by Alexia Adams
“You want a divorce?” She blinked rapidly to keep the tears back; she would not cry in front of him. A look of contrition crossed his face before being replaced by a blank mask. Under the table, her right hand flew to her left, holding her rings tightly. She couldn’t bear the thought of taking them off.
“I want you to stop pretending, amore.”
Blinding fury incinerated the sense of loss and betrayal. How dare he accuse her of pretending when he was the biggest faker in this marriage? “And I want you to stop calling me amore, because we both know I’m not your love. Through this whole marriage I have been exactly what you wanted me to be: the elegant wife to be paraded in front of your business acquaintances, the efficient housekeeper to make sure your underwear is clean and your desk dusted regularly—”
“The enthusiastic lover?” He raised a sarcastic eyebrow. She may be faking all the rest, but that was one area of their relationship where no acting was required. He didn’t need to know that.
“Yes, exactly.” She took a long drink, hoping to quell the rising nausea.
“It is not enough.” His harsh tone grated her heart to shreds.
“Not enough?” Several heads turned in their direction at her raised voice. In the silence that followed, she heard his phone vibrate again. “I’ll tell you what’s not enough. It’s not enough that I hold second place in your life, and your work is first. I’m sorry that my little family issue has pulled you out of her bed. Go on, your real love is calling, answer it!”
Luca unclipped the mobile from his belt, pressed a couple icons on the screen, and held the now silent phone out to her. Thirty-six missed calls. Forty-two unanswered emails, all with little red flags and marked URGENT.
“If this were my real love, would I be ignoring it while I sit in a pub trying to pick a fight with you?”
In a daze she handed the phone back to him. He turned the power off and returned it to his belt, not even bothering to look at any of the messages.
“Why do you want to pick a fight with me?”
“I don’t. Olivia suggested it was the only way to find out what was really going on in your heart. So, you feel second best to my work. What do you want me to do about it? Cancel the hotel contract? Because I would.” He sat back again and waited for her reaction.
She was stunned. What was he saying? “You’d walk away from the hotel project if I asked? Why?”
“Because I’ve found something more important. Something that I love and cherish more than rebuilding Italy’s past splendor. I found you. I love you, Sophia. More than I ever thought possible. You are my amore, and my tesoro, my treasure, my joy, and a million other endearments. But most important, you are my wife, my life and my reason to be.”
“You love me?”
“So much it hurts to think you are not being yourself when you are with me. I feel cheated that you are holding back, saving the real you for someone else.”
“I was holding back because I thought that’s what you wanted. You said you didn’t want a wife who loved you.”
“Do you? Love me?” He held his breath.
“More than anything in the world.”
That got him on his feet. He pulled her up into his arms and crushed her against him. His lips found hers, and he kissed her until she almost passed out. Dizzy from joy or lack of oxygen, she wasn’t sure.
“Get a room!” someone at the bar called out.
Luca reluctantly let her go, but he kept hold of her left hand, with the other he caressed her face. “So, from here on, we agree to tell each other how we feel. Even if it is something you do not think I want to hear,” he added.
She put her free hand against his heart, which thudded under her palm. “Agreed. I’ll start. I feel like getting out of here and making love with you until I can’t remember my own name,” she replied.
“I would like nothing more. But what about your family? They are waiting for us to come back to the flat with a toothbrush,” Luca reminded her.
Damn. “Alright, but I do need to stop at the chemist, because there’s something I need to confirm.”
“Is everything okay? You are still pale.” He switched from lover to concerned husband in a heartbeat.
“I’m fine. But if my guess is right, we should probably get in some practice with Sarah’s children while we’re here.” She expected rapturous joy to cross his face. Instead, his brow creased with concern.
“You are pregnant?”
“I think so. What’s wrong? I thought you’d be happy.”
“I am happy if you are happy. But what about your interior design business? I guess we could hire a nanny to care for the baby—”
“No way. After my childhood experiences, I’ll look after my own children. I only started the design company now because I was bored and needed something to keep my mind off how much I love you and wanted you to love me. We’ll work something out. I can wait until the time is right for us a family. Perhaps I can work part-time to begin with and see how that goes.”
“I believe you can do anything you set your mind to. And I will support you every step of the way.” His tender kiss left her in no doubt as to what he was feeling at that moment.
• • •
The sun warmed Sophia’s back and birdsong filled the air as the family gathered around the grave. The church service had been brief, with only the family and a few friends in attendance. She swallowed a lump in her throat at the realization that her children would never meet their maternal grandmother. As if sensing her anguish, Luca leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on her temple.
She smiled up at him, and he wiped a stray tear off her cheek. It was so liberating not to have to hide her emotions from him. If it hadn’t been for her mother’s passing, this would have been one of the happiest weeks of her life—showing Luca how much she loved him and basking in his returned affection. The first thing he told her every morning and the last thing every night, was how much he loved her.
Sarah’s little girl, Emily, had fallen asleep on his shoulder and he shifted her into a more comfortable position. Luca was going to make a great father. He’d taken her suggestion about spending time with her nephew and nieces seriously and had passed the last four days entertaining the children while the adults sorted out the necessary arrangements for the funeral.
He’d also proved that she was more important to him than his work. He’d told his secretary to contact him only if someone was injured, that he was on compassionate leave for the rest of the week and wasn’t to be disturbed. He spoke with Chet and said he would oversee the project and live on-site only if Sophia was part of the interior design team. Chet had instantly agreed and even offered her a salary in excess of the commission she would have made from the property rental firm.
When she’d told Isabella that she wasn’t available to take the contract, she’d expected her new friend to be disappointed. Instead she’d also been relieved, as she’d just discovered she was pregnant as well. And with three previous miscarriages, the doctor had ordered Isabella on bed rest for at least the first four months.
Sophia had then called the chairman of the villa rental company to tell them of their decision not to take the contract. Evidently, they had also reconsidered and decided to postpone the refurbishment of their properties for eighteen months. If she were still interested then, she would go straight to the top of their short list. It had all worked out. But none of it was as important as knowing Luca loved her.
A tiny cry drew her attention to Olivia, who was looking after Sarah’s baby girl. Olivia snuggled the baby under her chin and caressed the tiny back until she quieted. Olivia’s maternal instinct was so strong, Sophia could see her friend presiding happily over a gaggle of children.
Sophia was glad that Luca had convinced Olivia to come back to Italy with them. She wasn’t sure if it was for her benefit, or her friend’s, but she wasn’t going to complain. Olivia could use a good holiday and Sophia was already planning a matchmaking opportunity to
introduce her to Jonathan. It was time her friend met a real man.
If only she could do something to help her older brother. Paul stood with his hands crossed in front, his head bowed, in prayer or contrition, she wasn’t sure. His guard escort stood a respectable distance away, allowing the family to grieve in private. As she’d hoped, Luca had greeted her brother with openness and ease, even offering him a job once he was released if it would help him transition back to society. In fact the prison board had said he may be eligible for early parole if he continued to be an exemplary inmate.
The minister continued his reading and Sophia switched her attention to Sarah who was sobbing into the arms of her boyfriend. Andrew seemed to genuinely love her and Sophia was looking forward to getting to know him better when they visited later in the year. She really hoped her sister had found stability and happiness at last.
After shutting his Bible, the minister offered a few words of condolence to her father. Sarah’s oldest child, little Benny, held his grandfather’s hand. Silent tears coursed down her dad’s face as the graveyard attendants started to shovel dirt on her mother’s coffin. Hopefully, he’d be able to find some peace when he and James came to Italy as soon as her younger brother finished his coursework. With Luca’s love and support, she was now looking forward to reconnecting with her family—a family that had been ripped apart by tragedy, now reunited in love.
Sophia had even managed to make peace with the specter of Kathy Summers. When her soap opera had come on the telly, Sophia had been able to watch her former nemesis without a single panicked reaction. In fact, she’d been able to dispassionately prove to herself that Kathy was truly an awful actress.
Sophia ran a hand over her still flat belly, in awe to think that a little life was growing inside her—a product of Luca’s and her love. A true new beginning.
And all because the couple who hadn’t wanted love had been unable to resist its power.
About the Author
Alexia Adams was born in British Columbia, Canada and travelled throughout North America as a child. After high school, she spent three months in Panama before moving to Dunedin, New Zealand for a year where she studied French and Russian at Otago University.
Back in Canada, she worked building fire engines until she’d saved enough for a round-the-world ticket. She travelled throughout Australasia before settling in London—the perfect place to indulge her love of history and travel. For four years she lived and travelled throughout Europe before returning to her homeland. On the way back to Canada she stopped in Egypt, Jordan, Israel, India, Nepal, and of course, Australia and New Zealand. She lived again in Canada for one year before the lure of Europe and easy travel was too great and she returned to the UK.
Marriage and the birth of two babies later, she moved back to Canada to raise her children with her British husband. Two more children were born in Canada and her travel wings were well and truly clipped. Firmly rooted in the life of a stay-at-home mom, or trophy wife as she prefers to be called, she turned to writing to exercise her mind, travelling vicariously through her romance novels.
Her stories reflect her love of travel and feature locations as diverse as the wind-swept prairies of Canada to hot and humid cities in Asia. To discover other books written by Alexia or read her blog on inspirational destinations, Journey to Love at http://Alexia-Adams.com or follow her on Twitter @AlexiaAdamsAuth.
More from This Author
(From Singapore Fling by Alexia Adams)
Lalita froze.
No! It couldn’t be. Not him! Turn around, damn you, so I can see your face.
Although what she’d do if it was him, she had no idea. Run away? Rush over, kiss him till they both exploded and released five years of pent up frustration?
Lalita shook her head but the eerie sensation wouldn’t go away. The feeling of déjà vu she’d had since walking into the ballroom of Claridge’s Hotel intensified. Why did her younger sister have to choose the same venue for her engagement party that their older sister, Jane, used all those years ago? Lalita’s brain balked at any reference to that other evening. Her body, though, came alive at the memory and her heart rate increased.
Dragging in a few calming breaths, she pretended to sip her champagne. Her gaze riveted on the mystery man as he stooped to kiss one of her great-aunts. The frail old dear blushed to the tips of her snow-white hair. It appeared no age was immune to his charisma.
Perhaps he was a distant relative or a business associate she’d met once and that was why he seemed familiar. In general, her father didn’t invite company employees to family functions, preferring to keep his two worlds as separate as possible. But one or two always managed an invitation.
Or maybe he was a friend of her future brother-in-law? However, Lalita had managed to place most of them, fellow lawyers or friends from the elite social group her sister’s husband-to-be occupied. They each fit so neatly into a stereotypical pattern it was almost funny.
This man was different. Although dressed in the requisite black suit, even from a distance he appeared powerful, not caged and domesticated like most of the other men in the room. He prowled around the floor, as though deciding which prey was the tastiest.
Lalita wished he would turn around so she could be certain of his identity. His effect on the girls and women he had spoken to had been obvious. He was tall, well over six feet, and his exquisitely cut suit hugged a lean form. His jet black hair was thick and curly and skimmed his collar. And when he’d bent to kiss her grandmother in her wheelchair, Lalita had been able to admire his other fine assets.
Lalita lifted the champagne flute to her lips again to keep up the pretense she was enjoying the party. Truth was, she rarely drank alcohol these days. That night five years ago could have destroyed her future. If her father had discovered that she wound up in the rear seat of some eager junior manager’s car he never would have trusted her. And her first big break of running one of the far-flung outposts of his company may never have happened. In the five years she’d been away, though, she’d more than proved she was capable and held her position on merit and not nepotism.
“Laly, are you going to hide in the corner all evening? And how on earth did you manage to find a dress the exact same shade as the curtains?”
Lalita turned to find her older sister standing with her arms crossed above her distended belly. Jane’s petite frame was engulfed in a swath of pale green silk. Despite her enlarged waist, she still appeared delicate and almost ethereal.
“Luck, I guess. Taupe is all the rage in the orient.” Lalita hugged Jane tight until she felt a tiny kick from Jane’s stomach.
“Well, only you could carry off that shade. I’d look ghastly. The style suits you, you appear … exotic.”
Lalita glanced down at her sari-inspired dress; the color might be bland but it worked with her skin tone. It also did a good job of concealing her curvy figure, hopefully rendering her invisible to the charming, mysterious man she had been watching. Lalita had fallen for a charmer once, and she couldn’t let it happen again. She couldn’t lose her focus and give her father any reason to doubt she was capable of running his multi-national business.
“It’s so wonderful to see you. You are beautiful, pregnancy really suits you.”
“I look like Tinker Bell, who got herself in a little bit of trouble,” Jane replied with a laugh. “Come on, I’m not going to let you stand here all evening drafting quarterly reports in your head. I thought you’d be excited to talk to people you haven’t seen in ages. It’s almost as if you’ve been in exile.”
“I was in the UK a couple years ago and saw everyone I wanted to see then.” Lalita tried to peer around her sister to spot where the mystery man was now. He seemed to have moved on and she released a long held breath. When her attention returned to her sister, Jane had her hands on her hips.
“Two years ago, you were here for a company board meeting and you attended one small family dinner. One visit in five years is hardly enough
. You didn’t even return for my wedding.”
“Jane, please. I’ve told you how sorry I was to miss your special day. It wasn’t my fault the biggest monsoon of the century shut down all air travel. I was at the airport for three days and by the time planes were flying again, you’d already left for your honeymoon.”
“We miss you, Laly. Family gatherings aren’t the same without your dry wit.”
Lalita put her hand out and ran it over her sister’s baby bump. “Glad to know I’m good for something. I miss being part of your and Jessica’s life too. I’m here for two weeks this visit and I promise I’ll be back for Jessica’s wedding. At least she’s not getting married in monsoon season.”
“Well, you can make it up to me now by taking the heat off me. If one more person asks if I’m carrying triplets I’ll kick them in the knee caps.”
“You, lose your cool? Now that I’d like to see. You know parties aren’t my scene. I’m only staying long enough to be polite and then I have to get back to work.” Lalita peeked at her watch, relieved to find an hour had passed and she could soon leave.
“You can’t walk out on your younger sister’s engagement party, although I seem to recall you disappearing from mine.” Jane stood in front of Lalita, blocking her escape. “Besides, even Daddy isn’t working tonight. You can afford to take the night off, too.”
The two women gazed across the room to where their father stood next to their elegant mother. His light brown hair was now flecked with grey, yet he still gave the impression of a man in his prime. “Daddy isn’t working because Mummy threatened him with divorce if he did,” Lalita clarified. “I am under no such orders.”
“You have nothing left to prove, Laly. We all know you will be the next CEO of Evans International. Can’t you take one night off to get to know your sister’s new relatives?”