At The Boss’s Beck And Call

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

ALESSANDRO stayed for dinner. To Vivi’s astonishment he insisted on being the cook, with Lara acting as his willing kitchen hand.

‘Better a kitchen hand than a kitchen slave,’ Lara murmured, inciting a wicked surmise in Alessandro’s eyes. Then after dinner, when Vivi was fast asleep, though he’d intended to return to his hotel, desire swept them away and it seemed natural he should stay the night in Lara’s bed.

By Sunday evening he was a shining prince in Vivi’s eyes, and in her loving little heart as well, Lara could see. And who could blame her? What female could resist being charmed by the Marquis of the Venetian Isles?

Although Vivi was anxious he should stay to dinner again on Sunday, and for ever, as far as Lara could guess, as the day progressed Alessandro became increasingly quiet and pensive. Then late in the afternoon he informed them gently that he needed to go back to his hotel and prepare for the week to come.

It made sense to Lara, who had preparations of her own to take care of. But Vivi was disappointed, and so was she, in truth. She’d indulged herself in a daydream that, having come to visit once, Alessandro would never leave. She smiled goodbye, a tear in her heart when he bent to kiss Vivi, who reached up and put her arms around his neck.

In the morning at work, Alessandro called her into his office. Dressed in his business suit, once again he’d assumed that indefinable aura of the boss, even though he was her lover, and the father of her child. That didn’t stop him from kissing her, however.

When the kiss ended he said, ‘There’s something I have to tell you.’

The ominous words sparked a pang of anxiety in Lara, but she concealed it with a grin. ‘You’re not pregnant?’

He smiled. ‘Not this time.’ He glanced cautiously at her and said, ‘I’m flying back to Italy this evening.’

‘What?’ Shock made her numb. Her knees lost strength, and to her shame her voice wobbled. She could see the end of her golden time, the last precious, joyous day draining away.

But what had she expected? He’d made no promises to her except for one of Vivi’s financial support. There was no commitment. She’d had hopes of one soon, but now…

Her disappointment was bitter. ‘Oh. Already? Didn’t you say-I thought-aren’t you staying on until it’s time to go to-to Bangkok?’

‘I was, but circumstances have changed. But-don’t look like that. There’s no need for you to worry, tesoro.’ He drew her back into his arms. ‘I know it sounds sudden, but there are some urgent things I have to do there. It will only be for a few days. I’ll probably call into Bangkok on the way back.’

She looked doubtfully at him. ‘Really? On the way back here?’

‘Yes, here. Really. I’m coming back.’

His eyes were so warm and sincere, but as she gazed searchingly at him his brows edged together. ‘I am coming back,’ he said in some exasperation. ‘Don’t you believe me?’

‘All right. If you say so.’ But her mind was working rapidly. What if, once he arrived in that other world, circumstances changed again and he was delayed long enough for her and Vivi to recede from his mind? He mightn’t come back for months. Even a year. Her heart chilled. Vivi would have no closure. That goodbye yesterday might be the last for a very long time. Were two days with Vivi enough to cement her image in his heart for ever?

She tried to recover her poise and behave like an adult. ‘What time is your flight? We’ll come to the airport.’

He looked taken aback. ‘Are you sure? There’s no need to go to that inconvenience. What about Vivi’s dinner? I’ll be seeing you both again very soon.’

‘There’s every need,’ she said firmly. ‘Forget about her dinner. Vivi needs to say goodbye.’

In truth, six years hadn’t made Lara any better at farewells. She tried to keep a smile for Vivi’s sake, but when Alessandro held her fiercely against his chest and kissed her for the last time, tears rolled down her face, just like before. And when he picked Vivi up in his arms and kissed her, Lara could barely restrain herself from sobbing aloud.

‘I’ll phone you,’ he said, his deep voice gruff and gentle at the same time. ‘I promise.’

They watched him stride down the immigration corridor until he was out of sight, then turned away, despair in Lara’s heart, at least. Vivi was too young to anticipate heartbreak.

Her mother wasn’t so sanguine.

‘It’s a crying shame,’ Greta said later that evening. ‘He was such a nice lad. I had great hopes of him.’

‘He is coming back, Mum.’

Greta looked grave. ‘Oh, right. If you say so. Good.’ She didn’t sound very confident, and Lara’s hopes sank deeper. Why hadn’t he been keen on them saying farewell at the airport? Had he wanted to make a quick, clean getaway? No tears, no reproaches? No conscience?

At work she went through the motions like an automaton.

‘Get a grip, honey,’ Tuila said, stopping by her desk. ‘He’ll be back. He still hasn’t found an MD. As if he’s even…’

‘Even what?’ Lara enquired.

‘Nothing. Forget I said a thing.’

But what did she say? Lara wondered.

‘That guy’s on a Formula One ride to nowhere fast,’ Tuila muttered.

On Wednesday evening the phone rang during dinner. Lara’s heart leaped up in hope, as it did every time a phone rang, and this time she wasn’t disappointed.

‘Hello, tesoro.’ From across the world Alessandro’s deep voice thrilled down her spine like dark melted chocolate. ‘What are you doing right now?’

Beaming. Thrilling. Feeling my heart fly over the moon. ‘Eating dinner with my family. What are you doing?’

‘Ah, pity. I was going to ask you next what you are wearing. So-is Vivi there?’

‘She is. And she’s listening to every word.’

She could hear the smile in his voice. ‘Good. She will keep me on the straight and narrow. Tell her her papa misses her. Do you have your passport?’

‘What?’

‘I want you to fly to me in Bangkok. Will you do it, Larissa?’

‘Well, I had a passport, but it was…And I-you know I can’t leave Vivi.’

‘I don’t want you to leave her. Bring her. Will you come, tesoro?’

‘But…’ Anxiety, joy and excitement seized her all at the same time. ‘When? How-long for?’

‘Two weeks. Three weeks. Until we’re tired of the island life.’

‘The island life,’ she exclaimed.

‘Yes. All three of us. So? Will you come?’ There was a sudden urgency in his voice. ‘Larissa?’

She looked at Vivi and her mother, both avidly staring at her trying to make sense of the conversation, and her heart bounded in her chest with a joyful, rock-solid certainty.

She seized the moment.

‘Yes, Sandro. We’ll come.’

Touchdown. As the big machine roared into the ground-wind on the tarmac and gradually reduced velocity Lara unclenched every muscle in her body and allowed herself to breathe out. Whew, thank heavens for that.

Vivi stirred. Their air-beds had been folded away long since, but Vivi had dropped off to sleep again in her seat. All around people started shuffling, relaxing as the plane slowed, though the lights still warned them to keep their seat belts fastened. Lara smiled at Vivi and patted her reassuringly, then dived for her capacious bag and checked it for the umpteenth time. Money, passports, hotel confirmation, sunglasses, tissues, Kylie…

The airport was a breeze. Huge, space-age and remarkably easy to navigate for the unseasoned traveller. With Vivi clutching her hand, Lara managed to queue through immigration and retrieve her suitcase, her tremulous excitement mounting with every second. Would he be there?

She and Vivi were waved through Customs unhindered. Emerging into the main concourse, Lara scanned until her eager gaze was captured by a tall, lean, darkly handsome man strolling towards them. As her teary gaze locked with his long stride quickened, then he broke into a run.

He caught both of them in his arms, kissing Vivi, then holding Lara so tight against his chest she could scarcely breathe.

‘Was it terrible?’ He kissed her ruthlessly. ‘Were you afraid, tesoro mio? You were so brave to come. And you, Vivi. Did you sleep? Did you look after your mummy for me?’

After a while of relishing being crushed against his big iron-hard frame and enjoying his clean masculine scent, Lara became conscious that they were blocking one of the exits, and her linen jacket and trousers were in danger of being wrinkled.

With a shaky laugh she disentangled herself from the really quite stimulating embrace.

Some air hosties strolling by, elegantly towing their neat little suitcases, swept Alessandro with admiring glances and raised artfully shaped brows at her. Lara could have sworn she recognised a couple of them from that terrace in Roseleigh Avenue.

She grinned, drew herself up and took Alessandro’s arm. ‘Come, darling.’

Outside the terminal, Alessandro steered them to a waiting limousine while the driver dealt with their bags. Lara and Vivi wilted in a wave of heat to match anything Sydney could turn on in the height of summer. There was no patch of blue. A red angry ball burned through a heavy, sultry haze of smog.

As Alessandro settled them into the car Lara felt grateful for having changed Vivi and herself into cooler clothes.

‘Tonight we sleep here in Bangkok,’ Alessandro said, ‘then tomorrow we fly to an island.’

Vivi’s eyes widened. ‘An island.’

‘Yes, Vivi. An island with white sand and coral, and pretty fish and boats, and the gentlest people on earth.’ He narrowed his eyes in thought. ‘I think there might even be monkeys not too far away.’

‘Monkeys.’

He laughed and kissed her, then reached for Lara’s hand. ‘How I’ve missed this.’

Lara gave him a rueful grin. ‘You’ll get used to our charms pretty fast, I’m afraid, signor.’

‘That’s exactly the point, carissima.’

In the evening of a very long day, which had involved sailing to a beach where monkeys performed audacious and disconcerting acts of mischief on unwary visitors, Alessandro strolled to where Lara was lounging on the verandah of their thatched island home, dreamily gazing out to sea.

He handed her a long, cool, pink drink, then dropped down on the lounger beside her, stretching out his bare, bronzed legs, and leaning back on the cushions.

‘She’s fast asleep.’ His deep voice was rich with satisfaction.

‘Monkeys can be very tiring,’ Lara observed, resting her hand on a muscular, hairy thigh.

He gave a husky laugh. ‘We must remember that in future.’

Lara slanted him a smiling glance. ‘I did warn you.’

‘Yes, you did. But I could never have imagined how fantastic the reality would be.’

‘No, really?’

He kissed her. ‘Yes, really.’

Alessandro had missed shaving that morning, and the dark shadow of his beard gave him a devilish, piratical charm Lara found hard to overlook.

She was silent for a while, listening to the gentle swish and fall of the waves on the beach, dwelling on the supreme happiness of being with a beautiful sexy man who could cook.

‘You know, carissa, I’ve been thinking.’

She lifted her brows.

‘Those MDs we looked at for Stiletto were bloody hopeless.’

‘All of them?’

‘Yes, all. They were all too young, too-too-Half of them looked like cricketers.’

She stared at him in surprise. ‘Is that a bad thing?’

He gazed at her with narrowed eyes and said austerely, ‘We can do better.’

She took a sip. ‘Sounds as if you have someone in mind.’ She glanced at him, and her heart made a wild bounce. ‘Aha. You’re not by any chance thinking…’

‘I am thinking it. It would do that workforce good to have a serious shake-up. How can I trust one of these cowboys to do it? So…’ he twirled a lock of her hair around his finger and gave it a little tweak ‘…that was one of the reasons I needed to fly to Italia. There were arrangements to be made.’

She sat bolt upright. ‘Oh, but that’s-wonderful. So you’ll be staying in Sydney for a while?’ She gazed at him, her heart in her throat, all her irrepressible hopes and dreams rushing madly to the surface.

‘I would like to.’ He smiled and it crept into his dark eyes. ‘I was thinking-until Vivi is finished primary school, at least. Then we might reconsider, if necessary. Half of her heritage is in Europe. I would like her to know the rest of her family. We’ll see how we go. In the meantime, we can take holidays…exchange visits…’

‘Oh.’ Visions of holidays in Venice whirling through her head couldn’t for the moment compete with the one blissful fact. ‘So…you’re staying-with us? Definitely staying?’

He lowered his gaze, and when he looked up again his eyes were serious and grave. ‘Where I stay in Sydney-depends on one thing.’ He took her hands in his firm, light grasp, and took a few seconds to arrange the words. ‘I am so in love with you, Lara. I was hoping, if we spent this little time here, you might feel that the three of us could be together all the time.’

‘Oh.’ Joyful tears sprang into her eyes and she said softly, ‘Sandro, you must know I love you. There’s nothing I would like more.’

His dark eyes lit with a warm, tender glow that matched the joy in her heart. She bent to press her lips to his, and his arm slid around her as he responded with a delicious enthusiasm. After a good long while he broke the tingling connection and set her a little away from him.

‘No, no, don’t tempt me,’ he said, his breathing as ragged as her own. ‘Not yet. Not until we get some things straightened out.’

He changed position so they were both propped comfortably up against the cushions.

His expression was suddenly grave. ‘There is one thing on my mind, tesoro.’ He hesitated. ‘Call me a throwback to mediaeval times, but I do observe some obligations to my family.’ All at once he looked quite stern, like a proud, darkly handsome pirate captain reviewing the past that had shaped his aristocratic heritage. ‘The Vincentis can be flexible about most traditions, but one of them is really quite-uncompromising.’

‘Oh?’ She felt a sudden chill of excitement. A delicious, anticipatory buzz warmed her veins.

He took her hand and kissed it. ‘It’s a small thing, carissima. We Vincentis like to marry our women. It might be seen as an old-fashioned practice in some places, perhaps, but-’ he shrugged ‘-it is-still important to me.’ He dropped a light kiss on her nose and grinned. ‘There isn’t much point being a marchese if you can’t persuade some woman to be your marchesa.’

She laughed. ‘I can’t believe you haven’t had heaps of offers.’

His eyes glinted. ‘There’ve been-one or two who might have been willing. Too willing, in fact. Neither of them was the one.’

‘The one? I know what you mean. No one else will do. And if others are too willing-what a turn-off.’

‘Exactly.’ He smiled. ‘Now, take your case. I’ve had such a hard time catching you, tesoro, I feel I need to pin you down. Somehow, I feel I need to know we are truly together. That it’s permanent.’ He flashed her a glance. ‘Can you understand that?’

Though he spoke lightly, there was something in his smile that made her guess suddenly at the pain he must have suffered the time she’d inadvertently let him down in the past.

He angled his lean, powerful frame a little further around to face her, leaning on his elbow, and said gently, ‘See, Larissa, I want to know you’re truly my family, my-wife. I don’t want to ever risk losing you again.’

‘Oh.’ Her eyes were suddenly so misty everything became a beautiful blur. In fact, a few actual tears spilled over. With his usual courtesy, Alessandro helped her out by mopping her up with the corner of a beach towel, and making soothing noises.

She managed to reply at last. ‘I think I do understand what you’re saying. The marriage tradition is not completely unknown in Australia, you know. I wouldn’t mind being put out of my single misery if the right man came along with a good offer.’

His brows went up. ‘Oh? You wouldn’t?’ He searched her face with an intent, urgent gaze. ‘Well, then…So…How about me? Will you marry me?’

Joy blazed in her heart in a fierce, pure flame that momentarily snatched away her ability to speak. He gazed silently at her, then she sat up and hugged him. ‘Oh, my darling,’ burst from her. ‘Yes, and yes, and yes.’ She accompanied each yes with a small passionate kiss.

He let out a long, shuddering breath. ‘Grazie a Dio!’ His face lit with a smile and he seized her and held her close to him, stroking her hair. ‘You won’t be sorry, I promise. We’ll be happy together because we love each other. Vivi will be happy. She’ll be safe. I will take care of you both. Everyone will be happy. Your mother, my mother…’ He broke into a wicked laugh. ‘Wait until they meet at the wedding.’

‘I can hardly imagine that.’ She added nervously, ‘The Meadowses don’t really go in for grand splashes, you know.’

He grinned. ‘No need to worry yourself about that, tesoro. The Vincentis will take care of everything. At your instruction, of course,’ he added quickly. ‘And we’ll have to do something about the residence.’

She looked enquiringly at him. ‘What residence?’

His thick black brows lifted. ‘Our home. Do you have any ideas of where you’d like to live? I myself am used to seeing the sea wherever I live. Since childhood, you understand. Do you like ocean views?’ She nodded, and he said, ‘Good. We’ll start looking when we get back to Sydney.’

She was just starting to consider the exciting residential possibilities when Alessandro’s eyes lit with a piercing, sensual gleam.

‘In the meantime, tesoro, maybe we can start thinking about our honeymoon.’

With the moon rising in the eastern sky, the surf lapping the beach and a balmy ocean breeze to fan their limbs, a lounger seemed an ideal place to contemplate some honeymoon possibilities. Alessandro’s strong, warm arms slid around her, his sensuous lips embarked on a blissful exploration of her neck, and Lara gazed up into the tropical sky and, with all her heart, thanked the starlit heavens for all the treasures that were hers.