Belle of Leon’s. Before long the child stopped sucking and fell sound asleep.
Leon watched as Belle put the baby down in the crib on her back. After they’d left the nursery he turned to her.
“Now that we’ve got the evening to ourselves, I’m taking you out on the cabin cruiser so you can get a view of the coast from the water. It’s a sight you shouldn’t miss. The pier is a few steps down the beach, in the opposite direction from where you went earlier today.”
“I figured the lifeguard was one of your security people, but he didn’t try to stop me.”
Leon’s lips twitched. “While we’re out, I’d like to discuss something of vital importance with you. I’ve worked out a solution to our problem.”
“So have I.” She was going home on Sunday as planned, with no interference from him.
His black brows lifted in challenge, as if he could read her thoughts. “Then we’ll compare notes,” he said in an authoritative tone. His hauteur came naturally to him, because it was evident few people had ever dared thwart him. “Meet me on the back patio in twenty minutes. Bring a wrap. It will get cool later.”
She nodded before hurrying downstairs to her room. She couldn’t imagine what kind of solution he’d worked out, and didn’t want to listen to him, not when Dante’s happiness was at stake. But she was a guest in Leon’s home and couldn’t forget her debt to him. It was one she could never repay.
Without him acting on his uncanny instinct to follow through on her inquiry at the bank, she would have gone on searching for her mother in vain. The situation was untenable any way she looked at it.
A tap on the door a few minutes later brought her head around. “Signorina?” Belle rushed over to open it and discovered Carla. “The Countess Malatesta phoned while you were bathing the baby. She would like you to call her.” The maid handed Belle a note with the phone number written on it.
“Thank you, Carla.”
After she left, Belle pulled the cell phone out of her purse and called her mother. Two rings and she answered. “Arabella?”
It was still unbelievable to Belle that she was talking to the mother she’d ached for all her life. “Mom—I’m so glad you called. To hear your voice...it’s like a miracle to me.”
“I was just going to tell you the same thing, darling. What have you done with your day?”
Belle bit her lip. “I went sightseeing and Leon took me and the baby to see the dolphins. Then we fed her and bathed her. Now she’s just gone to sleep.” But Belle didn’t want to talk about Leon and the way he made her feel. Her mouth had gone so dry thinking about him, she could hardly swallow. “How’s Dante? I’ve been worried sick about him.”
“To be truthful, we’ve been worried, too. They’ve stayed in their wing of the palazzo all day. Since they have their own entrance, they could have gone out without our knowing it. Sullisto and I thought we’d done the right thing to tell him the truth this morning...” Her voice trailed off. “I know my husband’s hurt by this.”
Belle gripped the phone tighter. “If it’s any consolation, I don’t think it would have mattered when you told Dante. The outcome would be the same. Maybe tonight he’ll decide to talk to you, so I’m not planning to come over. Can we see each other tomorrow?”
“That’s why I phoned you. I’ll pick you up in the morning and we’ll take a drive. I want to show you my world. We’ll talk and eat our heads off. How does that sound?”
She smiled. “Like heaven.”
“Let’s say eight-thirty.”
“Perfect. I’ll be ready. I love you, Mom.”
“I love you. Isn’t it wonderful to be able to say it to each other?”
“Yes.” Oh yes.
After they hung up, Belle threw herself across the bed and thought about the day Cliff had let her know she wasn’t wanted or loved.
She’d been a child then, with a child’s reaction. But she was a woman now, and understood Cliff’s behavior, just as she understood Dante’s. In both cases Belle had been the one to bring on more suffering. This time she had the power to end it.
When it was time to meet Leon, she grabbed her sweater and hurried down to the patio. She would listen to what he had to say, but it wouldn’t change her mind about leaving on Sunday.
* * *
Leon knew something was up the minute he saw her. “What’s happened since you went downstairs?” he asked as they headed for the dock.
“I just got off the phone with Mom. They haven’t seen Dante all day.”
“My father told me the same thing a few minutes ago, but it isn’t surprising. His way is to hide out.”
“What do you mean, his way?”
Leon sobered. “There are things you don’t know.”
She took a shuddering breath. “Well, I know one thing. My arrival in Rimini has hurt him.”
“It’s not personal, Belle. I’m the one who has hurt him.”
Her brows met in a frown as she looked at him. “How can you say that?”
“Because it’s true. You saw and heard what happened at the table when Father said I was the one who made the reunion possible. Dante couldn’t handle it and blew up at me in Italian.”
She shook her head. “The whole thing is tragic. Mom’s going to take me for a drive tomorrow. Maybe if Dante knows she’s out of the palazzo, he and your father will be able to talk.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Why do you sound so sure about that?”
“Once we’re on board, I’ll explain.” Leon couldn’t let Belle go on thinking she was the cause of everything.
He helped her climb over the side of the cruiser. After giving her a life jacket to put on, he undid the ropes and started the engine. They moved at a wakeless speed until they were past the drop-off before he opened it up.
She knelt on the bench across from the captain’s seat, looking out to sea. “Is it always this placid?”
“It is this time of evening. Much later a breeze will spring up.”
“You weren’t exaggerating about the view. With the blue changing into darkness, all the lights twinkling along the shoreline make everything magical.”
“Your eyes are the same color right now. Twilight eyes.”
His words seemed to disturb her, because she turned around to face him. “You said you would tell me about Dante. Let’s talk about him.” She was a businesswoman who’d been fending off men’s advances for years and knew how to probe through to the marrow.
He shut off
