Claire approached him and held out her arms to relieve him of Eva for a while. “I’ll take Eva. Why don’t you take a shower to loosen up, and I’ll make us all some breakfast.”
Luca stood and handed off the sleeping infant. “Please make coffee. Strong, black coffee.”
“I can do that.”
He started toward the staircase, but before he could reach it, Claire said, “Luca?” He stopped and turned. “I wanted to say thank you.”
“For what?” he asked.
“For last night.”
He gave her a guilty smirk in response. “Which part? The part where I lost control and almost took you against the refrigerator? Or the part where I pushed you aside to take care of Eva when I could tell you didn’t want me to?”
That was a good question. The words had leaped from her lips before she’d really thought them through. “Both, maybe. The combination of those two things gave me a little taste of what it’s like to have someone in my life again. To help me, to hold me. It was nice.”
“I know what you mean,” he said. “I think you and I have both gotten too used to being alone. My mother is always reminding me that’s not how people are supposed to live. I’m starting to think she’s right.”
“I may not know you that well, but from what I’ve seen you’re a good man, Luca. The woman you let into your life would be very lucky.”
A sadness Claire didn’t understand washed over Luca’s face. Why would a compliment like that steal the light from his eyes so quickly when her angry insults of the past didn’t seem to make the slightest dent in his armor?
“Thank you,” he said, but she got the feeling he didn’t believe it, just as she didn’t believe it when he told her she was beautiful. They both seemed to have a lot of doubts when it came to their self-worth and value to the opposite sex. Claire knew why she felt that way, but Luca? He was an attractive, thoughtful and wealthy businessman with a way of complimenting a woman so her knees turned to butter. She wasn’t sure why he wasn’t fighting women off with a stick. He wasn’t the kind of man she needed in her life, but he would be a great choice for any other woman.
Claire wanted him to know that she really meant what she’d said, that it wasn’t just some flattery. “I wish I’d found a man more like you when I was younger and looking for someone to start my life with. If I had, perhaps I wouldn’t be a widow wondering how her life went off track.”
The sadness faded away and Luca’s jaw tightened along with his grip on the banister. He looked up at her with eyes that reflected a confusing combination of regret and irritation. “If I were you, I wouldn’t waste my wishes on a man like me,” he said, and headed downstairs.
Six
Luca sat in a beach chair quietly scowling. Claire was with Eva as they carefully splashed in the waves. The baby was wearing a rainbow-striped swimsuit with ruffles on her bottom, although most of her was held out of the water by her mother. Eva would squeal every time the cold water rushed over her feet, then giggle as if it was the greatest thing she’d ever experienced. If Claire let go of her hands, Eva would grab fistfuls of wet sand and mush them between her fingers.
It should’ve been a happy and amusing sight for Luca. He should be out there in the freezing water with his daughter. Instead, he was sitting at a distance, practically pouting beneath his ball cap and sunglasses. He had no reason to pout, really. He’d succeeded in pushing Claire away. That was what he’d wanted to do, or at least what he felt he had to do when she got that moony look in her eyes. He might have slipped up the other night and let himself get carried away physically, but that didn’t change the fact that he was not the man for Claire. He wasn’t a romantic savior there to sweep in and rescue her from her loneliness. It was better that she learn that now rather than later.
And yet the past few days had been miserable. At first, Claire had been focused on Eva and caring for her as she got over her illness. When the baby was well, she continued to keep her distance. She wasn’t rude, but she wasn’t as open and chatty as she had been before.
He should’ve been content that she got the message. Instead, Luca was surprised to find himself missing their talks. He’d also found himself lying in bed at night thinking about the kiss they’d shared in the kitchen. Lord help him, he couldn’t stop himself. Once he got a taste of her, it was as if something had been unleashed deep inside him. Every touch, every soft sound she made, urged him on. If Eva hadn’t woken up with that fever, he wasn’t sure what would’ve happened.