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‘It was to the little boy. I saw his face light up.’
‘He and his brother were trapped in a building during the storm. A beam fell on his leg and now he can’t play football any more. Both he and his brother are ardent football fans. Sasha wanted me to help cheer him up. All I did was say he and his brother could be the mascots at the next game of their favourite team.’
‘That is a big deal. For those kids it’s a huge deal.’ Warmth touched her at what he had done.
‘Yes, but maybe the house they were in wouldn’t have collapsed if it had been built properly in the first place.’
‘Which is why there is a whole new housing programme under way, and new standards and regulations are now being enforced.’
‘My father has a lot to answer for.’
Anger darkened his face and she could sense him pull it under control, contain it.
‘I think your brother is trying to do just that.’
He opened his mouth and then closed it again. She could almost see him make the decision to close the conversation down. To close her out.
He said politely, ‘I’m sure you are right. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I want to sort out this mascot issue.’
Two weeks later
Stefan glanced at Holly over breakfast, saw that she looked a little pale, with dark smudges under her eyes, and wondered if she too found it hard to sleep every night next to that damn barrier of pillows, knowing how close and yet so far she was from him. But, difficult though it had been, he’d stuck to his resolve—made sure he kept a physical and emotional distance from her when they weren’t in the public eye.
Every day he held her hand, looped his arm round her waist, inhaled the strawberry scent of her shampoo, and every day his libido went into overdrive—only to be iced as soon as they entered their hotel room.
‘Are you all right?’ he asked. ‘You look tired. I know this isn’t what you signed up for, but you’ve been incredible.’ She truly had, and guilt prodded him that he hadn’t thanked her before. He had been so busy closing any connection down that he had failed to acknowledge her efforts.
‘I am tired, but I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.’
He raised his eyebrow. ‘Even the TV interview?’
‘Fair point. Not the television interview. That terrified me and I’m still not sure we pulled it off.’
‘We did OK.’
Hours of coaching from April had allowed them to put forward a pretty credible performance—perhaps the ‘L’ word had sounded a little forced, but Holly had laughed it off, blamed her falter on nerves and how hard it was to declare emotion in front of a global audience.
‘Are you sure it’s not all getting too much? Especially with the wedding plans as well?’
‘It’s not too much. Seeing all the problems Lycander faces, meeting the people affected by the floods, by the lack of public funding over the years, but also seeing how people cope in adverse conditions, how they pull together is...humbling. It’s made me realise what a bubble I live in at Il Boschetto di Sole.’ She hesitated. ‘It has also made me realise what a great job Frederick is doing and how much there is left to do.’
‘Yes.’ Stefan refilled his coffee cup. ‘He is.’
Like it or not, Holly was correct: his older brother did appear to be doing a sterling job and Stefan had no issue in supporting that. He had appeared with Frederick at some official events, and had indicated his willingness to continue to do so. But despite that the couple of attempts he and Frederick had made to spend ‘brother time’ together had been disastrous.
Not that he had any intent of discussing that with Holly. Not her problem, not her business. In truth, it didn’t need to be a problem. Their deal had not included the establishment of a brotherly bond.
Aware of her scrutiny, he cleared his throat. ‘Do you need any input on the wedding plans?’
Holly picked up the final flakes of her croissant with one finger as she considered the question. ‘To be honest, Marcus and his department have done loads of the work. But there are a few things we need to figure out. For example, we need a song.’
‘Huh?’
‘The bride and groom start the dancing at the reception—take to the floor to whatever “their” tune is.’
‘You pick.’
‘Actually, I thought maybe we could put a different twist on it.’ Holly hesitated. ‘Did your mother have a favourite song?’
