It had only been two days, yet he drank her in like a man stumbling across an oasis after being lost in the desert. Dark circles gave her eyes a bruised appearance, and she was clinging to the woman next to her—clearly a relative, given the family resemblance.

“Laurella,” he said, his voice clipped and cold, even to his own ears. “We need to talk.”

She shook her head. “Now isn’t a good time.”

She went to walk inside. He sped across the short distance and gripped her elbow. “I’d say now is a perfect time.”

The woman next to her narrowed her eyes. “I’d thank you to take your hands off my sister.” Her English was not as clear as Laurella’s, but the fire in her eyes made up for any loss in translation.

“It’s okay, Caterina,” Laurella said. “Go inside and get Mama’s things. I’ll be straight up.”

“Are you sure?”

Laurella nodded. “Go on, now. Give me two minutes.”

Caterina reluctantly left, glancing over her shoulder several times as she went inside. Calum waited until Laurella’s sister had disappeared from view, and then his anger and hurt spewed out.

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” he snapped. “You refuse to give any details of what the problem with you and Vorino is. You disappear from the office without a word and run away to Italy with your tail between your legs. You don’t return any of my calls or texts. Zane is worried sick that the deal with Sorensen’s is about to go down the pan because, apparently, you’ve tendered your fucking resignation. I fly all the way to Italy to talk to you, and you tell me ‘Now isn’t a good time.’ What the fuck, Laurella? Just so I’m clear, when would be a fucking good time?”

She squared her shoulders, and her eyes sparked in defiance. Her hands came to her hips, and she glared at him. “When my father isn’t lying in the hospital having suffered a heart attack.”

She might as well have shot him with a Taser. He actually staggered backward a couple of steps and blinked rapidly. He opened his mouth in horror. Jesus Christ. He was a fucking idiot. He hadn’t even given her time to explain, just launched into a tirade that she didn’t deserve. He, on the other hand, deserved everything coming to him, and by the look in her eyes, he was about to get it.

“Shit, I’m sorry—”

Her hand flew in the air. “I don’t have time to spar with you today, Calum. My sister and I have come to pick up some of Mama’s things, and then we’re going back to the hospital.”

“How is your father?”

“What do you care?” she said, her tone full of bitterness.

He grimaced. “I deserved that. But I do care. If you just shared what’s in that head of yours, I wouldn’t be left wondering.”

She threw her hands up. “Oh, so it’s my fault you jumped to the wrong conclusions.”

“Stop twisting my words,” he said, irritated.

“Whatever,” she said.

His lips twitched. He always found it amusing when Laurella came out with an unusual—for her—English phrase.

“Do you think this is funny?” she asked. “Actually, forget it. I have to go.”

She turned away and stomped off. Calum ran after her, reaching her before she could burst through the doors to the lobby. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against him, her back to his front.

“I’m coming with you whether you like it or not,” he murmured, his lips right next to her ear.

She wriggled. “Let me go, Calum.”

“Not until you calm down.”

“Go home.”

“Not without you.”

He sensed what she was about to do, but he didn’t move out of the way quickly enough. Her elbow crashed into his ribs. He grunted, but despite the pain, he managed to hang on to her.

“God, you are one frustrating female. Stop fighting me. Where else would I be but beside the woman I love when she’s falling apart?”

His words must have stripped all the fight from her, because she sagged in his arms. He eased her around to face him, but her gaze was firmly fixed on the floor, her chin trembling.

“Look at me,” he said.

Slowly, her head came up. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. She’d never looked more beautiful.

“I can’t talk about what happened back in New York. Not yet. I need to put all my energy into my father and my family.”

He nodded. “When you’re ready, I’ll be here.”