At least this time he wouldn’t starve. Or live rough.
And yet he found himself bypassing the bed when he left the bathroom, and collapsing onto the sofa in his private living room. And when he was still awake when the orange streaked the horizon, he’d almost convinced himself the pain ripping through him wasn’t worse than it’d been when he was a child.
* * *
The performance Maisie gave the next day was award-worthy. At some point while she was smiling and taking pictures of her son at what had been dubbed The Best Birthday Party Ever, she half hysterically toyed with contacting her parents and telling them they should’ve tried enrolling her into acting school.
Because she was able to stand next to Romeo as he helped an ecstatic Lucca cut the ribbon that officially unveiled his duck pond. Then look into his eyes and smile as they helped their son release the fifty balloons tied to the sturdy bridge in the middle of the pond. She even managed a laugh as two necking swans were immediately named Maisie and Romeo. She didn’t crumble into a pain-ravaged heap when Lucca insisted his father kiss his mother to celebrate the naming.
And she certainly aced the small talk with the grown-ups while the kids took turns at the duck-feed dispenser.
Once the birthday-cake candles had been blown, the cake devoured, the children tucked in bed, she retired to her suite, showered and got ready for the dinner party.
She stood by Romeo’s side as they greeted the two couples Romeo had trusted to remain on the island. Then calling on her skills as a restaurant owner, she supervised the caterers, made sure each guest was looked after, while avoiding being too close to Romeo for longer than a few minutes.
Luckily, Eva, and the phenomenon of carrying a second set of twins, quickly became the centre of attention and, seeming to have made up with her husband, engaged everyone with her effervescent personality.
As soon as the last guest left, Maisie headed for the door.
Romeo blocked her path. She stopped, her heart pounding.
‘Well done on the dinner party,’ he muttered.
She tried to avert her gaze, to stop absorbing every expression and contour of his face. But she couldn’t look away.
‘Thank you,’ she replied.
He stared at her for another long moment, then he stepped away. ‘Goodnight.’
She couldn’t respond because her heart had lodged itself in her throat. Hurrying away, she gave in to the insane urge to glance over her shoulder. Romeo was watching her.
She tried to tell herself she didn’t yearn for him to follow. By the time she got to her room and shut the door behind her, she knew she was lying to herself.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
THEY LEFT THE ISLAND two days later, with a distraught Lucca heartbroken at having to leave his beloved ducks. Although he was slightly appeased at the thought of returning to his old pond at Ranelagh Gardens, Maisie knew there would be more tears when he found out his father wouldn’t be staying.
The thought troubled her as she played with Lucca during the long flight. A couple of times, she’d attempted to start a conversation with Romeo about scheduling visits, but he’d given her a stony look and a crisp, ‘We’ll discuss it later,’ after which he’d promptly returned to his endless phone calls.
That he was returning to Palermo had become clear during a particularly heated conversation.
Her heart flipped over hard at the thought of him returning to the place that had given him such a rough start in life.
He looked up then, and their eyes connected. For a moment, she thought she saw a flare of pain mingled with hope. But his expression hardened and his gaze veered away. This time, her heart bypassed the somersault stage and went straight for cracking right down the middle.
She was still trying to hold herself together when he took a break to eat and play with Lucca. He stopped by her armchair on the way back to where he’d set up his office and looked down at her.
‘I have a team childproofing my London apartment and another scouting for a place in Dublin. Emily will be flying out to help take care of Lucca when he’s with me. Is that acceptable to you?’
As she stared up at his grim face, her heart broke all over again. Slowly, she nodded. ‘I won’t keep him away from you. I just need a reasonable heads-up when you’re coming to see him, so I can arrange it with the playgroup.’
His mouth compressed and he nodded. ‘Bene, it will be done.’ He walked away to the far side of the plane and didn’t speak to her again until they landed.