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Every time she said his name he felt an arrow of satisfaction pierce him sweetly. He told himself it didn’t matter.
They took their seats, Allegra excitedly perusing her programme like a child on her first trip to the circus.
Her enthusiasm made Rafael smile as he leaned forward to ask her, ‘Haven’t you been to concerts before?’
She wrinkled her nose. ‘Oh, dear. Is my newbie status showing?’
‘It’s charming,’ Rafael replied, ‘but I would have thought, as a seasoned New Yorker, as well as a music-lover, this would be old hat to you.’
She shook her head, curls bouncing. ‘No, not really. Not at all. I’ve been to concerts, but they’ve been free ones in churches and things like that. I’ve never heard the Philharmonic play live.’
‘Never?’ He was surprised.
She gave him a laughing look. ‘Not everyone’s a millionaire.’
Billionaire, actually, but he wasn’t going to debate the point. He sat back in his seat, legs stretched out in front of him. ‘Your father had plenty of money.’ Not that he remotely wanted to talk about her father.
‘My father did,’ Allegra agreed quietly, some of the sparkle gone from her eyes, ‘but we didn’t. My mother didn’t get anything from the divorce.’
Rafael frowned. ‘She must have had some financial settlement.’
‘Nope, not a penny.’ Allegra shrugged. ‘I don’t know why.’
‘She didn’t sue for alimony?’ It didn’t make any sense.
‘I was only twelve, I didn’t ask. And I haven’t asked since then because, to be honest, it just gets her going. She’s always been bitter about it. All I know is my father managed to arrange things so we were left with nothing.’
Rafael supposed he shouldn’t be shocked; he knew how heartless Mancini had been. But he was surprised, on Allegra’s behalf. Why did she still care about him when he’d treated her so badly? ‘So how did you survive?’
‘My mother sold some jewellery to start, and she also had various boyfriends who helped.’ Allegra made a face. ‘That sounds awful, doesn’t it? But my mother was used to living in a certain style, and it still makes her furious that she can’t.’
‘And what about you? Does it make you furious?’
Allegra shrugged, her gaze sliding away as her fingers touched the sapphire nestled at her throat as if it was a talisman. ‘I don’t care so much about things. And I’ve supported myself since I was eighteen.’
‘Eighteen.’ Another surprise. ‘Did you go to university?’ He realised that, despite having spent the last week and a half in her company, he didn’t know that much about her or her life. Not that he’d actually spent much time with her. He’d intentionally stayed away, not wanting to complicate matters. Not wanting to get close. Now, however, he realised he wanted to know more about her... even if it unwise.
‘No, I didn’t.’ Allegra pursed her lips, her gaze shadowed. ‘I decided it wasn’t for me.’
Rafael felt sure there was something she wasn’t saying, but he had no idea what it was. ‘What about you?’ she asked. ‘Did you go to university?’
‘No, I went to work when I was sixteen.’ He felt his chest go tight, his jaw hard, just because of the memories. His fist bunched on his thigh and he forced himself to relax. ‘We needed the money.’
‘Then we have something in common.’ Allegra gazed at him in sorrowful compassion, and Rafael knew she was keeping herself from asking about their fathers on purpose. Neither of them wanted to prise open that Pandora’s box right now.
‘Yes, I suppose we do,’ he said, and smiled. She smiled back and he felt the tension in him ease.
Then the lights dimmed, and they both settled back in their seats as the music began. Rafael wasn’t that much of a connoisseur of music, but he loved seeing the look of rapt attention on Allegra’s face. She was utterly arrested, a pearly sheen in her eyes, her hands clasped to her chest. He’d never seen someone look so thoroughly enthralled, and it touched a place deep inside him, a place he hadn’t accessed in a long time. It made him yearn and mourn, just as he had when they’d listened to Shostakovich. Watching Allegra, he wanted to feel as much as she did. He wanted to let himself.
