She nodded and backed away, turning to hurry out of the door. When he was sure she was out of earshot, he let out a thick, frustrated groan, the sight of her delicious backside seeming to tattoo itself in his mind.
He was nowhere near calm when she emerged in a strapless lilac sundress and flip-flops. Luckily for him, his son’s presence served as enough of a deterrent for his out-of-control libido.
Ten minutes later, it became clear she’d gone back to not fully engaging with him, busying herself with fussing over Lucca and avoiding his eyes when he looked her way.
Gritting his teeth, he focused on delivering them to the first duck-pond scouting location.
They toured three sites before arriving at the perfect place for a duck pond. Well within sight of the villa, the area was flat and clear of trees, within full view of the beach. Not that Lucca would ever be alone, but Romeo was satisfied the security posted at various points around the island would have a perfect view of where Maisie and his son were at all times.
The head of the three-man construction crew he’d hired spread out the blueprint on a portable table and began discussing design and schedules, with Lucca merrily pointing out where he wanted his rocks and fountain situated.
Leaving them to it, Romeo strolled to where Maisie stood several feet away, her gaze on the beach a quarter of a mile below.
Her head jerked up as he neared, and she inhaled sharply at the force of his stare, her eyes widening before she attempted to avert her head. He caught her chin and held her still.
‘You want to tell me what’s going on?’
That blank stare again. ‘Sorry, I don’t know what you mean.’
‘I thought we agreed to make this work,’ he rasped.
‘We are.’
‘You call this making it work?’ he blazed under his breath.
‘Romeo, why are you annoyed with me?’
His low mocking laughter grated. ‘I suppose I should be gratified that you’ve noticed that I am annoyed.’
She pulled her chin from his hand. ‘If it’s about me forgetting about the time of the duck-pond visit—’
‘Don’t do that, gattina. It’s beneath you,’ he cut across her.
‘I don’t know what you want me to do. I’m here for Lucca. Isn’t that what we both ultimately want?’ Her voice pulsed with something he couldn’t put his finger on.
No, he wanted to say. I want you to stop shutting me out.
He stepped closer and her delicate apple shampoo and sunflower perfume washed over his senses. ‘What he needs is parents who exchange more than a greeting and a “pass the salt” when they’re in the same room. I may not know enough about little boys yet, but I know he’ll pick up the tension between us if we don’t clear the air.’
She shook her head. ‘But there is nothing to clear.’
He begged to differ. About to demand the truth, he looked deeper into her eyes and finally got why the atmosphere between them had altered so drastically.
‘Dio, how could I have missed this?’ he muttered almost to himself.
Panic flared in her eyes, darkening the striking blue to an alluring navy. He allowed himself a smile, a little less unsettled now he knew the root cause of her frostiness.
‘We’ll take this up again tonight, when Lucca is in bed.’
‘I have nothing to take up with you,’ she blurted.
‘Then you can enjoy your meal and listen to me talk.’
Enjoying the heated suspicion in her eyes, he turned and strode back to join the group. The final design of the pond was agreed, an ecstatic Lucca skipping back to the buggy.
Back at the villa, he watched Maisie rush away with an excuse of rustling up a snack for their son. Romeo curbed a smile, satisfied now that he knew what the problem was of fixing it. He was pussyfooting his way through the unfamiliar landscape of being a father. The tension between him and Maisie stood to jeopardise that. The unnecessary argument in his study this afternoon had proved that. It needed to be resolved. And by midnight, the situation between them would be rectified, with results he was sure would please them both.
He picked up his son and hurled him in the air, his heart tumbling over when he received a shriek of delight in return.
‘Again!’ Lucca urged.
Romeo’s smile widened and he complied.
He’d never relied on luck to achieve his goals, but with a tiny bit of luck he’d get his son’s mother shrieking those same words to him by the time he was done with her.
* * *
Maisie inspected the multitude of new dresses in her wardrobe and finally selected a bronze-coloured cotton shift with a crossover bodice tie. She knew she was risking being late, but ever since her conversation with Romeo earlier she’d been dreading the seven-thirty dinner he’d asked Mahina to prepare.