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Vitalo let the lie pass, and stepped backwards, reaching for the champagne bottle and filling Kat’s glass up once more.
“Lots of women are having children later in life. Is age so important?”
She looked briefly placated by this, but then her face dropped again. “My daughters are in their twenties. The ‘baby stage’ feels like a long time ago.”
“Lorenzo is younger, surely you realized there were going to be issues of this sort to navigate?”
She lifted her shoulders. “Our lifestyle is… I thought he’d be happy. I thought I’d be enough.”
There might have been a time when he’d have pulled her into his arms to offer comfort, to hug her and reassure her with his proximity, telling himself it was an innocent gesture of friendship, that it didn’t mean anything. But not now. “You have to talk to your husband, Kat. If he loves you, he will understand your feelings.”
“He’s furious with me,” she whispered. “He won’t listen to reason. He’s taken himself off to Milano to lick his wounds.”
Vitalo ignored the flicker of disgust at the other man’s antics. He wasn’t sure he was in any position to judge. “Presumably he needs some time to make sense of this development. I am sure he will calm down in a day or two.”
“I don’t know.” She shook her head, and then sighed heavily, before lifting her huge blue eyes to his face. “I just needed to see a friend. Do you mind if I crash here the night?”
At his pause, she added, “I won’t be any trouble. I promise.” Her smile was slow to spread over her face and he saw it for what it was: an invitation.
Just like all the other invitations she’d extended, and he’d refused.
In the past, he’d struggled to say ‘no’ to her. He’d fought a battle inside of himself that had been almost deadly.
Now?
It wasn’t hard to resist Kat. He simply wanted her gone.
But the bonds of friendship had him nodding, if only to prevent her from getting behind the wheel of her car after three hastily consumed champagnes.
“Of course. You know where the guest room is.”
“I know where your room is, too,” she purred, the invitation impossible to miss now.
He blamed the champagne.
“My room’s taken,” he said simply, side-stepping her and moving towards the door. “There’s a selection of female clothing in the wardrobe of the guest suite. Toiletries in the ensuite. I’ll order dinner soon. Any favourites?”
At his business-like response, she was momentarily miffed and then shrugged. “No. Whatever you want is fine with me.”
Feeling as though he’d dodged a bullet, he moved towards the door, but she stilled him with a final remark.
“How can I possibly have another baby, at forty four? I’m about to become a Goddamned grandmother, Vit. A grandmother. Me!”
CHAPTER THREE
SNOW HAD BEGUN TO fall, and it was one of Bella’s favourite sights in all the world. Despite the time she and Sophia spent in Aspen together every year, snow never became old to
her. She never tired of the sight, of the magic involved in such a beautiful display.
She put a hand out, her fingers cupped together to give her the best chance of catching a flake, and she stood perfectly still, smiling when one landed on her fingertips, before bringing it closer to her face to inspect. It was just a tiny chip of cloud, a little breath of heaven. She rubbed it between her forefinger and thumb and then kept walking the few steps to the front door of her townhouse.
It would be Christmas in a little over a month, and the streets were already lined with decorations. Swathes of dark green ornamental ivy ran from one lamppost to the next, with huge red and gold baubles strung in the very centre. She thought of Xavier and Ellie’s children with another smile, wondering how much they’d grown since she’d last visited, and resolving to see them again as soon as she could, after Christmas. In the meantime, she’d send gifts. All the gifts.
She looked down at the bags she held, her expression one of wry acceptance.
Ellie would chastise Bella for being so extravagant, but how could she resist? They were truly the sweetest children in the world.
Would her own be as adorable?
