Scandal and the Runaway Bride (Heirs to an Empire 1)

“No, Mama.” Gabi’s steady voice sounded behind her mother, and Will looked over Lucia’s shoulder to catch Gabi’s gaze. Her chin was set with a determined tilt and there was no biting down on her lip. Her eyes were dry. When she’d gone to his room, he’d thought her on the verge of tears. The woman in front of him was anything but.

“I don’t understand.” Lucia looked from Gabi to William and then back again.

“You will.” She went forward and hugged Lucia tightly. “I need to talk to you and Papa. In the kitchen, okay?”

“All right,” Lucia said, but her eyes were worried as she moved off to find Massimo.

Will looked down at Gabi. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

She nodded. “It’s time I told the truth. There should be no lies between Papa and me tomorrow.” Her gaze locked with his. “You do not have to be there for it, but I would appreciate the support if you want to give it. I understand if not. Stephen is your brother, and I know where your loyalties lie.”

Will clenched his teeth. “I won’t go behind my brother’s back and go against his wishes. That’s true. But I can certainly stand beside a friend when they do a difficult thing.”

“You’re a very decent human being,” she murmured.

“I try to be. Stephen taught me that. That he’s somehow forgotten hurts me. But I’ll sit with you today. And tomorrow, too, if you want me to. I know it’s going to be a long, rough day.”

He didn’t want to have to choose. In fact, he refused to. Being there for a friend during a difficult time should not be a crisis of loyalty. And if it was, he and Stephen were going to have even bigger words once Will was back in Paris.

* * *

Gabi sat at the table, wit

h William beside her and her mother across from them. Massimo shuffled into the room and settled himself in a chair with a sigh, his jovial face tight with concern. Gabi met her father’s gaze and said, “I’m sorry, Papa. It’s time I told you and Mama the truth.”

“It has to do with Stephen?”

“Yes, and me, and a foolish mistake that I’m going to make right. I haven’t been honest with you, and I don’t want there to be lies between us.”

Their gazes held a long time, full of unsaid words. She knew he understood when he answered softly, “Me, either, gattina.” Oh, how it hurt for them both to consider his mortality like this. He couldn’t die. He just couldn’t.

Will sat beside her and put his hand over hers for a brief moment. She was so glad he was here.

“Mama, Papa...” She looked at both of them and felt her heart in her throat. “I wasn’t sick the day of the wedding. I ran away because I couldn’t go through with it. The Pembertons made up my illness so there wouldn’t be a scandal. Or as much of one, anyway.”

Gabi had expected the shocked looks on their faces, so she carried on, since that was just the opening and not anywhere near the worst part. “The truth is, our engagement wasn’t what it seemed. It was more of an...agreement.”

Massimo and Lucia looked at each other, then back at Gabi. “You mean you were not in love with him,” Lucia said, her voice low.

“No, Mama, I wasn’t. And I’m not. We were friends. Or at least I thought we were. Now I’m not so sure.” Her nose burned a little, but she wouldn’t cry. She’d screwed up but Stephen had disappointed her, too. Maybe she was a horrible judge of character.

But then she looked over at Will and saw the reassurance in his eyes, and her confidence returned.

“But why?” Massimo asked. “Why would you agree to marry him if you didn’t love him? Your mama and me...oh, Gabriella. You were raised in a house where there was always love. Why would you settle for less?”

“I know, Papa, I know!” The words came out in a flood. “In the end, that was why I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t marry someone I didn’t love, even if it meant having all the security in the world.”

Massimo’s face changed. “Security?”

“Papa.” She reached across the table and took his hand. It was still so strong and warm, as it had always been. “I agreed to something I shouldn’t have, and I’m sorry. Please listen before you get angry.”

“I don’t like the sound of this, Gabriella.”

She sighed. “I know.” Will’s hand rested on her shoulder, giving her courage. She sent him a look of gratitude and then faced her father again.

“You know as well as I do that Baresi has been struggling. Not desperately, but the market has been tough and we’ve felt the pinch. I’m an accountant, Papa. I know how to read the sheets. Then, with your diagnosis, and the long treatment ahead of you...all I could see was a ship without a captain, no one to take the wheel. I started to fear for our financial situation, so when Stephen and I became friends, I might have told him a little of what we were facing. He was the one who came up with the plan, Papa, but he’s not to blame. I considered it and agreed to it, which makes me just as guilty.”

“What plan?”