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At least until then he’d made her feel part of his family. They’d sat up talking for hours, about the business, of course, but about so many other things, too. The world around them, places they’d like to travel to, things they’d like to do.
She’d imagined them doing them all together once they were married. But for Sebastian it seemed they were only daydreams.
‘As for me...’ Noemi trailed off, watching Maria with a sad look on her face. ‘I didn’t think you wanted to go at all.’
Far, far too perceptive.
‘I didn’t,’ Maria admitted with a sigh. ‘But at the same time... I knew I had to, and I’m glad now that I did. It was the right decision for me, and for Frankie.’
‘You definitely seem more...certain, if that makes sense,’ Noemi said. ‘Like you know what you want your life to be now.’
‘Maybe I do.’ It was just a shame she couldn’t see any way to make sure she got it. But even if a happy-ever-after with Sebastian was off the table, that didn’t mean she couldn’t have a full and happy life without him. ‘I’ve been learning a lot about myself since I’ve been away. I mean, Seb and I got married when I was so young... I’d never really been alone before. And this time I was alone with Frankie, taking care of him every day, learning what he needed—and what I needed. It’s definitely been...educational.’
And hard and lonely and difficult—but also fulfilling, rewarding and so full of love that some days Maria just cried because of how lucky she was, instead of for everything she’d lost.
But she didn’t tell Noemi that part.
‘Maybe that’s what seems so different about you,’ Noemi said reflectively. ‘You seem grown up. Not that you weren’t before, of course, but it’s different now. Like you’re the adult in the room. The mother, I suppose.’
‘Not the only one for long,’ Maria said, with a soft smile. ‘Did I tell you how incredibly happy I am for you? And for Max, of course.’
Noemi’s face lit up at the mention of her fiancé and their babies. ‘You did. But I’m always happy to hear it again!’
Impulsively, Maria threw her arms around her sister-in-law’s shoulders and held her tight. ‘I’m so happy for you. You give me hope.’
‘Hope?’ Noemi asked, frowning as she pulled away. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Well, if everything can work out so perfectly for you, maybe I can still find that sort of happiness one day.’
‘Just not with Sebastian?’ Noemi said sadly. ‘Maria... I know he’s a pig-headed idiot a lot of the time, but Sebastian... He means well, I think. And this last year, without you...he’s just been so sad. And annoying and irritable, of course, but mostly sad.’
Maria looked down at her hands. Annoyed or angry, she’d expected. She hadn’t expected sad. In fact, she’d imagined he’d have been frustrated for a few days and crash around the place in a black mood, then he’d get distracted by some work crisis or another and forget he’d ever had a wife or child until it was all over.
That was what he’d done when she’d been there, after all.
‘Yeah, well. I was sad when I was with him, but he didn’t notice that. He didn’t notice anything, really. It was as if...the moment we were married I became invisible to him. Another item ticked off his “must do before thirty” list, or something. Even Frankie... I know he loves him, but sometimes I think he sees him more as an heir than a son.’
She knew why, of course, as well as Noemi did. That was how Salvo had always treated Seb—the same way Maria’s father had always treated her, as an asset, to marry off as he saw best, to further his own business endeavours. That was one of the things they’d had in common as teenagers—the knowledge that their function was more important than who they were as a person.
The only difference was that Seb’s parents had adored and loved him—even as they’d pushed him to greater heights and bigger achievements. For Maria’s father, marrying Seb was the best she could ever hope for—her entire self-worth wrapped up in someone else’s abilities.
‘Maria...you know what it was like for Seb growing up. Our parents were wonderful, loving people—especially to me. But for Seb...our father was different with him. Seb was in training from the moment he could see over the counter in Cattaneo Jewels HQ. He had so much to learn, you see, and it was so important to Papà that Seb know everything he needed to take over the business one day—’
‘And then they left the controlling share to the son they’d not seen since the day he was born,’ Maria finished, surprised at the anger she felt on Seb’s behalf.
It seemed however hard she tried to leave her marriage behind, the emotions it brought up in her still remained.
Noemi pulled a face. ‘Yeah, that’s all...messy. But I’m hoping we can find a way to work it all out. I mean, we’re a family, right?’ The look she gave Maria made it very clear that she was including her sister-in-law in that statement.
A messed-up, separated, bizarre family with history and baggage. But a family.
‘Yes, we are,’ Maria agreed with a sigh. The Cattaneos had been her family long before she’d married Seb. They’d given her a place that had felt like home when her own had felt cold and empty, when her parents had gone away on trips without her, or been too busy with the business to pay her any attention. Despite Salvo’s focus on training Seb, he’d always made sure they’d had time as a family, too. It was just a shame that seemed to be the one thing he hadn’t taught his son.
Salvo and Nicole might be gone, but their children remained—and from the look in Noemi’s eye, Maria knew her friend wouldn’t let them all drift apart without their parents there. And because of Frankie, Maria would always be tied to them, whatever happened between her and her husband.
Noemi beamed, her radiant glow almost too bright to look at. ‘I’m sorry. I just want everyone I love to be as happy as I am.’
‘Trust me, I want that, too,’ Maria replied. ‘But right now I’d settle for just getting through this Christmas without having my heart broken.’ Again.
Taking her arm, Noemi pulled Maria up from the bed. ‘Come on. We’re going to go downstairs and find your gorgeous little boy, pour you a glass of wine, and just enjoy all being together for Christmas. Okay?’
‘Okay.’ Resigned to making the most of her visit, Maria smiled and followed her sister-in-law back down the stairs.
And really, when Noemi put it like that, Christmas at the chalet sounded pretty good. She could enjoy this Christmas. Frankie could get to know his papà again, and maybe they could find middle ground between the past year and the one before it. One that gave them all what they needed to feel content at least, if not the incandescent happiness Noemi had found.
Maria could get back to the new life she’d forged for herself, and even if it never felt totally complete without Seb, perhaps he could still be enough a part of their lives to satisfy him and give Frankie the father he deserved.
It wouldn’t be everything. But maybe it would be enough.
It would have to be.
* * *
Seb felt an icy chill that had nothing to do with the Mont Coeur snow sneak up his spine at his brother’s words. ‘The business?’ he echoed.
This was it. This was when Leo told him that he wanted more than just a controlling share of Cattaneo Jewels—this was where his big brother took it over completely. Pushed him out and made the company his own.
And then what would he have left?
It made sense, in a way. Leo was the hotshot businessman—and he’d made it by himself. All his successes, wealth, everything were down to Leo. He hadn’t had Salvo Cattaneo guiding his every move, telling him when he was about to screw up and helping him fix it. Leo hadn’t had anyone. Not their parents, not his useless-sounding adoptive family. All he’d been able to rely on—and put his success down to—was his own hard work and natural talent.
Sebastian, on the other hand... His father had spent years drilling him in exactly what was expected from the heir to the family business, and Seb had worked like hell to prove himself. But it hadn’t been enough, had it? Salvo had still left the controlling share of the business to Leo, not Seb.
No wonder Leo wanted to shake things up. He’d have his own ways of doing things, new ideas and exciting possibilities.
And, sure, Seb had kept things afloat in the meantime, kept the profits ticking over nicely, thank you. But he had just been building on what was already there, not creating anything new. Even Noemi, as the face of Cattaneo Jewels, had had more influence on the shape of the company, from the outside, anyway. She’d been pushing for more, too, and as much as Seb had known she was capable of it, he’d been holding back on letting her in.
This was his responsibility, Salvo had always told him. It was up to Seb to make the company a success, to look after his sister and his mother if anything happened to him.
How badly must he have failed for things to have come to this?
But then Leo spoke again, and Seb’s understanding of the world shifted once more.
‘I want to sign my shares in the family business over to you.’
Seb turned to stare at his brother in astonishment. ‘You’re walking away? After everything, you’re turning your back on your family?’
How? Leo had admitted he’d spent his whole life without a family. How could he walk away just when he’d found them? Just when Sebastian had thought they might be finding some common ground...
