The Sicilian's Secret Son

Blast him for being so hard to hate! Why couldn’t he be a horrible, despicable man like his father? Why did he have to make everything he asked of her sound so reasonable? Why couldn’t he be ugly and repulsive instead of mouth-wateringly gorgeous and drenched in sex appeal?

She stuffed her very unsexy knickers into a drawer, dismissed Celeste as nicely as she could, then kicked off her shoes and padded into Ethan’s room to check on him.

He was fast asleep, exactly as she’d left him, his tiny figure dwarfed by the enormous bed. The indentation in the quilt, where she’d fallen asleep beside him, was still visible. If she hadn’t dozed off, she would have had more time to prepare herself for dinner. As it was she’d had less than five minutes to make herself presentable.

Not that how she looked mattered. She had no need or desire to doll herself up for Luca.

Leaving the door between the bedrooms open, she slipped into her comfy PJs, brushed her teeth, crawled beneath the soft cotton sheets in the pretty sea-green room and stared up at the ceiling. She yawned, exhausted yet wired at the same time. It would probably take her hours to go to sleep, she thought glumly.

Within minutes, slumber claimed her.

* * *

Annah awoke to the sound of curtains and shutters being opened. A flood of bright sunlight pierced her eyelids, and she bolted upright and blinked.

‘Good morning!’

Celeste’s cheerful voice made her wince. She focused her eyes on the perky maid as she tucked a turquoise drape behind a gold filigree holdback.

‘What time is it?’ Annah asked.

‘Eight o’clock.’ Celeste turned, a look of concern crossing her face. ‘This is when you wanted your breakfast, sì?’

Annah shook off the groggy vestiges of sleep. ‘Yes,’ she said, vaguely recalling Celeste asking her the question yesterday. But she had planned to be up and dressed by now. Ethan was normally awake by seven. Her gaze flew to the connecting door between the bedrooms.

‘He is playing in the sitting room,’ Celeste said, guessing the direction of Annah’s thoughts.

Annah threw back the bedcovers. ‘I should get him washed and dressed.’

‘He has already done it,’ Celeste informed her, smiling broadly. ‘Mostly on his own, but I gave him a little help.’

‘Oh.’ Annah wasn’t sure how she felt about that. She was the only one who’d ever helped her son with his morning routine.

‘Your breakfast is in the sitting room,’ Celeste said. ‘I will come back in half an hour to see if there is anything else you need.’ She turned to go, then stopped and swung back, eyes wide. ‘Oh, and there is a note for you from Signor Cavallari! I left it with the breakfast things.’

The second Celeste was gone, Annah jumped out of bed, dragged a sweatshirt on over her PJs, and hurried through to the sitting room.

‘Mummy!’

Ethan dropped the magnetic drawing board he was playing with and launched himself at her.

‘Hey, kiddo.’ She hugged him tight, inhaling his lovely little-boy scent. ‘What are you drawing?’

He wriggled out of her hold, grabbed the board and held it up.

She smiled. ‘Is that a picture of Mister Pickles?’

He nodded. ‘I miss him.’

‘Me, too. But you know Chloe’s taking good care of him, right?’

‘Yeah.’ His face brightened. ‘Are we going to the beach today?’

She hesitated. ‘Maybe,’ she said, even as she thought of the note she’d yet to read and felt her heart sink. Why would Luca write her a note unless he wasn’t planning on seeing them today? To distract Ethan, she asked, ‘Have you eaten some breakfast?’

He informed her that Celeste had given him some fruit and toast. He went back to his drawing, and Annah sat at the sunny table in front of the French doors overlooking the gardens. The table was laden with fruit, yoghurt, pastries, toast and spreads, a glass jug filled with orange juice, and two silver carafes, one with coffee and one with tea. It was a crazy amount of food for an adult and a child. Annah hoped what they didn’t eat wouldn’t go to waste.

Spotting the small envelope propped against a floral china teacup, she plucked it off the table, took a deep breath, and pulled out the note.