The Italian's Unexpected Heir

“Now...” His thoughts swept back over the day and all that had happened. “I think it was a good idea. The perfect way to say goodbye—to this place.” He was quick to add the last bit because no matter what, he wasn’t ready to say goodbye to her.

Having Sylvie walk out of his life would be harder than saying goodbye to his childhood home. But he supposed he deserved it, after sitting on his family’s explosive secret all those years.

“Enzo, what is it?” Sylvie’s voice was soft.

He shook his head. “Nothing.”

She opened the door. “Come in.”

“It’s too late. And with us heading into the city tomorrow, you’ll want to get some rest.”

“Are you sure?”

He nodded. “I’ll be fine.”

In the moonlight he could make out the outline of her face but he couldn’t read her eyes. He’d be willing to guess that there was a look of disbelief in them. But that was okay. This was all his problem, not hers.

When she stepped inside, she flipped on the lights. He’d just turned to walk away when they were plunged back into darkness.

“What in the world?” The sound of the light switch being flipped on and off filled the air.

Enzo immediately spun around. “Let me see.”

The only problem was that it was pitch-dark inside the house and when he went to step through the doorway, he bumped into Sylvie. He immediately reached out to steady her. He pulled her to him, perhaps with more urgency than was necessary because all of a sudden her body was pressed against his.

In that moment he hesitated. He didn’t want to let her go and she didn’t seem interested in going anywhere. The thought of kissing her came rushing back to the forefront of his mind. And here in the dark, who would know?

They would know. He would know. He didn’t deserve Sylvie. She was the most kindhearted—the most generous—the most caring woman he’d ever known. And she deserved someone better than him. She deserved someone who faced challenges no matter how great and protected the people they loved. That wasn’t him.

The thought doused the burning embers within him. He swallowed hard. “I...uh...should see what the problem is.”

It was with great reluctance that he moved past her. She was quiet. If she knew of the torment going on within him, she didn’t say a word.

Having memorized his way through most of the buildings on the estate over the years, he made his way to the kitchen. He felt around the wall for the light switch. He flicked it on and there was once again light.

He turned back to Sylvie, who was still in the shadows. “Looks like you have a burnt-out light. Which is strange because there should be two bulbs in that light fixture.”

“Well, there are.” There was some hesitancy in her voice. “The one bulb burnt out the other day, but I didn’t get around to changing it.”

“I see. No problem. I’ll have it fixed for you in no time.”

“But you don’t have to bother tonight. You must be tired.”

“I doubt I’ll sleep tonight.” The words had slipped past his lips before he realized he was saying too much. Sylvie would want to know why he wasn’t sleeping, and he wasn’t up for revealing his past. The day of looking at old photos and taking a stroll down memory lane had been more than enough for him. And most of all, he just didn’t want to disappoint Sylvie. She thought he was a nice guy, a good guy, and he wanted to remain that in her eyes.

And so he set to work, locating the items he would need. He knew someone else could tend to this in the morning, but he wanted to take care of Sylvie, just as she was trying to care for him by showing him what he would be giving up by selling the estate. Perhaps the gestures were not on the same scale, but he was doing what was needed in the moment.

A few minutes later he had the bulbs replaced. It was time to make his exit before he lost his head once again. But when he looked around, he didn’t see Sylvie anywhere.

“Sylvie, everything is done.” When there was no response, he said, “Sylvie?”

“Back here.”

He walked to the back of the house, where the living room had been moved to make space for the wedding business in the front rooms. He found Sylvie seated on the couch.

She patted the cushion next to her. “Come have a seat.”

He checked his wristwatch. “I... I don’t think so.” The truth was he didn’t trust himself being that close to her. “It’s really late.”