"Are you sure I can't help prepare dinner?"
"No, no." Gina made a shooing motion with her hands. "You're our guest. Go and relax."
The whole Marin family was so polite. They treated her as if she were someone special.
"Go and help Leo set up the presepe. It'll be something for you to write in your article."
"What a good idea. I'd love to do that." When Claire came downstairs that morning, she'd met Leo hauling boxes up from the storeroom in the basement. They'd stolen a quick kiss before they carried the boxes into the family room.
A sigh whispered between Claire's lips, contentment laced with the tiniest hint of regret. Leo had been a gentleman last night. After a few hours kissing and sharing details of their lives, he'd escorted Claire back to her room, even though she'd rather have spent the night in his arms.
"Claire, come on. Hurry up. We're waiting for you." Violet scampered up and grabbed Claire's hand, tugging her along the hall. All morning Violet had been excited about putting up the nativity scene. It was a family tradition they assemble it on the afternoon of Christmas Eve. That was when it seemed their Christmas celebrations really started.
Leo had moved a chair to give plenty of space in the far corner of the family room. He was fitting together a triangular wooden structure that stood as tall as him.
Violet dashed around the sofa, singing an Italian holiday song at the top of her voice. She came back to Claire, grabbed her hand, and led her over to Leo.
"Look. Papa is putting up our presepe."
"It's huge."
Leo laughed. "And difficult to put together. Every year I plan to buy a new one, but I can't bear to part with this old thing." He patted the wood affectionately. "Mamma and Papa have had this since I was a boy. Some of the figures are ones they had when they were children, although we add new ones every year. There is hardly enough room inside for everything these days."
Leo draped palm fronds over the wooden structure, which resembled a doll's house with four floors inside. Then he pinned strings of tiny lights over the outside and along the shelves. Finally he spread wisps of hay in the bottom.
"Now for the fun part." Leo grinned at his daughter as he untied the string around a box.
Claire bent over to see inside as he folded open the top to reveal a treasure trove of tiny figures, model animals, and other items.
"Who's going to set up the nativity scene?" he said.
"Me, me." Violet bounced on her toes and waved her arms.
"Be careful now, piccolina. Some of the little people are older than I am."
Violet lifted a beautifully carved wooden sheep out of the box and set it among the hay, then added a donkey beside it.
"You can help me, Claire." She patted the floor mat at her side.
Claire went down on her knees and couldn't resist putting an affectionate arm around the little girl's shoulders and kissing her temple.
"I'm honored to help. Thank you."
Claire selected a shepherd with a crook in his hand and placed it beside the sheep. Then she sat back on her heels and waited for Violet to choose another item to add to the display.
"You help too, Papa."
Leo crouched on the other side of the box and quickly set out the three kings and some more shepherds and animals.
When they came to the baby Jesus in his crib, Leo lifted it out of the box and set it aside. "We add baby Jesus after we get home from midnight mass."
Once the bottom tier was complete, they moved on to the second tier. At this point, Violet lost interest and went off to play with her dolls. Claire knelt beside Leo in front of the presepe. Together they assembled a village scene composed of a small pond, tiny houses, and lots of people and animals. They decorated the third tier with cakes, nuts, candy, and other festive Italian treats that Leo pulled from a shopping bag.
"The top section is for gifts," he said. "I'll fetch them."
Claire stretched and rubbed the small of her back, which ached from bending and reaching inside. "It's hard work decorating your Italian version of a Christmas tree," she quipped as Leo returned with a bag stuffed with the gifts she'd wrapped for him last night.
As he pulled out a box wrapped in gold foil with a tinsel ribbon, their eyes met, and thoughts of the previous evening on his bed flashed between them. Time seemed to freeze as she swayed closer to him. Memories of lying in his arms and the kisses they'd shared made her heart pound. He laid the gift on the top shelf of the presepe and trailed his fingers along Claire's arm. The emotion in his dark gaze made her breath catch.
She had only known him for five days, but in that time it was as if every part of her—body, mind, and spirit—had realigned to focus on him as if he'd become the center of her world. She couldn't imagine not being with him. She didn't want to.
She'd fallen in love with Leo.
• • •
Leo sat in his SUV outside Naples airport waiting for his brother's flight from the US. Dusk gathered and lights popped on. Leo tapped his fingers on the steering wheel as he turned a problem over in his mind—but not the normal sort of mathematical problem he pondered. This one was much harder to resolve.
What sort of Christmas gift should he buy Claire? He'd been struggling with this for the last couple of days and not made up his mind. All he knew was that the small box of chocolates he'd bought her to start with was not enough.
Every inclination he had pushed him towards the jewelry store. He wanted to give her something to make her understand how he felt about her. When she smiled and her blue eyes lit up, it left him light-headed.
The burst of pleasure he got when he made her smile was like a taste of the finest wine. This past week he'd done everything he could to summon her smile, taken her to see the sights of the area, introduced her to the beautiful quirks of Naples. At first he'd wanted to help her forget the unfortunate start to her visit. Then he'd simply wanted to make her happy, because that made him happy.
The car door opened, wrenching Leo out of his dreamy memories of holding Claire in his arms and kissing her.
His brother, Savino, tossed his bag on the backseat and climbed in the front. They embraced over the central console.
"A successful trip?" Leo asked his brother.
"Yes. But a tiring journey. That's the last time I fly on Christmas Eve. The plane was full of screaming kids."
Leo laughed. "You won't mind that so much when the screaming kids are your own."
"No, thanks. I'll pass. Being uncle to Violet is good enough for me."
Leo shook his head as he pulled away, jostling with the taxis. Horns blared and tires squealed—all normal for Napoli.
"I need to stop and buy a present before we head home," he said.
Savino unfastened the buttons on his overcoat to reveal a tailored dark suit. "No problem. I'll wait in the car."
Leo glanced at the time displayed on the car dashboard and put his foot down, weaving through the traffic. He was cutting it close. The shops would close in fifteen minutes. He bumped the vehicle up the curb and stopped in a restricted zone, ignoring the parking regulations like all the other drivers who'd left cars along the road.
"I'll only be a few minutes." He jumped out, turned up the collar on his jacket, and headed for the small exclusive jewelry store he favored. What he really wanted to get Claire was a ring, but it was far too early in their relationship to give her such a thing. A ring would send the wrong message. Or was it the right message?
He clenched his jaw in annoyance at his indecision. He was falling in love with Claire—or maybe he was already in love with her. Every moment he spent in her company made him fall further under her spell. But his troubled relationship with Nicci still haunted him.
Yet Claire was nothing like Nicci. Claire was genuinely interested in him and not just his bank balance.
Leo headed down a narrow cobbled alley and pushed open the door of the jewelry store. The bell dinged and the woman behind the counter looked up. "We are about to
close, signor."
"I won't be long. I need a Christmas gift for a woman." A special woman.
His gaze swept across the display and settled on the engagement rings twinkling under the lights. He wandered closer to the display, his pulse uneven. This was crazy stupid. He didn't even know Claire properly. She'd confided some details of her childhood last night, how she'd had very strict, old-fashioned parents and had left home at sixteen to escape them, and he'd told her about his disastrous marriage.
He needed to know a lot more about her before he committed himself to her. Yet a few thousand euros for a ring was nothing to him. It didn't have to be an engagement ring. She could wear it on her right hand.
He pointed at the most expensive solitaire diamond in the display, and the woman took it out and laid it on a navy velvet display tray for him to examine.
This wasn't right for Claire. He shook his head and took another look at the sparkling display. His gaze caught on a sapphire and diamond cluster. That would suit her much better. He could imagine it on her hand.
"That one, please."
He held it under the light and a smile pulled at his lips.
"I'll take this one." He would save this for Epiphany, when they'd spent another week together. That meant he still needed a small gift for Christmas Day. "Do you have any Saint Christopher pendants?"
The shop assistant slid a tray out from underneath the glass display counter and placed it on top for Leo to view.
There were six pendants of different sizes. He pointed to one in the middle, not too large and not too small. The woman unpinned it and laid it on the navy velvet tray. The gold glittered beneath the lights as Leo picked it up and examined the familiar motif of Saint Christopher carrying the Christ child on his shoulders. On the reverse was an attractive montage of a plane, boat, train, and car, a reminder that Saint Christopher was the patron saint of travelers.
This would be perfect for Claire, to keep her safe during her travels. A twinge of regret tightened his chest as he nodded, and the woman took the ring and the pendant away to put them in a bag. It was great that Claire had a passion and was determined to succeed. But Leo wished she wanted to do something else—anything else but travel. He'd been through that with Nicci—the time apart, the fear for her safety, the missed calls and unanswered texts when he had no idea what was going on.
Was he being too hasty? "Um. I've changed my mind. I'll only take the Saint Christopher, please."
There would be plenty of time to buy a ring in the future. He mustn't let his feelings run away with him. He'd believed Nicci loved him to start with. It was only when she had his ring on her finger that he realized she didn't care about him. All she wanted was a man who could pay for her to travel the world.
Chapter Six
"You look beautiful!" Gina stirred a hand in the air. "Give me a twirl."
Claire spun around and the silky red dress billowed around her legs. She halted facing the floor-length mirror in her room and smiled at herself in the glass. She normally straightened her unmanageable hair, but Gina had tried something different. It fell over her shoulders in soft golden waves. With carefully applied makeup and the designer dress Gina had loaned her, Claire hardly recognized herself.
"That should make Leo hot and bothered."
"What?" Claire pivoted on her toes, startled by Gina's comment.
"Don't try to pretend there's nothing going on between you two. I'm not blind. For once Leo has something other than mathematical equations running through his mind."
Claire longed to confide her feelings to Gina, but Leo had never been openly affectionate towards her in front of his family. Maybe he didn't want them to know. At Claire's blank look, Gina rolled her eyes.
"Claire, he brought you home and invited you to stay for Christmas. That's a big deal."
"Maybe he was just being kind."
"Pfft." Gina gestured, dismissing Claire's comment. "If he wanted to be kind, he'd have loaned you money to stay in a hotel. He wants you here with him for Christmas."
Claire couldn't hold back her grin. "He's asked me to stay until Epiphany," she whispered. Leo was out of the house picking his brother up from the airport, but she didn't want anyone else to overhear. "He changed my flight for me."
"Oh, Claire. That's wonderful." Gina rushed forward and embraced her. "It would be wonderful to have you as a sister."
"I'd love that, but Leo and I have only just met."
"You're right for each other. I can tell." Gina fiddled with Claire's hair, arranging it around her shoulders. "And Leo deserves some happiness. It's taken a long time for him to get over the way Nicci used him. She only married him so he'd subsidize her trips. She said she ran a charity, but the only donations she got were from Leo."
"You didn't like her, then?"
"No. She was a selfish fanatic and she didn't care about anything except her cause. Not even her unborn baby."
As if on cue, Violet burst through the door and skipped into the room holding her hairbrush in one hand and a crumpled lavender dress in the other. "Will you help me now, Zia Gina? I want to be pretty like Claire."
"You are pretty, angel face." Gina crouched and kissed the girl on both cheeks, then lifted her onto the stool in front of the dressing table.
While Gina brushed out Violet's hair, Claire watched, her heart aching for this little girl whose mother had risked so much and paid the ultimate price. Thank goodness Violet had survived and had a loving father to care for her.
Gina set down the brush and Violet slipped off the stool. Then Gina and Claire both helped the little girl out of her top and pants and into her best clothes, ready to go to midnight mass.
Gina checked her watch. "I must change now. Leo will be home with Savino in a minute. I'll see you two downstairs."
Claire finished fastening the tiny buttons on the back of Violet's dress, her heart melting a little as she gently turned Violet to face her. She smoothed the kitten-soft strands of hair off the child's forehead and smiled.
"You look very much like your papa. Do you know that?"
Lines appeared between the child's eyebrows. "I don't want to look like Papa. He's a boy."
Claire laughed. "Girls can look like their fathers. I look like my papa." Guilt whispered through her. Her parents might have their faults but she knew they cared about her in their own way, and she hadn't contacted them once since she arrived in Italy.
She grabbed the phone Leo had given her off the nightstand, sat on the bed, and texted her father.
Arrived safely. Staying with a lovely Italian family for Christmas. Visit when I get back.
Within two minutes her phone chimed. Merry Christmas. Mum and I look forward to seeing you in a few days. Love, Dad.
"Love, Dad," Claire whispered, tears in her eyes. She was sure he'd never said those words to her, but he wrote them. Why hadn't she noticed that before?
Violet climbed on the bed and knelt beside her, putting her small arm around Claire's shoulders. "Are you sad?"
"Oh, sweetheart, no, I'm not sad. I think I'm happy." She laughed and Violet giggled with her. She had a tendency to be a cup-half-empty person. Maybe the influence of Leo's happy, positive outlook was doing her good.
At the sound of male laughter from below, Violet squealed. "Zio Savi," she shouted, and dashed out of the room. Claire followed her downstairs, careful on her high heels. She paused halfway down the staircase and took in the group of people in the entrance hall.
Leo, Gina, and Signor and Signora Marin were greeting a handsome man in a dark business suit who was a slightly taller version of Leo with closely cropped hair. He held Violet in his arms, and she was chattering with excitement.
As Claire paused, Leo's gaze rose to her. Her heart raced and for a moment she couldn't breathe. He circled his family and came to the base of the staircase to offer his hand. "Claire, you look stunning." As she reached the bottom step, he leaned in and kissed her on both cheeks. "Let me introduce you to my brother, Savino."
He led her to the new arrival. Savino lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss on her knuckles.
"Ah, such a beautiful houseguest. You will make Christmas much more fun." Savino's teasing tone made her laugh. He was obviously a charmer.
Leo's arm slipped around Claire's waist and he drew her towards him and away from his brother. Light-headed with delight, she glanced at him. This was the first time he'd been openly affectionate with her in front of his family. Did this mean they were officially a couple?
"I'm hungry," Savino declared.
"You'll have to wait for our feast of the seven fishes," Gina said. "Mamma and I have been cooking all afternoon."
"Then I need some caffè and biscotti." Savino put his bag at the bottom of the stairs and followed his mother towards the kitchen.
Leo kept his arm around Claire's waist as they followed. "We'll relax this evening and have our traditional dinner when we return from midnight mass."
"Won't that be too late for dinner? When we get home it will be way past midnight, so that makes it Christmas Day."
Leo laughed. "You're in Italy now, cara. We do things differently here."
• • •
Claire ran downstairs, feeling so light and happy she might just float. Memories of the perfect evening with Leo's family kept a permanent smile on her face. They had attended midnight mass in the cathedral in the center of Naples, Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assuntaa. The inside of the cathedral was breathtakingly beautiful with statues and paintings everywhere, all lit by candles and carefully placed lights.
Then they'd shared the wonderful feast of the seven fishes that Signora Marin and Gina had prepared, a succession of seven dishes to represent the seven sacraments, each one something new that Claire had never tasted before. There was swordfish, tuna, and fresh salmon Carpaccio to start, then octopus salad, eel, shellfish, ravioli filled with ricotta, and spaghetti flavored with cream, onion, and anchovies.
Sweet Italian Christmas: Three Christmas Romances Page 5