She stared at him, her eyes wide. ‘Are you...?’
‘As a lawyer, perhaps I should clarify that,’ he said.
She could hardly breathe; she simply nodded.
‘I love you, Mariana. And in discovering the truth behind Nonno’s painting I’ve discovered the truth about what I really want from life—to spend my days with you and, if we’re lucky, our children. But even if we don’t have children, we’ll still be lucky because we have each other.’ He dropped down to one knee. ‘Will you marry me?’
There was only one answer she could make.
‘I love you, too. Yes.’
Angelo stood up again, smiling. ‘As a lawyer, I should ask for consideration to seal a contract.’
‘Consideration?’
He drew her into his arms. ‘A kiss. Our first kiss as an engaged couple.’
‘That sounds perfect to me.’ She smiled, and kissed him.
EPILOGUE
Two years later
‘OPENING NIGHT,’ ANGELO SAID, his arm round Mariana’s shoulders as they strolled through the rooms. ‘It feels odd that the palazzo’s a gallery now—after all these years when it was Nonno’s home.’
‘But you’ve done a brilliant job setting it up,’ she said. ‘He’d be so proud of you.’
‘And of you. The way you put the exhibition together, with all those parts to the story of The Girl in the Window. I wish he was here to see it,’ Angelo said.
‘But he knew the truth about the painting before he died. That we had proof it was by Carulli, that all the tests came back and said it was definitely his work. And he knew that Carulli didn’t abandon Alice completely—he wrote to Harriet and he sent money for the baby. And he told her he loved Alice, and he knew it was wrong to fall in love with her as well as his wife, but he couldn’t help it.’ The letters Jocelyn had found among the family papers had given them all some closure: the artist hadn’t been completely heartless.
‘And Nonno was able to take part in the filming of the episode,’ Angelo said. ‘Award-winning episode, as of last month, I should say,’ he corrected. ‘Well, Dr Beresford. I think we should have a private glass of champagne before the rest of the family gets here and before we open the doors.’
‘Half a glass,’ she said. ‘Because this week isn’t just the opening of the Leo Moretti gallery.’
It was also the week their IVF treatment was going to start.
‘There’s only a twenty-five per cent chance that it will work,’ he warned.
‘But, if it doesn’t, we have other options,’ she said. ‘And, most importantly, we have each other. We always will.’
He kissed her. ‘I love you, my clever, talented, wonderful wife with the biggest heart in the world. I still can’t believe you dedicated your doctoral thesis to Nonno.’
‘Of course I did. His collection made a massive difference to what I wrote.’
‘I love you,’ he said again.
She grinned. ‘Even though I’ve made you put paintings in every single room of your house?’
‘Our house,’ he corrected. ‘Yes.’
‘Good. I love you, too.’
He opened a bottle of champagne and poured two half-glasses. ‘To Carulli,’ he said, ‘who didn’t exactly behave well, but without him you and I would never have had an excuse to meet.’
‘And to Nonno,’ she said, ‘who found the painting.’
‘And to us,’ he said, ‘for daring to be brave.’ He kissed her again. ‘I love you. Always.’
* * *
If you enjoyed this story, check out these other great reads from Kate Hardy
A Diamond in the Snow
Reunited at the Altar
Christmas Bride for the Boss
The Runaway Bride and the Billionaire
All available now!
Keep reading for an excerpt from Hired Girlfriend, Pregnant Fiancée? by Nina Milne.
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