Her Italian Boss’s Agenda

CHAPTER TWELVE

OLYMPIA saw her parents off at the airport.

‘We’ve had such a lovely time, darling,’ Angela said, ‘and it’ll be so lovely coming out for your wedding. Luke’s a delightful young man, but don’t you let the other one put a stop to it.’

‘The other one-put a stop to it-?’

‘Primo, the one who stands about scowling at you and Luke. Watch out for him, because he’ll block it if he can.’

‘I’ll be careful,’ Olympia promised. ‘But don’t count on my marrying Luke. Things aren’t always what they seem.’

‘Don’t be silly, dear. I’ve seen the way he looks at you. Goodbye, now.’

Three days later there was news from England.

‘Mamma’s done it!’ Luke announced triumphantly as he came off the phone. ‘Don’t ask me how, but she’s made Justin and Evie see sense and the wedding’s going to take place here, next month.’

Olympia spent an evening with Hope, who was happily deep in wedding plans. She had a natural gift for organising that was almost as great as Olympia’s own, and soon the entire family had been turned into lieutenants, scurrying hither and thither at her command.

Justin, Evie and Justin’s son, Mark, were to stay at the villa and arrived two days early.

‘I know it’s not usual for the bride and groom to start from the same house,’ Hope said to Olympia, ‘but neither of them has a home here, and this way I can keep an eye on them.’

‘You’re afraid they’re going to escape you again,’ Olympia teased. Hope laughed and didn’t deny it.

Toni and Primo, newly returned from England, went with her to the airport to greet them, and that evening everyone congregated at the villa. Olympia was immediately taken by Evie’s wit and her ready laugh, which obviously covered a sharp intelligence. Justin was an interesting man, apparently harsh, yet seeming to cling to Evie. If she left his side his eyes followed her around the room.

Mark was already a favourite with the family and now he won Olympia’s heart with his cheeky antics and his happiness at being there. After Hope, he was the person most anxious for the marriage to take place without delay.

‘He’s a bit like Primo, when I married his father, Jack Cayman,’ Hope confided. ‘He wanted a mother so badly. I’ll never forget the way he smiled when he finally felt certain of me.’

But that certainty had proved an illusion, Olympia thought. His ‘mother’ had been taken from him and, although she had been restored later, he’d never felt completely safe again.

Hope’s use of the name Jack Cayman brought a host of other memories back. Now she saw how Primo’s early experiences had shaped him. Beneath the apparently solid self-confidence was something rootless, constantly mobile, as though he were seeking something that could never be found.

It didn’t take much insight to deduce that much the same was true of Justin, whose life had been built on even greater confusion. Snatched from his mother at birth, he had later been rejected by his adoptive parents and abandoned in an institution. He’d reached manhood angry and bitter, caring for nobody, ready to do anything.

Against all the odds he’d made something of his life and was now a wealthy man and the head of a huge firm. But the scars remained and they had made him reject Evie, who loved him, for her sake. Now, thanks to Hope’s intervention, things had come right for them, and the whole family had joined to wish them well.

Since Primo had been the one to find him first, Justin had asked him to be his best man. Toni was to give the bride away as Evie had no family. And the day before the wedding Olympia’s parents arrived, at Hope’s invitation, the clearest signal that she was still plotting.

On the morning of the wedding the entire Rinucci family gathered at the villa, which made an impressive sight. Some were staying there, some had travelled up early in the morning, until at last everyone was there.

Galina, as always, was a knockout in a light blue chiffon dress that contrived to be fairly restrained, for church, while leaving no doubt about her glorious figure. Olympia’s honey-coloured linen, which had seemed so elegant in the mirror, now looked dull. In fact, she told herself that she looked almost middle-aged beside Galina’s vibrant youth.

Primo noticed her and drew Galina across for a greeting. The morning sun flashed off something around the girl’s neck, which closer inspection proved to be a gold chain with heavy, elaborate links.

‘Isn’t it beautiful?’ Galina squealed when Olympia admired it.

‘Did Primo give you that?’ Luke asked.

Galina just giggled. Olympia stared out of blank eyes. A gift so valuable was a declaration of intent.

‘It’s time the groom was leaving for the church,’ Hope said, bustling over. ‘And those of you who are going with him, the car’s ready outside.’

Justin appeared, dreadfully pale, and was taken in charge by Primo. A few minutes later the two of them departed together, with Galina.

More cars were lined up before the house; people started checking themselves in the mirror, taking care of last minute details.

Then everyone was silenced by the arrival of the bride. Evie had chosen a simple ivory-coloured dress with a short veil held in place by flowers. She looked beautiful, but she also looked honest, calm and strong. In fact she was exactly what the man she loved most needed.

And Hope knew it, because she gave her new daughter a special mother’s embrace before taking her hand and putting it in Toni’s.

‘You will give her away,’ she said, smiling, ‘and then she will be ours.’

No bride could have asked for a better welcome, Olympia thought as she and Luke headed out to the cars. But she knew now that it could never be hers. There could be no marriage between herself and Luke, whatever other people thought, and it was time for her to leave.

His brotherly kindness had lulled her into a sense of security and she had lingered too long. But now it was time to depart and set a distance between herself and the Rinucci family. That way she need no longer see Primo with Galina.

But then she thought of working with him, seeing him day after day, and knew that moving home wasn’t enough. She must go away entirely, back to England, to another job. It would mean starting again.

But I can do that, she thought. I’ve done it before.

The wedding ceremony was an impressive ritual, but the most impressive part was when two people claimed each other with quiet fervour. Then the organ pealed out and they started back down the aisle into the sunlight, where the photographer was waiting.

So many photographs to be taken, so many family combinations. Nobody must be left out, and Olympia found herself kindly dragooned into many pictures where she felt she had no right to be. But Hope was determined and nobody could stand up to her.

‘Not if they want to live,’ Luke commented wryly.

Then the formal reception, the speeches, Justin almost inarticulate, having to be rescued by his son, saying cheekily, ‘Dad hasn’t got much Italian yet, so I’ll do it.’

At last the tables were cleared for dancing. Olympia watched the bride and groom, standing well back against the wall, a glass of champagne in her hand.

‘Making plans?’ Primo’s voice asked ironically.

‘Oh, shut up,’ she said, abandoning tact.

‘But how much longer can you keep us all on tenterhooks while you delay the announcement? Soon you will be my sister-in-law-or you would be, if I acknowledge that Inglese as a brother.’

‘Primo, will you please stop talking nonsense? Of course I’m not going to marry Luke.’ She faced him, suddenly angry and too full of regret to care much what she said. ‘How could you ever have believed it for one minute?’

‘Because you went to live with him.’

‘Only because I was angry with you. You should have known that. You did know it. Where have your wits been all this time?’

He stared at her. ‘This is my fault?’

She thought of Galina and sadness overcame her.

‘No, mine too, I suppose. I wasn’t very clever from the start, or I’d have seen through you.’ She gave a wry smile. ‘Let’s face it, you didn’t really do it very well. You didn’t fool me. I fooled myself. I wanted to believe in my own cleverness. I’ve nobody to blame but me, so I think we should part friends and forget it ever happened.’

‘Friends?’ he murmured, and then, ‘Part?’

‘Yes, I’m leaving. It’s time this was over. I’m going back to England.’

He stared at her, seemingly unable to think of a reply. When it came it wasn’t the one he would have chosen.

‘You can’t. You’ve got a contract.’

‘Sue me.’

She turned and began to walk away, moving out on to the terrace. But he came after her and pulled her round to face him.

‘People will see,’ she said frantically.

‘Let them. It’s time we had this out. You’ve been playing me for a sucker for far too long.’

‘I’ve been-?’

‘Everything you’ve done recently has been done to punish me. Living with that Inglese, making my whole family see you as a couple. You were teaching me a lesson, weren’t you? I thought better of you.’

‘Oh, don’t give me that,’ she said angrily. ‘We both behaved badly. We both thought better of the other, and we were both disappointed.’

‘Which seems to leave us about even,’ he said, giving her a curious look.

‘Yes.’ She sighed. ‘And that’s a good place to finish.’

‘Are you sure about that?’ he asked, looking at her strangely. ‘Some people might say it was a good place to start.’

‘What?’

‘Don’t you realise that what you’ve been saying for the past few minutes gives us the best chance we’ve ever had? Olympia, for the first time we can be honest with each other. That’s a great start.’

There was a gleam far back in his eyes that obscurely disturbed her, but she refused to take any notice. She had made her decision and this time she would stick to it.

‘I can’t believe you’re saying this. After what we did to each other-’

‘That was bad, and we needed some time apart to get over it, but we’ve had that and now we’re ready-’

‘Will you stop telling me what to do?’

‘Somebody needs to, because you’re lost and confused. Almost as lost and confused as I am, but this is where it stops. Tell me that you love me.’

She gasped in outrage. ‘Is that an order?’

‘Yes, it is! And look sharp about it, I’m tired of waiting.’

‘The devil I will!’ she said, trying to turn away again.

‘The devil you won’t,’ he said, pulling her back. ‘Now listen to me. I stood there in that church, watching Justin and Evie and wondering how I’d ever let things go this wrong.’

‘But so did I-’

‘Then tell me that you love me.’

‘Now, look here-’

‘Say it-’

Before she knew it his lips were against hers and his arms about her.

‘Say it,’ he muttered.

‘I’m blowed if I-’

‘Say it!’

But in the same instant he made it impossible for her to say anything, kissing her until she was breathless and incapable of thought. She had deadened herself to emotions, not once but twice-first for David and then, recently, trying to kill her love for Primo. But now the sweet, uncontrollable feelings rose up and refused to die down.

She loved him. She might deny it from now until kingdom come, but it would still be true.

‘Say it,’ he murmured again. ‘Or I’ll kiss you forever until you do.’

‘In that case, my lips are sealed.’

He was laughing, his body shaking, sending tremors through her too.

‘I love you, I love you,’ she said. ‘But don’t stop.’

All tension and sadness seemed to melt away in kiss after kiss. She was only distantly aware of a door opening and closing behind her, but then she felt Primo draw back a little in dismay.

‘Well, well,’ said Luke’s voice.

Shocked, she whirled and saw him standing there, leaning against the wall, regarding them both with apparent amusement.

‘So you reached the finishing line at last,’ he said. ‘I thought you would if I was patient.’

‘You-?’ she said uncertainly. ‘You mean you-all this time-?’

‘I think I’ve been rather clever,’ Luke said with a grin that might have been aimed against himself. ‘That first night, when you got mad and wanted to leave, I had to find a way to keep you in Naples-’

‘Why?’ Primo asked at once.

Luke gave a crack of derisive laughter.

‘Because I knew she was the one woman who could bring you down, of course. And I wasn’t going to miss the fun. And has it ever been fun! The sight of you not knowing whether you were coming or going has been the best laugh I’ve ever had. I’ve seen jealousy on your face that you could barely control. I’ve seen you driving yourself crazy because you wanted something you couldn’t arrange to have, and you couldn’t even admit it to yourself. Did I enjoy that? You bet I did!’

Primo began to swear softly under his breath. Olympia couldn’t follow the names he called his brother, but they must have been outrageous because Luke relished every one of them.

‘Don’t!’ Olympia got diplomatically between them. ‘Don’t let anything spoil it now. Primo, whatever his reasons, your brother did us a favour.’

‘Don’t call him my brother-’

‘Of course he’s your brother,’ she insisted. ‘Only a brother would do you a huge favour and insult you afterwards, and then laugh at you and with you-’

‘You’re going to be a good influence on him,’ Luke observed. ‘You could even knock some of the nonsense out of him.’

‘Luke, you were never in love with me, were you?’ she asked hopefully.

He shrugged. ‘Maybe just a bit. But not enough to worry about. I’ve been a perfect gentleman so that you could stay here without worry, and it all worked out right.’ He grinned suddenly. ‘Mind you, there might be a problem. Your mother likes me better.’

‘I’ll bet she does,’ Primo murmured. He still eyed Luke askance, but he was calming down.

Olympia kissed Luke’s cheek and was enfolded in a brotherly hug. As he turned to go, Primo called, ‘Hey, Inglese!’

He waited until Luke looked back before saying quietly, ‘Thank you.’

‘Hah! You think you’ve won, but she’ll lead you a merry dance, and I’ll be there, laughing all the way. Starting with the altar. I want to be your best man.’

‘I wouldn’t have anyone else.’

Luke walked away.

‘Yes, I think I’ve won,’ Primo said. ‘I know I’ve won. I’ve won everything I want in the world.’

He seized her in his arms again. Neither of them saw Luke turning at the last minute. He watched them for a moment, then touched his cheek where Olympia had kissed it and murmured, ‘Maybe just a bit.’

Olympia’s conscience was troubling her.

‘What about Galina? You weren’t trying to make me jealous, surely?’

‘No, because I didn’t think I could. I wanted to save my face, so that when you and Luke announced your engagement I wouldn’t be standing there alone like a lemon.’

‘But if she’s in love with you-’

That made him roar with laughter.

‘My darling, as far as Galina’s concerned I’m an old man. She’s eighteen. I only know her because her parents are friends of mine. When she found out what was happening-and it’s hard to keep anything from that girl-she said, “What you need is window-dressing, Uncle Primo, and I’m the person to help you.” So I turned up with her on my arm, just to save my dignity. She came to my rescue again after that, but she’ll be glad it’s over so that she can go back to boys of her own age.’

‘She doesn’t really call you uncle?’

‘I swear she does. She kept coming out with it all that evening, and I had to keep frantically reminding her not to. Let’s find her so that I can tell her that she’s off duty from now on.’

They found Galina a few moments later, dancing smoochily with Ruggiero, so absorbed in him that it was with great difficulty that Primo attracted her attention. Then he pointed to Olympia, giving a thumbs up sign. Galina smiled, waved and touched the heavy gold chain about her neck. Then she hooked an arm around Ruggiero’s neck and forgot all about Uncle Primo.

As they walked away, Primo said, ‘What did you think of the chain-my thank you gift?’

‘Very pretty.’

‘Wait until you see the one I will buy you.’

In another room Luke found solitude and a bottle of good whisky.

There Hope discovered him a few minutes later.

‘I saw what happened,’ she said fondly. ‘It’s what you were planning all the time, isn’t it? You always knew it would be Olympia and Primo in the end.’

‘I guess I did. But Mamma, sometimes you have to ask yourself, if a man acts like such a clown when he’s wooing his woman, isn’t another man entitled to step in and-?’ He finished with a shrug.

‘So why didn’t you?’ she asked, holding out a glass for Luke to pour her a whisky.

‘I nearly did. There were nights when I stood outside her bedroom door while my worse and better selves fought it out. My worse self put up a brave fight-’

‘But your better self always won?’

‘Unfortunately, yes,’ he said savagely, and she laughed.

Then he sighed. ‘It wouldn’t have been any use. Primo’s the one for her, I could see that.’

‘So you played Cupid. I always knew that you were really a good brother.’

‘Don’t say that,’ he said hurriedly. ‘Think of my reputation.’

Hope laughed. ‘All right, I’ll keep quiet about it. But we both know the truth, which is that you have a kind heart, a brother’s heart.’

He grimaced. ‘Yes, it’s just a shame that it asserted itself now, and about her.’

‘Somewhere there is a woman for you. You’ll get over Olympia.’

‘Sure I will-say, in about a hundred years. In the meantime, perhaps I’d better go away for a while.’

‘Far?’ Hope asked in alarm.

‘No, only as far as Rome. A man there owed me quite a lot of money. He couldn’t pay so he signed over some property he owned. It’s likely to prove more of a curse than a blessing, as I gather it’s in a bad way. There have been no improvements to speak of for a long time, and there’s a lawyer giving him grief. He describes her as the devil incarnate, which means she’ll give me grief as well.’

‘She?’

‘Signora Minerva Pepino. I’ve already had a letter from her that practically took the skin off my back.’

‘Good. She’ll keep your mind occupied.’ She kissed him. ‘Go to Rome, my son, and come back for Primo’s wedding. Perhaps you will bring a bride home of your own.’

‘I doubt it. Be content with two daughters-in-law, Mamma.’

‘Nonsense. I want six. Now, come back and join the party.’

She departed, humming. After a moment Luke followed her and stood, unnoticed, watching the revelry. Justin was dancing with his bride, his harsh face softened by happiness. Primo circled the floor with Olympia, both enclosed in their own cocoon of joy.

Luke watched her and knew that she had forgotten him.

‘I had to go and be a “good brother”, didn’t I?’ he groaned. ‘It was bound to happen one day, but in heaven’s name, why now?’

He stood for a moment watching Primo and Olympia-soon to be his sister-held close in each other’s arms, absorbed and happy.

‘Why now?’ he murmured.

The wedding was over. The house was sleeping, except for the two in the gardens. It was dark out there, except for the moon, and the only sound was of two lovers whispering.

‘I never meant to lie to you,’ he vowed, ‘but the moment we met I knew you had to be mine. I’d lived such a safe, sensible life, but none of that meant anything after I saw you. I wanted to be wild and even stupid.’

‘Well, you were certainly that,’ she told him fondly.

‘Are you going to be a nagging wife?’

‘One of me is. The others haven’t decided.’

‘Ah yes,’ he said, understanding her at once. ‘We’ll always have that now. An infinite variety-very handy for playing away-’

‘Planning to be unfaithful, huh?’

‘Only with you, amor mio. Only with you.’

Her deep, delighted chuckle brought the world to life. In the moonlight he saw her pulling at her hair, becoming a witch before his eyes.

‘You know this one, don’t you?’ she teased. ‘It’s the corny film where the heroine lets her hair fall loose and the hero goes weak at the knees, and swears to love her for ever.’

‘Yes,’ he said, taking her joyfully into his arms. ‘That’s exactly what happens…’