Читать книгу The Italian's Love-Child: The Italian's Stolen Bride / The Marchese's Love-Child / The Italian's Marriage Demand - Сара Крейвен, Sara Craven - Страница 18

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

LUC’S call came through at seven o’clock that night, right on Matt’s bedtime. Knowing this, he asked to speak to Matt first so he could say goodnight to him, and since Matt was jumping up and down in his eagerness to speak to his father, Skye passed the telephone receiver to him.

‘Guess what, Daddy?’ he cried excitedly. ‘I met your Mummy today. She’s my grandmother and she said to call her Nonna.’

He went on to describe the big black car this amazing new person in his life had come in, while Skye worried over how Luc was reacting to the news. She had strongly felt it would be wrong to gag Matt on the subject of his grandmother. It would have raised too many questions and none of the answers were appropriate for a little boy’s understanding. Better to let him be happy about the relationship since there seemed to be a possibility that it could turn out good for him.

Matt prattled on, obviously prompted by questions Luc was putting to him about the meeting. His voice remained happy, signalling that Luc was carefully playing to their son’s innocence. Skye hoped she had done the right thing with Flavia Peretti, but the difficult hump of past history was still playing on her mind. It was a relief when Matt finally said goodnight to his father and passed the receiver to her.

‘Go on to bed now, Matt,’ she instructed. ‘You can read until I come in to say goodnight. Okay?’

‘Okay, Mummy.’ He shot her a proud grin. ‘Nonna was surprised at how well I can read, wasn’t she?’

Skye smiled back at him. ‘Yes, she was. Off you go, Matt.’

She watched him skip out of the kitchen while she took a deep breath to ease her inner tension before speaking to Luc.

‘Skye?’ Urgency in his voice.

‘Yes. I was just waiting for Matt to be out of earshot.’

‘Tell me what happened.’

Skye recounted everything as best she could; the presence of the black limousine in their street for the past three afternoons, his mother’s emergence from it today, the meeting on the sidewalk, her own stand about trying to keep the confrontation away from Matt, what was said and the reaction to it.

‘My mother has a long habit of using tears to break down opposition and get her own way,’ Luc commented tersely. ‘She succeeded in getting you to let her meet Matt.’

Had it been deliberate manipulation? Skye hadn’t thought so at the time. Surely it had been genuine distress. Besides, hadn’t Luc himself said it would be her one and only grandchild who would bring his mother around?

‘I thought you wanted her to, Luc.’

‘Not like this, behind my back,’ came the savage retort, making Skye cringe at having made a wrong judgement. Had she let in the enemy? Was this the thin edge of a wedge designed to drive her and Luc apart?

‘I’m sorry. I…’

‘No, I’m sorry,’ he quickly cut in, tempering his tone. ‘It’s not your fault. I should have been expecting this, should have warned you.’

‘Warned me of what?’ Alarm tingled through every nerve in her body.

There was a long expulsion of breath at his end. ‘Did my mother ask you to postpone our wedding?’

Giving his father time…to do what? How could anything be worse than what had been done to them six years ago? They were strong together now. Surely they could weather any attempt at interference.

‘I didn’t give her a date, Luc, but she did plead for us to wait until after Christmas. I said I’d have to discuss it with you.’

‘Right! Why did she pinpoint Christmas?’

‘She’s offering Christmas Day as a day of reconciliation. For family mending.’

‘Did you believe she meant it?’

Skye hesitated, but she had truly felt Flavia Peretti had spoken sincerely. ‘Is there any reason why I shouldn’t?’ she asked warily. ‘I thought you’d want this, Luc.’

‘It depends on what it costs. What was her attitude towards you, Skye?’

‘Stiff at first, but she wasn’t…well, looking down her nose at me. It was more a kind of awkward acceptance. Her focus was more on Matt than on me, Luc. I think she truly wants Matt in her life and will do all she can to…to smooth things over.’

‘There was nothing…offensive?’

‘Not really. I don’t expect a sudden flow of benevolence towards me from your mother. I never was what she wanted for you and I haven’t miraculously changed into the perfect Italian bride. But I honestly felt she was making an effort today not to be disapproving of anything.’

‘There’s nothing to disapprove of,’ he said fiercely, giving Skye the warm reassurance that he truly believed it and would fight to the death anyone who suggested otherwise.

It helped her relax, made her feel safe again. Luc was not being critical of her actions. He was being protective of her, angry that he had not been at her side to handle whatever was coming at her from his family.

‘I don’t like this…my mother visiting you behind my back,’ he went on. ‘Most probably behind my father’s back, too. As if we haven’t had enough deception messing us around!’

And they’d certainly both suffered from it. But giving suffering back did not right the wrong. Skye took a deep breath and tentatively suggested, ‘She might have come as a go-between peace-maker.’

A harsh laugh. ‘God knows! But I’ll sure as hell find out before this goes any further. I’ve booked a four o’clock flight for tomorrow afternoon. Should be with you and Matt in time for dinner.’

‘Do you want us to pick you up at the airport?’

‘No. I’ll catch a taxi, save the hassle. Don’t worry about my mother’s visit, Skye. I’ll sort it out when I get home. Okay?’

She sighed, relieved to have this assurance, too.

‘One thing,’ he added in a determined tone. ‘We are not postponing our wedding for anything so don’t even think about it. We love each other and we’re going to get married on our agreed date.’

‘That’s good to hear,’ she said, smiling over the fervour in his voice, though she was no longer sure it was a good idea to marry before Christmas. Flavia Peretti had raised issues that had made her feel very selfish about maintaining her small safe world with Luc.

‘I’ll let you go and tend to Matt now,’ he said in a softer tone. ‘Be with you soon.’

‘Yes.’ Bye for now.’

‘Love you.’

‘Me, too.’

She did love him. But she was beginning to realise how much Luc’s commitment to her was costing him and how blind she had been to that, only seeing that his family circle could hurt her. And Matt. It still could, but if she believed enough in Luc’s love for her, wasn’t there room for giving some kind of reconciliation a trial?

Watching his mother with Matt this afternoon…it had made her wish her own mother was still alive, taking pleasure in the grandchild she’d only known as a baby. Death was something no one could control—a final parting from which there was no turning back. Flavia Peretti had experienced that with Roberto. But the separation from Luc could be bridged if the prejudice against a non-Italian bride was set aside, and the pride of Luc and his father did not remain an ongoing battle-ground.

Big ifs.

And Skye knew she was right at the centre of them. Moving from her own stance on Luc’s family was absolutely essential if a truce was to be called. The big question was… and her heart quailed at facing it…how was she going to cope if she was continually made to feel not good enough for Luc? Good intentions could be very quickly undermined.

She had a bad night.

The next day wasn’t much better, her tired mind still fretting over what should be done. At least every hour that dragged by was one hour less of being alone with her dilemma. It was a huge relief when Luc finally arrived home and wrapped her in his strong embrace, making her feel warm and secure in his love.

Matt, of course, was still full of his new Nonna over dinner, questioning Luc incessantly about his life as a child, learning that he’d had a younger brother and immediately deciding he’d like a brother, too. Which made Luc smile and cock a quizzical eyebrow at Skye.

‘Maybe in another year or two, Matt,’ she said, knowing Luc wanted at least one more child—one whose life he would be aware of right from the beginning, no missing out on anything. ‘But your Daddy and I can’t guarantee a brother. It might be a sister instead,’ she cautioned.

‘Oh!’ He thought about it. ‘That’s all right, Mummy. I like girls, too.’

And no doubt they liked him, Skye thought. He was like Luc in lots of ways. Which made her feel all the more guilty about depriving Flavia Peretti of her grandchild, as well as her Luciano. She was glad when Matt’s bedtime came and he was finally tucked in for the night, giving her and Luc the privacy needed to discuss the situation.

Luc wanted to sweep her off to bed but her need to talk first was paramount in Skye’s mind, so she insisted they sit over coffee at the kitchen table. Which was not to his liking. His dark frown and suspicious eyes drove an instant flutter of apprehension through her heart.

‘You’re letting my mother’s visit affect what we’d normally do,’ he growled.

She looked at him in eloquent appeal. ‘I can’t discount it, Luc. Please?’

She made coffee and they sat, but the aggressive energy pouring from him made it difficult for Skye to know where to start. She felt Luc was going to pounce on anything she said and tear it apart. Did the harmony in their relationship depend on having no contact with his family? Or was this all her fault for making such a huge issue of it? It was impossible to forget the scars of the past, but weren’t she and Luc strong enough together now to rise above them?

‘My own mother is gone, Luc,’ she began nervously. ‘On my side there’s no family, and no closely connected community forming an extension of family, either. There’s only me and Matt.’

‘And me,’ Luc shot at her grimly.

‘I’m not doubting that, Luc,’ she hastily assured him.

‘You’re drawing lines, Skye.’

It forced her to choose her words more carefully. ‘I just meant…you still have…other people who care about you.’

‘Not so I’ve noticed,’ he snapped, his face growing harder, his eyes angry.

‘Because I haven’t given you the chance to be with them,’ she rushed out. ‘I’ve been a coward, not facing up to your life, wanting to be safe in my own little world.’

‘You have every right to want to feel safe,’ he fiercely argued. ‘As for chances, my father could have chosen any amount of chances to invite us into his home.’

Skye took a deep breath. ‘Well, there might be a chance now.’

‘According to my mother?’ he flashed at her with deep scepticism. ‘Along with her request to postpone our wedding? Can’t you see she’s dangling out an acceptance of you to stop what she and my father want to stop?’

‘They can’t stop us from getting married if we don’t let them, Luc. I trust you on that. Can’t you trust me?’

‘It’s taken me so long to convince you it’s right for us…’

‘And it is. I know it is. But I’m now feeling wrong about the way we’re doing it.’

His jaw clenched. Skye sensed he was about to erupt from his chair, but the moment of shimmering violence passed. ‘Why?’ he bit out.

She shook her head over the realisation that her fears had driven Luc to an extreme stand, and he was not prepared to back down from it. He hadn’t spelled out that in marrying her without his parents’ blessing, he’d make himself an exile, but she had blindly accepted that sacrifice from him, accepted taking him away from others, too. She’d actually been intensely relieved that she didn’t have to worry about them any more. Selfish relief.

‘Your mother loves you, Luc,’ she said quietly.

His head jerked aside as though he didn’t want to be hit by that. He grimaced and turned his gaze back to her, eyes blazing with resolution. ‘I won’t have you hurt again, Skye. In all but law you’re my wife now. My first allegiance is to you.’

She took another deep breath and said, ‘Your parents didn’t know how deeply you felt about me. They made a mistake.’

‘That’s putting it kindly,’ he mocked, still not giving an inch.

‘I’m not saying this to test you, Luc. I’ve thought about nothing else since your mother came.’ She tried a smile to lighten the tension. ‘As you just said, I’m your wife now in everything but the legality. Does it really matter if we postpone going to a registry office until after Christmas?’

His responding smile carried a load of irony. ‘Did my mother promise you a big Italian wedding if we did?’

‘No, she didn’t.’

‘Did she say if you loved me, you’d ensure that I come home for Christmas Day for the sake of family feeling?’

She sighed, regretting the huge barriers she had built. ‘It wasn’t like that, Luc. Your mother was very distressed at the rift that has developed. Can’t you just accept that without colouring it as more deception?’

‘And if it is deception?’ he bored in.

‘We’ll know soon enough, won’t we? Christmas is only five weeks away.’

‘Don’t count on my mother’s peace-plan going through. I doubt my father knows about it. And I will not be going to Bellevue Hill again without his personal invitation.’

This was said with so much harsh pride, it made Skye wonder how much Luc himself had contributed to the rift. Her reaction to the deception with the photos and her acute awareness of being considered an undesirable in the Peretti family circle had certainly played its part. Given Luc’s reaction to what she was saying now, perhaps he had drawn battle-lines with his father that couldn’t be crossed by either side.

‘He is your father, Luc,’ she reminded him.

‘No father has the right to do what he did.’

The vehemence in his voice left no room for argument. Besides which, what he said was true. His father had abrogated Luc’s right to choose whether to know or deny his own child. It was a monstrous thing to do.

‘What about your mother, then?’ she asked. ‘Must she pay for your father’s decisions? She didn’t know, Luc. She didn’t know until Easter, when you didn’t turn up for Easter Sunday.’

‘But she doesn’t turn up until now, trying to put off our wedding,’ he pointed out, no softening at all in his expression.

It’s gone too far, Skye thought, feeling totally miserable about it. ‘I said she could come again, Luc,’ she confessed on a heavy sigh. ‘Matt was so excited about having a grandmother…’

‘It’s okay. Stop worrying about it, Skye.’

He was on his feet, coming around the table to her. She felt too drained to move, too torn by the conflicts that still raged around them to achieve any peace of mind. Luc stepped behind her chair and his hands slid over her shoulders and started a gentle massage.

‘None of this is your fault,’ he murmured, dropping a kiss on the top of her head, caring for her uppermost in his tone now. ‘Try to relax, Skye. If my mother visits again…just let it be. Matt is her grandson. So long as the connection is good for him, no harm done.’

The tension in her shoulders eased under his expert manipulation. ‘What about you, Luc? You’re her son.’

‘I’ll welcome her if I’m with you and Matt. But don’t be surprised if she never comes again. My father might forbid it. In which case…’

‘Forbid?’ She shook her head over the harsh concept.

‘It’s an old-fashioned Italian marriage,’ Luc said wryly. ‘Love, honour, obey…’

‘Is that how you think, too? That you have the right to forbid me to do something you disapprove of?’

‘No. I don’t own you, Skye. I don’t see marriage as a form of ownership. Nor do I see parenthood that way. There comes a time when you have to let a child choose his own path, even against what you think are his best interests.’

‘What if your father honestly thought how he acted was in your best interests, Luc?’

‘It doesn’t excuse hurting you as he did.’

‘He didn’t know me.’

Caring too much about one person could make you blind to others, Skye thought. And protecting the life you know can make you blind to others’ lives, too. It was what she’d been doing.

Luc’s thumbs pressed harder into her muscles as he said, ‘He didn’t try to know you.’

Anger again.

Anger built on her anger at what had been done to her. Perhaps anger at himself, as well, for believing what he should never have believed, knowing her as intimately as he had. But that was far in the past now, and Skye didn’t want their future built on such a divisive foundation.

‘What if he tries now, Luc?’

The movement of his hands halted. He dragged in a deep breath and exhaled it very slowly. ‘Let’s not talk about my father, Skye. It’s you I need.’

The raw need in his voice compelled her to rise from her chair and give him whatever he wanted of her. He instantly caught her to him, one arm sweeping around her waist, one hand lifting to her face to stroke away any worry lines. His eyes searched hers with a searing intensity.

‘I love you. Don’t let anything come between us.’

The passionate plea carried the scars of their past experience, and Skye knew intuitively they’d been brought to throbbing life again by the intrusion of his family. She curled her arms around his neck and kissed him, not wanting him to feel any uncertainty about her love. That was strong and true, always had been, always would be.

They went to bed and made love long into the night.

Skye did not doubt Luc’s commitment to her for a second.

But not even the secure comfort of being this close to him could banish the sense of wrongs which still had to be righted.