Claiming His Scandalous Love-Child

He and Eloise, walking hand in hand along a tropical beach in the moonlight. The Caribbean waves kissing their bare feet in the warm surf. Far, far away from here—far, far away from all that assailed him now! Free, oh, blissfully free of it all!

Let Marlene do her worst! Let her! Let his uncle’s damn shares pass out of the family.

I could do it—I could let it happen. I could grab Eloise by the hand and fly away with her...leave all this behind me. Just be with her.

The vision hung in his head like a jewel, and his longing to seize it was painful inside him. Then, as the vice around his skull tightened, he let the vision go. Dull, pitiless resignation filled him. He couldn’t run—he couldn’t abandon his duty, his responsibility.

I have to see this out. It’s a battle I have to face—and find a way to win.

Because one thing he was adamant about. Whatever price he was going to pay for Guido’s shares, it was never going to be marrying his uncle’s stepdaughter.

CHAPTER FOUR

ELOISE’S EXPRESSION OF delighted surprise at his arrival at their suite in mid-afternoon was a balm to Vito. As he caught her hands, lowering his mouth to her uplifted lips, he felt his spirits lift—as they always did when he saw her.

‘This is wonderful!’ she was exclaiming, her voice warm. ‘I didn’t expect you till this evening. I was about to go down to the pool. I’ve been out exploring this morning—I found the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain!’

Vito smiled, basking in the expression in her face, the open glow in her cerulean eyes. Oh, she might have to stay discreetly out of sight in Amalfi, but only for as short a time as he could manage.

I’ll explain what I’ve got to do, and why, and she will understand. I know she will!

He could trust her—he knew he could. Trust her to understand just what he was up against. He’d wanted to insulate her from all this mess around Guido’s shares, but now that he had no choice but to involve her he knew he could rely on her sympathy, her cooperation. On her patience in waiting for him finally to be free to focus only on her.

He drew back, making some comment about her morning’s expedition, then shrugged his jacket from him, loosening his tie and turning up his cuffs. Keeping his voice as deliberately casual as he could, he said, ‘I’ve got some phone calls to make, but while I do throw a few things together.’ He smiled, his gaze caressing. ‘We’re going to spend the weekend in Amalfi!’

He waited for the expression of delight he had expected to cross her face, as it had done whenever he’d announced their next destination

in Europe, but instead there was a different expression. One of confusion, uncertainty.

‘But we’ve only just got to Rome,’ she replied.

‘I know,’ he said soothingly, ‘but... Well...’ His mind raced. ‘Something’s come up, and that’s why I want us to get a weekend away.’

That was what he wanted—one last weekend with Eloise before he endured taking on the appearance of a man engaged to Carla Charteris for however long it took him to extricate himself from it.

‘Is it...is it just the weekend we’ll be away?’ Eloise was asking, and Vito had to focus on what she’d said.

‘Well, why not pack everything?’ he returned, again seeking to make his tone casual. ‘In fact,’ he went on, as if the thought had just struck him, ‘maybe you’d like to stay on there—it’s a particularly beautiful stretch of coastline, as I’m sure you know, and the Viscari Amalfi has a spectacular clifftop location. You’ll like it far more than here in Rome, I promise you.’

He bestowed a warm, reassuring smile on her. But once again he saw only doubt and uncertainty in her eyes.

He dropped a kiss on her forehead. ‘I’ll join you down there again as soon as I can get away from here. Things are a bit...pressured right now.’

Had an edge got into his voice? He didn’t know—knew only that there was a faint frown on Eloise’s brow and her eyes were searching his. Discomfort filled him—he didn’t want to have the conversation he would have to have with her right now. He would explain everything to her tonight, when they were safe at the Viscari Amalfi. Right now his overriding priority was to get on the phone and crush the speculation that Nic Falcone might be getting hold of any Viscari shares.

He glanced at his watch. ‘Eloise—I have to make those calls. You get packing, OK?’

He smiled distractedly and went off to the small office that the suite came with, immediately putting a call through to his finance director to assure him that, whatever rumour was circulating about Falcone, it was without any foundation. As to his forthcoming engagement—he would say not a word for the moment. Time enough to deal with that when it hit—and when Eloise was safely in Amalfi.

It was complicated, it was stressful, it was damnable—but he would pull this off. And then finally—dear God, finally—when all the shares were back in Viscari possession, when Marlene had been seen off, and the spirit of his father was at peace, he could focus on Eloise.

And find out just what she meant to him.

But now was not the time to think about Eloise—about why he had no intention of doing without her yet.

The call to his financial director connected, and immediately Vito focused only on that.

For now...just for now... Eloise would have to wait.