looking for you,’ Beppe murmured flatly. ‘I suggest that you take her home. I would also suggest that you stay away from Ellie.’
Rio released his breath in an audible hiss. ‘Although I’m always ready to listen to suggestions, Beppe,’ he conceded, ‘I’ve always forged my own path.’
With a nod of acknowledgement to Ellie and the older man, Rio strode back indoors, not one whit perturbed by the scene Beppe had interrupted. Or, at least, if he was bothered, he wasn’t showing it, Ellie acknowledged.
‘I have no right to interfere,’ Beppe said uncomfortably to Ellie. ‘I love Rio like a son but I also know him. He had some unfortunate experiences with women in his youth and I would advise you to keep your distance. He plays with women. He doesn’t take them seriously. He would hurt you and I would hate to see that happen. Furthermore, if you prove to be either my niece or even my daughter, you will often meet Rio and that—’
‘Could get very awkward,’ Ellie filled in ruefully for herself. ‘It’s all right, Beppe. I kind of worked out that stuff about Rio anyway, so don’t worry about me. I’m a big girl and I can look after myself.’
Rio and Carmela were nowhere to be seen when they rejoined the rest of the guests. Ellie stayed quite late but insisted on returning to her hotel when Beppe offered her the use of a guest room. She drove back in a contemplative state of mind and wondered if she would find Rio in her room again. Not this time however.
Soberly she lay in bed, wondering about the results of the DNA test. Would she prove to be half-Sorrentino? Or was she in for a shock on that score? It was perfectly possible, after all, that some time after Beppe’s rejection her mother had spent a night with some other man. Well, at least she would soon know one way or another, even if she didn’t actually manage to identify her father, she told herself soothingly.
But how would Rio react if she was a Sorrentino? Ironically she didn’t want to upset him but nor was she willing to apologise for an act of fate. She was already wondering what Beppe’s mention of Rio’s ‘unfortunate youthful experiences’ with women had entailed. But then surely no intelligent male could be so innately distrustful and cynical about her sex without cause?
And what did it matter? She relived the teasing sting of his teeth on her lip and a forbidden little quiver snaked through her. With a groan she rolled over and pressed her offending mouth into the pillow. Rio was as potent as poison and equally toxic and Beppe was right, she needed to keep her distance. To do anything else would be to court disaster because Rio had no off switch, no respect for boundaries...and probably even less respect for her, she conceded unhappily.
BEPPE CALLED ELLIE bright and early and asked her to come to his home. Ellie surmised that he had bad news and she took her time over her breakfast in the hotel courtyard, trying not to stress over what could not be changed. Beppe had been wonderfully approachable and kind and helpful and she wanted to thank him for that. He could’ve denied any knowledge of her late mother but instead he had told her the unvarnished truth, even though doing so had raked up guilty memories and regrets.
Ellie drove over to the palazzo and Adriano showed her out to the shaded loggia, quickly reappearing with a tray of coffee and biscuits. Beppe appeared then, rather flushed in appearance and with eyes that were a little shiny.
He studied her and he then smiled widely, a smile brimming with happiness and appreciation. ‘Ellie,’ he began emotively as he handed her a sheet of paper to study. ‘You are my daughter and I cannot begin to describe how much that discovery means to me.’
Lively with excitement, Beppe could hardly be persuaded to drink his coffee as he ignored her medical training to explain rather unnecessarily the 99.99 recurring percentage of accuracy established by the successful DNA test. ‘I would’ve been delighted to discover that you were my niece but to discover a daughter, a first child after all these years, is an unimaginable joy!’
Ellie reached across the small circular table and grasped his hand to squeeze it. ‘Thank you for saying that.’
‘It comes from the centre of my heart,’ Beppe told her warmly. ‘Amalia give birth to a stillborn son just weeks before she suffered her stroke. We were devastated. I don’t believe, though, that I could have told her about you were she still alive. It would have hurt her too much and my affair had already caused her enormous grief.’
‘How do you think Rio will take this news?’ Ellie asked, dry-mouthed.
Beppe emitted a heavy sigh. ‘He will be here for lunch and I will tell him then. He will be happy that I am happy but very disappointed to hear that I once betrayed Amalia. If only we had adopted him as I wished, he would have been more certain of his place in the family.’
Ellie sat forward, brow furrowed, her curiosity engaged. ‘You wanted to adopt Rio?’
‘Sì. I will respect his privacy by not giving you details but he had neither parents nor a home and I wanted to take him in, but Amalia refused to set another child in what she always viewed as our stillborn son’s place,’ he confided heavily. ‘There were also elements of Rio’s background which disturbed her and she could not be persuaded to change her mind. He never knew that I wanted to adopt him though. Our contribution to his life became less direct as he grew up. We advised him, ensured he got a good education and supported him when he needed us but we could have protected him a great deal more had we adopted him and brought him up here.’
‘That’s unfortunate but Rio has still done very well for himself, hasn’t he?’
‘If you measure success by prosperity, his wealth reached stratospheric proportions after he won the oil contracts in Dharia. He is very much a self-made man,’ Beppe declared with pride. ‘But he is also a man damaged by a traumatic childhood and a tough adolescence. I should’ve done more for him.’
‘By the sound of it, you did the best you could in the circumstances,’ Ellie remarked soothingly, troubled more than she liked by the reference to Rio’s traumatic childhood and troubled adolescence. Yes, she could imagine how such experiences would have hardened him and what a difference a loving, supportive home background could have made. After all, she knew that she too was marked by the lack of love in her childhood. Her grandmother hadn’t wanted to raise her daughter’s two illegitimate children and had only done so because Annabel had paid her handsomely to take on that responsibility. When that flow of money had stopped, presumably because Annabel had suffered bankruptcy and ill health, her grandmother had complained bitterly about how much of a burden her granddaughters were. Polly’s affection had provided the only love Ellie had experienced during those years.
‘I think I’ll go back to the hotel now,’ Ellie announced, hardening herself to Beppe’s look of disappointment. ‘Rio will be arriving soon and we both need some time to think. This is a lot to take on board and so much more than I ever expected to learn.’
‘I hope you will pack and come here to stay with me for what remains of your holiday,’ Beppe admitted. ‘And perhaps someday you will feel comfortable enough to call me Papà.’
Ellie’s eyes prickled with tears as she left. She felt ridiculously emotional and when Beppe gave her a small, almost daring hug on the doorstep it almost made the pent-up tears spill down her cheeks. He was willing to be her father and she was in a daze of shock and happiness. It bothered her to appreciate that Rio was unlikely to celebrate the same news. Rio didn’t like her and didn’t
