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Day 340: And complications abound . . .
The nextfew hours passed in a mad dash. After setting the wheels in motion for a quickie wedding should the need arise, Luc purchased a wedding band for Grace, overriding her heated objections with callous determination.
“I don’t have time to argue with you about this,” he informed her, taking great satisfaction in sliding the wedding band on her finger. “You’ve pretended to be engaged for the past eleven months. Now you’re pretending to be married. What the hell’s the difference?”
She glared at him. “Give me a minute and I’ll tell you.”
“We don’t have a minute. The emergency response worker assigned to our case is meeting us at the apartment at noon. That doesn’t give us much time to get everything in place.”
Realizing her arguments were fruitless in the face of such overwhelming resolve, she gave up and returned with Luc to his apartment. At the stroke of twelve she positioned the last of her personal possessions and, as if in response, the doorbell rang. Joining Luc at the door, they welcomed the social worker together.
Ms. Cartwright proved to be a very pleasant, no-nonsense career woman in her late thirties, and it took Luc precisely three minutes to totally charm her.
The first minute they exchanged names and business cards. Luc introduced Grace as his wife and thanked Ms. Cartwright for taking the time out of her busy schedule to visit with them.
The second minute, he fired a thousand questions about Toni’s wellbeing at the startled woman.
The third minute, he relaxed, apologized for his abruptness, and offered her one of his most stunning smiles. Grace had long ago realized his smile could melt steel. Melting Ms. Cartwright was a cinch compared to that. Drawing her into the living room, he focused both that smile and his intense golden eyes on the hapless woman.
“You see,” Luc explained, and there was no mistaking the rough sincerity in his voice, “Toni is family. You tell me what I have to do to get her back here until her parents return from Italy and I’ll do it. Anything.”
Ms. Cartwright visibly softened. “Please understand, Mr. Salvatore. We aren’t trying to split your family apart. We just want what’s best for the child.”
He inclined his head in satisfaction. “Then we have the same goal. I think you’ll find what’s best is for Toni to be returned to her family. Let me show you around and then we’ll discuss what needs to be done.”
Ms. Cartwright inspected every inch of the apartment with a nerve-racking thoroughness. Eventually, she wandered into their temporary nursery. “Why, what a beautiful room you have here,” she said, pausing in the doorway. “You did all this for your niece?”
“Not just for Toni,” Luc claimed, shooting an openly smoldering look in Grace’s direction. “I was hoping to give her cousins sometime soon.”
Ms. Cartwright beamed, patting Grace’s arm. “I can tell by that blush you’re a newlywed. Ben Hatcher referred to you as Mr. Salvatore’s fiancée in his report. You must have married recently?”
“Very,” Luc answered for Grace.
The social worker made a brief notation on her clipboard. “I’m glad to hear that. It will certainly help with the approval process. And who would have the main responsibility for Toni during the day?”
“We both would,” Luc said. “I’ve arranged to work out of the apartment until my brother and his wife return.”
“Wife?” Ms. Cartwright frowned. “I understood that Ms. Donati was a single parent. In fact, you told the police your brother and Ms. Donati were married, then later admitted you’d lied. That concerns me, Mr. Salvatore.”
A variety of emotions chased across Luc’s face—frustration, anger, and finally resignation. “To be honest, Ms. Cartwright, I would have said just about anything to keep Toni with her family,” he confessed in a low voice. “I know it’s a terrible admission, but my brother entrusted Toni to my care and I didn’t want to let him down.”
“I understand your feelings, but I must insist on absolute honesty from now on.” The social worker was serious. She tapped her pencil against the clipboard, and Grace knew without question there’d be no charming her into overlooking any future fibs. “Lying to the police, or to us for that matter, is a very serious matter. If we uncover any further discrepancies, you will not be permitted to care for your niece now, or any time in the future. Are we clear on this?”
Grace thought she’d pass out at the woman’s feet. She didn’t dare look at Luc. Instead, she stood as still as possible, fighting to keep from toying nervously with her phony wedding rings. How had she managed to get herself into this mess? Maybe she’d phone her father, after all. She needed a good, strong dose of his common sense and principles. One of his lectures wouldn’t go amiss around about now, either.
Luc weathered the imminent crisis far better. He forked his fingers through his hair and then inclined his head. “We’re clear,” he said.
Fortunately, Ms. Cartwright didn’t sense Grace’s reaction. She examined the pages attached to her clipboard and said, “I’m also concerned about the mother in this case.”
“Carina is young and rather emotional,” Luc offered, stepping into the breach once again. “She wasn’t thinking straight when she left Toni with us. She’d just had a baby out of wedlock, something both her family and her religion frown on. And she’d just learned her mother is on death’s door. The one smart thing she did was to come to my brother for help.”
“But he left the baby, too.”
“In my custody. I’m the eldest, and my brothers have always come to me when they needed help. Look, Ms. Cartwright. I’m positive they’ll marry very soon and return to straighten all this out. If social services wants to investigate me to ensure I’m a fit temporary guardian for Toni, then fine. If they want to camp out on my doorstep in order to keep an eye on me, they’re welcome. All I ask is that you let me take care of Toni until this is resolved.”
His impassioned speech clearly had an effect on Ms. Cartwright. She sighed. “You make a very eloquent case for yourself, Mr. Salvatore.”
“That was my intention.”
