I banged my elbow and it’s a bit sore, that’s all.’
‘Let me see.’ Luca put Matteo on the ground and took hold of her arm, frowning when he saw the bruise on her left elbow. ‘You need a cold compress on that to reduce the swelling.’
‘I’m sure it will be fine,’ she said, quickly removing her arm.
‘If you want to run the risk of not being able to move your arm for the next week, that’s up to you,’ he said harshly, even though he knew it wasn’t fair to speak to her like that. It wasn’t her fault that he felt this way, neither was it her fault that she didn’t want to be anywhere near him. After all, he’d been the one who had ended their affair.
The thought set light to his temper and he glowered at her. ‘However, I should warn you that I shall take a dim view if you are unable to do your job because you were too stubborn to accept my advice.’
Her face flushed with angry colour. ‘Then it appears I don’t have a choice, do I?’ She shot a derisory glance at the villa. ‘I only hope your friends don’t mind having a stranger foisted on them so you can play the big tough boss, Luca. It’s probably a side of you they haven’t seen before. Aren’t you afraid it will spoil your image?’
‘Not at all. I have never allowed anything to get in the way of doing what I know is right.’
It was nothing less than the truth, but it didn’t help him to know that. He could tell that Kelly was furious with him as he led her back to the villa but he didn’t care, couldn’t allow himself to care. Matteo was chattering away, but for once in his life he was barely listening to what the child was saying. He was too keyed up, too angry, too upset, too…too everything.
‘Papà.’
Matteo’s voice cut through the maelstrom of emotions whirling around inside him and Luca jumped. ‘What is it, caro?’ he asked, ashamed of his selfishness.
He listened carefully while Matteo solemnly told him about the big motorbike that had come down the road and how the lady had picked him up. It was only when he had finished his tale that Luca realised Kelly was standing, stock-still, in the middle of the driveway. There was an expression of shock on her face that scared him when he saw it.
Instinctively, he stepped towards her, but she backed away. Her face was the colour of parchment now that the angry colour had faded and for a moment he wondered if she was going to faint. What if she’d done more than merely bruised her elbow? he thought sickly. What if she’d banged her head and injured herself badly?
‘Whose house is this?’ Her voice was so low that it sounded as though all the life had seeped out of it, and his fear intensified. Something was seriously wrong and he had no idea what it was.
‘I asked you who this villa belongs to,’ she repeated in a tone that made him wince.
‘Me,’ he said simply. ‘This is where I live.’
Her eyes closed for a moment before she opened them again and stared at him. ‘If this is your house then who is Matteo? Where are his parents?’
Luca felt a wave of sadness wash over him. He knew that his answer was going to hurt her and that there was nothing he could do to prevent it. He had promised Sophia that he would never tell anyone the truth about Matteo’s birth and he never had. In the eyes of the law, Matteo was his son and that was what everyone must continue to believe, including Kelly…especially Kelly.
She’d never made any secret of how important her career was to her. She had told him two years ago that she intended to get to the very top and he had believed her. He’d understood her need to succeed because he’d felt the same way. Proving that the people at the home had been wrong to say that he would never amount to anything had spurred him on. It had been a long, hard struggle to reach his present position and he wouldn’t have got there if he hadn’t remained completely focused.
If Kelly was to achieve her ambitions, she needed to be equally committed. However, if he told her the truth about Matteo then he knew that she would want to help and that was the last thing he could allow to happen. Juggling the demands of parenthood with a career was extremely hard as he knew from experience; some days he wondered how he coped. He certainly wasn’t going to put that kind of a burden on her at this stage. The next few years were crucial; she needed to concentrate on learning all she could and couldn’t allow anything to distract her. Even though he knew that what he was about to tell her would destroy any good memories she had of their time together, he refused to jeopardise her career.
‘Matteo is my son, Kelly. Mine and Sophia’s.’
‘IF YOU’D wait in here, I’ll make sure Matteo is all right and come straight back.’
Kelly didn’t say a word as she walked into the sitting room—she couldn’t. She wasn’t even sure how she had got to the villa. She’d just put one foot in front of the other and kept going. Now she could feel herself trembling as she stopped in the middle of the room.
‘Sit down and make yourself comfortable. I’ll get my housekeeper to bring you a drink. What would you like—tea, coffee, or something cool perhaps?’
‘Nothing.’ Her voice sounded cracked and thin, like the voice of a very old woman. She cleared her throat because it was important that she maintain her dignity. ‘I don’t want anything to drink. Thank you.’
‘If you’re sure…?’
Luca let the question trail off but she didn’t answer him. She’d used up every scrap of strength and had nothing more to give. She sat down on the sofa after he left the room and closed her eyes. She could feel her heart beating, hear herself breathing and knew she was alive. It was just the core of her that had died, the vital spark that made her who she was. It had been snuffed out by those words: Matteo is my son. Mine and Sophia’s.
Pain welled up inside her and she bit her lip. The only positive thought she’d had to cling to these past two years was that there’d been nothing premeditated about the way Luca had treated her. Now she could see what a fool she’d been to believe that. Luca had carried on an affair with her even though he must have known that Sophia was pregnant.
Tears swam to her eyes but she blinked them away. By the time Luca reappeared, she had herself under control. She obeyed without question when he placed a small table in front of the sofa and told her to rest her arm on it. He’d brought a basin of water and a towel with him, and she didn’t object when he bathed her elbow. She didn’t care if he touched her. She was numb, immune to him now, inured against any future pain by his past betrayal.
‘This should help to reduce the swelling.’ He wrung out the towel and wrapped it around her elbow. ‘You’ll still have a bruise in the morning but this should alleviate some of the stiffness at least.’
‘Thank you.’ Kelly barely glanced at him as she stood up. ‘I’ll let you have the towel back tomorrow.’
‘Don’t worry about it,’ he said dismissively.
‘I would prefer to return it,’ she said, walking to the door. She crossed the marble-floored hallway without glancing either to left or right. Any desire she’d had to explore the house had disappeared. She was no longer interested in it or its owner.
