She kept walking, stuffing down the heated words she had for him.
“Gia, please stop. Talk to me.”
It was obvious he wasn’t just going to let her walk away and find her own way back to the apartment. And so she stopped and turned to him. “What?”
His eyes widened as though he just realized what was going on. “You’re mad at me?”
“You’re sharp. No wonder you own your own business.”
“Listen, about back there. I’m sorry. That man, he was over the top. I didn’t realize he was going to talk about everything but business.”
“Not everything.”
Ric looked puzzled. “What?”
“Mr. Grosso didn’t want to talk about everything, just about us. At which point you corrected him and told him there was nothing between us.”
“Oh.” Ric forked his fingers through his hair, scattering the short curls. “That’s why you’re mad.”
“You bet it is.” Her pride stopped her from admitting how deeply his words cut. “You didn’t have the decency to tell me privately that our lovemaking was a mistake. Instead, you’ve been avoiding me. And then you blurt out to a stranger that it meant nothing to you.”
“It’s not like that.”
She narrowed her gaze on him. “Then how is it?”
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t know what?” She wasn’t going to let him off that easy.
“I don’t know anything. I wasn’t expecting this, you, me and what’s going on between us.”
“Are you saying you want out? Or are you saying you were never into this thing between us?”
“What I’m saying is that I need time to process this. I need to figure things out. You are amazing.” He reached out for her hand, taking it in his. His thumb rubbed over her skin. “Can you just give me a little time?”
She let out a pent-up breath. It wasn’t the gushing admission of love she’d daydreamed about, but then again, it wasn’t a big push-off either. It was actually a realistic approach to whatever this was between them. And maybe they both could use a little time to consider things.
She gazed deep into his eyes, finding nothing but honesty. “Time is a good idea.”
His gaze searched hers. “You’re sure? We’re okay?”
She nodded. “We’re okay.”
He didn’t release her hand; instead, he laced his fingers with hers as they walked back to get the car. She wasn’t sure where they went from here.
It seemed like her life was becoming one big question mark. Would they find her father? Would things work out with her siblings? Would this thing with Ric lead somewhere?
* * *
Dinner had gone worse than he’d ever imagined.
And the ride home was quiet and strained.
Ric’s grip tightened on the steering wheel. Everything he’d worked for—everything he’d planned—was falling apart. How dare that man judge him and his work by his lack of a committed relationship? What kind of archaic thinking was that?
The only saving grace had been Gia’s calm presence. Through it all she’d remained pleasant, kept her cool and exuded a friendly demeanor. It was more than he could muster. Obviously that man had spent too much time alone, holed up in his mansion.
And then a worrisome thought came to him. Was he going to end up like Mr. Grosso? Old, alone and miserable?