Happy Mother's Day!

‘Piccolo,’ her brother’s voice boomed out from the office behind reception. ‘Are you here? I’m heading out to pick up your suit now. I’ll be another half hour at least. Do you want some cheese on crackers to get you by before lunch?’

Siena felt disaster looming. If Rick caught her with a guy there would be no living it down. But she was her own worst enemy on that count as her pause brought the bear from his cave, wiping his grease-stained hands on an old rag that looked dirtier than he was. ‘Siena?’

When he saw her standing with James, the two of them looking equally guilty and nervous and unsure, he slowed. ‘Well, what have we here?’

Siena grimaced at Rick before damping down her nerves, turning on a polite smile and introducing the two men. ‘James, this is my big brother, Rick Capuletti, the owner of this fine establishment. Rick this is James Dillon—’

‘The furniture guy,’ Rick finished, flapping his rag at James.

‘That’s me.’

‘Right. Right. With the big fancy showroom in town. My wife begged me until I bought your signature lamp tables. She had seen them in some celebrity magazine. Cost me a bloody packet.’

Siena looked back at James in redoubled surprise. The beautiful Queen Anne, art deco fusion lamp tables in Tina’s lounge room were his design? The changing table in his workshop had been gorgeous. Delightful. But those lamp tables were beautiful. More than beautiful. They were works of art.

He smiled at Rick but the light barely reached his eyes. Hmm. Could it be that the glimmer and blue flecks and half-smiles weren’t for everybody? She couldn’t even begin to hide her mischievous delight.

‘Pleased to meet you, Dillon,’ Rick said, holding out a hand then retracting it when he saw how dirty it still was.

James saluted him. ‘Consider it shook.’

Rick grinned, taking in Siena in its beaming light. ‘How do you two kids know each other?’

Siena could barely contain her groan. Here we go, she thought, knowing he was about to start acting like a doting over-protective father. He couldn’t help himself. All his life. Even when her poor dad had been alive.

She sucked in a deep breath, knowing the next few would not come so easily as she began to suffocate under his rigid attention. ‘The boy who I swerved to miss when I crashed the green monster was James’s son,’ she blurted.

‘It turns out I bought your old family home,’ James added, and Siena cursed under her breath for not cutting him off before she saw that titbit coming.

It would hardly take a rocket scientist to figure out that she had been cruising by the place on purpose. And after she had told him in no uncertain terms seven years before that she would never step foot in the place again as long as she lived.

She was fast learning that never was a much longer time than she had anticipated.

‘Are you sure?’ Rick asked, prolonging the agony. ‘From what I remember, it went to a lady. Campbell? Diana Campbell?’

‘Dinah,’ James said, admirably keeping his voice even, but Siena could sense his whole body tightening.

She couldn’t bear to look at either of them. She could all but hear the echo of the train wreck on the horizon.

‘Right. So you have a son, eh?’ Rick asked.

/> ‘I do. Kane. He’s eight.’

‘I have two boys. Twins. And a new baby girl. A joy, aren’t they?’

‘They can be,’ James said, his voice sliding back into its normal gentle rumble.

‘So you’re married, then?’ Rick asked. ‘Ah, no. I’m not. Not any more.’ ‘Divorced?’

‘Rick!’ Siena cried. It seemed that staring at her toes wasn’t making it all go away.

Rick held up his hands in surrender. ‘Okay. Fine. I am sorry,’ he cried, his loud voice booming across the reception area.

‘Rubbish. You’re a meddlesome pain in the neck.’

‘And you’re not?’

‘Riccione! Enough. He is so dramatic,’ she said by way of apology, while still glaring at her brother, who glared right back. ‘It’s an Italian thing.’