‘I don’t care about that. You have to listen.’ He strode across the kitchen and pulled her away from the oven. Strong hands closed over her shoulders, forcing her to look at him.
‘All right, then.’ She said the words with weary resignation. ‘This is about me going back to London, isn’t it? It’s fine, Alessandro. I’ll leave the day after tomorrow.’
‘You’re not going anywhere.’ His voice was a threatening growl and then he cursed softly and released her, taking a step backwards. ‘I’m doing this all wrong but—I’ve got you a pr
esent—let’s start with that.’
He seemed to be fumbling for words and she considered it a point in his favour that he appeared to have lost his usually fluent English. Obviously he wasn’t finding it easy and perversely she was glad about that. She didn’t want him to find it easy.
‘A present?’ She stared at him with a lack of comprehension. Given the gravity of their conversation, mention of a Christmas present suddenly jarred. Material gifts were so unimportant, she thought dully, but she forced herself to smile and look interested. ‘For me?’
‘Of course, for you.’
He would have bought her something because of the children, she reasoned. Because Katy would have asked questions if there’d been nothing for her. ‘Why didn’t you give it to me when we were all round the tree?’
‘Because this is a special gift from me to you and I don’t want to share it.’
Not because of the children, then.
What sort of special gift was he buying her? she wondered with wry humour. A one-way train ticket south? Frosted divorce papers?
He reached into his pocket and withdrew a small box wrapped in glittering paper.
‘Oh, it’s pretty…’ And so unlike Alessandro, she thought as she took the box, feeling the sudden uneven thump of her heart. Don’t be ridiculous, Christy, she told herself firmly. This can’t be anything special. It can’t be.
‘Open it,’ he urged in a husky voice. ‘Open it, querida.’
A lump sprang into her throat. Why was he calling her darling when they were two days away from ending their marriage for ever?
Wanting to get the moment over as quickly as possible, she ripped off the paper and saw a small velvet box.
Jewellery.
It had to be jewellery.
Suddenly she wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. She’d spent twelve Christmases with Alessandro and he’d never bought her jewellery and he decided to do it on their last one.
Why?
Trying to find the answer to that question, she looked up at him and saw an unusual degree of tension in his handsome face.
‘Aren’t you going to look?’ His voice bordered on the impatient and he stretched out a lean, bronzed hand and flipped the box open. ‘Do you like it?’
He sounded nervous and she’d never known Alessandro to be nervous of anything before. He never questioned himself but tackled life with an enviable degree of self-confidence. But today that confidence appeared to be lacking.
She glanced down at the box in her hand and felt the floor shift. Nestled in a bed of rich, deep blue silk lay a huge, sparkling diamond. It twinkled and sparkled under the kitchen lights and she stared at it stupidly.
Finally she found her voice. ‘What is it?’
‘It’s the ring I should have given you twelve years ago,’ Alessandro said gruffly. ‘But I’m giving it to you now. If you’ll wear it.’
‘But—’
‘I’m not great at speeches, so let me just say what I have to say.’ He jabbed long fingers through his glossy hair and took a deep breath. ‘I fell in love with you the day I saw you. Impossible, I know, but that’s how it was. You were so beautiful, so warm and kind and yet so fiery and passionate. I’d never met a woman like you before and after I saw you I never looked again. And I’ve never stopped loving you. And if you love someone you’re supposed to be able to set them free—let them go. I told myself that I’d let you go if that was what you wanted—’
‘Alessandro—’
‘I promised not to order or command so I can’t force you to stay,’ Alessandro said hoarsely, ‘but I’m willing to beg. Will you stay, Christy? Will you stay if I beg?’