AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She was incredibly lucky.
‘And this hotel is fabulous,’ Sharon observed, glancing out of the window towards the large ornamental lake. ‘I’ll say this for him, Luca certainly isn’t stingy. All right. We’re due downstairs. The guests are waiting, and this time we’re not giving them a fright.’
Tia smiled and bent to pick up the basket. ‘She can stay at the back of the room with you until we’ve finished.’
But Lily had other ideas.
The minute Tia picked up the basket she started to howl and Tia gave a groan of disbelief.
‘No! Not now, Lily. You can’t be hungry yet.’
‘Just get downstairs,’ Sharon said quickly. ‘I’ll keep her happy until you’re ready.’
Tia looked at her daughter and her heart twisted. She was so tiny and helpless and she’d only been out of hospital for three weeks.
‘I can’t.’ She shook her head firmly. ‘Not if she needs feeding. I’ll feed her and then I’ll get married.’
Sharon looked frantically at the clock. ‘Tia, you can’t do this again! Luca will have a nervous breakdown.’
‘Except that this time I’m leaving nothing to chance.’ Luca’s deep drawl came from the doorway and he walked over to Tia, his expression faintly mocking. ‘Leaving me waiting at the altar again, cara mia?’
‘Luca!’ Sharon’s voice was a horrified squeak. ‘You’re not meant to see the bride before you marry her.’
Luca smiled. ‘I don’t care what she’s wearing as long as she turns up.’
Tia looked at him anxiously. ‘Lily’s hungry.’
‘Then feed her,’ Luca said softly, removing his jacket and tossing it carelessly onto the bed. ‘Otherwise you will worry and I don’t want you to worry. I want this to be a day you remember.’
Ignoring Sharon’s anxious mutterings about the time, Tia allowed Luca to unzip her dress and settled herself in the chair to feed the baby.
‘I don’t believe this.’ Sharon’s expression was comical as she looked at them. ‘You know that they’re all going to think that you’ve done it again.’
Tia looked at Luca but he simply shrugged.
‘We don’t care what people think,’ he reminded her lightly. ‘They will wait, cara mia. Sharon, if it bothers you so much, go down and tell them that we are feeding Lily and will join them in a moment.’
Sharon looked from one to the other and gave a sigh. ‘Maybe I’ll do that.’
She left the room, closing the door quietly behind her.
Luca stroked Tia’s cheek with a gentle finger. ‘I thought you had changed your mind again,’ he admitted gruffly, and Tia shook her head, her eyes soft with love.
‘Never. But Lily started to cry.’
He gave a chuckle. ‘I told you that you would be a good mother.’
‘I love her, Luca,’ Tia said in a choked voice, handing him the baby as she rearranged her dress and got unsteadily to her feet.
‘I know you do.’ He transferred the baby to his shoulder and bent to kiss Tia gently on the mouth. ‘And she is a lucky girl to have you as a mother.’
Tia gave him a shy smile. ‘I still can’t believe we’re going to be a proper family.’
‘Well, we are.’ Luca held his daughter snugly with one arm and retrieved his jacket with the other. ‘Are you ready to marry me?’
Tia nodded slowly. Oh, yes, she was ready. She was more than ready.
He smiled and held out his free hand. ‘So do you think we should get a move on before we give our guests a heart attack for a second time?’
