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“Oh, he did, in favor of both our families. He and my grandfather were close friends, like your parents and the Simonides family. The order stated that Dino had been in jeopardy in a loveless home with a father who’d shown a flagrant disregard for his heritage and prominence, therefore was a poor role model.”
“I don’t believe it,” she cried, aghast.
“There’s more. Until the time came that I could show I’d come to my senses and had reconciled with my ex-wife, the visitation rules would stand.”
“Oh, Vincenzo—that’s horrible. None of those reasons make any sense.”
“Of course not. Mila waited for me to go back to her, but she waited in vain. Finally she remarried six months ago, causing another change in Dino’s life.”
“Does he like his stepfather?”
“Not particularly. He’s fifteen years older than Mila with a grown son and daughter at university. His wife died a year ago and it wasn’t long after that he met Mila. He has nothing in common with a young boy like Dino.”
“That must tear you apart.”
“It does.”
“So what will happen now?”
“Tomorrow morning I’ll meet with my attorney to end the current visitation.”
“What will you put in its place?”
“Joint physical custody. From now on Dino will have two homes.”
“But the judge—”
Vincenzo shook his head. “Don’t worry. After my attorney talks to Mila’s attorney, everything’s going to change in a big hurry.”
“How can you be so sure?”
He sucked in his breath. “Because I’m prepared to do something I refused to do before. My father will be so overjoyed, he’ll fall over backward to accommodate all my wishes, including that of influencing the judge to rescind his decision.”
Irena had been listening between the lines. Whatever this something was Vincenzo had refused to do, it had to have been something big. So what was it the judge had meant about Vincenzo’s heritage and prominence?
From the first moment she’d met him, she’d sensed he was a man of many parts. He knew too much, understood too much, had too much savvy to be an ordinary Italian male. There was an inherent authority and intelligence he emanated without conscious thought.
When they’d been introduced at the plant, she’d been aware of a certain deference the staff exhibited around him. Like he was someone elite.
She stared at his striking features as they sped along the strada toward Cinque Terre. Beneath his black brows, his aquiline profile gave him a fiercely handsome look. He had the most beautiful olive skin she’d ever seen. As for his eyes, they were so piercing a blue her body quickened just looking into them.
Irena felt like she was experiencing second sight. His sophistication couldn’t be denied.
Who was this attractive man with unruly black hair who drove around in a secondhand car and rented a tiny apartment on a cliff? He dressed in casual clothes you could buy in any local shop and wore flip-flops like his son.
Without clothes he’d looked like a statue of a god she’d seen in Rapallo that morning. The memory of them making love six weeks ago sent a wave of heat through her body. Did she even know him at all?
“You’re very quiet all of a sudden.”
His low voice curled through her nervous system. “I’ve been putting the pieces of a puzzle together.”
“How close are you to being finished?”
He knew she was on to him.
“Several are still missing. Just how prominent are you?”
“Let’s save all that until tomorrow.”
What was she getting herself into?
“Don’t be alarmed. Once I’ve seen my attorney, I’ll explain everything. Go to sleep. I can see your eyelids flickering. We still have an hour’s drive ahead of us. After such an emotional day, you’re tired and need to take care of yourself, especially now that you’re carrying our baby.”
Our baby.
The baby had to be theirs. It had to be! But still that dark cloud of doubt lingered.
Irena was tired. In fact, she was exhausted from too much thinking and feeling. “When should we tell Dino about the baby?” she asked after closing her eyes.
“Most likely he’ll decide the moment. He’s an incredibly insightful little boy.”
She chuckled. “How long do you think it will take me to learn Italian?”
“Two months for the basics if you work on it every day. The rest will come over a lifetime.”
“A lifetime. That’s a beautiful thought.”
It was the last thought she remembered until the next morning when she awoke in Dino’s bed feeling slightly nauseous. She was still clothed except for her sandals. She’d completely passed out last night, forcing Vincenzo to carry her into the apartment after they’d arrived.
The shutters were still closed, but she could see the sun trying to get in. She threw off the light cover and staggered to the window to open them. A glorious view of the Mediterranean greeted her vision. She checked her watch. Ten forty-five. Irena couldn’t believe it.
Vincenzo had placed her suitcase in the bedroom. She got out her cosmetic bag and padded to the bathroom.
She called out to him, but there was no response. He’d said he was going to see his attorney this morning.
She could tell he’d been in the bathroom recently. It smelled of the soap and shampoo he’d used in the shower. A wonderful male smell she associated only with him.
Once she’d swallowed her pills, she undressed and got in the shower. After she washed her hair with apricot shampoo, she dried it the best she could with a towel, then hurried back to the bedroom.
With a change of fresh underwear followed by a cotton top and pants, she felt a little better, but she needed something to eat. In the kitchen she discovered a note on the table from him, written with a flourish.
I should be back by noon and I’ll take you to lunch.Feel free to nibble on anything that appeals. Crackers, toast might help with the morning sickness. There’s tea or coffee in the cupboard, juice in the fridge. V.
She found a roll and grape juice. Perfect.
The food helped the emptiness in her stomach. She went back to the bedroom for her brush and worked on her hair until it fell in a swath. Since it was already warmer in the apartment than the other day, she arranged it in a loose knot on top of her head in the interest of staying cool.
Her pregnancy was causing her to notice everything. She’d thought her fatigue had been brought on by anxiety, but the doctor had assured her that it was normal to feel so tired, especially in the first few months.
Vincenzo already seemed to know and understand a lot more about her condition than she did. But then he had lived with his wife when she’d been expecting Dino. Irena had no doubts he’d taken amazing care of her.
She blinked back tears, not knowing the exact reason for being in such an emotional mood. Naturally it was a combination of everything, but she had to admit that part of it was the way Vincenzo had handled the situation. He was her rock.
Another part was her guilt. She needed to talk to someone about how she was feeling and reached for the phone to call Deline. Disappointed when she got her voice mail, she left the message for Deline to call her back. Then she phoned her mother, who answered on the second ring.
“Irena, my darling daughter. How are you? Where are you? Your father and I have been worried sick.”
More guilt. She sank down on the side of Dino’s bed. “I’m sorry. I meant to call you from the hotel in Riomaggiore, but the sightseeing trip with Signore Antonello took longer than I’d anticipated.”
“You are with him again, in Italy?”
“Yes. You remember my writing about Cinque Terre in my article. It has those narrow, crooked streets lined with colorful old houses stacked haphazardly on top of each other. I think it’s one of the most beautiful spots on the Mediterranean.”
“You said that before. Is he a travel guide?”
“No, no. He works at Antonello Liquers in La Spezia. It’s one of the places I highlighted in my article for tourists to tour. He was the man who took me around the village. Yesterday we went to a castle in Rapallo with his son.”
“I’m glad if you’re enjoying yourself a little bit. When I think what Andrea—”
“Don’t go there, Mother. That part of my life is over. I don’t want to talk about it again.”
“I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“I know. The fact is, Andreas and I weren’t right for each other. I think we both knew it and tried to force something that wasn’t there. Gabi’s coming along proved it.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s difficult to explain.”
“But you loved him!”
It was hard to have a conversation like this long distance. “Yes, I loved Andreas. I always will.” Frustrated, she got to her feet and began pacing right into Vincenzo who caught her by the upper arms to prevent her from falling.
By the enigmatic look in his eye, she couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but there could be no question he’d heard that last admission. She eased away from him. “I have to go, but I promise I’ll call you again tomorrow.”
Irena hung up. “I—I was talking to my mother,” she stammered.
“Have you told her about us?”
“Only in the sense that I knew you when I was doing the magazine article and since my arrival you’ve been showing me around. I don’t plan to tell her anything else until our plans are formalized.” She brushed her hands nervously against her hips, a gesture he followed with his eyes. “How did it go with your attorney?”
A heavy silence ensued. “Let’s talk about it over a meal.”
“Wait, Vincenzo—” He looked over his shoulder. “You came in before I finished making my point with Mother.”
His face had become a mask of indifference. “You don’t owe me an explanation of a private conversation with her. I walked in on you.” On that note, he headed for the living room.
She followed him. “But I want to tell you.”
He turned toward her with his hands on hips in a totally male stance. “Tell me what?”
“Mother’s still living in denial about me and Andreas. If I’d finished that sentence I would have said, ‘I always will love him as a friend, but I realize now that I was never in love with Andreas or he with me.’”
At the enigmatic expression on his arresting face, she added, “Otherwise I could never have gone to bed with you. No woman could do that if she were truly and deeply in love with another man.”
“I agree,” his voice rasped.
“Contrary to what you might think about me, in my twenty-seven years of life I’ve only been intimate with two men, and you’re one of them.”
His jaw tautened. “I never suggested you were promiscuous.”
“No, but you’d have every right to think it after I fell like the proverbial ripe plum into your hands. I look back on it now and can’t believe what I did. It still shocks me.”
Miraculously, his compelling mouth broke into a half smile. “I confess I thought I’d died and gone to some heavenly place for a short while.”
She’d thought the same thing, but couldn’t bring herself to tell him that yet. “Vincenzo?” Irena eyed him frankly. “Can we put the past to rest? My relationship with Andreas? It’s over.”
He gave a slow nod. “Amen. Shall we go?”
Thankful they’d weathered that small storm she said, “I’m coming. Let me get my purse.”
“How hungry are you?”
“I think a pasta salad would hit the spot.”
“There’s a trattoria across from the church Dino was talking about.”
“I—I’ve been thinking about that,” she stammered. “Maybe—”
“Irena—Dino assumed it would be a church wedding because that is what’s real to him,” he broke in quietly. “We don’t have to do it there, and I understand your concerns about such an arrangement, but it will convince other people that our marriage is real. Wouldn’t that be best for all of us, especially the baby?”
She knew Vincenzo was right and sensed he wanted a church wedding, too. Could she go through with such a public display for the sake of the baby growing inside her? She looked at the handsome man in front of her who was doing so much to help her. Smiling, she touched his arm tenderly before speaking.
“You’re right. After we have a visit with the priest, we’ll walk over to eat.”
Chapter Four (#ulink_ba98c519-000f-57dc-abb9-44682de3c34a)
VINCENZO GRASPED HER HAND. They walked down the road and around the curve, breathing in the fragrance from the masses of flowers blooming in pockets of explosive array. In ways she felt like she was moving through some fantastic dream.
Before long she spied a centuries-old yellow church on the right. He tightened his hand around hers. “Dino likes to go to church.”
“He’s so sweet. If our getting married here will help keep his world intact, then it’s important to me. I’m thinking ahead to the baby’s baptism, too.”
A gleam of satisfaction entered Vincenzo’s eyes before he opened the door and they stepped inside the somewhat musty vestibule. Beyond the inner doors she gazed around the semiornate interior. The lovely stained-glass windows gave the small church a jewellike feel.
“Vincenzo?” A tall middle-aged priest had entered through a side door. The two men carried on a conversation in Italian.
Finally, Vincenzo said in English, “Father Rinaldo, this is my fiancée, Irena Spiros. We would like you to marry us.”
