Falling for the Brooding Italian (Hot Italian Nights Book 6) by Annie West

Author:Annie West [West, Annie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-08-31T22:00:00+00:00

Aurelio peered down into stormy silver eyes and was stunned to see them suddenly awash with unshed tears.

Because he said he’d been worried about her? No, it must be something else. Something had happened tonight. He’d been right to worry.

‘Amber? What is it?’ Urgency roughened his voice, made it harsh and demanding when he wanted to be supportive.

But he’d never seen this woman close to tears before. Ever. Not when he’d walked out on her in Rome. Nor during their confrontation when she arrived at the vineyard. Or more recently when she’d put in ridiculously long hours, trying to finish everything before leaving the vineyard. Through it all Amber had been astonishingly resilient. He didn’t know another woman who’d have stood up to him as she did.

He’d become a reclusive grouch lately and it took a strong personality to put up with him, much less inveigle him into letting down his guard.

Amber had done it.

Yet here she was, bright eyes glazed and mouth trembling.

An unseen fist punched him in the chest. He felt winded, like something vital was unravelling inside him.

‘Amber? Talk to me. Did someone hurt you?’ He closed his hands around her upper arms. If some guy had—

‘No! I’m fine, I told you.’ Her voice wasn’t her own either. It was a meagre shadow of her usual firm tones.

Aurelio stared down into her taut face, watched her blink to clear her eyes and felt…useless. How could he help if she refused to say what was wrong?

But one thing he knew for certain. Something was wrong. Badly wrong.

If she didn’t explain he couldn’t fix it for her and Aurelio knew without doubt that he wanted to fix things for her. He hated seeing her silent suffering. Enough to cross boundaries he usually avoided at all costs.

‘Tell me, Amber. I care about you.’ The words spilled out, uncensored and unplanned. But they were true. Hearing them, Aurelio realised how true they were. Amber was special. Her distress tore at him. ‘I want to help.’

Yet instead of easing her hurt, his words seemed to have the opposite effect. He watched her mouth drag down in a grimace and felt a rough shudder pass through her as if she fought a mighty internal struggle.

Stymied, Aurelio considered his options. If he couldn’t fix the problem, for now all he could do was look after her. There was no way he could simply turn around and leave Amber like this. Remarkably for a man who shunned complications, the thought of her crying alone in her room was even worse than the possibility of her crying on him.

He knew the sort of comfort women liked. Hadn’t he been a rock for Valentina, for his little sister, Lia, and even for his widowed mother through the years?

Silently, Aurelio released his hold on her and instead wrapped his arms around her, drawing her close.

Amber stiffened in his embrace, jerking her head back to stare up at him. Her mouth worked, ready to protest but then she apparently changed her mind.

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