From Florence With Love: Valtieri's Bride / Lorenzo's Reward / The Secret That Changed Everything

If she even knew the answers …

CHAPTER FIVE (#ulink_0e2bdf21-0d30-5992-b537-67f1ba0bb2a8)

‘YOU ran away.’

She was sitting outside her room on a bench with her foot up, flicking through a magazine she’d found, and she looked up guiltily into his thoughtful eyes.

‘I had to help Carlotta.’

‘And it was easier than dealing with my mother,’ he said softly, a fleeting smile in his eyes. ‘I’m sorry, she can be a little …’

‘A little …?’

He grinned slightly crookedly. ‘She doesn’t like me being on my own. Every time I speak to a woman under fifty, her radar picks it up. She’s been interrogating me for the last three hours.’

Lydia laughed, and she put the magazine down, swung her foot to the ground and patted the bench. ‘Want to hide here for a while?’

His mouth twitched. ‘How did you guess? Give me a moment.’

He vanished, then reappeared with a bottle of wine and two glasses. ‘Prosecco?’

‘Lovely. Thanks.’ She took a glass from him, sniffing the bubbles and wrinkling her nose as she sipped. ‘Mmm, that’s really nice. So, how was the baby?’

‘Beautiful, perfect, amazing, the best baby in the world—

oh, apart from all their other grandchildren. This is the sixth, and Luca and Isabelle are about to make it seven. Their second is due any time now.’

‘Wow. Lots of babies.’

‘Yes, and she loves it. Nothing makes her happier. Luca and Isabelle and my brother Gio are coming over tomorrow for dinner with some neighbours, by the way. I’d like you to join us, if you can tolerate it.’

She stared at him. ‘Really? I’m only here by default, and I feel such a fraud. I really ought to go home.’

‘How’s your head now?’

She pulled a face. ‘Better. I’m still getting the odd headache, but nothing to worry about. It’s my ankle and the other bruises and scrapes that are sorest. I think I hit every step.’

He frowned. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t really think about the things I can’t see.’

Well, that was a lie. He thought about them all the time, but there was no way he was confessing that to Lydia. ‘So—will you join us?’

She bit her lip, worrying it for a moment with her teeth, which made him want to kiss her just to stop her hurting that soft, full mouth that had been taunting him for days. Dio, the whole damn woman had been taunting him for days—

‘Can I think about it?’

A kiss? No. No! Not a kiss!

‘Of course,’ he said, finally managing to unravel his tongue long enough to speak. ‘Of course you may. It won’t be anything impressive, Carlotta’s got enough to do as it is, but my mother wanted to see Isabelle and Luca before the baby comes, and Gio’s coming, and so my mother’s invited Anita and her parents, and so it gets bigger—you know how it is.’

She laughed softly. ‘I can imagine. Who’s Anita?’

‘The daughter of our neighbours. She and Gio had a thing a while back, and my mother keeps trying to get them together again. Can’t see it working, really, but she likes to try.’

‘And how do they feel?’

He laughed abruptly. ‘I wouldn’t dare ask Gio. He has a fairly bitter and twisted attitude to love. Comes from being a lawyer, I suppose. His first line of defence is always a prenuptial agreement.’

She raised an eyebrow. ‘Trust issues, then. I can understand that. I have a few of my own after Russell.’

‘I’m sure. People like that can take away something precious, a sort of innocence, a naivety, and once it’s gone you can never get it back. Although I have no idea what happened to Gio. He won’t talk about it.’

‘What about Anita? What’s she like?’

His low chuckle made her smile. ‘Anita’s a wedding planner. What do you think?’

‘I think she might like to plan her own?’

‘Indeed. But Gio can’t see what’s under his nose, even if Mamma keeps putting her there.’ He tipped his head on one side. ‘It could be an interesting evening. And if you’re there, it might take the heat off Gio, so he’ll probably be so busy being grateful he’ll forget to quiz me about you, so it could be better all round!’

She started to laugh at that, and he joined in with another chuckle and topped up her glass.

‘Here’s to families and their politics and complications,’ he said drily, and touched his glass to hers.

‘Amen to that,’ she said, remembering guiltily that she’d meant to phone Jen again. ‘I heard from Claire, by the way—she’s back home safely, and she said Jo’s ecstatic about winning.’

‘How’s your sister about it?’

She pulled a face. ‘I’m not sure. She was putting on a brave face, but I think she’s gutted. I know none of us expected me to win but, you know, it would have been so nice.’

He nodded. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘Don’t be. You’ve done more than enough.’ She drained her glass and handed it to him. ‘I’m going to turn in. I need to rest my leg properly, and tomorrow I need to think about arranging a flight back home.’

‘For tomorrow?’ He sounded startled, and she shook her head.

‘No. I thought maybe the next day? I probably ought to phone the hospital and get the go-ahead to fly.’

‘I can take you there if you want a check-up.’

‘You’ve got so much to do.’

‘Nothing that’s more important,’ he said, and although it wasn’t true, she knew that for him there was nothing more important than making sure there wasn’t another Angelina.

‘I’ll see what they say,’ she compromised. There was always the bus, surely? She’d ask Carlotta in the morning.

She got to her feet, and he stood up and took her hand, tucking it in the crook of his arm and helping her to the French doors. Quite unnecessarily, since she’d been hobbling around without help since the second day, really, but it was still nice to feel the strength of his arm beneath her hand, the muscles warm and hard beneath the fine fabric of his shirt.

Silk and linen, she thought, sampling the texture with her fingertips, savouring it.