As for marriage, he had no plan to marry again. His daughter was all he could handle, all he wanted to handle.
Before Benedetta had died, she’d been Leon’s comfort. With two losses in his life, plus Dante’s aloofness, it was Concetta who was the beat of his heart now. Though she was loved by his staff, he guarded her possessively, afraid for anything to happen to her.
He’d been functioning on automatic pilot at work, unenthusiastic about the pleasures he’d once enjoyed. His good friend Vito had phoned, no doubt to make some vacation plans, but Leon hadn’t even called him back yet.
While he’d been going along in this whitewashed state, Belle Peterson had exploded onto the scene. Her presence reminded him of someone who’d come along his private stretch of beach and purposely destroyed the sand castle he’d made for his daughter with painstaking care.
In Belle’s case it wasn’t intentional. Far from it. But the damage was just as bad, because nothing could be put back the way it was before. Leon didn’t like having his world turned upside down, leaving him with inexplicable feelings percolating to life inside.
He should never have kissed her. Obviously, he needed to start dating other women. There were many he could choose from if he wanted to. But it was disconcerting to realize that none of them measured up in any way to Belle.
When Carla came into the dining room to pour more coffee, he asked her to tell Talia to come and put the baby to bed. Concetta was too loud and squirmy, a telltale sign she was tired. But after the nanny arrived and pulled her out of her high chair, his daughter cried and fought not to be taken away. To his astonishment, she reached for Belle and quieted down the second his houseguest grasped the baby to her.
Diavolo! He couldn’t blame it on the green suit or the shape in it. Belle herself, with her creative ways of doing things, had captured his daughter’s interest.
Those dark blue eyes sought his with a trace of concern. “If it’s all right with you, I’d love to get her ready for bed.”
This wasn’t supposed to happen, but what could Leon say? “I’m sure that will make Concetta very happy.” When he saw the way she interacted with Belle, it came to him that his daughter needed a mother. Until now he’d been thinking only of his own needs. It had taken Belle’s advent in their lives for him to realize a father wasn’t enough for Concetta, who deserved two parents to make her life complete.
“Oh good! Come with me,” she said to Luciana. “We’ll do it together.”
“You’ll find a stretchy suit in the top drawer of the dresser,” Leon suggested.
“A stretchy suit?” Belle said to the baby. “I wonder how many pink ones you have.”
“It’s a beautiful color on her, but then she’s lovely in every color,” Luciana said as they left the dining room, chatting together like a mother and daughter who’d never been apart. “She’s already a great beauty.”
Once they were alone, Sullisto eyed Leon. “I can see that Luciana won’t want to be separated from Belle now that they’ve found each other. You say she’s flying back to New York on Sunday?”
“That was the plan,” Leon muttered, not able to think that far ahead.
“Well, as long as she’s in Rimini, she’ll stay with us at the palazzo. I’m anxious to get them both home.” After a slight hesitation, he said, “I haven’t told Luciana this yet, but I’m planning to adopt Belle so she’ll be an integral part of the family.”
After learning how much Luciana had suffered since giving up her daughter, Leon wasn’t surprised by the announcement. What it did do was convince him how deeply his father had learned to love Belle’s mother.
Feeling restless with troubling thoughts he hadn’t sorted out yet, Leon got to his feet. “I’ll go up and make sure Concetta is settling down without problem. Have you told Dante about Belle?”
“No. Pia has been so upset because she hasn’t conceived yet, he took her to Florence for a little break. They won’t be back until sometime tomorrow afternoon. It’s probably a good thing. I want to give Luciana and Belle the next twelve hours or so together before we break the news to them.
“They don’t have your advantage of getting to know Belle first, and her reasons for coming to Rimini. It will take time for him and Pia to absorb everything that’s happened while they’ve been gone.”
Dante wouldn’t be the only one. Leon was still attempting to deal with the reality of Luciana’s daughter, whose response had almost sent him into cardiac arrest earlier. Sullisto had been brilliant at keeping his wife’s secret from their family. But for some reason his plan to adopt Belle didn’t sit well with Leon.
He left his father at the table and went to the kitchen to find Talia, asking her to get Concetta’s bottle ready and take it upstairs. “You outdid yourself on the dinner,” he said to Simona, before bounding up the staircase.
He found a beaming Luciana holding his daughter, who’d been changed into a white stretchy suit with feet. Belle stood next to them, playing with his daughter’s toes. The baby was laughing out loud.
Luciana saw him first. “Oh, Leon, she’s the dearest child in the whole world.” There was a new light in her eyes.
Belle’s expression reflected the same sentiment. “We wish she didn’t have to go to bed.”
“I’m sure she doesn’t want to be put down, either, but it’s time.” He walked over and reached for his daughter, who clung to him with satisfying eagerness. Talia wasn’t far behind with the bottle.
She sat down in the rocker, so he could hand her the baby, who’d started to fuss the second he let go of her. “Buonanotte, Concetta. Be a good girl for Talia.” He kissed her cheeks before following the two women out of the nursery.
Sullisto met them at the bottom of the stairs. He reached for Belle’s hand. “Your mother and I would like you to stay at the palazzo with us while you’re in Rimini. Would you like to come with us now?”
Leon sensed her slight hesitation. He was pleased by it when he shouldn’t have been. Though he didn’t know what was going on in her mind, he made the instant decision to intervene.
“Belle has already settled in as my houseguest for tonight, Papà. As it’s late and I know she’s exhausted, why don’t I bring her to the palazzo in the morning for breakfast, and we’ll discuss future plans?”
Luciana hugged her daughter. “Of course you’re tired. After the shock of coming face-to-face with my beautiful daughter, whom I thought would always be lost to me, I confess I am, too. Tomorrow we’ll spend the whole day together. I can’t wait.”
“Neither can I.”
“I love you, Arabella.”
“I love you, too.” Belle’s words came out in a whisper.
They hugged for a long time before letting each other go. Together everyone moved to the front foyer. Luciana’s gaze moved to Leon. “Please bring Concetta when you come. We can’t get enough of her.”
Leon nodded to his stepmother and father before the two of them disappeared out the door. When it closed he turned
