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‘They must hate me They must really hate me—Sebastian and Noemi If my parents had never found me, they would never have been in New York They would never have had the accident Life would still be good The business would still be in safe hands’ He sucked in a shaky breath ‘It’s my fault All my fault’

This feeling had been sitting heavily over him like a dark cloak from the second the accident had happened It haunted his drea the funeral, and hindered every step he’d taken in the snow to go and meet his brother and sister

Guilt was horrid Guilt was like having so drain the life out of you slowly but surely At least that’s what it had been like the last few months

‘Of course it’s not your fault, Leo How could you have known? How could you ever have predicted that? It was just a horrible, horrible accident And stop saying that That’s the second ti that’ She shook her head ‘You said they’d spentfor you It sounds as if they would never have stopped’

He tried to take in what she was saying In his head he knew it probably made sense But he just couldn’t accept it Not yet

‘From what you said about the funeral, it sounds like your parents were very popular’

Leo nodded his head ‘Oh, they are—they were You ht have heard of them—the Cattaneos’

A frown creased Anissa’s brow and a second later he saw the flash of recognition in her eyes Most people in Europe had heard of the Cattaneos

‘The jewellery people—your family are the jewellery people?’

He sighed and leaned back in the chair ‘Yeah That’s why things are so hard right now They named me in their will’

Anissa shook her head ‘But so they should, you are their son’

Leo closed his eyes for a second She made it sound so simple

He let out a long, slow breath ‘Apparently, they did this a long tio They put a clause in their will to say that I have to assu stake in the family business for sixthat tiets dissolved’

Anissa’s eyes widened ‘What? No That’s terrible It’s an awful position for you to be in’

He nodded ‘I know Iine how Sebastian and Noeiven the ability to ruin the fary? I can’t help but i got handed over to someone else’

He leaned his head back against the leather recliner ‘I have no idea what happens next I’ve been onBut the question I have to ask myself is do I really want a family? My mother and father aren’t there now, and they’re the people I’d really wanted to form a relationship with So, with Sebastian and Noemi, this hasn’t been the best of starts I’ve been left in a charge of their family business—how they can trust me, or me them? Let’s face it, they have to be nice to me for the next six months—whether they want to or not’

Anissa e of the chair next to hih his hair It was an intimate move The move of so overwhelh it’s all happened so quickly You didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye to your parents properly’

He was drawn by her touch His hand automatically wound its way around her waist and he pulled her towards hi her from the armrest and onto his lap

She put her hands on either side of his head and pressed her forehead against his ‘Leo, who have you talked to about all this?’

He breathed slowly ‘Justto find a way out without destroying the jewellery business’

Her eyes fixed on his and she was so close her eyelashes were brushing against his skin ‘I meant who have you talked to about this for you, Leo Not for business Not for legal reasons Who have you spoken to for you?’

He gave his head the slightest shake ‘No one’

It sounded so lonely It made it sound as if he had such a solitary existence

Words choked in his throat ‘I’ve seen how close you are with your parents I’ve never had anything like that I don’t even kno I should be with my brother and sister I phoned Noemi earlier today But it felt so stilted—not her, me I just don’t kno to have that kind of conversation Not yet Not while all this business stuff is hanging over our heads’

‘Leo, I can’t iine how hard this has been for you And this tis’ Her hands wove back through his hair and she gave hiood enough, Leo You’ve always been good enough’

Her lips brushed against his cheek and his head instinctively turned to capture her lips with his

Heat flooded through him There was so much electricity between them—it had been there from the very first time they’d er And he liked that Itwith someone To want to feel her skin under his He wanted to feel the heartbeat in her chest against his

Whatever he’d done today, however , it see heart than he could have hoped for