He glanced towards the boys, who were accepting plates laden with roast lamb and ve
getables. ‘I do not know but we will have to do something and do it soon,’ he said and led her towards the table.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
KEIRA took her place beside Patrizio and made an effort to do justice to the meal her mother had prepared but it was hard going. Her stomach was still churning at the thought of telling Patrizio of her pregnancy. She couldn’t imagine how he would receive the news, certainly not with delight, that much was sure.
Every now and again she felt his thigh brush hers beneath the table and her nerves would start fizzing with reaction at the thought of being in his arms again, but for how long was, as her mother had hinted at earlier that day, anybody’s guess.
The boys were seated opposite each other and, while Jamie was clearly doing his best to ignore the acid burn of Bruno’s glare from time to time, he wasn’t so lucky when it came to avoiding his father’s questions as to why his grades had slipped so appallingly.
Keira hated seeing her brother’s shoulders begin to slump as their father continued his red wine–fuelled tirade and eventually she could stand it no longer and confronted him when he paused to take a breath. ‘Don’t you think it’s a little hypocritical of you to be so critical of Bruno’s bullying of Jamie when you are doing it to him yourself?’
‘What did you say?’ Kingsley glared at her.
Keira put her chin up. ‘You heard me, Dad. Stop going on at Jamie. You’re always chipping away at him; no wonder he finds it hard to stand up for himself when other people have a go at him. You’ve been systematically destroying his self-esteem like you have done to me for as long as I can remember.’
Patrizio’s hand came to hers where it was gripping the edge of the table. ‘Cara.’
She turned her angry expression his way. ‘Keep out of it, Patrizio,’ she said, slipping her hand out from under his. ‘This is between my father and me.’
‘You’re talking rubbish as usual,’ Kingsley said. ‘The boy needs toughening up. A bit of bullying doesn’t go astray now and again. I’ve had plenty of it in my time and it didn’t hurt me.’
Keira rolled her eyes in frustration. ‘That’s exactly my point. You’ve obviously been the target of a bully in the past and now you’re carrying on the pattern to the next generation.’
‘Thanks for the support, Keira, but I can stand up for myself,’ Jamie said as he eyeballed his father. ‘I am doing what I can to get through the next few weeks. I know it will be a huge disappointment to you and Mum if I don’t make the grade for medical or law school, but have you ever thought that maybe I don’t want to be a doctor or a lawyer?’
Keira watched as her parents exchanged horrified glances.
‘But you have to do something with your life!’ Kingsley was the first to find his voice. ‘You’re not thinking of being an artist or something equally time-wasting like your sister, are you?’
‘Keira is a very talented painter, Mr Worthington,’ Patrizio said with dignified calm. ‘You should be very proud of her achievements.’
Although Keira knew he was only maintaining the façade of their reunion, she still felt a swell of her heart at his vote of confidence. She gave him a grateful glance and her belly did a little flip-flop as she encountered the warmth in his gaze.
‘Surely it’s up to me to decide what I want to do with my life,’ Jamie argued.
‘Not when I’m paying, it’s not!’ Kingsley said.
‘But you’re not paying, are you?’ Keira put in with a challenging look. ‘Patrizio has been seeing to all that, hasn’t he?’
Kingsley pulled his mouth tight and rose from the table in one clumsy movement. ‘He’s a fool for taking you back,’ he said with spittle forming at the corners of his mouth. ‘I’ve got a good mind to tell him the truth about your—’
‘No, Kingsley,’ Robyn said with a desperate edge to her tone. ‘Please…’
Keira felt her body stiffen as she watched her father turn from the table and leave the room. She swallowed convulsively as her mother got unsteadily to her feet, her face pinched and white as she began to clear away the plates in a mechanical fashion. ‘Mum?’
Robyn Worthington pasted an overly bright smile on her face. ‘Dessert, anyone?’ she asked. ‘I’ve made lemon cheesecake and I’ve got strawberries fresh from the market and…and King Island cream.’
‘I’ll help you clear away,’ Jamie said, getting to his feet.
Bruno stood up as well, his voice a little gruff as he said, ‘I’ll give you a hand.’
Jamie gave him a slightly guarded smile. ‘That’d be great. Thanks.’
‘I help my mum all the time when I’m at home,’ Bruno said as they left the room.
Patrizio put his hand under the dark, curly curtain of Keira’s hair, his fingers stroking the tension away as his eyes met hers. ‘Are you OK?’ he asked gently.