The Forbidden Ferrara

‘So you left.’

‘I was so wrong to do that.’ The tears spilled from her eyes. ‘I was grieving and heartbroken and I took it out on you. I blamed you for everything. And I just couldn’t tell you how I was feeling.’

‘But now you have—’ His own voice decidedly unsteady, he pulled her hard against him, crushing her against him. ‘And now I understand what you want, there will be no more talk of experts.’

Her face was buried in his neck, her tears mingling with the water from the pool. ‘What about what you want?’

‘I want you.’ His tone was unmistakably possessive and he eased her away from him so that he could look at her. ‘You. Always. I thought I’d made that clear.’

‘If you’d married a different woman you could have had a different life.’

He leaned his forehead against hers. ‘I wouldn’t want any life that didn’t have you in it.’

She felt light inside, and strangely relaxed. It was as if sharing the heaviest of her thoughts had somehow reduced their weight. And his unquestioning acceptance of the way things were gave her courage. ‘There’s something else—something I’ve been thinking about for a while but never mentioned to anyone. I don’t know how you’re going to feel about it.’

‘Try me and let’s find out.’

Laurel hesitated because she truly had no idea how he was going to react to what she was going to say. ‘What I’d really love is for us to adopt a child.’ The words rushed out of her. ‘And not just because there’s no chance of having our own. I want us to give a child a home. Not a baby—everyone wants to adopt babies. I mean an older child. A lost, lonely child who has no idea how it feels to be wanted. I want to do up a bedroom and fill it with toys and books but most of all I want to be a loving family to someone who doesn’t have that and has no hope of that.’

‘Yes, I want that too.’ It was characteristic of his generosity that he didn’t hesitate. ‘Hearing what you went through horrifies me. And we have so much. I would very much like to give a secure home and family to a child in need of one. I’ve been thinking the same thing myself since you told me about your experience. And you would be an amazing mother.’

His positive response moved her more than anything else he’d said to her or done for her.

Her heart opened to him and she slid her arms around him, feeling the hardness of male muscle under her seeking fingers. ‘You’re very special.’

One eyebrow lifted. ‘I thought I was an arrogant, controlling workaholic?’

‘That too.’ But she knew that this needed so much more to make it work than just words and good intentions. ‘Are you sure? I don’t suppose it’s going to be easy.’

He gave a wicked smile and gently lowered his mouth to hers. ‘You know I love a challenge.’

They stayed in the castello, time drifting, until their idyll was fractured by a phone call from Santo.

Cristiano’s heart sank as he listened as his brother outlined the work crisis that couldn’t be solved without his attention.

His gaze flickered to Laurel, still sleeping in the bed, her naked limbs and the curve of her hip creating a visual feast.

The temptation to live out the rest of their days in this paradise was powerful. Here, it was impossible for her to hide from him. Cocooned in their own private world, they’d been protected from reality. He wasn’t fool enough to think that this idyll could continue back in the real world. He had a business to run and so did she. The pressures on him were enormous and no matter how much effort he put into juggling his priorities, there were going to be times when they would be parted.

Reluctant to wake her, he pulled on his clothes and took the phone and his conversation out onto the terrace. He made himself a caffé, the small dense espresso that he favoured at the start of the day, and listened to his brother whilst at the same time thinking about the challenges facing his marriage.

He knew they’d come a long way in the past few weeks. What he didn’t know was whether it was far enough—whether what they’d created could survive when they returned to the outside world and he was no longer able to devote all his attention to the relationship.

Their marriage was like a boat, he thought, watching as a yacht skimmed the sparkling water of the Bay of Naxos. He’d shored up the hull and made the necessary repairs. Here in port, what they had looked strong and seaworthy. Whether it was strong enough to survive in open water he didn’t know. And there was only one way to find out.

Having listened to Santo, he delivered the necessary advice and instruction and then ended the call and finished his coffee.

Beneath him the surface of the pool reflected the perfect blue sky and behind him the early morning sun shone on Etna’s summit.

‘Is everything OK?’ Her voice came from behind him and he turned to see her sitting up in the bed, her eyes sleepy and her mouth temptingly rosy. Without make-up, her hair tangled from too much midnight loving, she was gorgeous.

His woman.

‘Everything is fine.’ He found himself postponing the moment he had to break the news that they were leaving but she obviously sensed something and slid out of bed, deliciously unselfconscious.

Neither hiding nor flaunting, she reached for the wisp of cream silk that had started the night on her body and ended it in a discarded pool on the bedroom floor. That simple movement was all it took to have him forgetting his coffee and when she joined him on the terrace he slid his hand behind her neck and drew her in for a long, slow kiss.

‘Mmm—’ reluctantly she pulled away ‘—what is it you’re not telling me?’