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She’d felt it in the increased pressure of his hands on her hips. Seen it in the dark glitter of his eyes. Even through her clothing his fingers had left a burning imprint.
She’d wanted him to kiss her again like he had two nights ago at Fendalton Hall.
Heat pulsed between her thighs and she squirmed in her seat. She tried to think about something else and her mind landed on Luca’s revelation about his brother. Her heart surged again with sympathy.
She’d wondered how he’d died, but Luca’s expression had quickly grown shuttered and she hadn’t wanted to pry. And she couldn’t expect him to open up about his family when she wasn’t willing to do so herself.
Which left only one subject on which they could safely converse—their son—and those discussions weren’t going to be easy.
Stifling a sigh, she stopped sneaking looks at Luca and buried her nose deeper in the magazine.
It was going to be a very challenging week.
* * *
They landed in Palermo just before five p.m., by which time Ethan was wide awake and full of his usual vigour. Annah knelt on the floor to slip his shoes back on, glad to be on solid ground again.
‘Are we there?’ he asked.
Luca fielded the question from behind her. ‘Nearly. We’re going to ride in a car now for twenty minutes.’
Ethan huffed out a big sigh. ‘It’s a long way from our house to your house, isn’t it?’
‘Yes, but this next part is more interesting. We’ll drive past fishing villages and beaches. You’ll see more from the car than you did from the plane.’
Ethan’s eyes lit up. He looked at Annah. ‘Can we go to the beach, Mummy?’
She tugged a sweatshirt over his head. ‘Not today, sweetheart,’ she said, helping him work his arms into the sleeves. ‘It’s too late in the afternoon.’
His expression fell. He swung his gaze back to Luca as if hoping his father might offer a more favourable answer.
‘Your mother is right,’ Luca said. ‘But we can go tomorrow—if your mum agrees.’
Ethan brightened. He looked to Annah. ‘Can we, Mummy?’
‘Yes,’ she said, his irrepressible enthusiasm drawing a smile from her. ‘I don’t see why not.’ She pushed to her feet and, grateful that Luca hadn’t contradicted her in front of their son, sent him a quick smile. ‘Thanks.’
‘Of course,’ he said, his gaze lingering on hers until she looked away and busied herself with gathering up her and Ethan’s things.
After they disembarked, an immigration official checked their passports and then they crossed the tarmac and climbed into a big SUV with shiny black paintwork, tinted windows, and a plush leather interior complete with a child’s seat installed for Ethan. Mario, who must have sat in a different part of the plane because she’d scarcely seen him during the flight, rode up front beside the driver, while she, Luca, and Ethan travelled in the back, separated from the men by a dark glass privacy screen.
How the other half lives, she mused, the enormity of the chasm between her world and Luca’s starting to sink in.
A ripple of uneasiness moved through her. Ethan was too young right now to appreciate the perks of his father’s wealth, but what would happen as he grew older? At the tender age of four he loved puppies and ice cream and walks in the woods with his mummy. But in ten years things would be different. Her little boy would be a teenager, his interests more likely to run to fast cars, expensive tech, and pretty girls.
Would Luca buy his way into their son’s heart?
Jealousy fired a hot streak through her chest. What if Ethan decided one day that he’d rather live with his father? What then? If she let him go, she’d lose him. If she tr
ied to stop him, he’d resent her.
‘Look at the boats, Mummy!’
Sucking air into lungs gone painfully tight, she sidelined her thoughts and forced her attention on the scenery. They were passing through one of the fishing villages Luca had mentioned. To their left, pretty pastel-coloured houses huddled against the base of a limestone cliff. On the right, moored to an old stone jetty, a dozen or so small boats rocked gently on the sea, their wooden hulls painted in colourful combinations of blue, white, orange, and green.
Luca was right. The scenery was picturesque—and too lovely to ignore.
After another few minutes they left the coastal road and travelled inland through sun-dappled pine woods and then acres of open countryside. A couple of miles in, the driver turned off the road and stopped before a heavy wrought-iron security gate flanked by a six-foot-high stone wall that ran in both directions as far as she could see.
