The Salvatore Marriage Deal Read online

  Love. That must be causing this ground-rush of emotions that was rising up to meet him as the clouds of doubt fell away, finally revealing the woman he loved.

  ‘What?’ she whispered, looking anxiously into his face. ‘What is it?’

  ‘I love you,’ he said.

  ‘But…’ Lily stared at him in disbelief. Where had that suddenly come from? A moment ago he’d said he planned to divorce her—which she’d expected, now he had finally accepted he was not infertile.

  So why had he said he loved her? Had she even heard correctly?

  ‘I love you!’ he said, hauling her into his arms and nearly crushing her with his exuberance. ‘Oh, my God! Why have I only just realised it?’

  ‘It can’t be true,’ Lily said. She couldn’t let her hopes be raised. It must be guilt for what he’d put her through making him momentarily lose his common sense.

  ‘It is true,’ Vito said, cupping her face with gentle hands again and looking deeply into her eyes. ‘I’ve never said anything more true in my life.’

  ‘But…’ Lily didn’t know what to say. She looked deep into his sky-blue eyes, trying to suppress the tingle of excitement that was bubbling inside her. It was what she’d yearned to hear for such a long time that she hardly dared to believe it. ‘Why are you saying this now?’

  ‘I only just realised,’ Vito said. ‘I think I was so closed off to my feelings that it took me a long time to realise the truth. Even though it was staring me in the face all the time.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ Lily asked.

  ‘Back before Easter, when you went to the doctor with your stomach bug,’ Vito said. ‘I was so worried about you.’

  ‘I remember you waiting for me,’ Lily said, thinking about the black cashmere sweater she had tossed into the canal.

  ‘You came home looking white as a sheet, and I thought something might be seriously wrong with you.’ Vito took a breath. ‘I couldn’t bear that thought. It cut me like knife.’

  ‘I didn’t know that,’ Lily said. ‘But I remember how kind you were to me. Until…’

  ‘Until I lost my mind with jealousy,’ Vito said. ‘I couldn’t bear the thought of you with another man. I think I lost my reason for a while.’

  Lily gazed at him, the lines of his distress clearly etched onto his face.

  ‘It’s all right,’ she said. ‘It turned out all right.’

  ‘Thank God for Luigi,’ Vito said. ‘And for your friend Anna.’

  ‘I would have been okay,’ she said. ‘I don’t need someone to look after me.’

  ‘I know,’ he said seriously. ‘You are the strongest person I know. When I think how you dealt with all the appalling difficulties I threw your way…I’m sorry.’

  ‘Please, stop saying that,’ Lily said, placing the flat of her palm against his chest. She could feel his heart beating beneath her hand, and the power of its rhythm gave her hope. ‘We can’t turn back the clock. Let’s go forwards.’

  ‘Will you stay with me?’ Vito asked. ‘Give me another chance?’

  ‘Of course I will,’ Lily said, feeling tears of happiness start to well up in her eyes.

  ‘Why are you crying?’ Vito leant forward to brush his thumb across her damp cheek.

  ‘Because I love you too,’ Lily answered. ‘I’ve always loved you.’

  A smile of incredulous happiness broke across Vito’s face. Then the next moment he was crushing her in his arms again.

  ‘I can’t believe it.’ Vito’s voice was muffled against her hair. ‘Last night I was despairing that things could ever be right—and now all my dreams have come true.’

  His words reflected exactly how Lily was feeling, and she clung to him tightly, feeling like she’d never let go again. But a moment later a tiny, mewling cry from the cot interrupted them.

  ‘He’s awake!’ Vito’s voice was full of love and pride, as if waking up was the cleverest thing any baby had ever done.

  ‘Would you like to pick him up?’ Lily watched as Vito lifted the baby out of the cot. His gentle hands seemed almost as big as his son as he gazed down at the crumpled, newborn face with adoring eyes.

  ‘What does he need?’ Vito turned to her for advice.

  ‘I don’t know,’ she replied honestly. ‘I’m new at this. Perhaps I should try to feed him.’ She unfastened the top few buttons of her nightdress and held out her hands for the baby. Vito placed him gently in her arms, then doing the same as the previous evening, guided the little head towards her nipple.

  ‘Ah, that’s the idea. I like to see a little bit of teamwork.’ Lily recognised the doctor’s voice and lifted her gaze to see him walking into the room. ‘We have the results of the blood test,’ he continued. ‘Unfortunately it seems this little fellow is following in your footsteps with a rare blood-type.’

  Lily looked at Vito’s face to see how he would respond to this physical proof that he was the baby’s father. To her surprise a worried frown marred his features.

  ‘That’s a blow,’ he said. ‘I was hoping he would have taken after his mother.’

  ‘There’s nothing to worry about,’ the doctor said. ‘Your wife and I talked some more last night, and she understands now that it won’t be a problem. It’s just something it pays to be aware of.’

  He walked over to the bed and gave a satisfied nod as he saw how well the baby was feeding. ‘I’ll be back to check on you later,’ he said as he left them alone again.

  ‘I thought you’d be pleased,’ Lily said. ‘Pleased to have concrete proof of your paternity.’

  ‘I didn’t need it.’ He turned and held her gaze with serious eyes. ‘I have all the proof I need, in here,’ he said, placing his hand over his heart.

  Lily felt her lips quiver again as once more her eyes filled with tears of happiness.

  ‘I love you,’ she said.

  ‘And I you,’ Vito replied. ‘With all of my heart and soul.’

  EPILOGUE

  ‘MY GREAT-GRANDSON,’ Giovanni breathed, looking down at the little baby cradled carefully in his arms.

  Lily sat next to him on his huge bed, feeling tears well up in her own eyes as she heard the tremulous notes of awe and gratitude in his voice.

  ‘He’s called Giovanni,’ she said.

  The old man lifted his head to stare at her with sparkling blue eyes, momentarily speechless as the information sunk in.

  ‘Thank you,’ he said. ‘Thank you for making me very happy.’

  ‘It’s an honour to do so,’ Lily said, leaning forward to kiss his paper-thin cheek. ‘I can never explain what your kindness has meant to me. How delighted I am to be part of your family, and how much pleasure I have knowing that my son will carry on your family name.’

  ‘You are wearing the necklace,’ he said, suddenly noticing the exquisite piece of antique jewellery that was fastened round Lily’s neck. ‘When you never wore it I thought it was not to your taste after all.’

  ‘Oh no, I love it,’ Lily said, reaching up to trail her fingertips over the smooth beads. ‘Vito was having it checked by antique jewellery experts to make sure it was strong enough to wear. I didn’t want to damage it.’

  ‘But today is an important occasion, Nonno—introducing you to my son,’ Vito said, gazing at his wife. She was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen, and just looking at her made his heart swell with the great love he felt for her.

  He was embarrassed that he’d kept hold of the necklace for months after it had been restored, but somehow he had never been able to find the right time to return it to her. But then she had asked for it this morning, smoothing away his awkwardness with tender kisses, and making him fall in love with her all over again for her kindness and understanding.

  ‘Yes, it is,’ Giovanni said, his eyes focussed back on the baby again, but Vito could tell he was beginning to grow weary.

  ‘We’ll leave you to rest now, Nonno.’ He lifted the baby gently out of his grandfather’s arms. ‘Don’t worry—we’ll come back tomorrow.�
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  ‘See that you do,’ Giovanni said, but the abruptness of his words was softened by the fact that his eyes were already starting to close as he leant his head back against his pillows.

  Vito led the way down to the canal entrance of Ca’ Salvatore and, once Lily was safely on the boat, he passed baby Giovanni down to her.

  ‘You’ve made my grandfather very happy,’ Vito said as he stepped down into the boat and sat next to her. A thick autumn fog was rolling in from the Adriatic, and the city was taking on an eerie quality. It made him want to hurry home and snuggle his little family up, safe and warm inside.

  ‘I meant what I said to him.’ Lily looked up through the fog at the magnificent façade of the baroque palazzo as the boat started to move out into the flow of traffic on the Grand Canal. ‘About being proud that my son will be part of this family.’

  She dropped her gaze to look into the gorgeous face of the man she adored, and as their eyes met a little frisson of pleasure ran through her. She was tired from looking after their newborn baby, but she had never felt so happy in her entire life.

  ‘I love you. And I am so proud to have you as my wife,’ Vito said, slipping his arm around her and hugging her gently. ‘You belong here in Venice. You belong with me.’

  ‘I love it here,’ Lily said as the boat turned off the Grand Canal to head towards home. Tendrils of fog were creeping into the smaller waterways, and the boat driver was taking it carefully. ‘But, more than that, I love you. And I’ll always belong with you.’

  ISBN: 978-1-4268-1788-5

  THE SALVATORE MARRIAGE DEAL

  First North American Publication 2008.

  Copyright © 2008 by Natalie Rivers.

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

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  Table of Contents

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  EPILOGUE