Modern Romance February 2020 Books 5-8. Natalie Anderson

laughter filled her ears and sent a warm feeling trickling through her veins. ‘I was going to discuss this with you. I will be away for two days. That will give my staff enough time to set up a bedroom for Finn—when I return to Sicily I want Finn to come—’

      ‘That’s not possible,’ she interrupted. In less than a second, all the warmth in her veins had solidified into ice.

      ‘Why not?’ He asked it pleasantly enough, but she detected the underlying warning in his tone.

      ‘It’s too soon. He has medication and…’

      ‘There is nothing he has here that he cannot have in Sicily provided we prepare well for it. It will only be for a week.’

      ‘Only a week?’ she echoed faintly. Was it her imagination or were the restaurant’s stone walls starting to blur and spin? As much as she was enjoying this meal, being apart from Finn for an evening felt as if she’d had a limb removed. How was she supposed to cope for a whole week without him?

      ‘Sì. I can clear my schedule for a week so Finn and I can get to know each other but then my schedule is packed with appointments that cannot be rearranged,’ he continued as if she hadn’t spoken. ‘The weekend after that my parents are hosting a party for all the family to meet my sister’s new baby—’

      ‘Giulia had another baby?’ Orla interrupted again, startled, remembering that four years ago Tonino had been excited for the forthcoming birth of Giulia’s first child.

      ‘She had a baby girl last week.’

      ‘You never said.’

      He shrugged. ‘We have had other things to talk about, dolcezza.’

      ‘I know, but a new baby is something to celebrate.’ Orla had nearly hit the roof in excitement when Aislin told her she was pregnant.

      ‘And it will be. The party is a good opportunity to introduce Finn to everyone. There will be lots of small children for him to play with including my other nieces and nephews.’

      ‘How many do you have now?’ she asked faintly. He’d spun her on the dance floor to face his family while he rebuked her for keeping Finn from them, but that had been the only time since their lives had collided back together that he’d mentioned them.

      ‘Five in total.’

      Feeling another headache starting to form, Orla rubbed her temples. ‘I don’t know if the nurses will be able to travel at such short notice.’

      ‘There are private nurses in Sicily. It will be easy to arrange. Which brings me to my next point—the funding of Finn’s medical care.’

      ‘Dante pays for anything not covered by our healthcare system.’

      ‘I thought as much.’ His eyes narrowed. ‘How did you fund it before you found him?’

      ‘We didn’t. It’s what made us seek Dante out in the first place.’ She took a deep breath and tried to get the panic under control. How could she let Tonino take Finn to Sicily? It was too soon. She wasn’t ready to let him go. ‘When his father—my father—died, Aislin and I were skint. The insurance company was fighting over any pay-out from the accident. Aislin convinced me I was entitled to some of my father’s estate. Neither of us knew he’d gambled most of his wealth away. Once Dante learned about me and Finn he became our knight in shining armour. Before he stepped in, Aislin and I were basically on our own.’

      Thinking about the large number of Irish guests at Aislin and Dante’s wedding, Tonino found this hard to believe. ‘What about the rest of your family?’

      ‘Spectacularly useless.’ She rolled her eyes and shook her head but there was no malice in the gestures. ‘Most of them live miles away and have their own worries.’ To his surprise, she reached for her wine glass and drank a tiny bit more before inhaling deeply and seeming to brace herself. ‘Tonino. Please. I’m not trying to be awkward but it’s too soon for you to be taking Finn to Sicily.’

      ‘I would say it’s too late. I have been incredibly patient, dolcezza…’

      She snorted inelegantly.

      ‘But Finn has been deprived of half his heritage. It is time for him to learn the Valente half of himself.’

      She dropped her stare. When she looked back at him he couldn’t tell if it was anguish or anger that was the most prevalent emotion in her eyes. ‘Is that what this evening is all about?’ she accused. ‘A nice meal together to lull me into a false sense of security before you snatch my son from me?’

      ‘You need to get some perspective,’ he said coolly.

      ‘Perspective?’ She clutched at her hair and looked as if she was preparing to shout at him. Thankfully the waiter arrived at their table to clear their plates away, giving her a few moments to calm herself.

      ‘Tonino, please, just listen to me,’ she beseeched. ‘Tonight is the first time in two years that I’ve left Finn for longer than half an hour. I’ve spent the evening stopping myself from phoning home to check on him every five minutes. I know I must sound selfish, but I can’t…’ To his shock, tears filled her eyes. She closed them and took another long breath. ‘I don’t know how I’ll cope without him for a whole week. And then to do it all again a week later?’

      Cope without him?

      Suddenly everything became clear.

      Leaning forward, Tonino stared at her until her damp eyes met his. ‘Orla, I never said I would take him to Sicily without you.’

      Confusion creased her brow. ‘Didn’t you? But you only spoke about Finn and getting to know him and introducing him to your family and the party and everything.’

      He muttered a curse under his breath. ‘I want all these things but I cannot believe you would think me cruel enough to take him without you. He hardly knows me. It would terrify him.’ And, he could see, destroy Orla. ‘You seem to have a habit of assuming the worst about me.’

      ‘I’m sorry…in fairness, you did threaten a custody battle,’ she reminded him. ‘It’s not an easy thing to forget.’

      He drummed his fingers against his wine glass. ‘I accept that, but those threats were made in anger and I’ve assured you since that I don’t want to put Finn through that. Stop thinking the worst and accept that, where our son is concerned, you and I are of the same mind—we only want what’s best for him.’

      She slumped in her chair and pressed her palm to her forehead. ‘I can be such an eejit.’

      ‘Sì,’ he agreed.

      A smile unexpectedly formed on his lips as he recalled the first time he’d heard that particular Irish insult from her. They’d been driving in his car—well, not his car but one of the staff cars he’d bought for his hotel staff to do their errands in—with the roof down when he’d made a comment about something, he didn’t remember what. He did, however, remember Orla lightly punching him on his biceps and calling him an eejit.

      That had been one hell of a good day. The sun had blazed as hot as their passion and through it all had been the knowledge that this sweet, funny, beautiful woman had wanted him only for himself. She had wanted Tonino the man, not Tonino Valente the billionaire hotelier. She hadn’t wanted to be in his bed to join the Valente dynasty, she hadn’t been playing the role of a chess piece taking a strategic move with the ultimate hope of becoming his queen.

      She’d just wanted him.

      The memories filled him with a warmth that had him reaching out to cover her hand. ‘You and Finn come as a package. I accept that. Now you need to accept that I’m part of that package too and that means telling Dante his money isn’t needed any more. I’ll be paying for everything now.’ Before she could protest, he added, ‘I’m Finn’s father. You two are my responsibility.’

      She