Her Sicilian Baby Revelation / The Greek's One-Night Heir

Dark brown eyes that were a replica of his own stared at him solemnly. Tonino stared back, suddenly finding himself dumbstruck at the powerful emotions crashing through him.

Before he took the first stair, he looked at Orla and felt another crash of emotion punch through him.

Taking a deep breath, he carried his son upstairs and entered his bedroom.

It took a few moments before he could take another breath. Finn’s bedroom was everything a child’s room should be, with its dinosaur curtains, walls covered in dinosaur stickers and ceiling covered in glow-in-the-dark stars. A vast array of stuffed toys was crammed on shelves and in boxes, along with boxes of puzzles and games, boxes of building blocks, books…

But there was no escaping the bed with its bars, there to prevent Finn from rolling out, and no escaping the unobtrusive but recognisable cameras there to monitor him while he slept and no escaping the medical equipment Tonino would have to become familiar with.

There was no escaping that this was a room for a child with disabilities. His child. And, as Tonino took stock of it all, he made a vow to himself that he would do everything in his power to make his son’s life as comfortable and as happy as he could.

For the second time in a day Orla had no idea how she’d come to allow Tonino to steamroller her into something, this time finishing the day together eating a Chinese takeaway. Indeed, at one point she’d thought she’d got rid of him—he’d taken one sip of his coffee, wrinkled his nose and then excused himself, saying he would be back. When he hadn’t returned an hour later, she’d thought he’d checked into wherever he was staying and decided to stay put.

He’d returned while she was clearing up the mess made while feeding Finn his dinner, carrying a large box, which was revealed to be a coffee machine.

‘Where did you get that from?’ she’d asked in astonishment. ‘It’s Sunday. All the shops are closed.’

He’d had the audacity to wink at her before disappearing again, returning an hour later with the takeaway and a bottle of wine. ‘I thought you must be hungry too,’ he’d explained while making himself at home turning the oven on. ‘I saw you only cooked for Finn.’

‘I’ve not had a chance to go shopping,’ she’d replied defensively while turning off the grill and switching the actual oven on.

A memory of the two of them sharing a Chinese takeaway in his Palermo apartment had hit her. For some unfathomable reason, tears had blurred her vision.

While their food had kept warm in the oven, he’d helped her give Finn a bath and put him to bed. Having him there in the close confinement of the bathroom then the confinement of Finn’s bedroom had put her on edge. As hard as she’d tried only to concentrate on her son, she was acutely aware of every movement Tonino made.

It was only the shock of being in his orbit again and the shock of how close they’d come to kissing making her feel so edgy around him. That would lessen as she became accustomed to his presence in their lives. Sooner or later the tightness in her chest would lessen too and her heartbeat would find its natural rhythm when with him, rather than the erratic tempo it adopted every time she caught his eye or captured a whiff of his spicy cologne. He’d clearly meant what he’d said early that morning about them starting over. He’d spoken to her with only courtesy since. If he still felt anger towards her, he hid it well.

And now they were sitting at her dining table, Tonino clearly so ravenous he didn’t care that their food had lost much of its moisture, comfortably drinking his way through the wine while she stuck to water. Orla ate as much as she could manage but it was hard to swallow when her insides were so cramped, hard to work her fork from her hand to her mouth while fighting her gaze from staring at the hunk of a man devouring his food opposite her.

It was the first time they’d been alone since Finn had returned from his walk nearly thirteen hours ago. Since they’d nearly kissed. Without Finn or his nurse’s physical presence to distract her, Orla found her awareness of Tonino becoming more than a distraction, throwing her back four years when she’d spent ten days with her entire being consumed by this one man.

‘Do you feel better now?’ he asked after he’d demolished the leftovers.

‘What do you mean?’

He shrugged nonchalantly. ‘Only that if looks could kill, the looks you were giving me on the plane over would have struck me dead.’

She had the grace to blush. Not looking at him, she muttered, ‘I just wanted to get home.’

He nodded musingly. ‘Of course. You were missing your home.’

‘Exactly.’

‘Have you lived here long?’

‘Four months.’ Orla, mortified that he’d picked up on her earlier bad mood, mustered something she hoped resembled a smile.

‘Dante bought it for you?’

‘Aislin bought it.’ She wasn’t about to explain that the money to purchase it had come via Dante paying her sister a million euros to pretend to be his fiancée for a weekend. Of course, Aislin and Dante had fallen in love over that weekend for real, but the lead-up to their falling in love was a private matter between the two of them. Having been the subject of gossip for the entirety of her life, it was not something Orla ever indulged in. ‘Dante paid for it to be made Finn-friendly.’

She finished her water and tried not to stare longingly at the remaining wine in the bottle. Alcohol, she was sure, would help her relax. Or, as was more likely, send her to sleep.

Relaxing in Tonino’s company was something that was going to take time. A lot of time.

Now that most of the memories of their time together had returned, she found herself replaying it. Much of it felt as vivid as if it had happened only days ago. She’d been relaxed with him then. She’d found an ease in his company she had never felt with anyone other than Aislin before. It had been as if a stranger she’d known for ever had walked into her life. A stranger who’d made her bones melt with nothing but a look.

It horrified her to find her bones still melted for him. Every time he reached for his glass and his muscles flexed beneath his shirt the baser part of her melted too. Every time she caught his eye her erratically thrumming heart would jolt. Her lips still tingled for the kiss that had never come.

‘You and Dante have only got to know each other recently, is that correct?’ he asked.

Lord help her but his voice melted her too.

She nodded. ‘I always knew about him, but he knew nothing of me. He had no idea he had a sister.’

‘Why didn’t you find him four years ago?’

‘I couldn’t go up to a stranger and say, Hello, I’m your long-lost sister, could I? It wouldn’t have been fair.’

He pulled a rueful face. ‘I suppose. So, tell me, was your real reason for being in Sicily to find your father?’

She gave another nod.

‘You’d never met him before?’

‘I wasn’t allowed.’

‘Why not?’

She shrugged. ‘I was his dirty little secret.’

He winced at her descriptor. ‘What changed? What spurred you into seeking him?’

‘I became an adult.’ She smiled wryly. ‘For the first time ever, I had a couple of weeks ahead of me with nothing to do. I woke up one morning and thought to myself that it’s now or never.’

‘Did you meet him?’

‘No. He was abroad when I visited on my first day there. I tried again when you went to Tuscany but I don’t remember what happened.’

‘So you might have met him?’

She shook her head. ‘Aislin always told me I didn’t.’ She took a deep breath. ‘I know it in my heart too. Every time I’ve thought of him since I’ve wanted to cry.’

Tonino stared at the downcast face with the lips pulled tightly together and his heart twisted. ‘Why didn’t you share this with me at the time? I could have helped you. My father and your father were old friends.’

‘How was I supposed to know that? You never told me who you really were.’ Her rebuke, although politely delivered, hit the mark.

‘We were lovers, Orla. You should have told me your real reason for being in my country.’