Page 63 of A Very Italian Wedding
The words were delivered without emotion, but Ben felt the punch of them anyway. It was as if she’d reached into his chest and used the mere power of prose to rip out what remained of his heart.
‘Marco loves Luna,’ Ben said softly, wondering if he should admit how deep his feelings were for Rose. Then again, she obviously didn’t want to hear it, he could see that now. She’d given up on them, just like Sophia. Perhaps for different reasons, but her condemnation of him, the fact that she couldn’t see beyond what she’d heard, told him everything he needed to know. She hadn’t looked deeper than his skin either. She’d simply stared into the face of her own prejudice.
‘I don’t think Marco, or you, know what love really is,’ Rose muttered, proving it.
Ben tensed. ‘Everything my friend has done since arriving here has been about Luna,’ he said. ‘He loves her, and if you could just look beyond your experiences with your parents, your clients, if you could be a friend and not the Love Doctor for a while – I think you’d be able to see the truth.’
Rose laughed, but it didn’t sound genuine. ‘I’m only just starting to see things clearly now. You were always on a mission to distract me. Right from the start when you arrived on the plane looking like—’ She choked on the last words, screwing up her nose as she studied him. ‘That!’
‘So now the way I look is wrong?’ Ben shot back, shaking his head. It wasn’t the first time he’d heard it, but he expected better of Rose.
‘Was spilling the coffee on me a part of your plan too?’ she asked, barely looking at him as she began to pace. ‘I’m not sure I can blame you for my missing luggage, but what about the flat tyre that made us late?’ She stopped pacing, considering him.
Ben sighed wearily. ‘You’re determined to see the worst in me. Even if you hadn’t heard Marco and me talking, I wonderhow long it would have taken you to sabotage the wedding, and any chance of a relationship we might have had.’
‘I don’t know what you mean,’ Rose said bitterly.
‘I think you do,’ Ben insisted. ‘What happened between uswasreal, Rose, you’re just too afraid to see it.’ The knowledge of that was almost too painful to admit.
He watched her blink as she absorbed his words. ‘You were always looking for a way out, or a sign that I was tricking you. I got beneath that hard shell for a while – thought there was a chance for us. But I see now, there isn’t. You’re always going to try to find a problem because you’re absolutely terrified of love. So scared you can barely see straight.’ He narrowed his eyes.
‘I’m not,’ she spluttered, her beautiful face contorting as she glared back at him.
‘You’ve been so screwed up by your parents that you don’t want to take a risk. You’re not dealing with them either.’ He sucked in a breath. ‘You’re trying to fix something that’s broken over and over, refusing to see you’re being manipulated because neither of them want a healthy marriage that lasts. Perhaps they just enjoy the attention they get from constantly messing up? And maybe it’s just easier for you to watch a relationship burn from the sidelines, to criticise and find things wrong while expounding your unrealistic rules.’ He sighed. ‘That way you can pick away until there’s nothing left. That way you never get hurt and you’re never in the wrong.’
‘Isn’t that like you too?’ Rose asked, her voice stiff. ‘You’re the man who got his heart broken, so decided to never allow himself to feel again.’
Ben absorbed the new blow and nodded curtly. ‘Perhaps you’re right. Which just means we’re even more perfect for each other than I originally thought.’ He shook his head. ‘You’ve got between a couple who could have been happy. Instead of helping make sure this wedding went smoothly, you’ve tried to imagineevery single thing that could go wrong. You’re like a wrecking ball, determined to break whatever doesn’t fit your rigid ideal. It’s learned behaviour, you don’t really believe any relationship will work.It’s no wonder Luna’s decided to call off the wedding.’ He shook his head. ‘For a Love Doctor, you really don’t have a clue about love.’
‘That’s not true,’ Rose said, her voice wavering for the first time.
‘Isn’t it?’ Ben asked softly. He didn’t know whether to feel sorry for her. All he could focus on was that he and Rose were over before they’d even begun. The first woman he’d met in two years that he’d allowed himself to have feelings for had broken his heart.
But he’d had a lucky escape – that was clear.
‘I’ll see you around,’ Ben said curtly as he turned and headed towards the doorway that led to the garden without looking back, ignoring the piercing pain coursing through his chest.
23
ROSE
Rose raced around her bedroom, throwing all her clothes into the small suitcase she’d borrowed from Luna when she arrived. It was time to head back to England, time to get back to her clients. If she thought about Ben anymore, her head – or heart – were going to explode. She wasn’t running away, she just…Didn’t want to be here anymore.
Her mobile pinged from the other room, and she went to pick it up. There were multiple messages from her parents. She really had to deal with them soon. Their weddings were only a few weeks away and she had to decide which one she was going to attend. Ben was wrong: they needed her help, this had nothing to do with being manipulated – and shedefinitelywasn’t stuck.
Irritated, she dropped the phone back on the bed and brushed her fingertips across her temples. She had a headache starting, but it was nothing compared to the pain in her heart.
She heard a cry and spun around trying to identify the source. Then another voice yelled something in Italian. Was it Marco? It took Rose a few seconds to realise the shouting was coming from outside. She quickly went to the balcony.
From here, Rose could see Isabella and Cesare. The older man was on his hands and knees, waving towards the olive grove, while Isabella shook her head vigorously. Watching them, Rose felt a churn of sympathy. It was obvious that Marco’s grandfather wanted to show off the new olive tree shoots. But it looked like Isabella was too angry with him to care.
You’re like a wrecking ball, determined to break whatever doesn’t fit your rigid ideal. It’s learned behaviour, you don’t believe any relationship will work. For a Love Doctor, you really don’t have a clue about love.Ben’s words echoed around Rose’s mind and she choked back a tear. It wasn’t true. But maybe she could prove that to herself and Ben before leaving for England? She’d promised to speak to Isabella, after all.
When Rose reached the garden, the couple were standing outside their respective houses, still glaring at each other.
‘You have to tell her to come to the olive grove,’ Cesare begged Rose, switching to English as he saw her approach.
‘I’m not going anywhere with you,’ Isabella spat back. ‘Go back to your phone, old man.’ With that, she turned on her heels and stumbled into the house.
