The Italian Billionaire's New Year Bride

She set the plate down on the table with a bang. “What do you want, Matteo? Why am I here?”

“You’re here so I can say sorry.” The words came out quickly—almost automatically.

She blinked. “Well, you’ve said it. I’ve heard it.”

He tried to reach for her hands again but she brushed him off. “Please, Phoebe...”

“Please, Phoebe, what? What is this? What do you want me to say? I’m glad your sister is well, Matteo. I’m glad she has a healthy baby. I know you sold the house in Rome, great. And, as for why you don’t want to sell this place?” The anger was starting to dissipate from her voice. She looked around the room. “That’s entirely up to you. Maybe this place just needed a face lift.” She shook her head, “Maybe you just needed to open the shutters.” She couldn’t help the metaphor.

Matteo shook his head. “What I needed, Phoebe, was you.”

She stood up and walked over to the glass doors looking out over Mecox Bay. Matteo was right behind her and he gently laid his hand on her shoulder. “And maybe, what you needed was me.”

She spun around to face him, tears brimming in her eyes. She pressed her hands up against her heart. “How can you say that? How can you? You were the first person I kissed since Jason died. The first person I actually felt something for. I didn’t expect it. I wasn’t looking for it. But it just happened. And I thought you were right there alongside me. But I was imagining it. I made a fool of myself. And now this? You ask me here?” Her voice was getting louder and louder. “Is this just to remind me about the time we spent here? Is this just to rub my face in it? Because you’ve still not told me why I’m here. You’ve still not told me what you want.”

Matteo reached up and touched her cheek. “Because what I want is you, Phoebe. I want you to give me a chance. I’m sorry, for leaving you behind. I’m sorry for not being there on the flight with you. I want to make this work. Ever since I’ve met you, I’ve felt differently. You’re like no one I’ve ever met before. You see the good in people. You walk into a room and just bring the light with you.” He was smiling at her again. “I love being around you, Phoebe. I’ve always been a workaholic and I’m not like that with you. When I’m around you, all I can think about is you.” He pressed his hand against his heart. “I love you, Phoebe. I’ll say it. I’ll say it out loud for the world to hear. I don’t care I’ve only known you for a couple of months. Every day for the last month, all I’ve thought about is you. Every day I’ve wanted to speak to you—to message you.”

“Then why didn’t you?”

He met her gaze with his bright green eyes. “Because I hadn’t done what I should have. You challenged me before I left Rome. You told me I had to be honest with my sister and brother. I couldn’t make excuses anymore for not telling them the truth. It didn’t feel right, to come back and ask you to be part of my life when I hadn’t taken the journey you’d challenged me to take. You’d faced your fears, Phoebe.” His voice dropped. “I hadn’t.”

She sucked in a deep breath. “You thought I wouldn’t want to be with you until you’d told your family?”

He closed his eyes for a second. “I thought I probably didn’t deserve you if I hadn’t. I was still so worried. I was watching Brianna the whole time. What if she had become ill? How fair would it be to ask you to be part of a family that could potentially be dealing with health problems for a long time?”

She tilted her head to one side. “And how fair would it be to ask you to be part of my life when my mother has just finished her cancer treatment? It could come back, then I’ll spend all my time taking her for treatments and worrying about taking care of her. Do you see how ridiculous that sounds, Matteo? Family is family. What if you’re ill? What if I’m ill? None of this should matter. The only thing that should matter is how two people feel about each other.”

He nodded. “You’re right. You’re always right, Phoebe. It seems that even when I plan to tell a woman how much I love her I get that wrong too.”

She was frozen to the spot. She wasn’t sure how to respond. Her heart was swelling in her chest. Partly because of his response, and partly because she was still cautious.

Matteo stepped in front of her. “I did plan something else.” He held out his hand toward her. “Will you come with me?”

As she lifted her hand toward his, he paused. “Wait a minute—do you want to slip off your coat?”