It was the penance he lived every day. His due.
Nothing would change that. Nothing.
CHAPTER THREE
THE MAN HAD absolutely no concept of failure, she fumed, welcoming the sleep that finally overtook her during the long flight.
At least it spared her from listening to any more of Luciano’s vitriol. She’d made an error attempting to help him. Hadn’t she learned years ago that he never wanted that of her?
Okay, fine. Lesson learned now. She would never again be the fool with that Italian who was clearly packing more baggage than a short line rail car. As he so clearly put it, she would finish her job and leave Italy as soon as possible. She silently swore not to give his physical pain, or a means to ease it, another thought as the plane finally touched down in Italy.
She pulled in a long breath, then another. For the next few weeks, possibly a month, she would need a surfeit of patience. If she focused on what she would gain, she could make it through this without a problem.
That thought stayed with her as they began the process of departing the plane and passing through customs. Thankfully it went so fast that Caprice barely had time to register she was standing on Italian soil before Luciano hustled her onto the tarmac.
“This way,” he said, his features devoid of pain, his expression anxious, and then he was off.
She practically ran to keep marginally close to him, thanks to his long, sure strides. Obviously the long flight with scant physical activity benefited him. In fact she had to jog to stay behind his fast pace as he headed toward two chauffeur-driven sedans parked side by side.
Two cars? Did he mean for them to travel separately? God, she hoped so, having endured as much of his prickly company as she could tolerate.
But he was too far ahead for her to attempt asking, not that it really mattered. She was in for the long haul, no matter the discomfort.
Just before they reached the cars, the rear door on the one farthest away opened and a tall, elderly gentleman stepped out. He took a sentry stance, his strong features unreadable. Yet he was very recognizable to her, reflecting so much of the man ahead of her.
“Is it typical for your father to greet you at the airport?” she asked, finally coming abreast of him.
“Never.” Luciano released a muffled curse and continued walking to the other sedan at a sedate pace that she could keep up with. “We haven’t spoken in months.”
“By choice or chance?”
“Both.” He shook his head. “It’s complicated.”
A family state she knew intimately, she thought sourly. “I know what you mean.”
His intense blue gaze swung to her, brow furrowed. “Do you?”
“I’ve been estranged from my mother for the bulk of my life,” she admitted.
“You never told me.”
“You never let us get that close,” she said.
He stopped and grasped her hand, and just like that she was gone, caught up in the river of fire gushing through her veins. She tried to block the power and pulse of him but failed, soaking him in like rain on the desert. And she hated the sensations as much as she thirsted on them, but finally managed to jerk free with a shaky smile.