Exactly what Angelo knew his own grandfather wanted him to do. Move on. But how could he be sure that, if he tried again, he wouldn’t end up hitting the same problem and being rejected for the same reason that Stephanie had dumped him?
‘I’m sure he knows,’ Angelo said. ‘There are more things in heaven and earth, and all that.’
She smiled. ‘Now that I wasn’t expecting—for you to quote Hamlet at me.’
‘It was my A level text,’ he said.
‘So you like the theatre?’
‘I don’t go that often.’ He pretty much buried himself in work. ‘Between Italy and work, I don’t have the time.’
‘Didn’t you think about working in Italy rather than London, so you don’t have to spend so much time travelling?’ she asked.
‘I grew up in London,’ he said. ‘So did Cammie. She moved to Rome three years ago because that’s where Ed—her husband—is based.’
‘I meant to ask you how your sister and the baby were doing,’ she said. ‘Sorry for being rude. I guess it slipped my mind because I was so caught up in the paintings.’
‘They’re fine,’ he said. He really didn’t want to talk about the baby—because the next question would be all too obvious. Using a closed answer instead of giving details would mean she wouldn’t ask.
But she didn’t take the hint. Instead, she opened up the conversation. ‘It’s nice having a baby in the family,’ she said. ‘I have a nephew—my older sister Sophie’s son, Olly. He’s five.’
Just what he’d wondered when he was in Rome. He couldn’t help asking, ‘And you’re close?’
‘I am now,’ she said quietly.
‘Now?’ The question was out before he could stop it, even though he knew it was intrusive.
‘I see him every weekend and I have a regular Wednesday night babysitting slot—it means Sophie and Laurence can have a date night, and I get to read all my favourite children’s books to Olly and play with his train set.’
It was the now that bugged him. Why hadn’t she been close to her nephew before? He couldn’t imagine Mariana falling out badly with anyone. She was sweet and kind. So had it been her ex making her keep her distance?
‘Eric—my ex—didn’t like it if I spent too much time with Sophie and Olly,’ she said, confirming his guess.
‘Because he didn’t like children?’
‘Partly because he needed to keep me isolated, so I’d believe everything he told me—but partly because he didn’t like children,’ she said. ‘When we first met, he gave me the impression that he wanted to settle down and have a family, but that was obviously part of the charm to draw me in because he knew I wanted children.’
She wanted children.
Exactly what he couldn’t give her. How stupid he’d been to let himself get distracted by his feelings and start to wonder if things could work out between them. Of course they couldn’t.
It felt as if a huge weight was dragging him down to the bottom of the sea and Angelo missed what she said next, but he forced himself to concentrate.
‘He said he wasn’t quite ready because things were crazy at work, and suggested putting it off for a year. But then, when the other side of him came out...’ She lifted one shoulder in a weary shrug. ‘By the time he’d finished, I thought I’d be the most useless mother in the world anyway so it wouldn’t be fair to have a child.’
Even though this was trampling on his sorest spot, Angelo couldn’t stand by and let her believe that. ‘Of course you wouldn’t be a useless mother. It sounds as if you’re a wonderful aunt.’
‘There’s a big difference between looking after a child for a few hours and being there full-time.’
‘True, but being there for some of the time is still good practice.’ It was like picking at a scab, but he had to say it. ‘I hope what Eric said hasn’t squashed your dreams.’
‘No. It’s just—well, meeting someone. It’s hard. Where do you meet someone of your own age if not through work?’