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‘No,’ he said. ‘I am a greedy man who wants more. Much more.’
She gripped the sofa harder. ‘Then perhaps this time you shouldn’t quit while you’re ahead?’
The thread of hope in her voice triggered his. He ventured even closer, heard her breath catch in the softest gasp. With every fibre of his being he yearned to hold her.
‘I’ve missed you, Faye. Desperately.’
Her nostrils quivered but she remained silent.
He took that as his cue to risk everything. ‘I held back about Pietro because I was ashamed. I’ve been ashamed of what Luigi and my parents did to cover up his activities for a very long time. Even after you showed me that there was a way forward, there was still shame. My family was responsible for letting him get away with his depravities. When you showed me his picture on the yacht, I couldn’t dismiss the possibility that he was connected to you somehow. You obviously take after your mother, since you look nothing like him, but I couldn’t tell you until I was absolutely certain.’
To his utter relief, she nodded. ‘I was upset when I found out what you did, but eventually I understood the reasoning behind it.’
Relief smashed harder through him. ‘About the letter... Carlotta made me promise to hold on to it for at least three months before giving it you.’
‘Why?’
‘I suspect she was hoping that what happened between us would happen. That I would meet you, see how special you are and perhaps in time it would not be too late for me. That this thing living within me now would take hold.’
She stopped breathing and her eyes latched onto his. ‘What is the thing living inside you, Maceo?’
Her beautiful voice was hardly above a murmur.
‘It is the need for you that never goes away. The desire to be with you every hour of every day, to make you smile, to hear you laugh, to plan a future with you by my side, bearing our children, growing old with me. It is this love I have inside for you, amore mio. Carlotta was an eternal optimist and I will be in her debt for ever.’
‘Why?’
‘Because she brought you to me. I mentioned the vow I made over my parents’ grave?’
She nodded.
He reached into his pocket. ‘They made a list, mapping out their lives from the night they got engaged to their old age. I was number two, right after their wedding. Casa di Fiorenti was number five. There are eighteen things on that list, Faye.’ His fingers closed over the paper, pain rippling through him. ‘They only made it to number seven. Because of me.’
She gave a choked cry. ‘Oh... Maceo...’
‘So I vowed to deprive myself of the happiness I robbed them of.’
‘No... They wouldn’t have wanted that for you, Maceo,’ she said.
‘I see that now, amore. You came along and I was happy to fail. Because you opened my eyes and my heart to a life beyond accumulating wealth and solitude and sacrifice. What is it all worth without someone to share it? Now I’ve had time to look at this list in a different light, and I can do everything in here for them. I know they loved me enough to wish it so. And even if I don’t get to cross off the last item, and die in your arms, what I experienced with you during our time together will be enough.’
‘Wow... You’re giving up so easily?’ she taunted, but her eyes shone bright.
Maceo laughed. ‘Never. This is simply an initial skirmish. I’m Italian. I will pursue you relentlessly. Desire anything in the world and it will be yours, tesoro. Even Pico. Who misses you dreadfully.’
She smiled. Then sobered. ‘I miss him too. But what if the only thing I truly want in the world is you?’
His world shifted beneath his feet, then righted itself in a way that made him want to shout with joy.
‘What then, Maceo?’ she pressed.
‘Then you will have me,’ he vowed on a shaken breath. ‘Immediately. Now.’
Her face transformed, blooming with a smile he knew he would never forget as long as he lived. She swayed towards him and Maceo closed the gap between them, sweeping her off her feet as the sun burst through the clouds.
He froze, his gaze darting to the skies.
‘What are you looking for?’ she asked.
