by Sarah Morgan
Stefano, who could never remember crying in his entire adult life, found that he had a lump in his throat.
‘Hush. Hush now,’ Liv said gently, ‘that’s enough. Stop crying.’ She eased him away from her and forced him to look at her. ‘I’ll fix it. You know I’ll fix it.’
Even though everything she owned was in the building, currently being greedily devoured by flames, she held it together and the hand that stroked her son’s head was remarkably steady.
Max’s eyes swam. ‘My toys are in there,’ he choked, ‘and my special moon and stars bed cover and my geography colouring.’
Stefano watched as Liv somehow conjured up a magical smile full of confidence and reassurance. ‘Well, I’m willing to bet that Mr Thompson hasn’t heard that excuse before for not handing in homework on time. I think he just might forgive you, this once.’ Her tone was light and she leaned forward and kissed Max several times. ‘It’s people that matter, sweetheart, not things. Remember that. Things aren’t important. They can always be replaced. We have each other, and that’s all that really matters.’ But although her words were brave and seemed to reassure Max, her face was as white as a winter frost and her eyes were blank with shock.
He needed to get both of them away from here.
Stefano was about to take charge when she straightened, still holding Max’s hand.
‘There’s no point in standing here watching.’ Her voice was steady and strong. ‘It’s upsetting for Max. There’s a coffee-shop round the corner. I’ll take him there while I ring the insurance company and work out what to do. They’re going to have to arrange for us to stay somewhere tonight.’
A flicker of movement in the flats caught Stefano’s eye. ‘Liv—there’s someone up there. One flat below yours.’
Still holding tightly to Max’s hand, Liv followed the direction of his gaze. ‘It’s Emma,’ she breathed in horror. ‘She’s eleven. Where’s her mother? Why are they still in there?’
‘She needs to get down on the floor,’ Max muttered, pressing himself against Liv’s leg. ‘We were taught that in school. Smoke rises, so you need to get down on the floor.’
Stefano glanced at Liv. He didn’t want to leave her, but she clearly read his mind because she gave him a push.
‘We’re fine. Go. Be careful.’
‘Stay here,’ Stefano ordered. ‘Call an ambulance, Liv. At the very least she’s going to suffer from smoke inhalation.’
By the time he’d identified himself to the crew, two firemen in breathing apparatus had appeared from the building carrying the child.
Swiftly Stefano carried out an initial assessment. ‘Do we have any idea of the nature of the materials in her flat? Furniture, polyurethane foam?’
Liv appeared by his side, as cool and composed as she always was in a medical crisis. There was nothing to indicate that her own home had been one of those destroyed. ‘Emma?’ She stroked the child’s hair gently. ‘It’s Liv, from upstairs—how are you feeling, sweetheart?’
‘I didn’t hear anything,’ the little girl said hoarsely and then gave a choking cough. ‘I was asleep.’ She made a whistling sound as she inhaled and Stefano saw Liv glance at him.
‘She has a degree of stridor. Do you want to intubate her?’
‘I want to give her oxygen and get her to hospital. If I have to intubate her, I will, but this obviously isn’t the best place.’ Stefano cursed mentally, aware that Liv’s home was burning behind him and he was going to have to make a difficult choice. The shriek of an ambulance siren announced the arrival of the paramedics.
‘Max and I will follow in the car,’ Liv said immediately. ‘We might be able to help and at least we’ll be able to give you a lift back here.’
Stefano thrust a hand in his pocket and withdrew his keys. ‘Use my car.’
‘You’re joking.’ Her expression was comical. ‘I can’t drive a Ferrari. I’ll take the hire car and we can collect yours later.’
At that moment there was a piercing scream and a woman dropped her shopping and ran towards them. Food spilled over the pavement and a milk carton split and slowly leaked its contents into the gutter. ‘Emma!’ The woman stared at the stretcher and then put her hands to her mouth. ‘Oh my God—is she? Is she—?’
About to transfer the child to the ambulance, Stefano cast a meaningful look in Liv’s direction. She slid her arm round the woman, supporting and restraining her so that she didn’t obstruct the transfer of her daughter into the ambulance.
‘Emma’s all right, Susan. But she’s breathed in some of the smoke so we need to take her to the hospital. You can follow in the car with us.’
Susan looked over her shoulder at the smouldering building. ‘Our home…’
‘Let’s worry about Emma first.’ Liv didn’t even glance towards her flat, but Susan started to sob.
‘I’ve lost everything. Everything. All my Christmas presents were in there and I certainly can’t afford to buy another lot.’
Stefano gritted his teeth. Her daughter was lying on a stretcher and she was worrying about her Christmas presents? Deciding that he would never cease to be disgusted by the shallowness of human nature, he climbed into the ambulance, wishing that he didn’t have to leave Liv.
Just before the doors closed, he glanced back at her and saw her speaking reassuringly to Susan, while cuddling Max.
She supported everyone, he thought grimly. But who supported her?
CHAPTER SEVEN
THEY decided to admit Emma, and Liv was helping Susan make a call to the insurance company when Stefano strode into the room.
‘Liv?’
Relieved to see him, she gently extracted herself from Susan’s clutches. ‘Go and see Emma.’ Checking that Susan had everything she needed, Liv followed him out of the room. ‘She’s terribly upset.’
‘I noticed. More upset about her things than her daughter,’ he said in a cool tone.
‘It’s hard for her. Her husband left in the summer and she’s been really struggling.’ Liv ran her fingers over her forehead, trying to ease the throbbing ache. ‘Anyway, Emma will be fine and that’s the main thing. Are you going home now?’ Just saying the word made her feel slightly strange because she realised that she didn’t have a home to go back to. ‘I need to talk to the fire service.’
‘I’ve just done it. The blaze is out but it’s too soon for them to assess the damage. They think it was caused by faulty Christmas-tree lights in a flat on the ground floor.’ He frowned. ‘You look awful. You need to rest. You and Max can stay with me for now.’
Liv was so stunned by his unexpected offer that for a moment she just gaped at him. Then she shook her head. ‘No way. We couldn’t possibly.’
‘I’m not letting you refuse, so don’t even waste time arguing.’ His tone was forceful but she still hesitated.
‘That’s far too generous an offer. I just…couldn’t.’
‘Yes, you could. And you will.’
‘Having me around will cramp your style.’
‘What style is that?’ His eyes gleamed with irony. ‘Liv, you’ve seen my life. I work. When I get home, I sleep. You won’t be cramping anything. I want you to move in.’
She couldn’t believe he was making this offer. ‘You’ve never let a woman move in with you.’
‘That’s because I don’t like anyone tracking my movements. And I hate anyone asking what time I’m finishing work. You won’t do that because the chances are that you’ll be stuck at work, too. Now stop arguing and just say yes.’
It was such an overwhelming gesture that she felt her throat close. ‘Max is a very lively little boy,’ she said thickly. ‘He’ll break something. They say that trouble comes in threes. My car is dead, my flat is no more—perhaps the third thing will be Max breaking something valuable that I can’t afford to replace.’
‘He can break anything he likes. It’s a home, not a museum.’ Visibly exasperated, Stefano raked his fingers through his hair. ‘Liv, for once just say yes.’
/>
‘Why?’ She looked at him helplessly. ‘Why are you doing this?’
‘Because I like you.’
‘You…do? You like me?’ Her car was dying, her house had just burned down. But the way Stefano was looking at her made her feel as though something amazing had just happened.
‘I like you.’ A muscle flickered in his jaw. ‘And I like Max.’
Overwhelmed, she took a step backwards. ‘Don’t do that,’ she said hoarsely. ‘Don’t be nice to me, Stefano, or I’ll bawl all over you again and you know how much you enjoyed it the last time.’
‘I’m not giving you sympathy. I’m giving you a solution to your problems. Take it.’ He paused as a nurse hurrying past shot them a curious look. ‘Liv, Max is still waiting in my office. He’s upset and worried. He needs to know where he is sleeping tonight and he doesn’t need some anonymous hotel room. Go and talk to him. Explain that we’re going to buy his Christmas tree. We can sort out where you’re going to live permanently when Christmas is over.’ Stefano pulled his phone out of his pocket. ‘You fetch Max and meet me by the car. I’ll do the rest.’
* * *
Stefano’s apartment was in an exclusive red-brick building overlooking the wide expanse of Hyde Park.
Feeling as though she was living someone else’s life, Liv held tightly to Max’s hand as Stefano negotiated the tight security that formed an apparently impenetrable cordon at the base of the building.
Still shocked by everything that had happened, Max barely spoke until they were through the glass doors.
Then his youthful curiosity gradually reasserted itself. ‘Wow, that scanner thing is amazing,’ he breathed as Stefano gently urged them across the gleaming marble floor towards the lift. ‘Like something out of a spy movie.’
‘I smell of smoke.’ Liv wrinkled her nose in distaste and Stefano flicked some debris from his long coat.
‘It clings, doesn’t it? As soon as we get upstairs, you can take a bath.’
And then what? She didn’t have any clothes to change into but Liv didn’t say anything. Presumably the insurance would eventually cover most of what they’d lost, but in the short term it was going to cost her a fortune.
A fortune that she didn’t have.
Perhaps she would have to work Christmas Day after all, she thought miserably. Just for the money.
Suddenly it all seemed like too much.
She’d been holding it together for Max, but the sheer size of the problem she was facing made her want to curl into a ball and give up.
How was she going to cope?
The lift purred soundlessly upwards and when the doors finally opened Liv gave a gasp.
Max spoke first. ‘Which bit is your house?’ He spoke in a soft, awed voice and Stefano smiled and took his hand.
‘All of it. It’s not a house, it’s an apartment. I own the whole of this floor. Come on, I’ll show you your bedroom.’
‘All of it? All of this is yours?’ Max tilted his head back and stared up at the endless glass and spacious elegance. ‘It’s bigger than the hospital.’
Stefano picked him up and lifted him onto his shoulders. ‘There—now it doesn’t seem so big.’
‘Wow, this is terrific!’ Max whooped with excitement and dug his fingers into Stefano’s hair. Liv winced but part of her was overwhelmed with gratitude because he’d made her little boy smile.
With her son on his shoulders, his bronzed hands holding the child steady, Stefano seemed nothing like the intimidating consultant she worked with in the emergency department.
‘I’ll show you the bedroom I think you’ll like, but you can choose a different one if you prefer.’ He strode across the pale wooden floor, opened a door and lifted the boy off his shoulders in an easy movement. ‘What do you think?’
‘It’s like mine,’ Max said in wonder. ‘Only bigger. It’s a space capsule, Mum.’
‘Yes. Aren’t you lucky?’
‘I have twin nephews the same age as Max.’ Stefano strolled across to the window. ‘They chose the décor.’
‘They like the same things as me.’ Max clambered onto the cabin bed and vanished under a canopy of moons and stars. ‘This is so cool. It’s just like being at home only better.’ His little head peeped round the side of the canopy. ‘Is it OK to say that Mum? That doesn’t make you sad, does it?’
‘You never make me sad,’ Liv said quickly. ‘I’m pleased you like it. It’s very kind of Stefano to have us.’
Stefano steered her out of the bedroom and back into the glorious living room that overlooked the park.
Beneath them she could see horses cantering sedately along a track, their breath forming clouds in the freezing air. Mothers wrapped up in scarves and long elegant coats pushed buggies and watched toddlers romping in the snow.
‘It’s a fabulous place.’
‘You make it sound like a problem.’
She gave a wry smile, her eyes still on the view. ‘I’m hoping that it won’t be too much of a wrench for Max to go back to his real life after this.’
‘Don’t think about that and anyway, you’re his real life. You’re his security. As long as you’re all right, so is he.’ Stefano put his hands on her shoulders and turned her towards him, a frown in his eyes as he studied her face. ‘You’re exhausted. Can you stop thinking and worrying for just five minutes and let me sort things out? Max and I are going to buy a Christmas tree and you are going to lie in a hot bubble bath for an hour.’
‘An hour?’ She was horribly aware of him, her heart thudding in a crazy rhythm against her chest. ‘I wouldn’t know what to do in a bath for an hour.’
‘That’s the point.’ Amusement gleamed in his eyes. ‘You do nothing.’ He gave a slow smile and then his gaze slid to her mouth and lingered.
‘Mum?’
Liv jumped backwards. ‘Yes?’ Flustered, she licked her lips, as if Stefano’s gaze had left a mark she had to remove. ‘You’re going to buy a Christmas tree. Don’t buy a big one.’ Reaching for her bag, she pulled out her purse. ‘This is our budget. Don’t argue.’ She stuffed the money into Stefano’s hand. ‘Thank you.’
For a moment he didn’t respond. He simply looked at the money in his hand and then glanced at her face. Then he smiled and slid the money into a soft billfold, as if he knew that to refuse would make her uncomfortable.
‘Grazie. Now go and relax and leave everything to us boys.’
* * *
‘Do you like that one?’ Stefano watched as Max gazed at the huge, glittering Christmas tree in the window of the exclusive Knightsbridge store.
‘It’s amazing,’ Max breathed, his head tilted backwards as he scanned it all the way to the top. ‘Like something out of a Christmas movie.’
‘Good.’ Wishing all decisions were as easy, Stefano strode through the doors and into the store, Max by his side.
Within seconds he found an assistant, briefed her on what he wanted and then looked down at Max who was tugging at his sleeve. ‘What’s the matter? You’ve decided that you want a different one?’
‘No, but—you can’t buy the one in the window,’ Max whispered. ‘It isn’t for sale.’
Stefano smiled. ‘It is now.’
‘Really?’ Max glanced over his shoulder, as if checking that his imagination hadn’t been playing tricks. ‘What about the decorations?’
‘Those too.’
‘But what about the decorations you already have at home? Aren’t you going to use those?’
‘I don’t have any decorations at home.’
Max looked startled. ‘But what do you usually put on your tree?’
‘Nothing.’ Stefano handed his credit card to the assistant. ‘I don’t usually have a tree.’
‘You don’t have a tree?’ Max looked shocked. ‘Not even a small one?’
‘No.’
‘Why not?’
‘I don’t bother with a tree because I usually spend Christmas on my own.’
There was a long silence wh
ile Max digested that fact. ‘That’s terrible,’ he said in a hushed voice. ‘Mum told me that some people are on their own for Christmas and that’s just the worst thing.’ His expression sympathetic, he slid his arms round Stefano and gave him a hug. ‘Well, this year you won’t have to be lonely,’ he said solemnly, ‘because we’re going to keep you company. We can stay as long as you need us.’
Oblivious to the team of sales assistants who were casting him covetous glances as they busily collated the decorations for the tree, Stefano stood still, too stunned by the child’s warmth and generosity to answer immediately. Then he put his hand on the boy’s shoulder and squeezed gently. ‘Grazie,’ he said softly, ‘thank you.’ The child was like his mother. Always thinking about other people.
‘You’re welcome. Mum always makes Christmas amazing.’ Max’s eyes widened as the assistant wrapped the boxes of decorations. ‘I hope it isn’t costing too much,’ he whispered. ‘It can’t cost too much or Mum will just worry.’
‘Does she worry a lot?’
‘All the time. She thinks she’s hiding it but I just know.’ The child glanced up. ‘Girls don’t always say what they mean, do they?’
Stefano hid a smile. ‘No,’ he said wryly. ‘They certainly don’t.’
‘It’s weird really,’ Max said frankly. ‘I mean, if I’m worried about something I just say it straight out. Mum tries to hide it. Why does she do that?’
‘I expect she doesn’t want to worry you.’
‘But I always know when she’s worried because she has a different face. Her smile is bigger when she’s really worried, like she’s trying extra hard to hide the fact that she’s worried. And when it’s money that’s worrying her she makes lots of lists and does a lot of adding up. Just to check she doesn’t run out. But if something new comes along she has to cross something out.’
Stefano digested that information for a moment. ‘So what do you think she’d like for Christmas?’
‘Oh that’s easy.’ Max looked smug. ‘A hug.’
‘A hug?’
‘Yes.’ Max picked up a frosted bauble from the display and examined it closely. ‘Whenever you ask Mum what she wants for Christmas, she always says “a really big hug”. Which is a bit weird, to be honest. I mean, I love anything with a remote control, but she’s just happy with cuddles. Girls are pretty easy to please, aren’t they?’