of silence, something that glittered behind Tonino’s dark, furious eyes. His jaw was clenched so tightly she could see the angry pulse throbbing on it.
When he finally spoke, every word was elucidated with deliberate slowness. ‘Do you know what I think? I think you have backed yourself into a corner and that every word coming from your pretty little mouth is an excuse to justify what you know is inexcusable. You hoped to get through the day without me noticing or recognising you and hoped you could get through it without me seeing Finn and recognising my own son. You have cruelly and maliciously kept him from me and, for that, you will pay, and pay by having him cruelly and maliciously kept from you.’
TONINO’S THREAT RANG loudly in Orla’s ears then became a siren when he slammed his glass on the bar and strolled towards the bedroom door.
‘What are you doing?’ she beseeched, trying her hardest not to panic.
‘I’m going to see my son.’
He can’t take him from you, she reminded herself. At this moment, he has no legal rights. Don’t panic. Keep calm.
She took a long breath. ‘You’re going to storm into a three-year-old boy’s room and wake him from his sleep?’
The hateful expression he threw at her wounded as deeply as his threats. He placed his hand on the door knob. ‘Do not make me out to be the bad guy in this. I want to see my son.’
‘If you go in there you will wake him and you will frighten him.’
His jaw clenched. Seizing this brief moment of indecision, Orla pointed at her phone, which she’d placed on the coffee table. ‘You can see him through my phone—look, I’m monitoring him as we speak.’
Now his expression became cynical. ‘You watch him sleep?’
‘I am tonight. He has epilepsy.’
Lines creased his forehead. A beat passed before he said, ‘Epilessia…? Fits?’
She nodded. She must keep calm. Placing a hand to her chest in an attempt to temper her clattering heartbeat, she fought to keep her tone even. ‘He has seizures—fits. He’s on medication for it, which has helped a lot, but he’s had an exciting day and I don’t want to risk leaving him unmonitored. Normally the nurse would monitor him but I told her to join the party so we could have some privacy.’
She did not drop her gaze from his cynical, suspicious one and allowed herself only a small breath of relief when he abandoned the door. Then she found she had no breath left to exhale for Tonino had walked over and sat his powerful body beside her.
Her poor clattering heart accelerated into overdrive.
He picked the phone up and studied the live feed on it. After a long pause, he said, ‘His…epilessia…is it linked to his mobility problems?’
‘Yes.’ Orla suddenly found her attention distracted by the fingers holding her phone. Those same fingers had once caressed her naked skin…
Heat pumped dizzyingly through her head and she quickly dropped her gaze to the floor only to find Tonino’s buffed shoes in her eyeline. He had the biggest feet of any man she’d ever met, and tingles laced her spine and spread to a far more intimate area to suddenly remember another part of his anatomy in proportion to those feet…
‘He has cerebral palsy,’ she hastily added, keeping her eyes fixed on the carpet so he wouldn’t see the flame of colour radiating from her cheeks. How could she feel such things for a man who’d just threatened her with her own child? What was wrong with her? ‘Lots of children with it have epilepsy.’
A long time passed where all he did was stare at the screen of the phone. Orla used that time to concentrate on breathing. She was exhausted. The day had been long and emotionally draining. Her feelings for Tonino were bound to be all over the place. His emotions were bound to be all over the place too. She must remember that threats made in anger were rarely carried out once tempers had cooled.
‘What is cerebral…?’
‘Palsy,’ she finished for him when he struggled to say it. ‘It’s a condition caused by brain damage that basically affects the muscles.’
He turned his head to look at her. ‘My son has brain damage?’
The flash of distress she witnessed in the dark eyes sent a pang through her heart. Her voice softened. ‘Think of it as a brain development issue. Thankfully it doesn’t seem that his mental faculties have been affected; I mean, he can speak and make himself understood, but time will tell on that part.’ Learning difficulties were common for children with cerebral palsy and something Orla was prepared for. If it turned out that Finn did indeed have them then he would have all the help and support he needed.
‘What caused it?’
‘The trauma of his birth. He was born three months early—’
A loud incessant knocking on the door interrupted their talk.
‘I’d better get that,’ she muttered. She hauled herself to her feet and forced her aching legs to take her to the door. She would not let Tonino see how badly she was struggling right then; would not give him any further ammunition to use against her.
She was not in the least surprised to find Aislin there.
Her sister didn’t even attempt to make an excuse for abandoning her own wedding reception, looking straight over Orla’s shoulder into the suite, her nose wrinkling when she caught sight of Tonino. ‘Everything okay in here?’
‘Everything’s fine,’ Orla assured her.
Aislin’s eyes narrowed as she eyeballed Tonino again before turning her attention back to her sister and saying loudly, ‘You look upset.’
Orla gave a rueful shrug. ‘This isn’t the easiest conversation I’ve ever had.’
‘I’ll bet. Shall I stay?’
The temptation to drag Aislin inside was strong. ‘Don’t be silly. Go back to your party.’
‘I saw Finn’s nurse on the dance floor. Are you not coming back down?’
‘I’m sorry, Ash, but I’m shattered.’ And that was the truth. Orla felt wiped out, physically and emotionally.
‘Okay. I’ll leave you to it, then.’ Her voice rose again. ‘I’ll keep my phone on me. Call if you need me.’
‘I will,’ Orla lied. She would rather call their mother for help than ruin Aislin’s big day more than she already had.
‘I’ll see you at breakfast?’
‘Definitely.’
‘Good.’ Then, looking over Orla’s shoulder to stare at Tonino one more time, Aislin smiled brightly and said, ‘If you harm a hair on my sister’s head, I’ll kill you. Got
