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‘Don’t touch me. And don’t use that word in a toy shop.’ Evie almost wished she could cry. It would have been easier to hate him. The problem was, she didn’t hate him. She didn’t hate him at all. He’d used her, he’d lied to her, but she still didn’t hate him.
Ignoring her warning not to touch, he closed his hands over her shoulders. ‘Evie—’
‘Let’s just get this done. I’m tired. I haven’t had much sleep in the last few days.’ She tried to pull away from him but he held her, his physical strength evident in his firm grip.
‘We were talking about where Elyssa would enjoy living most. Do you have an opinion on where a little girl would like to live? I assumed a child would rather live in one place as much as possible and Florence is a wonderful city, but if you think—’
‘I honestly don’t know.’ Evie finally managed to pull away from him. ‘Why would I know? I’m not a mother. I probably know less than you do.’ All she knew was that her mind was a mess. She’d told herself that he was totally the wrong man for her because he wasn’t the family sort. He’d emphasised that he wasn’t interested in commitment. And now she discovered he had a daughter he clearly adored and every decision he made, even the one to use her so ruthlessly to achieve his own ends, demonstrated the level of his commitment to his child. The fact that he was clearly struggling so hard to do the right thing somehow made the whole thing all the more poignant. He hadn’t chosen fatherhood, but he was determined to do it right. He was facing his responsibilities. Despite what everyone said, Rio Zaccarelli didn’t have a problem with commitment. His problem was with his own relationships with women. And that was hardly surprising, was it, given the women he’d met in the past?
Thinking about Elyssa’s mother, Evie’s throat was thick with emotion. Who would do that to a man? Or to a child? A solid lump seemed to have formed behind the wall of her chest. She kept seeing him removing that photograph from his wallet. Kept seeing him piling up fairy wings so that his daughter didn’t suffer any more trauma. Her arm brushed against his and an electric current shot through her body and, at that moment, the truth lit up in her brain.
She’d fallen in love with him. At some point during the glittering, glamorous charade, the pretence had turned to reality.
It was a thrilling, sickening feeling. A sudden whoosh of the heart and a sinking of the stomach. Dread and desire intermingled with a knowledge that the whole thing was hopeless.
How could that have happened?
In such a short time and with a man like him?
How could she have been so recklessly foolish?
Parading his faults through her brain, Evie turned sharply and walked towards the end of the store, hiding her panic. ‘You need books. Reading together is a great way to bond.’ She blocked out an image of Rio sprawled on a bedcover covered in pink dancing fairies, reading to a small, dark haired girl who adored him. This was hard enough without making it worse for herself.
Her hands shook as she selected books from the shelves, conscious of his steady scrutiny.
‘What’s going on, Evie? When we came into this store you were hell bent on punishing me—you dragged me round pink fairy wings, handed me dolls and stuffed toys bigger than I am—and suddenly you look like the one who is being punished. You look like someone who has had a terrible shock.’
‘No,’ she answered quickly. Too quickly. ‘Not a shock.’
‘I wish you’d tell me why you’re upset. Or is this still because you’re thinking about my daughter?’ He sat down on a chair in the reading area. He should have looked ridiculous, stretching his powerful body and long legs amongst the small bean bags and tiny colouring tables, but he didn’t look ridiculous. Evie doubted Rio could look ridiculous anywhere. He had that ability to blend with his surroundings that came with confidence and self-assurance.
‘Of course I’m thinking of your daughter.’ Picking another two books from the shelf, she flicked through them. ‘That’s what we’re doing here, isn’t it?’ She wished he’d stop looking at her. Suddenly, she was afraid that everything she was feeling might show on her face. The feelings growing inside her were so new she hadn’t got used to hiding them yet.
‘So we’ve done fairy wings, dolls, stuffed toys, games—’ he listed them one by one, a trace of irony in his voice ‘—is there anything else you think she would like? What does a little girl really want?’
What does a little girl really want?
Evie stared for a moment, the question opening a deep rift inside her. It was the one thing she was able to answer with complete confidence. ‘All a little girl really wants is her daddy,’ she said huskily. ‘The rest is just icing on the cake.’
‘You’re sure?’ Rio tucked the phone between his ear and his shoulder as he opened the email. ‘Yes, I have it here…I’m reading it right now…I’ll make all the arrangements.’
When he finally ended the call, he knew his life had altered irrevocably. It was done. The lawyers had finally confirmed it. Elyssa was going to come and live with him. The courts had awarded him custody.
His gaze slid to the small mountain of toys that had been neatly stacked in one corner of the Penthouse, a testament to Evie’s dedication to her task. His little girl would want for nothing, not that he was kidding himself for one moment that the future was going to go as smoothly as that one shopping trip. For a start there was his own inexperience to take into account, and then there was the inescapable fact that Elyssa had spent the past few years with a woman so self-absorbed that the needs of her child had largely gone unnoticed. Whichever way you looked at it, there was a rocky road ahead. Staring at the toys, he suddenly wished Evie was there to guide him through more than just his choice of doll.
But that was a crazy thought, wasn’t it? A selfish thought, because he had nothing to offer her. Not even a defence against her accusation that he’d used her.
He had.
He’d done what needed to be done, without a flicker of conscience. But he didn’t need to use her a moment longer. Their charade could end. Evie could get on with her life—could concentrate on making her grandfather proud.
She could go home for Christmas.
He sat there for a long moment and for once his phones were silent.
Through the wraparound glass of the luxurious Penthouse, he could see that the snow was falling again and immediately he thought how pleased Evie would be.
She loved snow.
