“Absolutely.” A shaky breath escaped her and she nodded once. “I’ll be calm. I promise.”
“I need you to, love. This is important. I’m about to be arrested for kidnapping you, though this charge won’t stand. You’re a grown woman who left on your own accord.” Whose sister somehow had declared her sister mentally incompetent. Who did she know to make that happen? Why would she go to such lengths to ruin everything between him and Cat? He didn’t understand it. He’d hardly paid attention to Annalisa over the years. Since the moment he knew Cat was meant for him, he’d focused on her.
Maybe that was where the problem lay. Had Annalisa secretly wanted him? He’d never been given that indication until that one moment over a year ago. And it had been so non-momentous, he’d promptly forgotten all about it.
Funny, that. From everything Cat had told him, Annalisa received most of the attention from family, business associates, friends. Not that she’d had many men in her life—both women were the typical, sheltered Italian daughters. The only one who seemed to pay any attention to Cat was him.
Seemed that Annalisa didn’t like that. She wanted all the limelight. She wanted everything, even what little Cat could lay claim to.
That the woman would go so far as to have him arrested for kidnapping displayed how far over the edge she’d fallen. He still couldn’t quite wrap his head around it.
Especially when he saw the legal documents regarding Cat. The devastation and anger when she read said documents, how she kissed him one last time before they handcuffed him and led him to a car. She’d cried for him, tears streaming down her cheeks, and the sight of those tears had nearly done him in.
But he remained calm. He couldn’t believe how damn calm he felt. Maybe because he knew he hadn’t done anything wrong. Or maybe because he knew he was dealing with a crazy woman.
And her name wasn’t Catalina Campioni. She was the best thing that ever happened to him.
No, the crazy woman he referred to was Annalisa.
Chapter Twelve
“Why?” Cat strode into the living room where her sister sat with her mother and walked right up to her, towering over her big sister with her finger pointed in Annalisa’s face. “Why did you do this to us?”
Annalisa remained poised while, beside her, their mother silently wept as usual. “I warned you not to leave with him.”
“So you have him arrested for kidnapping me? And make up lies that I’m a mental case and that you’re now my temporary legal guardian? How dare you take it this far?”
“How dare you leave us with that good-for-nothing jerk who’ll do nothing but hurt you? I already warned you about him. I’ve been warning you for years!” Annalisa’s eyes grew wild, her mouth tight.
Cat backed away from her and started pacing. Her mind raced with everything that had happened in the last few hours. She’d followed Rafe and the police cars down to the local station, but they refused to let her see him while he was in the booking process. Frustrated, she’d left, demanded that the car take her to her home so she could confront her sister and find out exactly how and why she put together this elaborate scheme.
But of course, her sister reacted as if she’d done nothing wrong, which frustrated Cat further. She refused to reveal her irritation, though. That would only be giving Annalisa the upper hand, and that was the last thing Cat wanted to do.
She needed to remember Rafe’s advice and remain calm. It was the only way she could figure out exactly what happened. And how she could make this all right.
Cat needed to make this right. She needed to get her fiancé out of jail and the charges dropped so they could move on with their lives and marry quickly, just as they’d planned.
“After spending these last few days with Rafe, I believe I know what sort of man he is,” Cat finally said as she continued to pace the wide living room. “He has no plans on hurting me. He’s grown to care for me just as much as I care for him.”
Annalisa burst out laughing, the sound harsh. Ugly. “If you believe that sort of drivel, then maybe you do need me as your guardian.”