‘Nonna!’ he exclaimed, rushing over to greet his grandmother, who’d just entered the room.
Luca put down his coffee and said quietly to Annah, ‘I invited my mother to join us for breakfast. I hope you don’t mind.’
She looked at him, her expression softening as he had hoped it might. ‘Of course not,’ she said. ‘That was thoughtful.’
Ethan tugged Eva by the hand and made her sit next to him at the table.
Observing them, Luca grew aware of an odd pang in his chest. Clearly, grandmother and grandson had bonded in his absence. Lifting his cup, he took a mouthful of espresso and told himself it was foolish to feel jealous.
Annah, who had started pouring orange juice for herself and Ethan, offered one to Eva.
‘Grazie, dear.’ Eva glanced between Luca and Annah. ‘And what plans do you have for today?’
‘I’m taking Annah and Ethan sightseeing,’ Luca said.
Annah looked at him in surprise. ‘You are?’
‘That sounds lovely,’ said Eva.
‘Yay!’ Ethan chipped in. ‘Are you coming, Nonna?’
Eva smiled and, much to Luca’s relief, shook her head. ‘Oh, no. I have some things to do today. But you can tell me all about your day when you get back.’
Over the next half-hour Luca happily discovered that a man was required to say very little in the presence of two women and a talkative child. Coffee in hand, he sat back and listened to Annah and his mother discuss pruning methods, of all things, while his gaze lingered almost exclusively on Annah.
Luca had not lived like a monk these past five years. Building his business in New York had taken priority over everything else, but he had not denied himself the company of women when he desired it.
But no other woman had fired his blood the way Annah did. None had left a permanent imprint on his memory—on his very soul—like she had. The fact that she’d borne his son only made her more desirable. He wanted her in his bed, but he wanted so much more. He wanted to give her his name. His protection. His loyalty.
The more he thought about it, the more certain he grew that marriage was the only sensible solution. The only desirable solution.
Annah belonged here, with him, as much as Ethan did.
All he had to do was convince her.
* * *
Palermo was a vibrant, chaotic city that couldn’t have been further removed from the peace and quiet of Hollyfield. Having not lived in a big city for nearly five years, Annah had got used to the slower pace of the countryside and no longer thought of herself as a city lover, yet she quickly found herself entranced by Sicily’s capital.
To her delight, Luca had instructed his driver to drop them in the heart of the city so they could tour its historic centre on foot.
‘So many different kinds of architecture,’ she remarked, stopping to stare up at a row of three Arabic domes atop an ancient stone church.
Luca looked down at her, rakishly handsome today with his stubble-darkened jaw and sexily ruffled hair. He wore snug-fitting jeans that hugged his powerful thighs, a light grey polo shirt, and designer sunglasses on his face.
He was a walking hazard.
Annah had seen four women trip over their feet while angling for a better look, and one who’d walked straight into a parked moped. Mario had rushed forward from his ever-present position at their rear to help the poor woman; Luca, who at the time was pointing something out to Ethan, was oblivious.
‘Palermo has been invaded more times than any other city in the Mediterranean,’ he told her. ‘Romans, Arabs, Normans, the Spanish and many others—they came, conquered, and left their mark.’
Much like he’d left his mark on her last night, she thought, because no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t forget the glorious feeling of his big body caging hers and the powerful thrust of his hard, hot length inside her. He’d filled her so perfectly, so completely, that when he’d withdrawn she’d felt as if he had taken a piece of her with him.
She cleared her throat. ‘Fascinating,’ she murmured, forcing herself to look away before her eyes betrayed her.
If Luca was having similar troubles forgetting last night’s encounter, it didn’t show. He’d been surprisingly relaxed and charming all morning, even inviting Eva to join them for a family breakfast.
Annah’s heart flip-flopped. Family. Something Ethan had never experienced outside the two-person unit that was him and her. Sitting in the warm, sunny breakfast room, Annah had found herself picturing the table surrounded by happy, noisy children—a brood of little brothers and sisters for Ethan—before she’d yanked her mind back from such a fanciful daydream.