DREAM LOVER (24 page)

Blinking back the tears that always seemed to be hovering near the surface, Rachel put the visor back in place and climbed out of her car.  It took several minutes before she was able to compose herself enough to take those first few steps up the walkway to the mansion and even then she hesitated to ring the doorbell.  If she’d been thinking straight she would have realized a man with Antonio’s wealth wouldn’t be answering the door himself, but her mind was in such a state of turmoil it didn’t even occur to her that his housekeeper would be the one to open it. 

“Celia!  It’s so good to see you.”  Rachel’s smile faded.  It was obvious by her blank expression that Celia didn’t recognize her.  “I… I’m Rachel Delacourte.  Antonio is expecting me.”

“Come in, Miss Delacourte.  Mr. Covelli asked that I take you to him the moment you arrived.”

Rachel followed Celia down the hall towards the main parlor, her spirits plummeting further and further with each step she took.  Structurally, the mansion was the same, but there was nothing familiar about the furniture or the artwork hanging on the walls.  But it wasn’t the changes in the furnishings that stripped away the last remaining hope she’d ever see Nic again, it was when Antonio greeted her with a warm smile then introduced her to his grandson, Natanael.

“Call me Nate,” he said as held out his hand.

The hand shake was brief but that’s all it took for Rachel to know this was not the man she’d fallen in love with, despite the fact he could easily have been mistaken for Nic.  He had the same dark hair and eyes, the same rugged good looks and muscular physique, but that instant attraction she’d felt for Nic when they’d first met was missing.  Even if she’d been able to overlook the lack of sexual awareness she’d always experienced with Nic, there was no way to overlook the petite blond that rose from the sofa and slipped her hand into his.

“This is my wife, Kate.  We’ve heard so much about you, we couldn’t resist sticking around long enough to meet you.  I wish we could stay, but my mother is watching the kids and we need to pick them up before the baby’s bedtime.”

The plastic smile she’d managed to muster froze on her face when Nate mentioned they had a baby.  It should have been her and Nic building a life together and raising a family in this house. 
She
should have been the one standing there giving her husband adoring glances and stealing a kiss even before they’d left the room.  It wasn’t fair.  She and Nic had sacrificed their own happiness for the sake of Rochelle and Nicolo and all the generations that followed and by the looks of it they’d succeeded admirably, but the cost was far greater, far more painful than she ever could have imagined.

“Miss Delacourte?  Are you ready to take a tour of the house?”

Rachel mentally shook herself and tried to stay focused on the job she’d signed up for.  “Of course, and please call me Rachel.  You have a beautiful home,” she said as Antonio escorted her from the room.

“Oh, it’s not my home, though I did grow up here.  It belongs to my grandson now and he’s determined to de-modernize the place.”

“De-modernize?”

“Yes, he’s suddenly taken a liking to antiques and wants to move out all the more modern furniture.  He’s already remodeled his own bedroom and the formal dining room,” Antonio nodded to the massive table and crystal chandelier that hung above it.  “As you can see, he’s taking this very seriously and has been obsessed with restoring all the old furniture that’s been kept in storage for years.”

Rachel’s eyes misted with tears as she ran her hand lovingly over the table top she remembered so well.  “I think you’ll be pleased when he’s done,” she told him wistfully.  “There’s a lot of history in here and I’m glad he… he and his wife recognize that.”

“His wife?  Oh, you mean Kate.  She’s not…”

“Do you think he’d mind if I had a look at his bedroom?  To get a better idea of the atmosphere he’s trying to create,” she quickly explained. 

“Certainly, it’s this way.  You know, you remind me of my mother in many ways.  She was a beautiful woman, with the same dark hair and green eyes you have, though you seem to be a bit more serious minded than she was.”

Rachel started up the grand staircase behind Antonio.  “Did she… have a long life… a happy one, I mean?”

“Oh, yes.  My mother always had a smile on her face, and her laughter could light up a room like nothing else.  She was madly in love with my father, but the same could be said of him.  He couldn’t bear to let her out of his sight even after being married for over half a century.  I imagine the thought of living without her was what killed him.”

Rachel stopped just outside Nicolo’s bedroom.  “So your mother died first?”

“No, they died together.”  Antonio opened the door and allowed her to go first.  He switched on the light and crossed the room to the bed she and Nic had shared.  “My mother contracted pneumonia and was recovering quite well from it. But…it had weakened her heart and we knew she didn’t have long to live.  We found them here, in this bed, the morning after their fifty-six anniversary.  Sometime in the night they’d died in their sleep with their arms wrapped around each other, and they looked… at peace.” 

Antonio cleared his throat.  “We were all devastated by their deaths, but the truth is I’m glad they went together.  I inherited the mansion, but there wasn’t any animosity among my brothers and sisters because they understood that Covelli tradition dictated it be passed on to the eldest son.”

“I thought you were an only child,” Rachel said without thinking.

“Heavens, no,” he laughed.  “I have four brothers and two sisters.”

Her pulse leapt and for a moment she just stood there and stared at him before she finally managed to speak.  “What about you?  Did you have more than one child?”

“Not as many as my parents had, thank God, but I loved growing up in a large family.  I suppose I would have had more but my wife, Lenora, refused to have more than four.  You should see this place during the holidays; it’s filled to the rafters with generations of Covellis.”

“And… grandchildren,” she said faintly, “how many do you have?”

“I think I lost count when it hit double digits,” Antonio chuckled as he led her out of the room.  “I’m afraid I have a few urgent business calls that need to be made so you can either finish exploring the house on your own or you can wait for me to finish.  It shouldn’t take more than twenty minutes.  If you like, you could even take a stroll through the flower gardens.  My mother was so passionate about keeping the gardens beautiful, the family considers it symbolic of our love for her to maintain it just as she used to.”

Rachel considered staying behind but there really wasn’t any reason to.  She’d noticed there was a picture hanging on the bedroom wall where the wood carving used to be, so there was no way to prove there was door there.  If it had ever existed at all.  She’d been so sure in her mind and her heart that she’d find at least some shred of evidence Nic had really existed, but her confidence was taking a serious beating, and she was beginning to question her ability to distinguish the difference between fantasy and reality. 

“I’d love to see the gardens,” she told him, and was surprised to discover it was true. 

Antonio showed her the way though it wasn’t necessary, and that in itself bolstered her spirits.  How could she know the way if she’d never been inside the mansion before?  How could she know what Nicolo’s bedroom looked like or that the kitchen lay to the left of the grand staircase while the study and recreation room lay to the right?  And as she made her way down the familiar pathway in the garden to the alcove where Nic had held her in his arms and kissed her, Rachel felt a lightness of heart that she hadn’t experienced in weeks.

The stone bench was just where she knew it would be, surrounded by a colorful array of wildflowers.  No wonder this had been Rochelle and Nicolo’s favorite spot; it was beautiful and serene, a place where lovers could meet and plan their future together.  Except Rachel had no future, not without Nic, and there was no use trying to delude herself any longer. 

The happiness she’d felt only moments ago fled as quickly as it had come.  She sat down on the bench and buried her face in her hands, despair washing over her in waves.  A harsh sob tore from her throat, and when the flood of tears followed, she didn’t even try to stop herself from crying.  When the torrential downpour finally subsided, Rachel stood up and made a half hearted attempt to regain her composure. 

Clearly, working on the mansion would be too much of an emotional drain, which meant she’d have to go back inside and inform Antonio she couldn’t take the job.  He’d have every right to sue her for breach of contract, especially after waiting nearly a year before she was available to start, but she hoped he’d agree to allow one of her colleagues to take over.  Rachel took one last look around then closed her eyes and breathed in the sweet scent of flowers. 

“I’ll never forget you,” she whispered. 

Her mind drifted for a moment, the memory of Nic so vivid she could almost feel his warmth surrounding her.  She missed him so much her whole body ached, but at least she was able to find a small measure of comfort in the knowledge Rochelle and Nicolo had lived a long and happy life.  Antonio had been raised in a loving environment and had passed that legacy onto his own children, so the sacrifices she and Nic made hadn’t been in vain.  These were the things she needed to remind herself of when the pain of losing Nic became too much. 

Feeling a little more prepared to face Antonio, she headed out of the alcove and down the main pathway but hadn’t taken more than a few steps when she saw Nate coming towards her.  His long stride was purposeful and for a few breathless seconds she let herself believe it was Nic.  She stopped and waited for him to reach her, certain that her legs wouldn’t carry her any further, because the closer he got the harder Rachel’s heart pounded and it was starting to make her dizzy.  She managed to paste a thin smile on her face and hoped he wouldn’t notice what an emotional train wreck she was.

“Grandfather told me I’d find you out here…”  He reached out and gently wiped away a stray tear.  “You’ve been crying.”

“I’m sorry.  I… I think I’ve been working too hard and just need a little time away from it all.  I was going to tell Antonio I can’t take the job and offer the services of one of my colleagues but… maybe you could tell him?”

“Why?”

Rachel blinked.  “Why?  Because he needs to know and I… I just can’t stay here any longer.”

He stepped a little closer, studying her face for a moment before asking in a voice that wasn’t quite steady.  “No, I mean why can’t you take the job?  Why do you feel you have to leave?”

Her eyes lifted to his and what she saw in their depths caused something inside her to shift.  “I can’t explain.  I wish I could but you wouldn’t…” she swayed unsteadily when the spicy scent of his aftershave brought back memories of the passionate nights she’d spent with Nic.

“I wouldn’t what, Rachel?  Wouldn’t understand?”  He took her hands, a maelstrom of emotions playing across his handsome face.  “I wasn’t sure it was real either until I saw you.”

Rachel’s breath caught in her throat.  “You… you aren’t Nate.”

His mouth quirked.  “Nate is my little brother.  Have I really changed so much that you don’t recognize me?”

He was a little taller and maybe a bit broader in the shoulders, and she thought his jaw line was stronger, more defined.  But his eyes were the same and his mouth… oh God, how she wanted to kiss him once more and feel the heat rising inside of her as he made love to her.  She was still staring at his mouth, watching the slow smile spread across his face when he repeated the question.

“Well, have I changed?”

“Some… a little… oh, Nic, is it really you?”

“I sure felt like me when I got up this morning,” he teased.

Rachel started to cry again; big, wet, happy tears.  “I was wrong,” she laughed, “you haven’t changed a bit.”

Nic tugged on her hands and when she fell into him, he caught her around the waist and pulled her snugly against his body.  “I’ve dreamed of this moment,” he said with a husk in his voice.  “I’ve dreamed of holding you, kissing you, making love to you until neither of us has the energy to move.”

“I’m afraid to believe this is really happening.  What if
this
is just a dream?  I don’t think I could take it if I woke up and found myself alone in bed.”

“Trust me, sweetheart, we’re both wide awake right now.  And just to prove it…” he dipped his head and kissed her, softly at first and then with a deeper sense of urgency.

It had only vaguely registered they weren’t alone anymore when she heard Antonio clear his throat.  “I… uh… see that you two have met.”

Nic drew his head back but he didn’t take his eyes off Rachel.  With a devilish grin he replied, “I must commend you, Grandfather.  You said Miss Delacourte was very talented at what she does, and after checking out her… portfolio, I have to admit you were right.”

                        ***

Rachel woke in the middle of the night and reached for the glass of water on her night stand.  It was tepid but her throat was so dry she drank it down anyway then climbed out of bed and slipped her robe on.  The heat had been unbearable that day, but had cooled down considerably by the time she’d gone to bed, so she’d slept with the balcony doors open.