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

His insides quivered as he faced down his brother, but it was time. Time he stepped into his own power and agency.

“You have every right to be angry, Will.” This from Aurora.

“You all should know that after Stephen spoke to Gabi last night, I made the error of offering to help Baresi out of my own wealth. She turned me down flat. She’s not in this for money.”

Charlotte got up and went to Will, and hugged him. “I was so awful to you two in Paris.”

“We expected it. Falling for each other made everything so complicated and messy.”

Christophe finally chipped in. “What are you going to do now?”

“I don’t know.” He finally sat down and wilted a bit, now that the truth was out and the family knew it all. “I’ve never...damn. I’ve never felt like this.”

Stephen walked out of the room.

Aurora sighed and looked at Will. “I’ll talk to him later. He’s hurting more than I realized. It doesn’t excuse his behavior. I had no idea, William.” She looked over the rest of the children. “I miss your papa every day, but please, do not make any more decisions to protect me or somehow coddle me. I’m fine.”

She got up and went to sit beside Will. “I confess I have my doubts. The whole situation is unorthodox. But I am the last person to judge. If you love her, that’s good enough for me.”

“Merci, Maman.” He fought the urge to lean in to her shoulder like he would have as a child.

“You really love her?” This from Charlotte.

“Yes. And she loves me, except she doesn’t trust herself.”

“Then leave this to Bella and me. What this needs is a grand gesture. And if there’s anything this family is good at, it’s grandeur.”

“I’m not sure I want to trust my future happiness to my sisters.”

Bella laughed. “Don’t worry. We’re going to do the dirty work, but you’re going to be in it the entire way. You just have to follow our instructions to the letter.”

One week later

Gabi stepped into her office and put down her briefcase, ready to start her day. While her heart was bruised and aching, she was feeling ever so much better about Baresi. When she’d returned to the villa, she’d told all to her father. She hadn’t wanted to burden him before, but something Will had said once kept coming back to her. About how being involved might be exactly what her father needed. He’d been right. Massimo had been fretting while she’d been trying to protect him. Now they consulted on everything, with her in the office to execute, and she was discovering they made very good partners.

There was a knock on the office door and she went to answer it. She had no meetings this morning, so she wasn’t sure who to expect. Opening it to find Charlotte and Bella in front of her was a shock.

“Please hear us out,” Charlotte said, stepping just inside the door. “I owe you the biggest apology. Bella and I are here to help.”

Curiosity won out, particularly if the antagonistic Charlotte was apologizing.

“I’m not sure there’s anything to help,” she replied, but she gestured to the two guest chairs in her office. She went to hers behind the desk, needing its protection and illusion of power.

“Stephen was wrong. We all know he spoke to you the night of the party and made you doubt Will. And that Will unwittingly played into the problem by offering to help with Baresi. We’re here to assure you that Aurora isn’t going to give you one penny.” Charlotte grinned. “You’re a strong, smart woman and can handle this on your own. What we need help with is handling Will.”

Bella jumped in. “He’s moping around like someone kicked his dog. You broke his heart, Gabi. He keeps saying he understands why you don’t trust him and even Maman has had a go at Stephen for meddling and being a git.”

Gabi didn’t know what to say. “I don’t think it’s that simple,” she replied.

Bella’s dark eyes were sympathetic. “Will says you have a good reason for not trusting people, but I want you to think back over your relationship. Other than the night of the party, had he ever given you any reason to doubt?”

Gabi knew he hadn’t. It was part of what scared her so much.

“I know I was awful to you in Paris, but I didn’t know all that about your engagement to Stephen.”

“I should never have agreed to it. In the end, I couldn’t go through with it. I couldn’t marry someone I didn’t love, not even to help my family. I thought that was the only way, you know? But now...” She looked around the office. “I have a bit more confidence in my business abilities. My personal life? Not so much.”

“Trust is a hard thing to fix,” Bella agreed softly. “But if any Baresi involvement is off the table, and Will still wants to be with you...would you be willing to work it out?”