequences. She would find someone else, someone who was more in her world of hearth and home and cute, fluffy dogs.

But the least he could do was go and see her about the dower house once he got Raoul stabilised.

That was the plan, the goal.

Now he had to focus.

* * *

‘I know you told me never to mention his name around here again,’ Chloe said a couple of weeks later. ‘But have you heard how Rafe’s brother doing? There’s been nothing in the press since the first report of the accident. It’s like there’s been a block out on it or something.’

Poppy let out a painful sigh. ‘I called his secretary a couple of times. There’s still some uncertainty about his mobility. He has some feeling in his legs, so at least that’s a positive. It could be much worse.’

‘God, life really sucks sometimes,’ Chloe said. ‘Is Rafe coming back to the manor? Did his secretary say anything about his plans?’

‘She said he would be back in a couple of weeks to pick up his things.’

‘Don’t give up on him yet,’ Chloe said. ‘Sometimes tragic occurrences make people take stock of their lives. He might want you with him by his side as he helps his brother get through this.’

Poppy wished she had Chloe’s confidence but she knew Rafe was a lone wolf when it came to handling difficult things. It had taken a lot for him to tell her about his concerns with the accountant who had been defrauding him. He had told her even less about his childhood, but she suspected it had been desperately lonely, and that he had been given far too much responsibility for a ten-year-old boy when his parents had died. It had left its mark on him. He was used to dealing with things on his own. He didn’t want anyone to see the heavy toll it took on him.

Wasn’t that why he had pushed her away?

He felt responsible for his family. He wasn’t used to sharing that with anyone.

He worked ridiculously punishing hours to keep his and the family’s business at the top of its game. She sensed his inner drive was not so much about a desire to be super-successful, but more to compensate for the emptiness he felt at being left an orphan so young.

Was it too much to hope that he would one day see that he didn’t have to do it on his own? That he could share the load with someone who cared about him and his happiness?

Of course it was.

She couldn’t go on with this idealistic way of viewing the world that everything would turn out in the end. Life was hard at times and she had to be hard to cope with it.

It was time to toughen up.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

RAFE DROVE DOWN to the manor three weeks later. He had a pounding headache; he was tired from not having slept properly since he had found out about his brother’s accident. Raoul was a lot better physically—the concussion he’d sustained had gone and his right arm that had been broken was healing well—but it was obvious he was having difficulty accepting his spinal injury. He’d had surgery to decompress the spine but the doctors were still a little cagey about how good his overall recovery would be.

When Rafe had left the private rehab unit Raoul had been transferred to, his brother had been sitting in his chair staring blankly out of the window. He had barely spoken a word since he’d left the hospital. It was devastating to witness. Rafe couldn’t bear to see his vibrant brother slumped so sullenly and listlessly in that wretched chair.