a matter of weeks the divorce will be finalised.’
‘No, it won’t. I’ve had my lawyer notify yours of our reconciliation,’ Marcello informed and obtained a degree of satisfaction at her shocked expression. ‘Copies of the announcement in the Spanish media provided sufficient proof.’
‘But that was merely a sham,’ Shannay protested, eyes wide with dismay as she searched frantically for the exact words quoted … hadn’t Marcello simply acceded “anything is possible”? How could that be construed to be a positive confirmation?
She watched with startled surprise as he reached for his overnight bag, extracted a slim packet, opened the flap and handed the contents to her.
‘I’d like you to look at these.’
Shannay told herself she wasn’t interested, but the coloured photograph of a house caught her attention, and she felt herself drawn to it, unable to ignore her admiration for the beautiful, sprawling two-storeyed mansion set in spacious grounds overlooking what appeared to be a lake.
Underneath the photograph was another, even more magnificent, and there was a third with views out over the ocean.
Yet it was the first photograph she returned to, and she glanced up at him with open curiosity.
‘Why are you showing me these?’
‘The first house is at Peppermint Grove, the remaining two at Cottesloe and Cottesloe Beach respectively.’
Expensive real estate. Very expensive real estate, she perceived.
‘We have an appointment to inspect them tomorrow.’
A soundless gasp escaped her lips. ‘Excuse me?’
‘You heard.’
She had, but the implication of them failed to compute. Why would he be interested in Perth real estate?
He watched her conflicting emotions and barely restrained himself from hauling her into his arms.
The past few weeks had been hell. He’d eaten at his desk, barely slept and literally turned his life upside down as he had liaised with Perth real-estate agents, selected three of the most suitable properties after viewing them via an internet visual tour, then he’d flown into Perth yesterday, consulted with lawyers, accountants, viewed the three properties and a few more purported to be worthy of inspection, organised Nicki’s care with Anna … and had Carlo drive him to collect the reason for all this.
Shannay.
‘We can do this by arguing half the night away,’ Marcello began with deliberate patience. ‘Or you can listen until I’m done.’
She looked at him, really looked at him, and saw the fine lines of tiredness fan out from each corner of his eyes, the faint shadowy smudges evident.
Heaven knew she was weary as pregnancy took hold of her body and drained some of her energy to nurture the tiny foetus developing inside her womb.
Together, what hope did they have?
Yet there was an instinctive feeling … some deep intrinsic knowledge hovering just beneath the surface.
His presence here … dared she even hope, let alone think what it might mean?
It was crazy, but the stress and tension that had consumed her for the past few weeks began to ebb, as if her subconscious recognised something she had yet to acknowledge.
Dared not envisage in case she might have it wrong.
‘You have my heart, querida.’
For a few seconds she almost forgot to breathe.
‘Always,’ Marcello added gently. ‘There has never been anyone else since the day I met you.’
She opened her mouth, only to close it again as he held up a hand.
‘Please … hear me out. There are words I need to say. Not all of them good.’
She had nothing to lose. Absolutely nothing, and she simply inclined her head.
‘Penè made things difficult for you, conspiring initially with Estella to cause trouble.’
Wasn’t that the truth!
‘I thought we could get beyond the resulting fracas, but you were adamant our marriage was doomed.’
‘I left, because to remain would have been impossible.’
‘I was angry,’ Marcello continued. ‘You ignored my phone calls and refused to respond to every one of my messages. Within a year Ramon developed pneumonia and suffered a heart attack. Soon after he was diagnosed with cancer, and it was necessary for me to take control.’
Marcello’s responsibility would have been enormous. Remorse and a degree of guilt sat uncomfortably on her shoulders.
Timing, distance, misunderstanding. Each rational in hindsight, Shannay admitted.
‘With your refusal to acknowledge any form of contact, I had little recourse but to accept you intended to make a life on your own.’ He paused, and a muscle tensed along the edge of his jaw. ‘Until fate played a hand with Sandro and Luisa’s impromptu visit to Perth, their sighting of you at a local carnival and the discovery you had a child. Indisputably my child.’
Shannay relived that moment as if it were yesterday. ‘I vowed revenge. Contriving to use everything in my power to have you revisit Madrid … and ultimately seduce you. To take hold of your emotions and crush them to dust beneath my feet.’
The knowledge sent pain arrowing through her body, and his voice softened as he glimpsed the shadows evident in her eyes.
‘Except I couldn’t do it. The woman I’d turned you into in my mind didn’t exist. The reality was the young woman I fell in love with, the beautiful girl with integrity and a loving heart who fought against me and her own emotions … as I struggled to deal with my own.’
His mouth twisted with deliberate cynicism. ‘Ironic, isn’t it? When it came to revenge … I lost. As Ramon warned I would.’
Her eyes sharpened. ‘Ramon?’
‘My grandfather saw more than anyone gave him credit for. He’d glimpsed what was in your heart, and knew my own.’
What came next was painful. ‘Nicki’s abduction became the catalyst. I only had myself to offer in a bid to keep you with me.’ He lifted a hand and let it fall to his side. ‘And it wasn’t enough.’
In his eyes, he’d failed yet again, and her sense of remorse returned.
‘I didn’t want Nicki to grow up shadowed by bodyguards, forever in fear of another abduction attempt.’
‘Nor is it my choice,’ he agreed quietly. ‘Once is one time too many. Which brings me to my decision to relocate here.’
Shannay
