Shock: One-Night Heir

A silence thickened the air for a nanosecond.

Maya was the first to respond. ‘Luca, that’s truly wonderful news. I am so happy for you both. When is it due?’

‘I’m not sure,’ Luca said, looking a bit sheepish. ‘We’ve only just done one of those home kit tests. It’s all still a little bit unreal, to be frank.’

Tell me about it, Maya thought wryly.

Giorgio gave his brother a firm handshake, anchoring it with a grasp of Luca’s forearm. ‘I am very pleased for you. It will be delightful to have another niece or nephew to spoil.’

Luca appeared relieved his announcement had gone down so well. ‘So,’ he said, still smiling, his eyes this time full of intrigue. ‘What are you two doing out here all alone?’

Another silence hovered like humidity before a storm.

Giorgio was the first to break it. ‘Maya and I have an announcement of our own to make.’ He put his arm around her waist and drew her into his side. ‘We have decided to reconcile. There will be no divorce.’

Maya’s eyes flew to his, her mouth opening but nothing coming out. The weight of his arm around her waist was like a chain, tying her to him just as effectively as his words.

Luca looked from one to the other with a spreading smile. ‘That’s wonderful news. Have you told Nonno? It will be the best birthday present for him.’

Giorgio smiled smugly. ‘We are just about to do so now, aren’t we, cara?’ he said, looking down at Maya.

Maya wanted to deny it. She wanted to tell Luca his brother was a manipulating, ruthless man who would stop at nothing to keep what he wanted in his possession. But she knew if she did it would quite possibly ruin Salvatore’s party. The old man was dying and Luca was right: the announcement of the reconciliation between his eldest grandson and his estranged wife would make his day.

Instead, she gave Luca a weak smile. ‘It’s all happened so suddenly…’

Luca grinned at his brother. ‘I have to tell Bronte. She’ll be so thrilled. This calls for more champagne.’

He picked up Giorgio’s empty glass and then moved to where Maya had left her half-drunk orange juice. He picked it up and, after a moment, turned and looked at her quizzically. ‘Not currently on the hard stuff, Maya?’

Maya felt the weight of Giorgio’s gaze. ‘I…I guess over the years I’ve got used to not drinking,’ she said.

‘You will have to make up for it tonight,’ Luca said and, with another beaming smile, left through the French windows to find his young wife and child.

‘Luca is right,’ Giorgio said after what seemed an endless pause. ‘This is indeed a night for celebration.’

Maya threw him a barbed glare. ‘How could you lie to your own brother like that? This is a farce and you know it.’

He gave a movement of his mouth that communicated total indifference to her opinion. ‘This is about making my grandfather’s last weeks or months of life as comfortable and happy as possible,’ he said. ‘You said you wanted the villa at Bellagio.’ He gave her an indomitable look and added, ‘Believe me, Maya, this is the only way you are going to get it.’

Chapter Three

MAYA fumed as she left the balcony with Giorgio’s arm planted firmly around her waist. Even more guests had arrived and a couple of camera flashes went off. She wondered if Giorgio had primed the select members of the press present to give her no chance of denying the announcement of their reconciliation. She would look a complete and utter fool if she said anything to the contrary now. After all, she had spent the whole time so far with him out on the balcony. People had already started talking.

‘Stop grinding your teeth, mio piccolo,’ he said in an undertone as they moved through to where Salvatore was seated like a king in the main salone.

Maya kept her lips pressed together, her words coming out like hard pellets. ‘You set this up, didn’t you? You set me up so I couldn’t say no. You knew I would not want to spoil your grandfather’s party and you deliberately played on that.’

His arm tightened like a band of steel around her waist. It was a possessive touch but also a warning. ‘Play along with it, Maya,’ he said. ‘Look at Nonno. He is enjoying himself so much. Our announcement on top of Luca and Bronte’s will be the icing on the cake—literally.’

The announcement hardly needed to be made formally for as soon as they walked into the salone all heads turned. There were whispers and gasps, nudges and did-you-see-that looks. More camera flashes went off and then Salvatore looked directly at Giorgio and Maya and his old weathered face broke into a rapturous smile.

‘Is this what I think it is, Giorgio?’ he asked, tears glistening in his eyes. ‘You and Maya have changed your mind about divorcing?’

Maya felt Giorgio’s hand reach for hers and squeeze it gently. ‘Yes, Nonno,’ he said. ‘We have called it off. We are going to work at our marriage.’

Salvatore grasped Maya’s free hand and almost crushed it between both of his gnarled ones. ‘Maya, you and my grandson have made me such a happy man tonight. I cannot tell you what this means to me. All my family is here around me to share this wonderful news.’

Maya could feel the bars of her gilded cage moving in on her, just as they had done for the last five years. She was trapped in a charade that went against everything she believed in. She felt such a fraud, playing to the crowd and most especially to Salvatore. She wasn’t sure she could get through a night of it, let alone a few weeks. Surely someone would see it for what it was? The press were already eyeing her rather closely, she thought, or maybe that was her imagination. She had always found the intrusion of the press rather difficult to deal with. It was so different from her anonymous upbringing, when even her great-aunt had barely noticed her.

More champagne was called for and more and more cameras documented the celebration. Luca and Bronte announced their delightful news which, in Maya’s mind, deserved far more attention than theirs, but it seemed everyone was intrigued by the news of the acrimonious Sabbatini divorce being called off.

Giorgio’s mother greeted Maya with guarded enthusiasm. Maya understood Giovanna’s caution; she had made things difficult for her son by bickering over every little detail to do with their separation, but Giovanna was gracious enough to welcome her back into the family fold. Besides, her mother-in-law was thrilled to finally be a grandmother. She doted on little Ella and, with the news of Bronte’s new pregnancy, Giovanna was clearly preoccupied with the new branch of the family tree.

Nicolò, or Nic as he was more commonly called, the youngest of the Sabbatini brothers, was less accommodating. He adopted his usual sardonic expression as he approached Maya after Giorgio had gone to fetch another glass of juice for her.

‘So it seems you changed your mind after reacquainting yourself with how the other half lives, eh, Maya?’ he said. ‘Glad you came to your senses. You weren’t going to come out in front, not with Giorgio’s legal team working on it.’

Maya kept her expression coolly contained, even though inside she felt furious at being reminded of how outmatched she had been right from the start. ‘Hello, Nic,’ she said. ‘How are things with you?’

He rocked his almost empty champagne flute back and forth, his hazel eyes penetrating as they held hers. ‘Fine enough,’ he said.

She looked around his broad shoulders for signs of a current date. ‘What? No Hollywood starlet tonight?’ she asked with a mocking lift of her brows.

Nic gave her a crooked wry smile that reminded her of Giorgio in one of his rare playful moods. ‘No, I didn’t think Nonno would approve of my latest lover. He mentioned the “M” word a few moments ago. It was enough to turn me to drink.’

‘You’re only what…thirty-two?’ she asked.

He nodded rather grimly. ‘You know the Sabbatini rule. Once you turn thirty, you are meant to settle down.’

‘Luca has only just done so at thirty-four,’ Maya said. ‘You shouldn’t rush into these things. You could end up making a mistake.’

He rocked his glass again, his eyes still boring into hers. ‘Like you did?’

The words hung in the air like a swinging sword.

‘I don’t consider my marriage to your brother to have ever been a mistake,’ Maya said, wishing she really believed it. ‘We just hit a rough patch, that’s all.’

Giorgio came over at that moment and handed Maya a glass of juice. He must have picked up on the atmosphere, for he narrowed his gaze at his youngest brother. ‘I hope you are keeping your thoughts and opinions on marriage to yourself, Nic,’ he said. ‘I don’t want Maya upset by your teasing.’

Nic’s smile was instantly charming. ‘I was just welcoming her back into the family,’ he said. His expression became a little more serious as he addressed Maya directly. ‘I hope it works out for you. I mean that, Maya.’

Maya wondered if he somehow sensed her insecurity. He was an out-and-out playboy—everyone knew about his wild child antics as a teenager and young adult—but the outcome of that madcap lifestyle had given him an almost intuitive sense at times. He had grown up a lot after the tragic death of his father, but it was common knowledge in the family that his mother and his grandfather in particular wanted him to settle down with a suitable wife, which was something Nic made it clear he was not prepared to do. He was a free spirit and hated being tied down. Even within the family corporation, he was the one who had been given the most flexibility. Nic was the one who travelled the world, hardly settling in one place longer than a week or two as he acquired property and oversaw the redevelopments of their hotel chain.

‘Thank you, Nic,’ she said. ‘I aim to give it my very best shot.’

After a few more desultory exchanges with other guests and family members, Giorgio led her away to a quiet corner. He was aware of how strained she looked. Her face looked pale and he had noticed she had surreptitiously mopped at her brow a couple of times, as if she was finding it too warm. ‘Don’t take any notice of Nic,’ he said, watching as his younger brother started chatting up a stunning redhead near the buffet table.

‘Nic is Nic,’ she said in a downbeat voice.