‘Apollo seemed to believe that you had only married me to get me to move to Italy. He thinks you’re planning to go to court and try to claim full custody of our son.’
‘I’m not sure whether to be more offended by my friend’s low take on my morals or by my wife’s,’ Vito imparted very softly, marvelling that she could have placed credence in such an unrealistic plot, which smacked very much of Apollo’s sensational outlook on life. ‘Do you think I would do that to you and Angelo?’
‘That’s not the point,’ Holly protested.
‘It is exactly the point,’ Vito incised with ruthless bite. ‘Why else are you challenging me with this nonsense?’
As Silvestro reappeared with a tray Holly sank back down into her seat. She was angry and mortified at the same time but clung to the comforting fact that Vito had called her concerns ‘nonsense’. While food was being laid on the table, Holly studied her pale pink nails and suspected that one day she might possibly throw a coffee pot at Vito for his sarcastic cool.
‘To clarify matters,’ Vito mused as Silvestro retreated, ‘Apollo was most probably talking to a mutual friend called Jeremy, who happens to be a lawyer trained in family law. Although it is ridiculously unnecessary, Apollo tries to protect me from the gold-diggers of this world. If it is any consolation he was no keener on Marzia. He would never marry without a pre-nuptial agreement in place. I deemed it unnecessary because I would not marry a woman I couldn’t trust. You’re being naive and insecure.’
Holly bridled at that blunt speech. ‘I don’t see how.’
With precise movements that set her teeth on edge, Vito poured a cup of black coffee. ‘I would not deprive my son of his mother. I was sent to boarding school abroad at the age of seven, Holly. I was incredibly homesick and unhappy. Do you honestly think I would subject Angelo to anything similar?’
Holly studied her cup of tea with wooden resolve. Her face was so hot she could feel her ears heating up in concert. No, she could not see him planning to do anything that would damage their son. Boarding school abroad at the tender age of seven? That was brutal, she thought helplessly.
‘I love my son. I will try hard never to hurt him and I know how much he needs his mother,’ Vito framed with measured cool. ‘I am also an honourable man. I am not deceitful in personal relationships. I married you in good faith. If eavesdropping on Apollo can rouse your suspicions to this level, what are our prospects for the future? Trust has to work both ways to be effective.’
Holly swallowed hard. Vito was annoyed with her for doubting him and for paying heed to a stupid phone call she shouldn’t have been listening to in the first place. She wasn’t sure she could blame him for that. On the other hand his determination to head to the bank the day after their wedding was hardly likely to boost her confidence in his attitude towards either her or their marriage.
How much did Vito value her? Just how unimportant was she in his desire for a marriage that would not interfere in his inflexible daily schedule? To thrive, all relationships needed compromise, commitment and the luxury of time spent together. Didn’t he appreciate that? And if he didn’t, was she clever enough to teach him that she could offer him something more worthwhile than sex? That was a tall order.
Vito rose from his chair and studied her in brooding silence. ‘By the way, we’re dining out this evening with friends.’
Holly looked up in surprise. ‘What friends?’
‘Apollo and his girlfriend and Jeremy Morris and his wife. They’re currently staying on Apollo’s yacht with him.’
The prospect of spending an evening in Apollo Metraxis’s radius appealed about as much to Holly as a public whipping. She frowned, studying Vito with incredulous eyes. ‘Knowing how I feel about Apollo, why would you arrange something like that?’
Vito compressed his stubborn mouth. ‘He’s a close friend. He made a mistake. You need to get over it.’
Temper threw colour into Holly’s cheeks. ‘Do I, indeed?’
Vito gazed expectantly back at her. ‘I want it all smoothed over and forgotten...’
‘Right, so that’s me got my orders, then.’ Holly lifted her chin.
‘It’s not an order, Holly, it’s advice. I’m not dropping a lifelong friend because you don’t like him.’
‘And isn’t there some excuse for that dislike?’
‘Apollo didn’t tell any lies about how we met. Remember that,’ Vito retorted with succinct bite.
A painful flush illuminated Holly’s face.
‘Why shouldn’t we have a night out?’ Vito fired at her in exasperation. ‘I thought you would enjoy getting dressed up and socialising—most women do.’
‘That’s not my world,’ Holly breathed in taut objection.
‘It is now,’ Vito pointed out without hesitation, his impatience unconcealed. ‘You need to make an effort to fit in. Why do you think I bought you all those clothes? I want you to have the expensive trappings and to enjoy having them.’
As Vito strode out Holly held her breath, feeling a little like someone trying to fight off a panic attack. He had voiced truths she didn’t really want to face. This was his world and, in marrying him, she had become part of that world. He saw no reason why his life shouldn’t continue the way it always had and he was making no allowances for Holly’s insecurities. No, it was her job to swallow her ire with Apollo and be nice. Well, that certainly put her in her place, didn’t it? Vito’s long-standing friendship with the Greek billionaire meant more to him than his wife’s loss of face at her own wedding. Just as work still meant more to him than settling into marriage and fatherhood. Vito, she recognised painfully, was highly resistant to change of any kind...
AFTER LUNCH THE same day, Holly lifted Angelo out of the high chair in the dining room and walked outside to settle the baby on a rug already spread across the grass. Her son beamed as she arranged several toys within his reach, enjoying the change of scene.
‘Tea,’ Silvestro pronounced with decision, having followed her, and he sped off again. Holly made no comment, having already learned that Silvestro liked to foresee needs and fulfil them before anyone could make a request and, truthfully, she did fancy a cup of tea.
She cuddled Angelo and studied the bird’s-eye view of the gardens spread out below in an embroidered carpet of multi-hued greens with occasional splashes of colourful spring flowers. Daily life at the Castello Zaffari promised to be pretty much idyllic, she reflected ruefully, feeling ashamed of her negative thoughts earlier in the day when Vito had left her to go to work.
Here she was on a permanent holiday in a virtual palace where she ate fabulous food and was waited on hand and foot. She had beautiful clothes, an incredibly handsome, sexy husband and a very cute baby. What was she complaining about? For the first time ever since Angelo’s birth she also had free time to spend with her son. As for the dinner outing? That was a minor hiccup and, having examined her new wardrobe, she had decided to follow the ‘little black dress rule’ rather than risk being over-or underdressed for
