The Italian's Christmas Miracle

‘No!’ Drago rapped out the word so sharply that they stared at him. ‘I mean,’ he amended quickly, ‘I would like you to join us tonight, for supper.’

His mother-in-law frowned. ‘Surely a family occasion—’

‘We all belong to the same family of mourners,’ Drago said. ‘Signorina, you will dine with us. I won’t take no for an answer.’

He meant it, she could tell.

Drago stroked his daughter’s hair. ‘Go ahead to the car with your grandmother.’

Signora Fantoni glared, silently informing him of her disapproval, but he ignored her and she was forced to yield, taking Tina’s hand and turning away.

‘Poppa,’ Tina said, suddenly fearful. ‘You will come, won’t you?’

‘I promise,’ he said gently.

Relieved, she trotted away with her grandmother.

‘Since her mother died she’s sometimes nervous in case I vanish too,’ he said heavily.

‘Poor little mite. How does she bear it?’

‘With great pain. She adored her mother. Thank you with all my heart for guarding your words. I should have warned you, but she came to us so suddenly there was no time.’

‘Of course I was careful. I guessed you hadn’t told her very much.’

‘Nothing. She has no idea that Carlotta had left us. She thinks her mamma had to go away to visit clients, and was on her way home when she stopped off at the waterfall. If she hadn’t died, she would have been home next day. That’s what Tina believes, and what I want her to believe, at least until she’s older.’

‘Many mothers would have taken their child with them,’ Alysa mused.

‘Yes, but she abandoned hers, and that’s what I don’t want Tina to know. Even my mother-in-law has no idea. She too thinks Carlotta was on a business trip and meant to return. Why should I hurt her with the truth?’

‘No reason, so it’s better if I don’t dine with you.’

‘Not at all. I trust you. You’ve already proved that I can do so. You understood everything at once. Shall we go now?’

But suddenly Alysa’s alarm bells were ringing. This man was dangerous to her precarious peace. How dared he take her consent for granted? She should run away fast, take the next plane back to England and safety.

‘Look, I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘But I never agreed to this. I have to go home.’

‘Not before we’ve talked,’ he said firmly.

Her anger rose.

‘Don’t try to give me orders,’ she flashed. ‘We’ve only just met, and you think you can dictate to me? Well, you can’t. I’m going.’

She tried to turn away but he gripped her arm.

‘How dare you?’ she snapped. ‘Let me go at once.’

He gave no sign of obeying her demand.

‘Only just met,’ he scoffed. ‘You know better than that.’

She did, and it was like a blow to the heart. They had known each other only a few minutes, yet their shared knowledge gave them a painful intimacy, isolating them together, facing the whole world on the far side of a glass barrier.

‘When you saw me across the water,’ he grated, ‘you knew who I was, didn’t you?’

‘Yes.’

‘How?’

‘I researched your wife on the internet, and you were part of what I found. Somehow I just had to find out about the woman James left me for.’

‘Yes, you had to find out. I felt the same, but for me there was no way to do it. I knew nothing about the man she went away with, except his name, and that led nowhere. You’ve been able to answer some of your questions, but can you begin to imagine what it’s like for me, never to be able to find a single answer?

‘In there—’ he stabbed his own forehead ‘—there’s a black hole that I’ve lived with for a year. It’s been like standing at the entrance to the pit of hell, but I can’t see what’s there.’

‘Do you think I don’t know what that’s like?’

‘No, you don’t know what it’s like,’ he raged. ‘Because the torment springs from ignorance, and you’ve managed to deal with your ignorance. But I’ve lived with mine for a year and it’s driving me crazy.’ He shuddered then seemed to control himself by force. ‘You’re the one person who can free me from that horror, and if you imagine that I’m going to let you go without—without—’

It was harsh, almost bullying, but beneath the surface she could feel the desperate anguish that possessed him, and her anger died. So he was illmannered—so what? When a man saw his last hope fading, he would do anything to prevent it.

Slowly his hold on her arm was released. ‘Please,’ he said. ‘Please! You and I must talk. You know that, don’t you? You know that we must?’

She’d fought his bullying, but his plea softened her.

‘Yes,’ she said slowly. ‘We must.’

Why should she flee? There was no safety anywhere, and in her heart she knew that this was why she had come here—to meet this man, and learn from him all the things she didn’t really want to know.

‘Come on, then.’

‘Only if you let me go. I’ve said I’ll come with you, and I’ll keep my word, but if you continue to try to push me the deal’s off.’

Reluctantly he released her, but he watched closely, as though ready to pounce if she made a wrong move. His nervous tension reached her as nothing else could have, softening her anger. Wasn’t his state as desperate as her own?

His limousine was waiting for them, chauffeur in the driving seat. But Tina and her grandmother were standing outside, watching for his return, the little girl bouncing as soon as she saw him.

‘I suggest you sit in the front,’ Drago told the woman, and she did as he wanted, leaving him to open the rear door for Alysa and join her with Tina.

‘The drive will take about an hour,’ Drago said. ‘We live just outside Florence. Where are you staying?’

She named a hotel in the centre of town, and he nodded. ‘I know it. I’ll drive you back there later tonight.’

She spent most of the journey looking out of the window as the land flattened out and Florence came into view. Once she glanced at Drago, but he didn’t see her. All his attention was for the little girl nestling contentedly against him, as though he was all her world. Which was true, Alysa thought. She wondered how he coped with the child’s heartbreaking resemblance to her dead mother.

At that moment Tina opened her eyes and smiled up at her father. His answering smile made Alysa look away. She had no right to see that unguarded look. It was for his child alone.