Eva watched Callum walk away, her heart pounding and her stomach knotted. He was walking away! She balled her hands into fists. No one walked away from her. She was a Rosso after all. How dare he…he dance with her like that and leave. Mouth pressed into a line, she headed for the bar, asked for champagne and downed it in one swallow. She stayed there as the party wound down and the band stopped playing and began to pack up. The night had chilled. Eva watched dawn begin to stain the sky and she began to think.

Callum must still think her a child—a spoilt, stupid child. Well, she would show him. Him and Antonio. She would make Callum regret that he had walked away from her.

Heading upstairs she changed, showered, and came right back down to coffee and breakfast. The staff were still up and cleaning up, so she helped herself to coffee and a slice of the flourless almond cake, filled with vanilla custard and fruit, that Gaia had made for the wedding.

She was deep in her books by the time Callum came into the library. She glanced up at him. He’d changed into jeans and a long-sleeve T-shirt that brought out the blue in his eyes. He looked rumpled still, his hair standing up, and his eyes a little bloodshot. He looked great. She put her focus back on her book—she’d read the same paragraph three times and still didn’t get it. “Coffee’s in the kitchen.”

He left and came back with a steaming mug. Sitting down opposite her, he cleared his throat. “I think we should talk.”

She looked up from her book. “About what?”

Callum sipped his coffee. Her heart thudded and she hoped he couldn’t see that. He had a great mouth with lush lips. She twisted the corner of a page in her book. Callum nodded as if he’d made up his mind about something. “We’re going about this the wrong way. I did some checking and you need to retake your entrance exams, but you’d do better to take them at the university. A trip there would give you time to explore the campus and meet with a counselor.”

“Why do I need that?”

“You’d impress them more in person than anything else. Trust me, you would. And it’d be good to do all of that before January and the new year, meaning we need to plan a trip to the States this December.”

Eva chewed on her lower lip and then said, “I don’t know if Antonio would let me head to America by myself. You’d have to come with me.”

Callum shook his head. “I’ll talk to your brother. I don’t need to be there.”

“You do. I’m going to ask Antonio if you can help me get through my first semester at university.”

“But—”

“You want to teach. So teach me. Your first student needs to be a success—how else are you going to get a recommendation from Antonio that will get you a great teaching position?”

His eyes narrowed. “This sounds a lot like blackmail.”

She shrugged. “No, only a little. You need me—I need you. It’s that simple. I’ll talk to Antonio later today about this plan. You can visit your folks, and get me through my tests, and we’ll all be happy.”

Callum gave her a tight smile. “Sounds like you’ve got it all worked out.”

She smiled back. “Oh, I do.” Now she only had to convince her brother, Alexandra, and Dareios.

* * *

“You want what?” Antonio asked. He strode across the study and back again. Claire was upstairs taking a nap—she’d seemed exhausted by the wedding. Alexandra and Dareios hadn’t come downstairs yet, but had had meals sent up to their room. Eva let out a breath. Antonio was being stubborn.

“Tonio, you know this is a good idea. I talked it over with Callum. I can go with him to visit the university, and take my entrance exams the very last day they are offered. I have to wait a couple of weeks for the results, and that means Alexandra and Dareios could come visit me. Maybe go skiing?”

Antonio frowned. “I—”

“This is not about you. This is about me.” Eva got up and stood in front of her brother. “Did you ever stop to think that one of the reasons I have so much trouble with math and science is that you’re so good at them. You used to do my homework for me and I let you! And Father used to pat me on the head and tell me not to worry—that a pretty little girl like me didn’t need to bother about things like that. Well, I do need to bother. And I need to focus. That’s hard here. It’s too easy to slip into old habits.”

Stepping closer, she put a hand on Antonio’s arm. “Please. Tonio. I need a chance to prove I can make it on my own. This is my chance. If I fail my exams again, I’ll come home.”

Antonio shook his head. “No. You’re a Rosso. You won’t fail. And…I’ll arrange to buy you house or a condo to live in.”

She shook her head. “How is that me making it on my own?”

Antonio folded his arms. “You can hire your own housekeeper and staff. But I’ll make sure security is in place. And I want Callum with you—I trust him to look after you.”

Eva nodded. “I do, too.” Standing on tip-toe she kissed her brother’s cheek. But she didn’t tell him that so far part one of her plan was working perfectly.