Once he’d cleared up, he looked at her. ‘Where are your shoes?’
‘With Leo’s boxes.’
‘I’ll get them.’ He fetched her shoes, then waited until she put them on. ‘Are you all right? Let me look at your hand.’
To her horror, she burst into tears.
* * *
Something was clearly very wrong—something more than just a simple scald. Angelo didn’t have a clue what to do. Would she take it the wrong way if he wrapped his arms around her and held her to comfort her? On the other hand, he couldn’t just ignore her distress.
In the end, he decided to treat her as if she was his sister. He wrapped his arms around her and held her until she stopped crying.
‘Sorry. I didn’t mean to have a meltdown on you.’ She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. ‘I’ll pay for the mug I broke.’
‘It’s fine. Accidents happen. But I get the feeling that there’s more to it than—’ he grimaced ‘—literally spilt milk. Do you need me to take you to hospital?’
‘Hospital?’
‘The burn on your hand,’ he reminded her.
She shook her head. ‘You gave me ice to cool the skin. It’ll be fine. It’s more shock than anything else.’
That looked like a lot more than shock to him.
He must’ve spoken aloud, because she said, ‘I’m sorry. I owe you an explanation.’ She took a deep breath. ‘My ex got a bit angry if I broke something.’
‘He hit you?’ Angelo looked at her in disbelief.
‘No. It was never physical.’ She looked away. ‘He was a control freak. He liked everything in its right place.’
Which was pretty much what Angelo had said to her about himself.
Had she worn a business suit and high heels today because he thought he expected it of her? he wondered.
‘He used to tell me how useless I was. He brought up every single mistake I’d ever made, any time I did anything wrong. To the point where I realised how useless and stupid I was, and I was lucky he even bothered with me.’
‘Nobody has the right to treat another human being like that,’ Angelo said. ‘I read that interview you gave, but I didn’t realise how badly it had affected you.’
‘I’m getting there,’ she said. ‘That’s why I studied so hard, to prove to myself that I’m more than Eric made me think I was.’
‘You are,’ he said.
‘I know. But every so often something knocks me a bit. I’m sorry.’
‘Don’t apologise. You’ve done nothing wrong,’ he said.
She bit her lip. ‘I understand if you want me to leave right now. You have to protect your grandfather.’
‘I don’t want you to leave,’ he said. ‘I knew a little bit of what happened before I asked you to help. Do you have an injunction in place?’
‘Yes.’ She lifted her chin. ‘He breached it once, and because of that he has a suspended sentence. He won’t risk getting put in prison.’
‘Then there’s nothing to worry about,’ Angelo said. ‘I’d very much like you to carry on with the excellent job you’re doing of sorting out my grandfather’s papers and prove that that painting is what he thinks it is. You’re the one person I believe has the knowledge and skills to make it happen. But I’m also going to drive you home tonight, and I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning.’
‘That’s the point, Angelo,’ she said. ‘If I spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder, worrying about if Eric will get to me, then he wins. I want to live my life well. To be as independent as possible.’
He thought about it.
Then he thought about it some more.
‘I want,’ Angelo said, ‘to give you another hug. Except I don’t want you to take it the wrong way. I’m just thinking this sort of thing could’ve happened to my sister, or my colleagues, or people I know. And it’s horrifying.’
‘A hug,’ she said, ‘would be nice.’
He held her close. ‘And I’m sorry if I’ve made you feel that I’m a control freak.’
‘You kind of are. But I know you’re looking out for your grandfather. It’s not quite the same thing.’