Sweet Italian Christmas: Three Christmas Romances

by Helen Scott Taylor

  Another pain gripped her and she breathed as she'd been taught in prenatal classes, clutching the fabric of her dress in her fist until the pain eased. The moment it did, she struggled up from her recliner. On trembling legs, she padded into the hall and sat on a straight-back chair while she unplugged her phone and checked the time.

  How could it only be eleven thirty? It felt like the middle of the night.

  Wind whistled through the cracks around the door while rain hammered the glass window. What a night for this to happen. After another contraction, she called Seth and left a message on his voice mail. If she couldn't reach Seth, that left only one option. With a sigh she dialed her brother, Marc's, number, praying he hadn't drunk too much to drive her to the hospital.

  Chapter Five

  Savino stared morosely into the top of his pint of Cornish cider. He didn't really like the drink, but he couldn't be bothered to get up and go to the bar for something else. Besides, he needed to keep a clear head so he could think—even though he'd like nothing more than to drown his sorrows.

  He didn't seem to manage much clear thinking while Emily was around. When he remembered how he'd spewed out all his deepest feelings over dinner, he cringed with embarrassment. She'd seemed preoccupied and distant. She hadn't even believed him when he laid his soul bare and told her he loved her.

  Did she have no affection left for him at all? Was he wasting his time trying to win her back?

  "You on your own now, mate?" Emily's blond-haired cousin, Seth, strode into the bar, his worn waterproof coat dripping, his boots and jeans muddy.

  "Yes. Emily didn't feel well." Savino didn't add that he had a nasty feeling it was being with him that made her sick.

  Seth grabbed a pint from the barmaid and came to sit with Savino. "Nasty weather out there. The road through the village has turned into a river. Always happens here in the winter, but it's extra bad tonight. We keep asking the council to improve the drainage, but they don't."

  "You look like you've been fighting the elements."

  "I run an outdoor activity center for kids, and it's based in an old quarry outside the village. When we get a lot of rain, the lake there rises. I had to call out some of my staff to help me stack sandbags around the foundations of the buildings."

  "What about Emily's place? Her neighbors have sandbags in front of their doors, but she doesn't." Savino had been worrying about this ever since he dropped her off, but didn't know what to do about it.

  Seth raised his eyebrows. "She's got some. I put them in her shed myself. Perhaps I'd better head up the road and take care of it for her." He downed half his pint of lager, then stood and stretched. "No rest for the wicked."

  As Seth turned towards the door, a dark-haired man in chef's garb strode in. From his resemblance to Emily, he had to be her brother.

  "Seth, Em called. She thinks she's having the baby. I can't drive her to the hospital. I've had too much to drink. Anyway, I can't leave the pub with all this water coming down the valley. Looks like we're in for a flood."

  Savino shot to his feet, knocking over his glass and sloshing cider everywhere, but he barely noticed. Heart pounding, he stepped forward. "I'll take her. Give me the hospital address and I'll put it in my phone."

  "So you're the father. I heard you were here. I'm Emily's brother, Marc." The man extended a hand, but his frown and clenched jaw put Savino on guard.

  "No, I'll drive," Seth said. "You won't get that fancy rental car of yours out of the village tonight."

  "Then I'll come with you. Give me a moment." Savino ran upstairs to fetch his damp jacket that he'd hung over the radiator. He'd changed into dry jeans and a sweater when he came back from dropping off Emily, but he only had one jacket with him.

  As Savino rushed down the stairs, Seth was standing by the door, tossing a key. Wordlessly, Savino followed the hulking guy out to a large pickup and climbed into the passenger seat. The engine roared to life and they bumped over branches and rocks on the road, which had been carried down in the torrent of water.

  Seth halted outside Emily's house and passed the key to Savino. "I'll keep the motor running. Call me if you need help."

  Savino jumped out and waded through the ankle-deep water, his shoes soaked in an instant. The water was already lapping at the step outside Emily's front door, but he didn't have time to worry about that now.

  He unlocked the door and stepped inside. "Emily, where are you?"

  "In here." Her voice came from a door on the left. He hurried into a small, cozy living room to find her curled on a reclining chair, her hands around her belly. She was still wearing the green dress she'd worn to dinner.

  "Seth and I will take you to the hospital."

  "My bag is packed. It's upstairs on top of my wardrobe."

  Emily winced and groaned, curling tighter around her swollen belly. Savino crouched beside the chair and took her hand. "I'm here, angel."

  She gripped his fingers tightly, raising a surge of protective feelings that overwhelmed him. He wouldn't give up on Emily. Somehow he'd find a way to prove he loved her and win her back.

  • • •

  The drive to the hospital was like a strange nightmarish dream. Emily lay on the backseat of Seth's old pickup as it bumped and bounced along the flooded roads. Savino cradled her head and shoulders against his chest, stroking her belly.

  "It'll be fine, amore mia. We'll be at the hospital soon. I'm here with you. I won't leave you." His whispered words reassured her and took the edge off the panicky fear that nipped at her mind.

  When the pain came, she gripped his hand and turned her face against his chest, breathing in his familiar spicy smell and drawing strength from him. During the moments in between, she listened to the steady beat of his heart against her ear and lost herself in memories of being cuddled with him in bed. During their three weeks together, he'd made her feel cherished and loved in a way she'd never known with a man before. And he was doing it again now.

  She held on to him as if he were a life preserver and, for a while, she let herself believe that he was.

  When they arrived, she huddled in a wheelchair and was rushed to a delivery suite, Savino running at her side. Even when they stripped her clothes and helped her into a hospital gown, she never thought to tell him to leave. It seemed only natural he should be with her.

  "Savi." She gasped as another pain gripped her body and she twisted on the bed.

  He tightened his grip on her hand, stroking the hair back from her face as the contraction faded.

  "On the next contraction, I want you to push," the midwife said.

  The pushing seemed to go on forever, until Emily thought her head would explode and she didn't have the strength to push anymore.

  "How much longer?" She gasped, weak and trembling.

  Savino leaned over her, the look in his dark eyes gentle and loving, giving her all his attention as though there was nobody else in the room. "Soon, angel. Soon. You're doing so well, my brave girl."

  The next few minutes were an agonizing blur, then she had a small pink baby laid in her arms. Savino kissed her and pressed his lips to the dark hair of their tiny, wrinkled newborn son.

  "He's beautiful. Perfect." Tears glistened in Savino's eyes as he kissed her forehead and laid his hand over hers where she cradled their child.

  Emily looked into the blue eyes of her darling baby boy, and then back to the deep brown gaze of her baby's father as he stared lovingly at them both.

  Was it possible that the birth of their tiny newborn might give them a second chance?

  • • •

  Savino sat in the chair beside Emily's hospital bed with his son asleep in his arms. As soon as Emily had been moved out of the delivery suite and fed their baby, she'd fallen asleep. Savino was happy to sit beside her, gazing in wonder at this precious miracle of life that was his son, thanking God for his good fortune.

  The world had tilted beneath him, leaving him light-headed and cast adrift. For him, work had b
een everything. Relationships and family were something that ran along in the background. The tiny newborn in his arms had just flipped that belief on its head.

  The most important things in the world were his precious son and Emily. Marin Innovations, which had ruled his life for so long, faded into the back of his mind. All those crucial meetings and appointments to get new business didn't seem as important now.

  It was as if he'd opened his eyes and seen the world from a different perspective—and there was no going back. His mamma always shook her head when he said he didn't plan to marry and have children. She'd told him that one day, God willing, he would see the light and learn what was really important in life.

  He'd thought his mother was old-fashioned. How blind and clueless he'd been.

  Emily mumbled sleepily, the crisp hospital linen crinkling as she moved. Savino rose and gazed down at her. After the ordeal of giving birth, her hair was a tangled mess, and her skin shone with sweat. Yet as she blinked open her eyes and smiled, she'd never been more beautiful.

  "How's our boy?" she said.

  "Sleepy, like his mamma."

  "Do you think I should feed him again? The midwife said he'd probably want to eat every two or three hours."

  "I'm sure he'll wake up when he's hungry. You rest, angel."

  Emily pulled herself up against her pillows, and Savino passed the precious bundle into her arms. He longed to sit on the bed beside her and put his arm around them both, but now that the birth was over, he had to remember things were delicate between them and tread carefully.

  Emily moved the blanket away from the baby's face, a dreamy look in her eyes. "I can't believe he's here. Birth really is a miracle."

  "Have you thought of a name for him?"

  "I like George, after my granddad, but there will be hundreds of baby Georges named after the royal baby."

  "What about the Italian version, Giorgio."

  Emily's eyes widened. "What a wonderful idea. I love it."

  Was he stupid to hope that her easy acceptance of an Italian name for their son was a good omen for their relationship?

  A knock sounded on the door, and Seth put his head inside. "You pulled through then, Em?"

  Emily laughed. "Yes, I pulled through. Come and meet Giorgio."

  Seth came in and gazed down at the baby for a moment, but he was obviously preoccupied. "I called Marc to tell him he has a nephew. The flooding is really bad in Robin's Cove. He says he's never seen anything like it. The authorities are evacuating everyone." Seth turned his attention to Savino. "I think your rental car might end up in the sea, mate."

  Savino didn't care about the car. It was insured. "What about Emily's cottage?"

  Seth shrugged. "That row of cottages has been there for over a hundred years. I think it'll take more than this to destroy them. The ground floor will be flooded, though."

  At the distress on Emily's face, Savino laid a consoling hand on her arm.

  "I had everything prepared at home for Giorgio. All the baby things are there. Where will I go when I leave the hospital?"

  "Come home with me, angel. I'll call my family and have them buy all the things we'll need for Giorgio."

  "But that means flying to Italy with a newborn."

  "You'll be fine, won't you, my boy?" Savino stroked a finger across the downy dark hair on his son's head. Excitement churned through him at the thought of taking Emily and his son to Italy. Once he had her at home, he'd show her what life would be like if she married him. Surely then she'd believe he really loved her.

  Chapter Six

  Emily cuddled Giorgio close as she walked out of Naples Airport. At her side, Savino pushed a fully laden luggage trolley, stacked with her bags of clothes and the baby things they had rescued from her flooded cottage.

  The last few days had been surreal. She felt as though her life had been turned upside down. Instead of being able to take Giorgio home to the sanctuary of her warm, cozy cottage when she left the hospital, she'd had to move into a rented flat in the middle of Truro for a few days.

  The torrent had swept through Robin's Cove and wreaked havoc, flooding the ground floor of her cottage along with many others, and undermining one wall of the Smuggler's Haunt so it was now propped up with huge metal stanchions. Two fishermen's cottages that were over three hundred years old were completely destroyed, killing three people.

  In one night, her life had been irrevocably changed. As Giorgio came into the world, nature laid waste to her village and her community. Her emotions fluctuated wildly from pure joy to devastation, and she frequently burst into tears.

  Floodwater had eroded the road into Robin's Cove, and the emergency services had cordoned off the village. The only way to reach it now was by using Seth's quad bikes from the Outdoor Pursuits center.

  Visiting her home to salvage what she could had been heartbreaking. Without Savino, she wasn't sure she'd have survived. He was there for her all the time, holding her when she cried, anticipating her every need, running baths, making hot drinks, changing Giorgio's diaper, and making himself indispensible.

  Any thought of sending him away became unthinkable. She simply wouldn't have coped without him. She was far from certain that going to Italy was a good idea, but it was the only option right now. Even though she was still not certain if Savino really loved her, there was no doubt in her mind that he adored his son and would do anything for him. Right now, that was good enough.

  Emily followed Savino out of the sliding glass doors at Naples Airport. Even in December, Italy greeted her with a waft of warm wind fragranced with that indefinable scent of a hot country.

  "There's my brother." Savino headed for a silver SUV parked in the pickup zone by the terminal building.

  A classically handsome man wearing jeans and a sweater, who looked like a laid-back version of Savino, climbed out of the vehicle and came around to meet them.

  "Well, you are full of surprises," he said in Italian, embracing Savino. "A son! And you never said a word."

  Savino laughed wryly as he stepped back and put his arm around Emily's shoulders. "Emily, meet my brother, Leo."

  Leo kissed her cheeks and smiled down at Giorgio. "He looks like a Marin. Violet is going to love him. She keeps asking for a brother or sister."

  While Leo loaded the luggage into the car, Savino offered his arm to help Emily into the backseat. Then he leaned in to watch her settle Giorgio in the baby car seat that Leo had installed for them. The tiny boy seemed so fragile with the thick straps around him.

  "All right?" Savino asked, squeezing her hand.

  She nodded. Weariness tugged at her, and her eyelids drooped. Giorgio had not slept well once they left the hospital. Maybe he could sense her stress? Savino often got up to soothe the crying baby, but Emily always had to feed him, and he seemed to be hungry all the time.

  Leo and Savino climbed into the front of the vehicle. "Mamma, Gina, Claire, and Violet are dying to see the baby, but I told them to wait a few days," Leo said.

  "Thanks." Savino glanced over his shoulder at Emily. "Is Wednesday all right for my family to visit? Do you want longer to settle in?"

  "That's fine. I'm looking forward to meeting them." Emily needed women to talk to about baby matters. As wonderful as Savino had been, there were still a few personal postnatal worries that she didn't want to discuss with him.

  Once they left the busy highway around Naples, they followed a winding road along the Amalfi coast. Savino told Leo about the flood while his brother chatted about family matters. Emily half listened to their conversation, but soon the deep melodic sound of the men's voices sent her to sleep.

  She woke when the car stopped in a small courtyard at the back of a traditional white stucco villa. A sleek black sports car was parked in the space next to them.

  "No room for a baby seat in the back of your favorite toy, Savi." Leo slapped his brother on the shoulder. "It's time for you to buy a sensible car like me."

  Savino twisted his lips. "I
can see I'll have to make many changes that I haven't thought of yet." He didn't sound too happy about it.

  Maybe once Savino understood how much of an impact she and Giorgio would have on his life, he'd change his mind about wanting them to stay? A ripple of uncertainty passed through Emily. She must be careful not to take anything for granted. She'd done that before with him and been burned.

  The men unloaded the luggage and carried it inside. Blinking sleepily, Emily unfastened Giorgio from his seat, lifted him into her arms, and followed them. Savino's home was large and airy, with high ceilings, traditional decor, and ceramic tile floors.

  She wandered across the entrance hall into a comfortable living room with squashy gray leather chairs and tall glass doors at the far end that opened onto a veranda. As she neared the glass, the panoramic vista came into view and her breath caught.

  A gentle swell rolled across the blue Mediterranean as small boats with multicolored sails skimmed across the bay below.

  "What an incredible view," she said over her shoulder as footsteps sounded behind her.

  "Welcome to Villa Con Spirito. Isn't the Bay of Salerno beautiful? I adore the ocean. I love to eat breakfast on the veranda."

  Savino rested a hand on her shoulder. His presence and this beautiful place filled her with a sense of security that she'd lost when her home was flooded.

  "Your bedroom is right above here. You'll have your own private veranda where you can sit and feed Giorgio when the weather's warm. We're lucky today. It can be cold here in December."

  "Thank you. You've been fantastic."

  "You're welcome. I'm delighted to have you here." Savino opened his arms with a smile, and it seemed only natural for Emily to turn into his embrace. Holding her darling little boy between them, she stepped under Savino's arm and leaned her cheek on his shoulder. Breathing in his fragrance, she closed her eyes and sank into the safety and warmth of his arms.

  "I don't know what I'd have done without you."