Venetian Masquerade (10 page)

“It’s my birthday on Saturday. Will you come to my party?” James asked, and Amy caught her breath.

“That depends on whether your mama is inviting me,” he replied.

“Please, Mama?”

Cornered, she had no choice but to agree. “If you are still going to be in Venice. What about your busy schedule?”

“I have a project here that will take a few days before I have to go back to Rome.”

“Then, please come to James’s party. I presume you know where we live?” she added dryly.

“Yes, I do.”

They watched as James ran off into the bushes with Snoopy, and he turned to her, his eyes dark and shining. He reached out suddenly and brushed a curly tendril from Amy’s face. The effect on her body was so direct, she gasped, stepped backwards, and almost fell. He moved towards her and caught her, and for a horrified moment, she thought he was going to kiss her. His face was so close, she could feel his warm breath on her cheek and smell that evocative cologne. The texture of his skin, so familiar, made her fingers ache to touch him. His mouth, so close, so achingly sexy and inviting, was an inch away. She closed her eyes, shutting out the image and, with muttered thanks, moved away from him, picked up her bag, and called James.

“We must go; it’s time for supper, James. Say goodbye to Alessandro.”

She watched as Alessandro squatted down and took the small boy’s hand. “Goodbye, James. I hope we can play football again.”

“Goodbye. Don’t forget my party.”

“I won’t.”

Amy glanced at him and caught the mixture of joy and pain on his face before he turned and walked away.

Chapter Eight

F
or the next two days, Amy kept busy preparing for James’s party, as well as reaching the point where she had to choose wallpaper and flooring for the hotel. She didn’t have time to brood too much about Alessandro, but sometimes, when his face popped into her mind, her stomach tensed and her heartbeat quickened.

Will I always feel like that? Will I never be able to fall in love with someone else and get married? Perhaps I should have accepted Gabriel’s proposal—perhaps he is right and we could have made a go of it.
But she knew it would have been a second best for her, and Gabriel deserved far better than that.

Just then, Gabriel popped his head round the door and asked in a loud stage whisper, “Where’s the birthday boy?”

“Round at Donna’s, where else!” She laughed. “What’s the big secret?”

“I need you to help me hide his birthday present.”

“Is it that big, then?”

“It’s a bike. I hope you don’t mind, but I saw it in a shop in Padua and couldn’t resist it. It is about the right size for the little chap and has stabilizers ’til he gets his balance.”

“Gabriel, he will love it! Thank you so much. We can hide it in the shed and lock it until tomorrow. We’d better do it now; he’s due back at any time.” As they wheeled the bike down the garden, she continued, “I…um…I haven’t had a chance to tell you yet, but he did meet Alessandro, and they seemed to get on really well. He’s coming to the party tomorrow.”

“Well…that’s good, isn’t it?”

“I suppose so. James doesn’t know yet that Alessandro is his father.” She locked the shed, and together, they walked back to the house, Gabriel’s arm across her shoulders.

“One step at a time…Oh, hello Sonya.” He beamed as Sonya and the children burst through the gate with Snoopy, who was barking excitedly. “Hi, kids.”

“Hi, Gabriel. Mama, can we have milk and cookies?” asked James.

“Yes. Carmela’s in the kitchen. Go and ask her.”

The children scampered away, and Sonya turned to Amy.

“I’ve finished the birthday cake, and I contacted Coco the Clown for you. He’s free tomorrow afternoon, so I booked him.”

“You’re a star, Sonya. I don’t know how I would have coped with ten small children for three whole hours!”

“I’ll play some games with them if you like,” volunteered Gabriel.

“Oh, yes, please. What sort of games?” she asked suspiciously.

“You’ll see.” He grinned. “I have to go. See you tomorrow.”

After his boat had chugged away, Sonya and Amy wandered back into the house. “Sonya, I haven’t had a chance to tell you yet, but James’s father tracked us down. I met him in the park a few days ago, and the next day, I took James there to meet him.”

“Amy, I’m glad… I know it’s difficult for you, but it will be better for the boy. Donna would give anything to have a papa, and James has one but doesn’t know him, which is a shame.”

“James invited him to the party, so will you please help me get through the day?”

“Don’t worry. We’ll all make him welcome. What’s his name?”

“Alessandro di Benedetto.”

“Not one of
the
di Benedettos? The property company?”

“The very one.” Amy felt color rising to her cheeks.

Sonya stared at her in amazement. “And you left him?”

“Yes, and then he married someone else.” Amy couldn’t bring herself to expand on that, and Sonya, though clearly puzzled, refrained from any more questions.

To everyone’s enormous relief, the next morning dawned clear and sunny. Carmela and Antonio, determined to help, arrived with croissants for breakfast, and then Antonio spent much of the morning blowing up balloons and hanging up paper decorations. By three o’clock, James was almost sick with excitement, but it was actually Snoopy who threw up all over the kitchen floor, having stolen and eaten a packet of butter. Amy was still on her knees, clearing up the revolting, smelly mess, when the doorbell rang for the first time. “Oh, no,” she grumbled, tugging at her rubber gloves, “Don’t say they have all arrived ten minutes early! James, open the door, will you?”

A moment later, footsteps advanced into the kitchen, and she looked up into Alessandro’s amused gaze.

“I’m sorry if I’m early. Would you like a hand with that?”

“Oh, no…no, thank you.” She rose to her feet and picked up the bucket of disinfectant, feeling rather like Cinderella when Prince Charming came to call. She was still in a scruffy pair of jeans and T-shirt, and he was dressed in navy slacks and a short-sleeved, white shirt, open at the collar, with a cashmere sweater thrown over his shoulder. “James, take Alessandro through to the dining room and ask Sonya to fix him a drink. I shan’t be a moment.” She dumped the bucket outside the door and fled upstairs to change into something that didn’t smell of puppy sick.

“Come on, Ales… Alessondo. It stinks in here because my puppy yucked on the floor.”

“It does.” Chuckling, he took the small boy’s hand, led him into the hall, and handed him a beautifully wrapped present.

“Ooh, thank you.” James gasped. “Can I open it?”

“Yes, of course.”

Amy came downstairs a few minutes later to find James sitting beside Alessandro, ripping the paper off his gift. She hoped it wasn’t anything too extravagant, knowing Alessandro’s penchant for over-the-top gestures, and was relieved to see a Juventus shirt with number ten on the back and a pair of football boots appear from the packaging. James was ecstatic and rushed off to show them to Gabriel as he walked through the door.

“Thank you, Alessandro. He’ll love that,” said Amy. “I’d like you to meet Gabriel.”

The two men shook hands, eyeing each other thoughtfully.

“Gabriel!” James flung himself at his friend and was enveloped in his arms. “Look what Alessondo gave me.” He proudly held up the football strip for Gabriel to admire.

“
Cara,
” he said to Amy, “can I give James my gift now?”

She nodded and smiled, watching as Gabriel led him down the garden to the shed. He proudly wheeled out the bicycle, and James, flushed with pleasure, flung his arms around Gabriel. “Thank you, Gabriel. I do wish you were my papa.”

An awkward silence fell, and Gabriel glanced anxiously at Alessandro. The tension was broken when the doorbell rang and James’s classmates, who all seemed to have come together, rushed in, a noisy and exuberant crowd who surrounded him with parcels and cards.

“I’m sorry about that,” said Amy, but Alessandro shrugged pragmatically and accepted a glass of wine from Carmela.

“I hope that in time, he will be allowed to know who I am, but for now, I am content. I just find it hard to believe that five years ago, you gave birth to my son and I wasn’t there.”

The doorbell rang again, and Antonio ushered in Constanzo and Simona with yet another card and gift for James, who was by now looking a little overwhelmed.

Amy moved to welcome everybody and herded the children into the dining room. Simona, who still had an eye for a handsome man, went to talk to Alessandro, and he found seats for the elderly couple, brought them some drinks, and stood chatting to them for quite some time.

He really can be quite personable and kind. I never saw that side of him.

The afternoon passed quickly with games organized by Gabriel, Amy, and Sonya—and to her surprise, even Alessandro joined in. He seemed very relaxed with the children, and when Donna fell and grazed her knee, he took her to the kitchen, washed the wound, and put on the plaster Carmela found for him. Amy watched, unseen from the door, and was even more astonished when he showed Donna his open hand, then in a flash, produced a two-euro coin, apparently, from her ear. She quickly forgot her sore knee and giggled with pleasure.

He loves children. I have denied James so much, and now, whatever the cost to me, I must somehow put that right.

“Mama, Alessondo, come and play blind man’s bluff with us,” called James, and it was then that Alessandro turned to see Amy watching him.

He smiled a little self-consciously and shrugged.

“I belonged to the magic club at university. Most of life is an illusion, don’t you think?”

Like your love for me was
, she thought, turning away.

“Mama, come on!” James tugged her hand, and she returned to the garden, a smile on her face that did not reach her eyes.

When it was Sonya’s turn to wear the blindfold, James spun her round until she was dizzy and pleading for mercy before pushing her into the crowd to find her victim. She groped around as children danced around her, calling her name, and finally, she made a grab for a small boy who suddenly dodged out of her way. With a shriek, she lost her footing and fell into Gabriel’s arms. He held her for a moment before removing her blindfold, and the color flooded to her face.

“It’s my lucky day,” murmured Gabriel.

“Okay kids, that’s enough of that. I do believe tea is being served.” Flustered, Sonya extricated herself from Gabriel’s arms and rounded up the children.

Tea was sumptuous, with a magnificent birthday cake in the shape of a train, which Sonya had made, and then Coco the Clown arrived. For the next hour, squeals of delight and laughter rang round the old villa. At six o’clock, parents arrived to collect their tired children, and James, flushed and happy, was finally able to ride his bike around the garden. It was almost dark, and Gabriel walked behind him protectively while Sonya and Donna cheered him on as he wobbled round the lawn.

“He’s a good man,” said Alessandro as he and Amy watched from the landing window. “For that much, I am grateful.”

“Yes, he is a good man. I love him dearly.”

“Do you?”

She knew that she was on very dangerous ground and close to telling an outright lie. “Alessandro, he’s kind and…and normal…and yes, he makes me happy.”

“Does he, Amy?”

Alessandro turned to her and pulled her round to face him. Before she could protest, he lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her. She tried to protest, but her traitorous body was having none of it. As her lips parted and he invaded her mouth so sweetly, she slipped her arms around his neck, and he pulled her tightly to him so that she was pressed along the length of his body and able to feel how much he wanted to possess her. Finally, he pulled away and looked into her eyes, his own full of anger.

“So, he makes you happy, does he? Well, I think the poor man is in for a lot of pain, and I feel sorry for him. No doubt, one day, you will run away from him too. I’m leaving now, Amy. Say goodbye to James for me. I am returning to Rome tomorrow, but my secretary will contact you next time I am due to be in Venice. I hope you might then let me take my son out for the day.”

He turned on his heel and left, and Amy pressed her head to the window, eyes squeezed tightly shut, in an agony of remorse. When she finally opened them, she realized Sonya was staring at her from the garden, having seen the whole episode, and the expression on her face was one of disdain.

The exhausted children came into the house a few minutes later and Sonya gathered her sweater and handbag. “We must go, Amy. I’ll come by in the morning to help you clear up.” There was a coolness in her voice and a tight smile on her face.

“Sonya, I’ll walk you home before I go back to the island,” volunteered Gabriel.

“Thank you.” She smiled at him.

“Goodbye, Amy. I’ll see you in a few days.” He gave her squeeze and kiss on the cheek.

James came yawning to the door and kissed everyone, including a blushing Donna. “Thank you for my lovely day,” he said sleepily, and Amy picked him up and cuddled him as they watched their friends walk down the road.

In the streetlights, Amy saw Donna move between Gabriel and Sonya and take a hand of each. They suddenly looked like a family, and the image made Amy feel so lonely and wretched, she buried her face against James, breathing in the warm scent of him.

“Mama?”

“Sorry, James. I just needed a hug,” she whispered. “Let’s go and find Teddy and get you both to bed.”

Once he was settled, she showered and flung herself naked into her own bed, weary but unable to sleep. Alessandro’s kiss replayed in her mind; her lips grew warm remembering his touch, and her body ached with longing for him. But in her head, as she had so many times before, she heard his father, Giovanni, telling her, “He’s a heartbreaker, my dear. You are one of many. If you have any instinct for self-preservation, you will leave…” and knew that she had to be strong. She would have to maintain a cool, polite relationship with Alessandro for James’s sake and keep her own emotions severely under lock and key. He was a married man, and she had no right to him—or he to her. But she knew that through James, Alessandro had all the keys to her heart and mind and that the child was now the fulcrum on which her relationship with his father balanced.