Chapter Twelve.
Theresa headed down to the kitchen for breakfast three weeks later and found her husband already seated at the table, newspaper in hand. He"d already dressed Lily and had her little baby carrier placed on the table in front of him. Lily was asleep and Sandro was so absorbed in his paper that he didn"t notice her at first. It was Phumsile"s usual day off, so he"d fixed himself a bowl of cereal, toast and some coffee. She smiled at the sight of them, her heart overflowing with love for both of them.
"Good morning," she greeted cheerily, as she headed over to the breakfast nook. She dropped a kiss on the baby"s cheek and then, after the briefest of hesitations, one on her husband"s lean cheek. While Sandro was a lot more affectionate these days, she still felt a certain reserve around him, not sure if she could touch and kiss him as freely as he did her. She knew she was being silly but she seemed unable to overcome her emotional barriers. He told her he loved her every day but she still couldn"t quite bring herself to believe him. She often cynically caught herself wondering if he meant the words or merely said them because he thought they were what she wanted. She didn"t understand herself, on the surface it looked like she had everything she"d ever wanted but she still didn"t quite believe it was real.
"Good morning," he smiled up at her and put his newspaper aside as she got herself some cereal and sat down opposite him. He did that all the time now. She seemed to have his undivided attention: the business section was set aside, the television switched off, phone calls terminated and stock reports carelessly tossed away whenever she walked into a room. He wanted to know how she was feeling, how her day was going, what her plans were... they talked all the time, they spent companionable evenings together and he was a hands-on father. They"d had a quiet family Christmas and had both delighted in buying hugely impractical toys for Lily, things that she wouldn"t be able to play with for years. Sandro had surprised her with an emerald pendant and earrings and she"d given him a silver Montblanc pen with Lily"s and her names engraved on. Their New Year had been equally quiet as they"d invited only Rick, Lisa and Rick"s brother over for a poolside barbecue. They made love every night and he worshipped her body during those long, dark hours. They had a great life... so why couldn"t she trust him?
She knew that her reserve was frustrating Sandro... h.e.l.l, it was frustrating her but she needed something more. She just didn"t know what.
"I thought I"d let you have a bit of a lie in," he was saying, as he sipped his coffee. "Between Lily"s and my demands last night, you didn"t get much sleep." She blushed and averted her eyes to her cereal.
"Thank you," she mumbled. Her cellphone rang and she retrieved it from the kitchen counter where she had left it to charge the night before. A quick glance at the screen told her it was Lisa.
"Hey," she greeted.
"Hey yourself Birthday Girl," her cousin greeted and Theresa started. It was her birthday. She"d completely forgotten. "Rhys and I are taking you and Lily out to lunch. Our treat. But we"re doing some serious birthday shopping first."
"I"m not sure..."
"No arguments, cuz. I"m sure Sandro will understand. He won"t expect you to spend your birthday by yourself while he swans off to work... and he can have you this evening." Theresa glanced over at Sandro, who was playing peekaboo with a slightly groggy Lily. A helpless smile tugged at her lips as she watched him earnestly play with his daughter. Lily looked confused but at least she hadn"t started wailing yet.
She refocused on her conversation with Lisa, certain that Sandro had no clue that it was her birthday and she wasn"t about to inform him, not when she knew how angry this new Sandro would be with himself for never bothering to discover that information.
"Uhm... okay, what time do you want to meet?" She and her cousin quickly worked out the logistics of their meeting and she hung up shortly after they"d finalised their plans.
"You are meeting Elisa?" It was a question more than a statement, Sandro had lifted Lily from her carrier and was cuddling her to his chest, while she suckled on one of his knuckles.
"Yes, some shopping and lunch."
"Do you want me to take Lily to the office while you enjoy your girls" day out?" She smiled at the inherently selfish offer, knowing that he would love showing his daughter off at work.
"I appreciate the offer, Sandro... but until you start lactating, I don"t think having her away from me for hours at a time is a good idea." He grimaced at that logic. She knew he missed Lily while he was at work. After a month of paternity leave, he had very begrudgingly gone back to work but he called every day, claiming to miss "his girls". It was sweet.
She watched him go back to muttering sweet nothings to his daughter between sips of coffee.
"Sandro, do you know who leaked that story about our marriage to the press?" She surprised herself by asking and she could tell by the way he jerked that the question had thrown him. He lifted his eyes to her, absently rocking Lily as he tried to gauge her mood.
"My oldest sister, Gabriella, had indiscreet conversations about our private family business with one of her friends. When my father died, the family was in the news for weeks and this "friend" saw a golden opportunity to make some money. Our marriage wasn"t the only thing that was dragged out for public scrutiny, my sister Rosalie"s teenage abortion hit the news, my other sister Isabella"s cheating husband..." he shook his head in disgust. "Ours was just the biggest news because of your father"s involvement. It made a bad time for the family even worse. I was so busy doing damage control after the news of Rosalie"s pregnancy and subsequent abortion that when the story of our marriage first hit, I wasn"t even aware of it, until my mother brought it to my attention. I dropped everything and flew home to you. I couldn"t stand the thought that you"d think it was true... that you"d think I valued our marriage so little that I would file for a divorce without even talking to you about it."
"What happened to the friend?"
"She sold our secrets for a pittance but the status she had in our society has diminished to nothing. She is no longer welcome in the circles she once ruled. Trust me, there"s no greater punishment for someone like her. Gabriella has learned a valuable lesson in discretion... and a few Italian publications are currently being sued for libel when they completely fabricated a lot of the so-called "facts" to back up the already juicy story they"d been handed. Like the "fact" that I was filing for a divorce."
"Also..." she paused.
"Also?" He prompted.
"Why didn"t you call? You promised you"d call every day," she whispered.
"Cara, my father had just died, my sisters, mother and nonna were emotional wrecks... I had so much to take care of but, every time I spoke with you, all I wanted to do was get the h.e.l.l out of there and come home," that was the second time in as many minutes he"d referred to their house as "home" and the word warmed her down to her soul. "Trust me when I tell you, the urge to come back was so strong that I actually ordered a car to take me to the airport after one of our awkward little conversations. I was torn between following my heart and honouring my responsibilities. But if I hadn"t strictly rationed our phonecalls, I would have abandoned those responsibilities."
"You wouldn"t have," she said with a half-laugh.
"Don"t underestimate your allure, sweetheart. I would have... in a heartbeat. I know it was selfish of me not to call but it was the only way I could think of to control the impulse to simply hand the whole mess over to my sisters and come back to you. At the same time, our very stilted conversations weren"t helping matters. I was frustrated and hated how emotionally distant you sounded. I was also afraid of saying the wrong thing and alienating you even further. It was driving me into the wall."
She laughed slightly.
"Up the wall," she corrected.
"What?" He looked baffled.
"It was driving you "up the wall"... not into it."
"Into the wall, up the wall, over the wall, whatever," he flicked a dismissive hand. "It was driving me crazy." Charmed by his failure to grasp the English idiom, Theresa laughed again and decided to let the matter go. His explanations had gone a long way toward dispelling some of her lingering uneasiness with their relationship. Lily started to fuss and Theresa reached for her before quickly and efficiently bared a breast, she winced slightly when Lily latched on hungrily. Sandro dropped his jaw into the palm of one hand and watched them possessively. He enjoyed watching her feed Lily. In fact he was so completely fascinated with the new shape and size of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s recently that he handled them with gentleness and a bit of reverence whenever they made love.
"Thank you for answering my questions," she said after a few moments of silence, broken only by the snuffling sound of the hungrily feeding infant.
"I"m happy to answer any others," his voice trailed off in invitation and she nodded.
"Good to know.," she needed to ask him about Francesca, about their future... but she was meeting Lisa. Later, she promised herself. She would ask him later. She ignored the tiny voice in the back of her head that called her a coward.
"So what are the plans for tonight?" Lisa asked curiously as Theresa enjoyed the decadent slice of chocolate mousse cake she was having for dessert.
"We"ll probably have a quiet evening," she shrugged. "Sandro doesn"t know it"s my birthday."
"Oh," Lisa glanced away for a long moment before turning back to Theresa. "Do you want me to tell him?"
"No he"d feel awful if he realises," Lisa"s lips tilted at the sides.
"Well, at least he wouldn"t be indifferent," Lisa said. "Which is probably what he would have been a year ago." Theresa nodded.
"I know..." she paused. "He told me he loved me... about a month ago. And he"s said it every day since. But, I can"t quite seem to bring myself to believe him."
"Theresa, it"s been pretty obvious to me for a while now that he"s in love with you," her cousin startled her by saying.
"It has?"
"Yes... I think I started to see it when he tried to forgive my debt for no good reason and then when you fainted after your amniocentesis and started crying when I got there, Rick was right, the man looked devastated when you burst into tears. I think you should start believing in him. I know that he hurt you badly in the past but it"s time for you to decide if you can forgive him or not. Because if you can"t then there"s no point in staying in this marriage but if you can then I think this man is going to do his d.a.m.nedest to make sure that you"re happy for the rest of your life."
Lisa went home with Theresa that evening deciding that they should have an impromptu birthday dinner for her. But when they got back to the house and Theresa got a phone call from Sandro telling her that he had to work late, Lisa grimly bullied Theresa into a pretty dress, called Rick and said that they were taking Theresa and Lily out to what she called a "fancy" restaurant.
Theresa was in no real mood to celebrate and when they got to the restaurant, she dragged her feet to the entrance, where Rick stood waiting. He looked quite dashing in a tuxedo and well-matched with Lisa, who was wearing one of the pretty evening gowns she had bought on their shopping expedition that afternoon.
"Look guys, this is too much fuss..." Theresa protested. "Why don"t we just head back to my house and have a nice dinner or something?"
"Too late now, Sunshine, we"re here, so you"re going to have to deal with it." Rick grinned, before dropping a kiss on her cheek and then reaching over to taking Lily"s carrier from her. "Happy birthday, Theresa, you look ravishing."
Right, the knee-length silk slip dress was a little too low and made her swollen b.r.e.a.s.t.s look slightly too voluptuous for her liking. She felt a little uncomfortable in it but Lisa had chosen it, saying that the ice green colour did wonderful things for her hair and eyes.
"I mean, did you guys even think to make reservations?"
"Theresa, with your dad and husband being who they are, do you really think getting into any restaurant you want is ever going to be a problem?" Lisa scoffed and Theresa wrinkled her nose, conceding the point. Lisa flounced through the door and Rick stood aside to let Theresa in.
The maitre"d smiled and led her through without question. Surprised, she followed him with a little frown on her face. He led her through double gla.s.s doors. The place was packed with people and for some reason no-one was sitting down. She squirmed uncomfortably when everyone turned to stare at her, not quite sure what on earth was going on.
"Surprise!" She nearly jumped out of her skin at the collective shout and then finally realised that she recognised most of the faces in the room. Rick, who had stood outside of the room until after surprise, in case it scared Lily, moved to stand beside her.
"What"s going on?" She whispered in panicked confusion.
"It"s a surprise birthday party, you ditz," he teased, dropping another fond kiss on her cheek before heading off to find his wife in the throng. People were milling around her, kissing her and shaking her hand. She recognised Gabe Braddock and all of Sandro"s Friday night buddies along with their significant others, Rick"s brother Bryce came up and gave her an unceremonious pat on her back and a gruff "happy birthday" before disappearing back into the woodwork. The man hated crowds, she could imagine this scene wasn"t really to his taste but he was here and she was so utterly confused by that. Why was he here, why were any of them here? How did Lisa even know to invite Gabe Braddock and that lot?
"Happy birthday, my love," a familiar pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist and she was tugged back against a broad chest. Sandro dropped a kiss in her neck. She turned in his arms and stared up at him in bemus.e.m.e.nt.
"You did this?" She asked in disbelief. "But I thought you didn"t..."
"Cara," he interrupted with infinite patience. "I"m not a stupid man, I wasn"t about to repeat my past mistakes. I love you and I wanted to show you how much."
"How long have you been planning this?" She asked.
"G.o.d, since before my father died... the plans were put on hold until after I returned and then with Lily"s birth they stalled a bit but I wanted to do something special to make up for all the times your birthday was neglected or forgotten over the years." She knew he meant by her father as well as himself and was helplessly touched by the gesture.
"Thank you," she smiled and stood up on her toes kiss him. He cupped her face and kissed her hungrily.
"You look beautiful," he told her.
"You don"t look too bad yourself," she said, stepping back to take in his tailor-made tuxedo.
"Hey, break it up you two," a brash male voice intruded into their intimate little coc.o.o.n and they both turned to see Gabriel Braddock"s smiling face. "Sandro, it"s like every time I see you with this gorgeous thing, you have your hands all over her. Share the wealth, bro." He stepped forward to envelope Theresa in a warm hug.
"Happy birthday, gorgeous. We"ve missed you..." considering how they"d met her only once, months ago, Theresa initially doubted the veracity of that statement but the sincerity in his face, led her to believe that he actually meant his words.
"Thank you," she smiled. "I"m sorry I never came to any of your other soccer nights."
"You had a difficult pregnancy, perfectly understandable," he dismissed with a careless flick of the hand. "And congratulations on your beautiful daughter, by the way. Sandro"s been flashing pictures of her at us for weeks. It"ll be nice to see her in the flesh. Where is the little darling?"
"My cousin"s husband has her," she glanced around for Rick and saw him showing Lily off to his brother, Bryce and Bryce"s business partner Pierre de Coursey. The little group was soon joined by Rick"s business partner, Vuyo and by Pierre"s wife. Everybody was cooing over the still-sleeping baby.
"Looks like she"s not wanting for attention, so I"ll take her beautiful mother out for a spin on the dance floor in the meantime," he whisked a laughing Theresa away from Sandro before the other man could protest and twirled her around to some upbeat music.
He"d had her for barely two minutes before someone cut in, after that she was pa.s.sed from partner to partner for the next half an hour before Sandro finally claimed her.
"Think you can spare some time to flirt with your husband, cara?" He asked grumpily and she blinked up at him uncertainly until she realised that he was a little jealous. The fact boosted her confidence and brought a delighted smile to her face.
"I have a few minutes to spare between dances," she nodded after a considering pause and he growled before dragging her closer and tucking her head onto his shoulder. They swayed together slowly and he started nuzzling her neck. She sighed and melted into his hard body, enjoying the warm, spicy scent of him. They were so wrapped up in each other that they didn"t notice anybody standing beside them until a voice penetrated the fog of desire.
"Sandro?" He made a protesting sound before raising his head and blinking at someone standing behind Theresa. She watched his face light up and a smile grace his lips before he launched into rapid Italian. Baffled, she turned in his arms and froze...
"Cara, this is my mother and two of my sisters... they flew over to meet you and the latest edition to our family. Mama, Isabella, Rosalie, this is my wife, Theresa." The four women eyed one another warily, none of them quite certain what to expect. Finally, the youngest of the trio of gorgeous brunettes stepped forward with a smile. Theresa guessed that she had to be Rosalie.
"I"m very pleased to finally meet you, Theresa," she said in lightly accented English and to Theresa"s utter shock gave her a warm hug. "I"m Rosalie."
"I... nice to meet you," Theresa muttered helplessly in response, her eyes desperately seeking Sandro"s. He looked anxious but smiled rea.s.suringly when he met her gaze.
"I was expecting them to arrive next week but they flew in late last night, just in time for your birthday," she could see the apology in his eyes, as if he feared their presence would diminish her pleasure in the birthday party. She shook her head, the gesture so slight that only he caught it and smiled at him.
"Well, what a doubly wonderful surprise then," she shook off her shock and bestowed a genuinely warm smile on the small group of Italian beauties. Sandro"s sisters were receiving a lot of speculative male looks already.
"My daughter Gabriella couldn"t make it, she"s having some trouble with her oldest child," Sandro"s mother finally said keeping her voice determinedly neutral. "And of course, my mother-in-law is too old to travel. But they both send their best." Therese very much doubted that, remembering how particularly hostile those two women had been to her during the video call.
"Mrs de Lucci," Theresa reached out to grip the other woman"s hands in both of hers. "I"m so sorry for your loss and I"m sorry that I was unable to attend the funeral."
"Don"t be silly, Theresa," she older woman scoffed, determinedly blinking away her sudden tears. "You were heavily pregnant. Travelling in that condition would have been foolish. You did the right thing. Now, where is this granddaughter of mine? I"ve seen photographs of course but I"m ready to meet her." The imperiousness in her tone brooked no disobedience and Theresa grinned when Sandro practically saluted before abandoning them in search of his daughter.
She tensed, when she realised that he"d left her alone with his intimidating family and braced herself for whatever would come next. She was under no illusions that they liked her or accepted her, knowing that they would all pretend to get along just find for Sandro"s sake... but that what went on behind his back would be another story entirely.
"I owe you an apology," Sandro"s mother finally shocked her by saying and she dared a glance into the elegant older woman"s face. The woman no longer looked intimidating, in fact her face had softened completely and Theresa blinked up at her in surprise. "I was less than.... gracious, when you called to speak with my husband. After the funeral, Sandro told us the truth about your marriage, about the way both he and your father had treated you, so I now know that you would have been completely justified in not wanting to speak with my husband. But you showed a greater depth of character than the rest of us combined when you agreed to meet him... you made a dying man very happy in his last few hours. He was so worried about Sandro and what he"d sacrificed for our family but talking to you eased his mind considerably and he was at peace when he pa.s.sed away that night. I have you to thank for that."
"I was happy to meet him," Theresa responded, a little blown away by this turn of events.
"Well, this is nearly two years too late but I am very happy to meet you too, Theresa," her mother-in-law engulfed her in a totally unexpected and very awkward hug. Theresa returned it in bemus.e.m.e.nt before both women stepped back a few seconds later, looking equally fl.u.s.tered. Rosalie and Isabella were both grinning. Rosalie introduced Theresa to Isabella, explaining that the other woman spoke little English "But she wanted to meet you," Rosalie confided cheerfully. Theresa could see that she and Rosalie were going to get along just fine. The other woman was an irreverent bundle of laughs and they were both giggling conspiratorially over the way Sandro had practically jumped earlier to do his mother"s bidding, when he finally returned carrying Lily. The baby was awake and wailing, not happy with the crowd of unfamiliar people surrounding her. Her little face was wet and scrunched up but her aunties and grandmother immediately started fussing all over her.
Sandro handed her over to his mother for a moment before turning to Theresa.
"You okay?" He asked in a low voice that only she could hear. She nodded, smiling rea.s.suringly up at him.
"I"m sorry, I didn"t expect them to show up so soon, I hope they haven"t spoiled the party for you? I wanted this night to be perfect."
"And it has been pretty near perfect so far," she a.s.sured him. "They"ve been lovely, Sandro. All of them."
"Good, because I would have bounced them the h.e.l.l back to Italy if they"d said anything at all to upset you" he told her firmly.
"Don"t be silly. They"re your family..."
"Wife trumps all," he retorted and she rolled her eyes.
"I"m going to rescue Lily from the Kissing Brigade over there. She"s probably hungry," she went over to do just that, practically floating on air as she felt Sandro"s gaze still on her. Wife trumps all? She very definitely liked the sound of that.
In the end, Theresa got her dream birthday party, complete with singing, a huge cake and dozens of floating balloons. The evening couldn"t have been more perfect. After making sure his family was loaded into a taxi that would take them to their hotel, he called their driver to come and pick them up. Lily had been put to bed in a quiet room equipped with a professional nanny that the staff had provided for her and Rhys. She stirred restlessly when her parents collected her and they both tensed, knowing that was close to her regular feeding time.
"I"m knackered," Theresa yawned once they were all snugly ensconced in the back seat of the car. He had his arm draped around her slender shoulders and she had her head tucked against his chest. Lily was contentedly suckling at her breast and both of them were in danger of falling asleep on Sandro.
"I had a wonderful evening Sandro," she muttered sleepily.
"I"m happy to hear it, cara," he whispered into her hair.