The Sicilian's Unexpected Duty

‘Mangez,’ she ordered, putting her hands to her mouth in what looked like an imitation of eating.

‘Cara, this is Christophe’s wife, Simone,’ Pepe said by way of introduction. ‘She doesn’t speak any English but she makes an excellent consommé.’

Cara gave Simone a quick smile. ‘Thank you—merci.’

The consommé smelt delicious. Her starved belly rumbled. Loudly.

‘Mangez,’ Simone repeated.

‘She’s been waiting for you to wake up,’ Pepe said. ‘It’s also thanks to her that the doctor made an impromptu home visit.’

Vaguely she remembered a heavily scented woman sitting on her bedside and prodding her with things. ‘I thought I’d dreamt that.’

He laughed softly. ‘You’re four months pregnant. It seemed prudent to get you checked over in case you were suffering from something more serious than motion sickness.’

For all his jovial nonchalance, she knew she hadn’t dreamt his concern. A strange warmth swept into her chest, suffusing her blood and skin with heat.

She turned her face away. ‘I’ve suffered from motion sickness since I was a little girl. Pregnancy has just made it worse.’

‘Even so, I’ve made arrangements for my family doctor to fly to Paris tomorrow to check you over. The doctor you saw here had concerns about your blood pressure being too low.’

‘It’s always been low,’ she dismissed with a shrug.

‘It is better to be safe. You have a child inside you that is dependent on your good health for its survival. I was going to get my doctor to check you over anyway, so I’ve just brought it forward by a few days.’

‘Steady on, Pepe. You almost sound like a concerned father.’

His eyes flickered but the easy smile didn’t leave his face.

Luckily any awkwardness was interrupted by Simone placing a jug of iced water in front of her and pouring Cara a glass.

‘Why does she keep staring at me?’ Cara muttered under her breath a few minutes later so only Pepe could hear. Simone kept nodding and beaming at her, unlike her surly husband, who did nothing but cradle his glass of wine. The Frenchwoman might not speak English but Cara would bet Christophe knew more than enough to get by.

‘Because you’re pregnant and she wants to make sure you’re getting the nutrition you need. You need to eat.’

‘How can I eat when everyone’s staring at me?’

For a moment she thought Pepe was going to make a wisecrack. Instead, he drew Christophe and Simone into conversation and, while the talk between them was of a serious tone, it worked, diverting their attention away from her.

Pepe was right about the consommé. It was delicious. Along with a still-warm bread roll, it filled her belly just enough.

It was at the moment she put her spoon in her empty dish that Christophe laughed at something Pepe said, downed his wine and held out a beefy hand. Pepe rose from his seat to take it and, leaning over the table, the two men shook hands vigorously, Christophe gripping Pepe’s biceps.

‘Is this a new form of male bonding?’ Cara said in an aside to Pepe.

To her surprise, it was Christophe who answered. ‘It is always good to formalise a deal with a shake of the hand.’

‘You’re buying the vineyard?’ she asked Pepe.

‘I would say it’s more that Christophe has agreed to sell me the vineyard.’ Pepe raised his glass in the Frenchman’s direction. ‘You drive a hard bargain, my friend.’

‘Some bargains deserve to be hard fought.’ Christophe lifted the wine bottle and made to refill Pepe’s glass.

Pepe held out a hand to stop him. ‘Not for me. I will be driving back to Paris shortly.’

‘Driving?’ Cara asked hopefully.

‘Sì. I got some staff to bring a car over for us.’

‘Where are they?’

‘They’ve taken the helicopter back. Don’t worry—I got the flight crew to come. They left about half an hour ago.’

For a moment she just stared at him, incredulous. ‘Seriously? You got your pilots to drive all this way to drop off a car and then fly back?’ How long had she been asleep? Five hours? He must have got the wheels in motion the second her head had hit the pillow.

He shrugged as if it were no big deal. ‘They weren’t doing anything else. It gave them a day out.’

‘Did you do this...for me?’

‘The helicopter’s not long been reupholstered. I didn’t want to risk you ruining it by upchucking everywhere.’

Somehow, she just knew Pepe could not give a flying monkey about upholstery.

‘I thought we were going to a business dinner tonight?’