by Tina Beckett
“Just not carnations. I know you use a lot of those in the States, but here they are primarily used for mourning and funerals.”
“Okay.” Her eyes widened. “Thanks for telling me that, because I almost certainly would have brought the wrong thing.”
“I’ll leave a couple of hours early on Friday and we can get something before boarding the train. There are shops not far from the station.”
Annalisa wiggled and gave another—angrier-sounding—cry. At which point Luca smelled something that wasn’t quite right. In fact, it smelled a little bit like...
Poop.
No wonder she was fussy.
“Do you have a diaper bag nearby?”
“Why?” She glanced at the baby and then up at him. “Oh...she...”
“I do believe she’s filled her diaper.”
“I’ll take her.” She stood and reached her arms out for the baby, waiting until she was back in her possession before continuing. “I need to feed her, anyway, so I might as well change her too. We can go over Diapering for Beginners at another time.”
He smiled, liking the fact that she was willing to let him take on some of Anna’s care. Elyse had talked about her aunt being independent. Well, it must be a family trait, because that independent streak reached to the furthest branches on that particular family tree. “I’ll look forward to it.”
“Hmm.” She rocked the baby back and forth. “Wait until you have one that shoots halfway up her back. You may change your mind.”
“I won’t. I promise.” He nodded at his phone, which was on the counter. “I’ll get the dishes cleaned up and then go to the hospital for a couple of hours. Maybe afterward we can do a little bit of sightseeing in town, if you and Anna are up for it.”
“We will be, if you’re sure you have the time.”
“I’m learning to make time for what’s important.”
The smile she gave him reached her eyes, crinkling them at the corners. “Thank you, Luca. For everything.”
* * *
She showed him how to strap the baby into the car seat she’d brought, unexpectedly nervous about spending time with him. Which was ridiculous. She’d spent loads of time with him when he’d lived in Atlanta. But this was different. That had been on her turf. And now she wasn’t. She also had Annalisa to worry about as well. What if the baby was so fussy that she got on his nerves?
No, Luca was one of the most patient men she’d ever known. The only time she’d seen him truly irritated was when an insurance agency had tried to tell him that the procedure he’d wanted to do on a patient was experimental and wouldn’t be covered. He’d hit the roof, going to the hospital administrator and demanding he help the company change their minds. Instead, the administrator had needed to sit Luca down and explain the way things worked in their health care system.
After a series of appeals and a peer-to-peer call between the insurance agency’s doctor and Luca, they’d gotten it ironed out and the patient had gotten the surgery, which had ended up saving her life. From then on he’d been firm and insistent, but had followed the rules. In fact, Luca had been able to finagle more insurance coverage for patients than her, and she always tried her hardest.
It was in his voice. That deep mellow baritone that still made her knees go weak. It worked its magic on everyone. Except for hospital bean counters who were only worried about the profit margins and sometimes didn’t see the faces behind their decisions. Like when they downsized her department. Now she was seriously overworked. So was everyone who was left in Neurology. In fact, Elyse wasn’t taking new patients at all. She didn’t have the time.
“There—is that right?” He fiddled with the straps to the car seat even after she’d assured him it was perfect.
“You’re a careful driver, Luca, which helps.”
He said maybe he’d changed his mind about having kids. When had that happened? When he’d seen his daughter for the first time? Her eyes closed, a lump forming in her throat. She was glad that he might want more. Wasn’t she?
Thank God she hadn’t accepted his marriage proposal only to find out he did indeed want more children.
He leaned over and kissed Annalisa’s forehead, turning the lump in Elyse’s throat into a boulder. “I will be even more careful than usual.”
They got in, and he waited for her to buckle in as well. She gave an inward eye roll, swallowing down her earlier emotions and moving to a neutral subject. “How is Mrs. Landers?”
“I checked in on her yesterday. She’s recovering nicely. They’re hoping she can go home in a few more days. They want to make sure there’s no more seizure activity first.”
“Will they do physical therapy with her to help strengthen some of the affected muscles?”
“Yes, there is a rehab facility right next to the neural science clinic. And she’ll be followed up by Lorenzo for a couple of months. Any scans will come through me, so I’ll be able to see how she’s doing as well.”
In a couple of months Elyse would be long gone. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that anymore.
Then they were on their way into the center of the city, where the famous Florence Cathedral could be seen.
“Why do you call the cathedral the Duomo?”
“It means dome, which is why most of the residents just use that, rather than its formal name, which is Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore.”
“Wow that’s a mouthful. I can see how the Dome would be easier.” Not only was it a mouthful but hearing Luca speak his native tongue still turned her insides to mush.
How was that even possible?
Within fifteen minutes they had found a paid parking area for the car. “Most of these are done with tour guides. We can join one of the groups, or we can do our own thing, whichever you prefer.”
“I’m sure you know just about as much as the guides, so could we do it on our own, just in case Annalisa decides to give us trouble.” She got out of the car and unstrapped the baby from the seat.
“I’ll carry her.”
“Are you sure? She gets heavy pretty quickly. I have a sling.”
“She’s as light as a feather. And, yes, I’m sure. Just show me how to put it on.”
She helped Luca get fitted with the sling, surprised he would let himself be seen with something like that. But she had to admit he looked beyond sexy whenever he held Anna. Women were going to envy her. Little did they know they had nothing to fear.
He was available. But not today. Her chin went up. Today he was all hers.
She snugged Anna into the curve of the carrier. The poor thing blinked up at them as if trying to figure out what kind of trick this was.
It wasn’t a trick, and Elyse had to admit she felt a trickle of jealousy. She used to love lying against the man’s chest when they were in bed. And now they had a baby.
Before she could stop herself, she took her phone and snapped a picture of him.
“What are you doing?”
She had no idea. Just knew she wanted something to remember this moment by when she got back to the States. “She’ll want pictures of you together.”
It was a lie, but there was no way she was going to tell him the true reason. That there was something heartbreakingly beautiful about seeing him and Anna together.
He smiled. “As long as you don’t plan to use it as blackmail material.”
“Ha! No.”
He settled the baby a little closer to his midsection, curving his left arm around her body. “We’ll have to walk quite a bit as the streets near the center don’t allow cars.”
Another pang went through her. They’d done a lot of walking when they had been together in Atlanta. Only then they’d held hands as they’d strolled, having eyes only for each other. Sometimes those walks had even been cut short by a single look from him that had had them both hurrying back to
her apartment.
There would be no holding hands today. Or hurrying home. Elyse gripped her hands together as if her life depended on it.
Maybe it did. Or at the very least her sanity.
She hadn’t been able to get that kiss in his office out of her mind. It replayed itself time and time again, ending in that moment when her body had mistaken the signals for something else.
She hadn’t explained it to him then, and she wasn’t about to attempt an explanation now. Besides, it was better just to let him think that she’d come to her senses. And she had. Just not for the reasons he’d thought.
Despite all of that, it was exhilarating being with him, especially since there’d been a time when she’d thought she’d never lay eyes on him again.
It probably would have been better if she hadn’t. His presence threatened to rip apart her defenses, leaving her wondering exactly what lay behind them. She had a feeling she knew. She just didn’t want to face it.
She could get through a month, surely.
And meeting his parents? Would she get through that too? What if they tried to send little hints her way that she should marry their son? No. He wouldn’t have told them about the proposal, surely.
“You doing okay?” He moved next to her, shoulder brushing over hers as he walked beside her. The brief contact and the concern in his voice left her with a longing that made her ache. He sounded like a concerned husband.
Only he wasn’t.
And the sight of him carrying their child?
Oh, God. It looked natural, earthy, his white shirt rolled up over tanned forearms. Italians didn’t dress down as much as Americans did, and seeing him in his own environment helped her understand so much about him. Like the fact that he hadn’t been trying to impress people with his clothing choices when he’d been in Atlanta. It was just the way he was. His khaki slacks had a fresh-pressed look to them. Probably Emilia’s doing, or maybe he took his clothes to a cleaner. But he was lean and devastatingly handsome with his sunglasses pushed on top of his head. Elyse had opted to slide hers down onto her nose, not so much to protect herself from the sun as to provide an additional barrier between them. Or maybe it was to keep him from reading her thoughts.
Evidently, Luca needed no such protection. He was confident and completely unmoved by her. Or was he? There had been moments when she’d been sure that—
“All roads lead to the Duomo.”
“Excuse me?”
He grinned at her. “No. I mean literally. All the streets in this area empty out at the cathedral.”
“Oh.” She hadn’t been so much confused by his words as that they’d echoed her thoughts. Because at the time they’d been together all her roads had led to Luca.
And he likely knew it. He had women throwing themselves at him all the time. There were several at the hospital who had given him sideways glances, probably wondering how someone like her had landed someone like Luca.
She couldn’t have given them an answer, because she had no idea why he’d chosen her.
And their last act as a couple had been to make Annalisa.
The huge cathedral suddenly loomed in front of them, jerking her thoughts to a standstill.
It was huge. Magnificent.
She touched his arm, wishing she could loop hers through it, just like in days past. “I can’t believe I’m standing here looking at something so incredibly gorgeous.”
“Neither can I.” The low words made her glance over at him. Then she swallowed. And swallowed again, unable to figure out how to keep breathing in and out.
Luca wasn’t looking at the church. Or Anna. Or the surrounding area. His gaze was fixed wholly on her.
CHAPTER SEVEN
LUCA’S ARMS CRADLED the baby’s body in an effort to keep from reaching out to Elyse. He’d dreamed of bringing her to his home country one day, of showing her the sights, and here they were. But it wasn’t quite the way he’d envisioned it. Because in his fantasies they’d had a huge Italian wedding first, with all his family in attendance. And all hers.
Only life and egos and what he’d seen as deception on Elyse’s part had changed everything.
But it hadn’t been.
She’d said she hadn’t been a part of the decision-making process regarding the layoffs. So this whole time he’d been operating under a faulty assumption. He suddenly looked at her through eyes that weren’t quite so cynical—weren’t quite so unforgiving.
But did it change anything, really? The events leading up to the firing hadn’t changed. And at the time they hadn’t been able to see their way through them.
And now?
“Scusami. Una foto?”
He jerked back to reality, realizing someone was trying to take a picture and he and Elyse were in the way. Staring at each other like star-crossed lovers.
“Mi dispiace.”
They moved out of the line of fire and headed toward the cathedral itself. He could try to say he’d been looking at something in the distance and not at her, but it would be a lie. And he couldn’t bring himself to force out the words. So he just kept walking.
Annalisa chose that moment to wake up, blinking eyes coming up to meet his.
Elyse was there immediately, leaning over to look at her. “I’m here, sweetheart.”
His chest contracted. For the last four months, Elyse’s face had been the first and last thing his daughter had seen each day. It was as if he hadn’t existed.
And whose fault was that? If he hadn’t stormed off after they’d had sex that last time—if he’d swallowed his damned Latin pride and come back and demanded she answer his questions about the layoffs and why she was pushing him away—he might have been able to experience his daughter’s birth. Her first smile. And she might see him as a parent figure instead of just some random face in the crowd.
Elyse unbuckled their daughter and swung her up into her arms.
She glanced at him, as if realizing something was wrong. “I’m sorry. Why don’t you hold her without the sling? She needs to get to know you.”
It was as if she’d read his mind. And if the baby started crying?
Well, it was something they would have to work through if he wanted to be a part of her life. And he did. Objectively, it might be easier just to turn away and pretend none of this had ever happened, but he couldn’t. Not only because he wanted to do the right thing but also because he already loved her.
In only four days.
It was unreal, but it was true.
He held his arms out and Elyse placed the baby in them for the umpteenth time. And it was magic. All over again. This was his child. His daughter.
He talked to her in Italian, just muttering things in a long stream of consciousness way that probably wouldn’t make any sense to anyone. But he didn’t care. There were emotions bottled up inside him that needed an outlet and it was better if Elyse didn’t understand the words.
He bounced Anna gently, moving a little distance away. She was listening.
Whether it was five minutes or fifteen, he wasn’t sure, but he finally walked back to Elyse, just as Anna started to squirm. “It’s okay. Mamma is right here.”
“And so is Daddy.”
He wished she would stop smiling. Stop seeming soft and approachable again, unlike those last days when her demeanor had been cool and sharp.
There was a part of him that said he wasn’t as over her as he’d thought he was. As he’d hoped he was.
He shut those thoughts down as the line started to move, and they had to put Annalisa back in the sling. Then they were finally inside the famed Florence Cathedral.
He wasn’t disappointed by her reaction. Elyse gasped when she caught sight of the mosaic floors that were laid out in a grid, each section boasting a new pattern. He tried to see them through her eyes, although it was hard, since patterned s
treets, sidewalks and the like were such an ordinary part of life in Europe.
These were magnificent, however. And they were spotless.
He rocked Annalisa so Elyse could enjoy the sights without interruption. And she did, even as they moved along with the crowds. The tour groups were instructed not to linger so that everyone got a chance to see it. And even though their party was small enough that they weren’t required to join one of the groups, he could tell Elyse was trying to be considerate of those behind them. Keeping his voice hushed as was the custom inside, he said, “It’s beautiful at night with the lights. Maybe after our meal we can come back and look.”
“I’d love that.”
“Do you want to climb to the cupola?”
She glanced at Annalisa. “I don’t think so. Not with her. I’m just happy to have been able to see the inside. The floors and ceilings are beyond anything I could have imagined.”
The wave of tourists washed them back toward the exit, the crowd pinching together as it neared the doorway.
There was a sudden staccato burst of sound up ahead and then a scream of pain. Everyone froze for a second, then someone behind Luca shoved his shoulder and forced his way past. Someone else did the same. The crowd came to life, and what had been a steady procession became a frenzied rush as more and more people struggled to get to the exit.
Luca hadn’t thought it sounded like gunfire, although in this day and age he couldn’t rule it out.
He grabbed Elyse’s hand when it looked like they might be separated, keeping his arm curled around Anna to keep her from being crushed against those in front of him. “Stay close!”
She did, letting go of his hand and wrapping one arm around his waist and gripping his sleeve with the other. They got to the doorway and Luca got a glimpse of something he recognized. A walker. Flattened as if it had been folded and lying on the floor. And next to it...
Oh, hell. He braced himself and stopped, using his body to force those behind him to flow around. Elyse saw it at the same time he did.
Blood. And gray hair.
“God! We have to help her.”