Too late now.
He found the apartment and knocked before he lost his nerve. When a few seconds passed without answer, he knocked again. Still nothing. They had to all be out. Disappointed, he headed back down to the lobby. He’d seen a bench outside. He’d wait for her there—however long it took.
He plugged his headphones into the jack on his cell and stuck on some music to waste time until Laurella turned up.
“Mama, please go home and get some proper rest,” Laurella pleaded. “You look so tired. I’m here now. I can take some of the strain.”
Her mother shook her head vehemently. “I’m not leaving the hospital. Not until he’s fully conscious and I’m sure he’s going to be all right.”
Laurella met Caterina’s eyes over the top of her mother’s head. Caterina shrugged, a silent message of acceptance.
“Okay, but if Caterina and I fetch you some clean clothes, will you at least take fifteen minutes to freshen up?”
“If it makes you feel better,” she said in a defeatist tone.
“It does,” Laurella insisted, raising a brief smile from her mother.
Laurella gave Papa a kiss before she and Caterina left.
“Do you mind if we take a quick detour to Luisa’s so I can check on the children?” Caterina asked. Luisa was her mother-in-law.
“Of course not,” Laurella replied. “I’m desperate to see them, too. I just wish it was under happier circumstances.”
Caterina squeezed her hand. “Papa will be fine. He’s strong as an ox. Plus, do you think he has the guts to leave Mama?”
“Fair point,” Laurella said, and the two girls laughed together.
Mama and Papa had the most wonderful marriage. They’d certainly set the bar very high for their children.
They both lapsed into silence, and Laurella’s thoughts turned to Calum once more. It had only been forty-odd hours since that fateful meeting with Vorino, yet it felt more like forty years had passed. She still hadn’t plucked up the courage to switch on her cell. She couldn’t bear to hear the confusion in his voice. No doubt, he’d have gone to her apartment by now and found her missing. Would he be worried or just angry? Either way, she needed more time before facing him.
Laurella’s nieces barreled out of the house. Their squeals of excitement at seeing their aunt after a six-month absence momentarily soothed her agony. She swept them up into her arms, hugging them tightly.
“Let me look at you,” she said after they broke apart. “Oh my, how you’ve grown.”
“How long are you staying?” Callie, her eldest niece, who was five years old, asked.
“I’m not sure yet. But I’ll make sure I have plenty of time put aside to spend with you.”
“Now,” demanded Isabella, who had just turned three.
Laurella laughed. “Not now, but soon.”
Isabella pouted. The beginnings of a wail were diverted by Luisa, who swept her granddaughter into her arms before dangling her upside down by her ankles. Isabella’s crying soon turned into peals of laughter.
They spent a few minutes with the children, then Luisa distracted them with some cookies and milk so Laurella and Caterina could escape without fuss. After another fifteen minutes in the taxi, they arrived at their parents’ apartment block. The familiarity of home brought tears to Laurella’s eyes.
Her sister didn’t even need to ask what Laurella was feeling. “We had a wonderful childhood growing up here, didn’t we, Ella?”
Unable to speak, Laurella simply nodded. The two girls were walking up the steps when a familiar voice called out her name.
Laurella’s breath caught in her throat. She shouldn’t have been surprised, but interestingly, she was. Slowly, she faced him.
“Hello, Calum.”
Chapter 25
It had only been two days, yet he drank her in like a man stumbling across an oasis after being lost in the desert. Dark circles gave her eyes a bruised appearance, and she was clinging to the woman next to her—clearly a relative, given the family resemblance.
“Laurella,” he said, his voice clipped and cold, even to his own ears. “We need to talk.”
She shook her head. “Now isn’t a good time.”
She went to walk inside. He sped across the short distance and gripped her elbow. “I’d say now is a perfect time.”
The woman next to her narrowed her eyes. “I’d thank you to take your hands off my sister.” Her English was not as clear as Laurella’s, but the fire in her eyes made up for any loss in translation.
“It’s okay, Caterina,” Laurella said. “Go inside and get Mama’s things. I’ll be straight up.”
“Are you sure?”
Laurella nodded. “Go on, now. Give me two minutes.”
Caterina reluctantly left, glancing over her shoulder several times as she went inside. Calum waited until Laurella’s sister had disappeared from view, and then his anger and hurt spewed out.
“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” he snapped. “You refuse to give any details of what the problem with you and Vorino is. You disappear from the office without a word and run away to Italy with your tail between your legs. You don’t return any of my calls or texts. Zane is worried sick that the deal with Sorensen’s is about to go down the pan because, apparently, you’ve tendered your fucking resignation. I fly all the way to Italy to talk to you, and you tell me ‘Now isn’t a good time.’ What the fuck, Laurella? Just so I’m clear, when would be a fucking good time?”
She squared her shoulders, and her eyes sparked in defiance. Her hands came to her hips, and she glared at him. “When my father isn’t lying in the hospital having suffered a heart attack.”
She might as well have shot him with a Taser. He actually staggered backward a couple of steps and blinked rapidly. He opened his mouth in horror. Jesus Christ. He was a fucking idiot. He hadn’t even given her time to explain, just launched into a tirade that she didn’t deserve. He, on the other hand, deserved everything coming to him, and by the look in her eyes, he was about to get it.
“Shit, I’m sorry—”
Her hand flew in the air. “I don’t have time to spar with you today, Calum. My sister and I have come to pick up some of Mama’s things, and then we’re going back to the hospital.”
“How is your father?”
“What do you care?” she said, her tone full of bitterness.
He grimaced. “I deserved that. But I do care. If you just shared what’s in that head of yours, I wouldn’t be left wondering.”
She threw her hands up. “Oh, so it’s my fault you jumped to the wrong conclusions.”
“Stop twisting my words,” he said, irritated.
“Whatever,” she said.
His lips twitched. He always found it amusing when Laurella came out with an unusual—for her—English phrase.
“Do you think this is funny?” she asked. “Actually, forget it. I have to go.”
She turned away and stomped off. Calum ran after her, reaching her before she could burst through the doors to the lobby. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against him, her back to his front.
“I’m coming with you whether you like it or not,” he murmured, his lips right next to her ear.
She wriggled. “Let me go, Calum.”
“Not until you calm down.”
“Go home.”
“Not without you.”
He sensed what she was about to do, but he didn’t move out of the way quickly enough. Her elbow crashed into his ribs. He grunted, but despite the pain, he managed to hang on to her.
“God, you are one frustrating female. Stop fighting me. Where else would I be but beside the woman I love when she’s falling apart?”
His words must have stripped all the fight from her, because she sagged in his arms. He eased her around to face him, but her gaze was firmly fixed on the floor, her chin trembling.
“Look at me,” he said.
Slowly, her head came up. Her eyes gl
istened with unshed tears. She’d never looked more beautiful.
“I can’t talk about what happened back in New York. Not yet. I need to put all my energy into my father and my family.”
He nodded. “When you’re ready, I’ll be here.”
Chapter 26
Over the next few days, Papa made a slow and steady recovery. Having Calum by her side gave Laurella strength so she could, in turn, give support to her family. Calum had shown his charming side and won each and every one of them over, including Caterina who, after a couple of frosty exchanges, had come around in the end.
He’d kept to his word and hadn’t asked her anything further about her meltdown during the Sorensen’s meeting, but the conversation couldn’t be avoided forever. And she was dreading it. So many years had passed, during which time she’d buried that event so deep that she sometimes went weeks without thinking about it. Yet now, the painful images were at the forefront of her mind, and she hated it.
On the day her father was being released from the hospital, Laurella found herself alone with him. He waved away her offer of help as he padded about his hospital room, collecting his things.
Once he’d placed them all on the bed, ready for packing, he stiffly sat on a chair and patted the one next to him. “Come sit with your papa, girl. Time to share what’s bothering you.”
Laurella feigned surprise, even though she was anything but. Papa always had been able to read her, and much as she’d tried, hiding things from him always ended in failure.
“Everything’s fine, Papa. Especially now that you’re well enough to go home.”
He gave her that face that said Don’t lie to me and shook his head. “Will you never learn, girl? I’ve known you for thirty years. Ever since that day I held you in my arms, my firstborn, and you opened your eyes and looked at me, I knew we had a special connection. And still, you think you can keep secrets from me.”
Laurella’s knees trembled. She risked a glance at the door, hoping someone would enter and save her. It remained stubbornly closed.
“No one is coming, and if they do, they’ll be told to leave,” Papa said. Sometimes she was sure he shared the inside of her head with her. He patted the seat once more. “Sit.”
With nowhere to turn and no one to save her, she trudged across the room and reluctantly did as he’d asked. He captured one of her hands, tucking it between both of his. Silent, he waited for her to speak.
A swell of emotion rushed through her. “Vorino is in New York.”
Her father heaved a breath and increased the pressure on her hand. “Tell me every detail, Laurella. And don’t you leave out a single thing.”
Laurella briefed her father on what had happened during the last few weeks in New York. He listened without interruption, though his keen mind would record every detail. When she finished, his arms came around her.
“You have to tell Calum,” he said. “You cannot carry this burden alone. I might be ill and old, but even if I were blind and senile, I’d still be able to tell the strength of that man’s love for you.”
Laurella’s vision blurred. She lifted her head and stared into Papa’s eyes. “What if he doesn’t look at me the same way afterward?”
“Pah,” her father said, his hand slashing through the air. Despite the heavy subject matter, the familiarity of that action brought a smile to Laurella’s lips. “Then he’s not the man for you. Except I think he is, and I’m never wrong. He might not be Italian, but I’ll try not to hold that against him.”
Laurella’s smile widened. “I love you, Papa.”
“Love you, too, girl. Now, let me finish this packing so I can get out of this godforsaken place and go home.”
Laurella helped her mother clear away the dishes after dinner. As usual, Mama had made far too much. Laurella had grown up with tables groaning under the sheer weight of food. She scraped leftovers into the waste as excited chatter floated in from the dining room. Calum had been accepted into the bosom of her family. He’d even survived the severe grilling from each of her brothers. Having brothers of his own no doubt helped.
“I suppose you’ll be going back to the States now that your father is on the mend?”
Her mother’s question came completely out of the blue, and Laurella was unprepared to answer it. Whether or not she returned to America was completely dependent on how her conversation with Calum went. If, as she feared, he rejected her once he knew the truth, she wouldn’t be going anywhere. And even if he remained by her side, she still didn’t know how she could go back with Vorino there. Certainly, her career at Necron was over. If she did return to New York, she’d have to find another company to take her on, and that wouldn’t be easy in the current economic climate. Plus, it would be difficult to explain why she’d decided to leave Necron after only six months working there.
“I expect so,” Laurella murmured noncommittally. “I’d like to stay a little longer if that’s all right.”
“What’s with you, girl?” Her mother flicked a dish towel at her backside, a method of teasing she’d used since they were all young children. As Laurella dodged out of the way, chuckling, her mother said, “You can stay as long as you like. If it was up to me, you’d never have left in the first place.”
“If it was up to you, we’d all still be living in this apartment, driving each other crazy.”
Her mother’s wistful smile tugged at Laurella’s heartstrings. “I miss those days.”
“You might now, looking back,” Laurella said. “But then, I seem to remember you begging for us all to go away and leave you in peace.”
Mama shrugged. “Be careful what you wish for, I guess.”
At the nostalgic tinge to Mama’s voice, Laurella folded her inside her arms, hugging her tightly. “We’re all still here, Mama. Whenever you need us, we’re here.”
Mama clung on. The hug only lasted a second, but it gave Laurella an insight into how much she’d had been missing them all. Alessia was the last of the siblings, and she would be leaving for college at the end of the summer.
And then the moment was over. Her mother bustled to the fridge and removed an enormous tiramisu, enough to feed the whole apartment block, let alone her family. “Okay,” she said, forcing a huge smile. “Dessert.”
“Honestly, Mrs. Ricci,” Calum said, rubbing his stomach as a second helping of tiramisu was placed in front of him. “I couldn’t eat another thing.” He sent a helpless glance Laurella’s way.
She laughed. “Mama, take pity on him. He’s not used to the size of Italian meals.”
“He needs feeding. There’s barely an ounce of fat on him.”
“Leave the man alone, Hayley,” Papa said. “Besides, Laurella told me before she wants to show him around our beautiful city at night.”
“I did?” Laurella said.
Her father widened his eyes in a silent message.
“Yes, I did,” she said, understanding his escape plan a few seconds too late. Fortunately, her mother didn’t notice the slipup.
“You must take him to see the Santa Maria delle Grazie,” Mama said. “And the Duomo. Oh, and not let’s not forget the Leonardo da Vinci statue.”
“Mama, stop,” Laurella said. “We’ll probably go for a wander around the streets and see what we come across rather than do a fully organized tour. Honestly, I think you missed your calling. You should get a job with the tourist board.”
“Sorry, Calum.” Mama grinned apologetically. “Milan is such a beautiful city. That’s why I never left.”
Papa cleared his throat. “What my beautiful wife means to say is that she never left because Milan is my home, so she made it hers because she loved me that much.”
The similarity of her mother’s life with her own touched Laurella deeply. She nudged Calum’s arm, anxious to leave before she was overcome with emotion. “Let’s go. I think you’ve seen enough of Italian family dynamics for one night.”
Laurella suppressed a giggle at the speed with which Calum got to
his feet. “Thank you for having me.” He took hold of Laurella’s hand.
The two of them almost ran for the front door.
Outside the apartment, they started to laugh. “You survived the Ricci grilling,” Laurella said.
Calum snagged her around the waist. “A warning would have been nice.”
“That would have been boring.”
“Yeah.” He touched his nose to hers. “For you.”
She tilted her head. “They like you.”
“Jesus. I’d hate to see what happened to someone they didn’t like.”
“Oh, those people are buried in the walls,” she said with a straight face, but then she laughed once more. All the stress of her mad dash from New York a week before, followed by the hospital vigil and Papa’s recovery, had made her a little crazy.
“It’s good to see you laugh again,” Calum said, dropping a quick kiss on her lips. “And as much as I want that to continue, we need to talk.”
He might not have wanted her to stop smiling, but knowing how difficult the upcoming conversation was going to be wiped the grin right from her face.
She breathed out a heavy sigh. “I know we do. There’s a nice quiet bar not far from here.”
They wandered into town, and after about fifteen minutes, Laurella turned down a narrow alley and stepped into a cozy bar, an old favorite of Papa’s. She hoped that telling Calum her dirty little secret while being there would make it easier somehow. Or at least, it might give her more strength.
They found a table toward the back where it was less crowded. After ordering their drinks, Laurella took off her jacket and hung it on the back of her chair.
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