done so well for yourself-'
'What are you doing here?' Holly pressed unevenly, for every time she
looked at him she remembered the shock of
138
that fist coming into her face, the speed with which he had lost his
head and attacked her.
'Obviously, I want to see my son,' Jeff informed her.
What colour remained in Holly's face drained away. 'Why would you
suddenly want to do that?'
'A boy ought to know his father.' Jeff gave her a smug and pious smile,
relishing her bewilderment and dismay.
Nausea stirred inside Holly. 'You said you'd make me sorry I was ever
born if I told anyone that Timothy was your child. And when we needed
you, where were you? You didn't want to know-'
'Things were awkward that day-'
'Awkward? Timothy and I ended up on the streets with nowhere to go! You
didn't give two hoots about either of us. If you want to see the child
you have the nerve to call your son, when are you planning to start
paying towards his keep?' Holly demanded, her strained voice rising in
volume. 'Do you think that you can just walk in here and-?'
An arm curved round her taut spine from behind, startling her, for she
had not heard the door open, and then Rio murmured, 'It's OK, cara. I'll
deal with this.'
'I'm afraid Holly and I didn't part best friends.' Jeff grimaced, moving
forward with an insincere smile and extending his hand to Rio. 'I'm
Jeff, Timothy's father.'
'Saverio Lombardi...'
Holly was appalled when Rio shook hands with her ex-boyfriend. It felt
like a betrayal. She was equally appalled at the threat of being forced
to trust a man with Jeff's temper around Timothy. She could not even
bear to have Jeff inside their home. He brought back nothing but bad
memories and regrets.
'I've seen a solicitor. Just so that I could check out my
position,' Jeff hastened to explain. 'I'm going to ask for access visits
and apply for joint custody of my son.'
Holly's heart sank right down to her toes.
'Of course. That's your right,' Rio responded equably.
'But Rio-' Holly began, not comprehending his failure even to proffer an
argument or indeed understanding why Jeff, given that easy agreement,
should look more startled
than pleased.
'At the same time, however, any access visits would have to be
supervised,' Rio continued.
Jeff frowned at Rio. 'Supervised? Why?'
'You assaulted Holly.'
'That was an accident!' Jeff protested vehemently, but even Holly could
see that that reminder coming from Rio had severely disconcerted the
younger man.
'My lawyers already have a statement from the woman whom you were living
with at the time,' Rio told him with complete cool. 'She's quite
prepared to testify that she saw you not only attack but also threaten
Holly with further violence should she ever name you as her child's father.'
It was now Holly's turn to stare at her husband with shaken eyes, for
only then did she recall the seemingly idle questions he had asked her
in the Maldives about where she had found Jeff living when she had
finally traced him to his girlfriend's apartment.
'You've got a statement from Liza?' Jeff was flushed with incredulous rage.
'Naturally you can still apply for access to Timothy and whatever else
you like,' Rio pointed out. 'But it is only fair to tell you that I hope
to adopt Timothy and that I will fight to do so, whether you have access
or not.'
Jeff gave him a furious look of frustration. 'But I'm quite happy for
you to adopt the kid! I'm here ready to discuss a friendly arrangement
with you-'
140
'Any arrangements or agreements required will be reached through the
usual legal channels,' Rio asserted levelly.
I've had enough of this!' Jeff stormed off to the door.
'You're still Timothy's father,' Rio said quietly. 'If you want to get
to know your son I won't stand in your way.'
'Forget it!' Jeff yanked open the door, his eagerness to leave
unconcealed. 'You're welcome to the yappy little brat!'
As her ex-boyfriend departed Holly was so ashamed of the way he had
exposed his true nature that she could not meet Rio's gaze. 'Why did you
keep on telling him he could see Timothy?'
'I won't let Danby use your son to threaten you or as a bargaining chip
in some sleazy attempt to profit from the connection. But I needed to be
sure that Jeff genuinely doesn't have any interest in Timothy.'
'What you said about Jeff's girlfriend, Liza... was that a bluff?' Holly
mumbled.
'No. My lawyers do hold her statement. I felt that it was necessary to
have proof of Jeff's violence to protect you and Timothy.'
'Has Liza broken up with Jeff?' Holly was still in shock at what she had
learnt.
'Yes. I gather she caught him fooling around with one of her friends and
she was more than willing to speak up on your behalf.'
Hell hath no fury, Holly reflected in a daze.
Level dark golden eyes scanned her pale, strained face and he caught her
hands in his. 'I have to leave...I'm already running late. You look
exhausted. You should lie down for a while, cara.'
'Thanks...for sorting out Jeff,' Holly said jerkily.
'I'd have liked to do it with my fists,' Rio confided with
ashamed male regret. 'But that could have put paid to any hope of
adopting Timothy, and at the end of day Danby's not worth that risk.'
For a long time after Rio had gone Holly just sat beside Timothy's cot,
watching over her son while he slept, Rio had spiked Jeff's guns with
ease and she was very grateful, but she could not help thinking that he
had not been half so_ successful at quieting her fears about the future.
She was married to a bloke who truly believed that a rousing bout of sex
answered all ills. And why did Rio imagine that? She had let him make
love to her. And a sufficiently angry and alienated woman would have
said no.
So why hadn't she said no? What she had learnt about Rio and Christabel
had filled her with sheer panic. She loved him. She loved him so much.
Wanting to kill him only went so far when she had felt that her whole
world was under imminent danger of collapsing round her. She had started
out all right when she first confronted him but then she had got too
emotional and lost the plot.
When Rio came home she would make a more tactful and calm approach, and,
one way or another, he was going to talk about Christabel whether he
liked it or not, she swore to herself.
143
Two days later, the limousine in which Holly was travelling drew up
outside Marchmont Priory. The picturesque house was bathed in afternoon
sunshine. Climbing out of the car, Holly breathed in deep and
straightened her shoulders.
Holly had thought about calling Mrs Lombardi in advance but she had been
afraid that her offer to visit would somehow be put off. Although Rio
seemed determined to cheerfully ignore all the signs that his parent was
anything but happy at
his sudden marriage to a stranger, Holly was not
that insensitive. Naturally, Alice Lombardi would be concerned, but she
was hoping that once Rio's mother actually met her she would realise
that her new daughter-in-law was not as bad as she had feared.
She was ushered into the sunlit panelled sitting room, where a slim,
still attractive blonde in her early sixties awaited her in an upright
armchair. A closer and lengthier appraisal revealed the fine lines on