“Yes. But it was no penance, believe me.”
She swallowed hard. “Thank you for your honesty.”
He gave her a sheepish glance. “You may not thank me when I tell you everything I did.”
“What do you mean?”
“From the moment he called me and asked me to meet the two of you on the boat, I knew instinctively you’d become someone important to him.”
She shook her head. “He felt an obligation to me after the horrible way he and your cousins treated us when they thought we were the jewel thieves.”
“No, Olivia. Something happened aboard the Piccione that changed him. In one sense I was thrilled to think he could have feelings for another woman again. But in another, I was nervous because you showed such an eagerness to get to know me. Especially when you knew all my racing statistics. After the history with Genevieve, I had to proceed carefully.”
“I didn’t know!” she cried again in anguish. “When I couldn’t get him to respond to me, I played up to you in order to make him jealous. It was the worst thing I could have done, but then I’m known for getting myself into the worst messes possible.”
One corner of his mouth lifted. “I finally figured that out at the wedding. When I heard you two fighting, I decided to help nature along by inviting you to come to Monza with me.”
“You invited me on purpose? I mean, not because you were interested in me?”
“I could have been very interested if I’d met you before he did. But to answer your quest
ion, I decided to test you in the only way I knew how.”
Her eyes grew huge. “So that business about buying me a ring—”
“Was the carrot I dangled to see if you would go for the bait. A test if you like to prove your worthiness to marry my brother.”
“Cesar—” Her mind was reeling.
“Not only did you laugh at me, you refused to let me really kiss you. I knew then you loved him heart and soul.”
“I do!” She clapped her hands to her cheeks. “So that’s what you meant on the phone when you said you hoped he would realize it.”
He nodded. “You’ll never know how happy I was to find out you’d gone straight to his house after you left Monza. I took it as a foregone conclusion that by now the two of you would be announcing your own wedding plans.” He cocked his head. “How come you’re here instead of at the villa with him?”
“Oh, Cesar—I’m in the worst trouble imaginable. He hates me. He really hates me. After everything you’ve told me, now I know why. I think maybe too much damage has been done.”
“Tell me what happened after our phone call.”
Without stopping for breath she blurted everything. It was a relief to be able to unburden herself to someone who loved Luc as much as she did.
“When he said the thought of making love to one of his brother’s pit babes sickened him, I knew his pain had to be tied up to you in some way. I was such a fool to throw myself at him like that. But nothing else seemed to be working. I thought if I could just break him down a little, then I’d propose to him.
“My greatest worry now is, even if I could get him to listen to reason, he would probably accuse me of wanting to get married on the rebound just because Greer has a husband and I’m at a loose end.”
Cesar grinned. “Knowing my brother’s engineering brain, that thought has probably crossed his mind already. It’s even possible he believes you’ve picked him because he’s Max’s cousin and you’ll do anything to keep up with your older sister.”
Olivia looked stricken. “I hadn’t thought of that! He’s a very complicated man.”
He stared at her through veiled eyes. “The best ones are. I love him. The accident he survived was a blow he didn’t need after the emotional devastation of Genevieve’s betrayal. He deserves all the happiness life has to give him.”
She hung her head. “I don’t know what to do. I know what I should do. Greer would tell me to go straight home and forget him.”
“What do you want to do?” he asked softly.
“Find the path to his heart, but I don’t think there’s a way.”
“After getting up at the crack of dawn to row the Gabbiano by yourself to find help, you’re too tired to think straight. I’ll ask Bianca to show you to one of the guest bedrooms.