that some people are on their own for Christmas and that’s just the worst thing.’ His expression sympathetic, he slid his arms round Stefano and gave him a hug. ‘Well, this year you won’t have to be lonely,’ he said solemnly, ‘because we’re going to keep you company. We can stay as long as you need us.’
Oblivious to the team of sales assistants who were casting him covetous glances as they busily collated the decorations for the tree, Stefano stood still, too stunned by the child’s warmth and generosity to answer immediately. Then he put his hand on the boy’s shoulder and squeezed gently. ‘Grazie,’ he said softly, ‘thank you.’ The child was like his mother. Always thinking about other people.
‘You’re welcome. Mum always makes Christmas amazing.’ Max’s eyes widened as the assistant wrapped the boxes of decorations. ‘I hope it isn’t costing too much,’ he whispered. ‘It can’t cost too much or Mum will just worry.’
‘Does she worry a lot?’
‘All the time. She thinks she’s hiding it but I just know.’ The child glanced up. ‘Girls don’t always say what they mean, do they?’
Stefano hid a smile. ‘No,’ he said wryly. ‘They certainly don’t.’
‘It’s weird really,’ Max said frankly. ‘I mean, if I’m worried about something I just say it straight out. Mum tries to hide it. Why does she do that?’
‘I expect she doesn’t want to worry you.’
‘But I always know when she’s worried because she has a different face. Her smile is bigger when she’s really worried, like she’s trying extra hard to hide the fact that she’s worried. And when it’s money that’s worrying her she makes lots of lists and does a lot of adding up. Just to check she doesn’t run out. But if something new comes along she has to cross something out.’
Stefano digested that information for a moment. ‘So what do you think she’d like for Christmas?’
‘Oh that’s easy.’ Max looked smug. ‘A hug.’
‘A hug?’
‘Yes.’ Max picked up a frosted bauble from the display and examined it closely. ‘Whenever you ask Mum what she wants for Christmas, she always says “a really big hug”. Which is a bit weird, to be honest. I mean, I love anything with a remote control, but she’s just happy with cuddles. Girls are pretty easy to please, aren’t they?’
Never having encountered a girl who was easy to please, Stefano gave a sardonic smile. ‘Your mother is easy to please.’
The assistant cleared her throat and returned his credit card. ‘Could you give me a delivery address, sir?’
‘We haven’t finished shopping yet.’ Making an instantaneous decision, Stefano took Max’s hand. ‘Come on. We need to replace some of the things you lost.’
Max hung back. ‘Where’s the money coming from? Did Mum sell her tickets to the ball or something?’
Tucking his credit card back into his wallet, Stefano looked at the child. ‘She had tickets to a ball? The hospital ball?’
‘Yes, she won them. But she doesn’t want them so she’s going to sell them to someone who can go. She can’t go because she’s not Cinderella.’
Stefano exhaled slowly and squatted down next to the little boy. ‘Did she tell you that?’
‘Yes. She said it the morning the tickets arrived in the post.’ Max shrugged. ‘She sort of looked at them in a funny way, said that she’d never won anything in her life before, and then put them back in the envelope. Then she said something like “I’m not Cinderella and I’m not going to a ball.” But she hasn’t given them away. They’re in her handbag. I saw them when she gave me my pocket money.’
Stefano digested that information and then straightened, ‘I don’t know about you, Max,’ he said idly, ‘but it seems a terrible waste not to use those tickets.’
‘She doesn’t want to go because she thinks her bottom is too big and she doesn’t have anything to wear. Girls really care about things like that,’ Max said sagely and Stefano smiled.
‘Then we’d better fix that, hadn’t we? Are you any good at keeping secrets?’
Hearing laughter and Max’s excited chatter, Liv emerged from the bathroom self-consciously, wrapped in a large soft robe that Stefano had given her.
‘Mum, Mum come and see this tree!’ Max was almost exploding with excitement and he darted across Stefano’s apartment as if it had been his home all his life. ‘We’re going to decorate it together.’
‘You bought decorations?’ Eyeing the size of the tree and then the number of parcels and bags that now littered the floor of the room, Liv felt a flutter of panic.
Max immediately hurled himself across the room and hugged her. ‘You’re not to worry. Stefano needed a tree anyway and he needed decorations.’ He lowered his voice. ‘He didn’t have any. Can you believe that?’
Liv glanced towards Stefano and he gave a wicked little smile.
‘Nice bath?’
Suddenly conscious that she was naked under the robe, she blushed. ‘Lovely. Thank you.’
‘I bought you some clothes. Just some basic stuff to tide you over until you can go shopping yourself.’ He handed her several bags, as if it were nothing. ‘I hope they fit.’
Liv’s stomach lurched as she stared at the label on the bags. ‘You didn’t—’
‘You can’t spend the next few weeks dressed in a bathrobe.’ Stefano’s eyes gleamed dangerously and then he turned back to Max and took the box of lights from him. ‘Where do you want these?’
How could she argue when she needed something to wear? Resolving to find some way of paying him back, Liv picked up the bags. ‘Thank you.’
She retreated to the beautiful bedroom and delved into the bags. Jeans? Her heart sank and she dropped them onto the bed. Why did it have to be jeans? This was going to be so unbelievably embarrassing. She could never find jeans to fit so there was no way he was going to have succeeded. The thought of confessing that she was actually three sizes larger than his estimate, made her shrink with embarrassment.
Postponing the moment when she had to try and pull them over her thighs, she delved into the bag again and hot colour flooded into her cheeks as she pulled out the pretty silk and lace bra. This was getting worse by the minute. How could she wear that? She needed something far more robust. Stefano had never seen her in anything that wasn’t baggy, so obviously he wasn’t going to have a clue what size—
Her thoughts tangled as she looked at the label. The bra was exactly the right size and she dropped it as if it were scalding hot.
How had he known what size to buy?
Horribly self-conscious, she turned and stared at the closed door, half expecting him to be watching her with that sexy smile on his face.
She
