Caprice stared at him, seeming not to know what to say to that. “He accepted your challenge.”
“Of course. He is a Duchelini.”
She walked the length of the room in silence, the slap of her slender flats the only sound other than the rasp of his breath. Finally she faced him again.
“What does that mean? Duchelinis don’t back down?”
He smiled. “It is a matter of pride.”
“Pride.” She shook her head and resumed her study of the massive pod. “‘Pride goeth before the fall.’”
The old saying ricocheted off the walls and pierced his heart, drawing emotional blood. She had no idea how living with that knowledge pained him. No idea that seven years ago he’d pushed her away from him out of self-loathing because her kiss had touched on feelings he’d felt for his wife. Tender emotions that Isabella had shredded with her deceit. Stronger emotions because his wife’s death had changed him.
Her death froze his heart and loosed a restless spirit.
Therein lied the regret that haunted him day and night.
The fall, as Caprice poetically put it, had severed his family in two. It had cut off any further efforts of his on the slopes.
After the fall, he’d given up what he loved because he’d lost all he loved. His unfaithful wife. His brother, as only a shell of a man seemed to survive.
His fingers fisted, his muscles tensing tightly down his side to taunt the injury that reminded him daily of his stupidity. His pride. Taunting him over what he could have had if he’d just been forgiving. As if staring into his brother’s eyes weren’t enough to scar him!
He ached to shout a biting comeback, but words failed him. At least cordial words. Not a single one came to mind.
“I’ll leave you alone to decide what you need to present to the design team. Meet me in my office in an hour,” he managed to bite out as he strode toward the open door without looking back to see her reaction.
What she thought didn’t matter. This part of their planning would be done his way, and she would just have to deal with it.
CHAPTER FOUR
WITHOUT A DOUBT, Luciano Duchelini was the most infuriating man she had ever met. How dare he immediately haul her off the plane and expect her to formulate a workable plan for a state-of-the-art adaptive ski and rehabilitation facility that would bear her name. And on limited sleep at that!
Did he think he could best her? Or did he believe she really was that prepared to launch right into work off the plane?
The fact that was she semi ready was a major benefit. And that she wanted this job done as quickly as possible was another added incentive for her to focus on this instead of the promise of rest.
She could sleep when this job was finished.
With that in mind, she crossed to the bank of windows that opened to face the mountains and drank in the amazing view. Luciano had been wise choosing this wing for the therapy pod. She would give him that, and she would certainly optimize this vista that was key to her program’s success.
It took twenty minutes to roughly sketch the placement of necessary equipment and another ten to adjust the initial list she’d used in her presentation package. A thorough edit and tweaking of minor details and she was ready to meet the design team.