‘You have the benefit of youth on your side, Brunetti, but I’m reduced to counting the minutes.’
‘Perhaps you should remember that before you test me any further,’ he grated out.
Lorenzo gave a barking laugh. ‘You think I don’t know what you’re up to? You may secure your figlio a layer of protection, but your legacy will still need to be claimed.’
Romeo’s rage built. ‘My legacy doesn’t involve indulging a handful of geriatric old men, desperate to hang on to the old ways. I’m better at this game than you give me credit for. Being forced to live in the gutter has a way of bringing out a man’s survival instincts.’
For the first time, Lorenzo seemed to falter. ‘Brunetti...’
‘Do not call me again. I’ll be in touch when I’m ready.’ He hung up and turned at the sound of his son’s laughter.
The sound moved through him, and he froze in place for a second.
Gianlucca was his legacy. One he intended to guard with his life, if necessary.
He swallowed and got himself under control just as his son burst excitedly into the living room.
‘Mummy says we’re going on a plane today!’
‘Yes, you’re coming to live with me for a little while.’
‘Do you have a big house?’
The corner of Romeo’s mouth lifted. ‘It’s big enough for my needs, yes.’
Lucca’s head tilted pensively. ‘Does it have a duck pond?’
‘Not yet,’ he replied, then gave in to the compulsion to offer more; to make a little boy happy. ‘But I will build one for you.’
His eyes rounded. ‘My very own duck pond?’ he whispered in awe.
A peculiar stone lodged in Romeo’s throat, making it difficult to swallow. ‘Sì...yes. Your very own.’
A giant smile broke over his son’s face. ‘Wow! Can I also have a bouncy castle?’
Romeo opened his mouth, but Maisie shook her head. ‘We’ll discuss it later.’
Lucca continued to beam. ‘It’s going to be the best adventure ever!’
Unable to speak on account of all the tectonic plates of his reality shifting inside him, Romeo could only nod.
CHAPTER SIX
MAISIE FOUND OUT just how much of an adventure when she was ushered into an exclusive Mayfair boutique five hours later with a team of stylists. As per Romeo’s imperious request, the shop had been shut so the attendants could focus solely on her. He sat in the large reception room, flipping through a document while keeping an eye on Lucca, who was getting his own special outfit for the wedding.
Wedding...
She was getting married. To the father of her child. The man she’d thought she’d never set eyes on again after waking up alone in a hotel room in Palermo. The dizzying turn of events threatened to flatten her. But as she’d taken to reminding herself in case any fanciful thoughts took over, all this was happening for the sake of her son.
This was a wedding in name only; it would be a marriage in name only. And once this whole business with Romeo’s dark past was over with, she would resume her life.
All the same, she couldn’t stop a bewildering shiver as the wedding dress she’d chosen was slipped over her head.
Made entirely of cream silk, the calf-length dress had the scoop-neck design both in the front and back, and lace sleeves covering her to the elbow. The material hugged her from bodice to thigh, with a slit at the back for ease of movement. It was simple, elegant and businesslike enough to not portray any of those fanciful thoughts that fleeted through her mind every time she so much as dropped her guard. Dress on, she slipped her feet into matching cream heels and moved to where a hair and make-up expert had been set up.
Maisie had lost the ability to keep up with how fast Romeo had moved once things were set in motion. There’d been no time to get sentimental once she’d summoned the staff, especially with Romeo’s overwhelming presence at her side reassuring them that nothing would change in the running of the restaurant.
Her staff knew and respected Bronagh. It was that alone that had made temporarily stepping away from the place she’d poured her heart and muscle into bearable.
And then Romeo had floored her by inviting Bronagh to London to act as witness at their wedding.
The surprises had kept coming, with her first, brief trip in a private jet, hammering home to her just how powerful and influential the man she would be marrying shortly really was.