Once a Ferrara Wife...

by Sarah Morgan

  Having listened to Santo, he delivered the necessary advice and instruction and then ended the call and finished his coffee.

  Beneath him the surface of the pool reflected the perfect blue sky and behind him the early morning sun shone on Etna’s summit.

  ‘Is everything OK?’ Her voice came from behind him and he turned to see her sitting up in the bed, her eyes sleepy and her mouth temptingly rosy. Without make-up, her hair tangled from too much midnight loving, she was gorgeous.

  His woman.

  ‘Everything is fine.’ He found himself postponing the moment he had to break the news that they were leaving but she obviously sensed something and slid out of bed, deliciously unselfconscious.

  Neither hiding nor flaunting, she reached for the wisp of cream silk that had started the night on her body and ended it in a discarded pool on the bedroom floor. That simple movement was all it took to have him forgetting his coffee and when she joined him on the terrace he slid his hand behind her neck and drew her in for a long, slow kiss.

  ‘Mmm—’ reluctantly she pulled away ‘—what is it you’re not telling me?’

  ‘What makes you so sure there’s something I’m not telling you?’

  ‘The look on your face.’ Her arms slid around his neck.

  ‘Tell me.’

  There was no easy way to break news he knew she didn’t want to hear. ‘I need to go back for a while. A crisis is brewing with the Sardinia development that needs my attention. Mi dispiace, angelo mia. I’m sorry.’

  He expected disappointment but instead she smiled. ‘It’s fine. We knew we couldn’t stay here for ever.’ It was a brave statement that concealed her disappointment and Cristiano swore under his breath.

  ‘Don’t tell me it’s fine while all the time thinking something different. Tell me what you’re thinking. I want to know.’

  ‘All right.’ She sat back on her heels, a gleam of humour lighting her eyes. ‘I’m thinking I don’t want you to go. I want us to stay here for ever.’

  He breathed a sigh of relief. ‘At least now I know you’re being honest.’

  ‘But we both know it isn’t practical to stay here. And this deal is really important to you, I understand that. I know how long you waited for this one. You can’t delegate it to anyone else.’

  He took her face in his hands and kissed her hard. ‘Whatever the world throws at us, it doesn’t change how much I love you. Tell me you understand that.’

  ‘Yes.’

  Over the past few days she’d opened up more than she had at any time in their marriage but he was under no illusions. When Laurel felt threatened, she closed the world out. That was the way she protected herself. Here, he’d refused to let her hide but he was realistic enough to know that once they were back in the busy world they inhabited, things would change.

  ‘One week,’ he promised against her lips, ‘we’ll go back for one week. And we will be together at the beginning and end of every day. Breakfast every morning and dinner every evening. Sardinia is only a short hop away from Sicily. I won’t be gone long. That’s a promise.’

  CHAPTER TEN

  Laurel watched as Cristiano sent an email with one hand while tying the knot of his silk tie with the other. A cup of cold coffee lay untouched on the table because he hadn’t had a moment to drink it. From the moment they’d arrived back at the Palazzo Ferrara, the Palermo home that had been in his family for generations, he’d been swamped with work.

  She felt a sharp pang of longing for the simplicity of their life in Taormina, missing the closeness and the lack of outside intrusion. Now she had to share him with a million other people. Yes, he’d kept to his promise of sharing breakfast and dinner with her but last night’s dinner hadn’t been served until gone eleven o’clock.

  And the grandeur of the Palazzo unsettled her.

  Her eyes roved over the priceless art on the walls. Cristiano was a renowned collector and she knew he was responsible for much of the restoration of the Palazzo. But although he spent time here when he needed to be in the city, she knew his preference would always be the villa at the Ferrara Spa and their new home in Taormina.

  Their home.

  Thinking of somewhere as home sent a warm feeling flowing through her. Watching as he took a phone call, switching easily between English and Italian, she felt her insides soften because this incredible man was hers. Yes, he was a workaholic but she loved his energy and his utter commitment to a task. And to his family. Cristiano was big on responsibility and commitment and those had been rare qualities in her life before she’d met him. He was offering her that part of himself.

  Laurel took over tying his tie, ducking as he gesticulated with his hands and let out a stream of angry Italian to the person on the end of the phone.

  When he finally cut the connection he was visibly angry.

  ‘Lawyers!’ His jaw clenched, he stood still while she straightened his tie. ‘They are enough to drive a man to drink. I have to fly to Sardinia and I’d planned to spend the afternoon with you. I was going to take you shopping and spoil you.’

  ‘I’ll be fine. Dani is back from her honeymoon and we’re meeting at the Spa later for manicures and a girly chat. I also promised Santo I’d take a look at the health club at the Resort. I’m going to do a workout, observe some of the trainers in action. Make some recommendations. Then I’m going to find myself an empty office and answer all those emails I’ve been ignoring since we went to Taormina.’

  Cristiano frowned. ‘You can use my office, but I don’t want you to have to work today.’

  ‘I don’t have to work. I want to work.’ Laurel stood back, wondering if there was ever going to be a time when she didn’t go weak at the knees when she looked at him. ‘There. You look smart.’

  Sinfully handsome, she thought.

  Hers.

  ‘Grazie.’ Distracted, Cristiano reached for his jacket. ‘I will be back in time to take you for dinner tonight and that’s a promise. I’ve discovered a new restaurant—’

  ‘In that case I’ll buy a new dress.’

  ‘You do that.’ He leaned forward and kissed her. ‘I have spoken to my mother, by the way. She was mortified that you’d been through that without telling anyone. She wished very much that you had confided in her.’

  Laurel shrugged awkwardly. ‘Not my forte, as you know.’ ‘I tried to explain to her but I didn’t want to talk about your past without your permission.’ He rubbed the backs of his fingers over her cheek. ‘You could confide in her. It would help her understand.’

  ‘She just wants you to be happy. I do understand that.’ He pulled her hard against him and wrapped his arms around her. ‘I am happy. How could I not be happy when I have you?’

  His phone buzzed again and he gave an exasperated sigh and released her. ‘I miss Taormina,’ he said regretfully and she wanted to tell him that she did too but he was already walking out of the door and she knew that by the time he was in the car he would have forgotten her because no one had more focus than Cristiano.

  At the moment all his attention was on sorting out the deal in Sardinia.

  The most important deal to him for a long time.

  ‘I’m so clever.’ Delighted with herself, Dani waggled pink toenails and adjusted the brim of her hat. ‘I knew that if I got you together you wouldn’t be able to keep your hands off each other. You just can’t help yourselves. And now Cristiano is close to closing the Sardinia deal so it’s happy ever afters all round.’

  Laurel sat cross-legged on the sun lounger next to her. ‘What is so important about Sardinia?’

  ‘It was our father’s dream.’ Dani rubbed more suncream into her legs. ‘He wanted hotels on both islands. But it’s tricky buying land for development there. Cristiano found the perfect spot, of course, because he’s a genius. And then he has this way of making people feel as if they can’t not sell to him. That’s why he has to be there to finalise the deal. He’s the one they’re selling it to. They trust him to do the righ
t thing. To develop the land in a sympathetic way that won’t ruin the environment. How was Taormina?’ ‘Beautiful.’

  ‘It’s such a romantic place.’ Dani admired her pink toenails. ‘It must have been like a second honeymoon for you. Any time you want to thank me for getting you two back together, just go right ahead.’

  Laurel laughed. ‘You don’t give up, do you?’

  ‘No. And now I’m moving straight on to Plan B.’

  ‘Cristiano and I are back together.’ Laurel shifted into a more comfortable position. ‘We don’t need Plan B.’

  ‘Ah—Plan B isn’t getting back together. Plan B is about having babies.’ Dani had her face turned towards the sun, otherwise she would have seen Laurel tense. ‘Don’t you think it would be fun to be pregnant at the same time? Our children could play together. Grow up together like I did with my cousins.’

  She couldn’t accuse her friend of insensitivity, Laurel thought numbly, because she’d never told her the details of what had happened. But she had to. This was the time.

  ‘Dani—’

  ‘It’s no good. I can’t keep a secret.’ Dani sat up and pushed her hat away from her face. Her eyes shone. ‘I’m pregnant. I did the test last night. Raimondo wants me to wait a few weeks to tell everyone but you’re not everyone.’

  Laurel was stunned. ‘You were pregnant when you got married?’

  ‘No, I was not!’ Dani’s voice was an outraged squeak. ‘And keep your voice down. Do you think I want my brothers to beat Raimondo to a pulp? This is a honeymoon baby.’ She looked content and pleased with herself.

  ‘But you’ve only been married for two weeks.’

  ‘Three.’ Dani laughed. ‘You obviously weren’t wasting time looking at your watch when you were in Taormina. I’ve been married for three whole weeks.’

  Laurel stared at her. Three weeks?

  But—dear God, Dani was right. It had been three weeks. Which meant that—

  She felt the blood drain from her face and dimly saw Dani’s concerned frown.

  ‘Laurie? Are you OK?’

  ‘It’s the heat,’ Laurel muttered. ‘I might go and lie down for a while. I don’t feel well.’

  ‘What do you mean, you don’t feel well?’ Dani’s face lit up. ‘Maybe you’re pregnant too. Oh, my God, that would be awesome.’

  ‘No! I mean—that isn’t possible.’

  ‘Why not? You’ve been having sex non-stop for the past three weeks. Here—’ Dani dug around in her bag and pressed a slim packet into Laurel’s hand. ‘I bought two and I don’t need this one. You take it.’

  It was a pregnancy test.

  Laurel’s mouth was dry.

  Why would a woman who couldn’t possibly get pregnant need to take a pregnancy test?

  ‘I don’t need this. I can’t be pregnant.’

  ‘That’s what I thought,’ Dani said happily. ‘Turned out I was wrong. Look, do you want to—’

  ‘I have to go and lie down.’ Her head spinning, Laurel walked away from her friend, bumped into a chair and stumbled down the steps to the beach.

  She couldn’t be pregnant.

  Ten minutes later she was sitting in the empty villa, staring at a positive pregnancy test and swallowing down the bitter taste of fear.

  It was happening all over again, except this time she’d skipped the moments of anticipatory joy and jumped straight into deep, dark terror.

  Hand shaking, she rummaged in her bag for her phone and punched in his number.

  When it went straight to voicemail she felt a rush of panic because she’d so badly wanted him to answer. ‘Cristiano?’ She tried hard to keep her voice steady but somehow it came out as a desperate whisper. Oh, God, she was going to sound needy and pathetic. And then she remembered that his phone was off because he was finalising the Sardinian deal. How could she have forgotten that? He didn’t have time to nursemaid her. It wasn’t fair of her to put him in this position. The urge to beg him to come home was almost desperate but she tightened her grip on the phone and forced the words through the panic. ‘I just called to wish you luck in your meeting.’

  Cristiano was about to go into the most important meeting of his life when his phone rang.

  It was Santo, calling with a final set of figures for him.

  Armed with everything he needed to close the deal, Cristiano ended the call and then noticed that he had a message waiting.

  ‘Cristiano?’ Carlo looked at him expectantly and Cristiano nodded, checking his voicemail as he walked through to the meeting room.

  He stopped dead as he heard Laurel’s voice.

  ‘Cristiano? I just called to wish you luck in your meeting. ‘

  She must have called in those same few minutes he’d been talking to Santo.

  He frowned, oblivious to the men around the table, all waiting for him to start the meeting. Why would she be calling to wish him luck? He’d seen her that morning and she’d wished him luck in person.

  ‘Cristiano?’ Carlo’s voice was more urgent this time but Cristiano lifted a hand to silence him.

  ‘I need to make a call. Excuse me.’ Leaving Carlo to keep the conversation going, Cristiano stepped out of the room and dialled Laurel’s number but there was no reply.

  Cursing under his breath, he checked his watch. She was supposed to be sitting by the pool gossiping with his sister.

  Frowning, he played the message again and this time he heard the change in her tone. The long pause between saying his name and wishing him luck.

  He played it again.

  ‘Cristiano?’

  Something was wrong.

  He called his sister but, predictably, her phone was engaged.

  ‘Cristiano?’ Carlo was standing in the doorway. ‘What the hell is going on? They’re waiting for you. It’s taken five years to get to this point.’

  Cristiano tried Laurel’s number one more time but her phone was switched off.

  Laurel never phoned him when he was working.

  She’d only ever done it once before.

  Following an instinct that he couldn’t even identify, Cristiano was already on his way out of the door. ‘You’ll have to handle this without me.’

  His lawyer looked stunned. ‘But—’

  It was too late.

  Cristiano was gone.

  Laurel was sitting in a shivering heap on the floor of the luxurious bathroom when the door to the villa crashed open and she heard Cristiano thundering her name.

  Purposeful footsteps echoed in the distance and then the bathroom door flew open.

  He swore when he saw her. ‘What’s happened? What are you doing in here?’

  Her teeth were chattering and she felt pathetically relieved to see him. ‘You came.’

  ‘Of course I came, although next time I’d rather you avoided the cryptic and went straight for the direct approach. Your message was total nonsense.’ Brows locked together in a concerned frown, he scooped her off the floor and carried her through to the bedroom. She expected him to deposit her on the bed but he didn’t. Instead he sat down, holding her securely on his lap. ‘Now tell me what’s wrong, tesoro. Is it your asthma?’