When she saw him, her heart lifted—every time—and she felt light as air, as if nothing and nobody could ever hurt her again. It was a wonderfully grounding way for Vivi to feel after years and years of insecurity and distrust. It made her recall the therapy Zoe had gone through some years earlier and reckon that, perhaps, she could have done with some treatment as well, only she and Winnie had been so busy trying to ‘fix’ Zoe that neither of them had looked at their own childhood vulnerabilities.
Raffaele stood talking to her sister but his attention continued to stray back to his wife. Eros strode in from the pool and the two men exchanged news before the couples parted to get ready for dinner. Raffaele went straight upstairs to see his sons and Matteo and Andrea chortled with baby excitement and made a beeline for their father, who always provided fun. Vivi watched him scoop up the twins together with the affection that came so easily to him now. It had surprised her to see how much of a hands-on father her husband was willing to be, joining in bath times and play times with relaxed enjoyment. His own father had never unbent to such a degree with him, he had confided ruefully, but, as he had also pointed out, times had changed and his father had been raised with a great deal of formality by the staff and had rarely mixed with his parents when he was little.
One step inside their bedroom, Raffaele pulled her boldly into his arms and husked, ‘You look ravishing today, amata mia...’
Vivi was already sliding out of her green cotton skirt and top, as hungry for his attention as he was for hers. In that line they had always been a perfect match for each other, she thought fondly. She lifted her slender hands to his face, fingers brushing appreciatively through the faint shadow of black stubble outlining his stubborn, passionate mouth. ‘I always think you look gorgeous,’ she told him truthfully, watching the colour darken his exotic cheekbones with secret amusement because he was never comfortable with any reference to his film-star looks. ‘But what I love most about you is that you’re all mine.’
‘And you’re so vocal about it, bella mia,’ Raffaele growled with appreciation as he stalked her backwards and down onto the bed. ‘As possessive as I am.’
‘Match made in heaven,’ Vivi whispered happily, looking up at him as he stripped with helpful alacrity.
‘Or, as Stam would have it...possibly hell,’ Raffaele countered with a half-smile, for he had a prickly relationship with the older man, who could never quite forget that Raffaele had dared to strike back at him for his blackmail.
‘Heaven,’ Vivi insisted with all the wonderful confidence his love had contrived to give her since their marriage.
‘I love you,’ Raffaele groaned after claiming a passionate kiss.
Vivi beamed up at him with a sunny smile, her violet eyes bright. ‘I love you even more.’
‘Competitive...much?’ Raffaele laughed and silence fell as two very well-matched personalities proved all over again how very happy they could make each other.
* * *