In agitation, she rose to her feet… ‘Dante. about us going to Lake Como to—to get married…’
‘What about it?’
She obviously had upset him, because his handsome face was fierce for a moment. But, however unapproachable he seemed, Anna refused to be intimidated by him.
‘I’ll go with you on one condition.’
‘I have already told you that—’
‘Hear me out.’ Although shaking inside, her tone was unerringly firm, and there was a definite flash of surprise in Dante’s light-coloured eyes. ‘I don’t want a wedding arranged until I see how we get on together. And I won’t have you issuing me with threats of going to court for custody of Tia either. I’ve seen the damage it can do to a woman’s spirit to have a man try to control her, and I won’t accept it from anyone…not even and especially the man who fathered my child!’
‘You’re speaking from personal experience?’ Although Dante’s voice had turned quiet, it was underscored with shock and a sense of impatience too—as if he wanted to hear the full extent of what Anna had endured.
‘Yes, I am.’ She crossed her arms in front of her, knowing there was no point in keeping her past a secret. It wouldn’t serve her in the long run, however painful it was to talk about it. Ghosts could only haunt a person if they colluded with them to keep them hidden. ‘My father was a cruel and jealous drunk, and he made my mother’s life a living hell.’
‘Where is he now?’
‘No longer in this world…thank goodness.’ An icy shudder ran down Anna’s spine.
‘And your mother…where is she? ‘
‘She’s gone too.’ She briefly pursed her lips, fighting hard to win the struggle over her tears. ‘They said at the hospital that she died of heart disease, but I know that’s not what killed her. She was simply tired and worn out… beaten down by living with my brute of a father.’
His glance glinting with anger as well as sympathy, Dante stepped towards her. ‘Was he a brute to you too, Anna?’ he demanded huskily.
‘A man with a propensity for intimidation doesn’t care who he tries to intimidate. He just gets off on the power. His children are the easiest targets of all—especially when they’re too scared to answer back in case they get another verbal lashing. And the situation becomes even more horrendous when the impulse to dominate and show what a big strong man he is is fuelled by alcohol.’
Shame and despair cramped her throat for a second. ‘Have you any idea what it’s like to have foul beer or whisky-smelling breath right in your face, and a mocking voice yelling at you how useless you are? How worthless? Anyway, I don’t want to talk any more about this right now.’ She made as if to move towards the kitchen. ‘I don’t think I can drink any more wine, lovely as it is. I think I’ll make some coffee. Would you like some?’
‘No.’ Dante laid his hand on her arm to prevent her from turning away, but he didn’t curl his fingers to grip it. Right now he needed to tread very carefully. He could see the fear and terror in her eyes from her disturbing memories and it shook him deeply. ‘We’ll do as you suggest. We’ll go to Lake Como and live together for a while before embarking on marriage. Does that make you happier, Anna? ‘
Perversely, the look of relief crossing her face was like a hammer blow to Dante. He didn’t want to possess Anna—he knew that would be wrong. In the light of what she’d experienced with her bullying father it would be doubly wrong. Just the thought of such a man hurting her in any way brought out the most base of animal instincts in him to deal with anyone who threatened her or Tia. Ultimately all he wanted to do was take care of them both—to show Anna that beneath the facade of wealth and success his genuine heartfelt desire was for family and connection. He wanted the chance to prove that underneath the outward material trappings and his drive for achievement existed the good, responsible, caring man that his mother had always insisted was the real Dante Romano.
‘Thank you,’ she answered softly.
Reluctantly he let go of her arm, even though touching her through the material of her dress made him long for so much more.
‘Perhaps while you make your coffee I could look in on Tia? I just want to sit beside her bed and watch her sleep for a while,’ he said.
‘Go ahead. Take as long as you like.’
* * *
Half an hour later, Anna opened Tia’s bedroom door to find Dante comfortably ensconced in the cosy slipper chair beside their daughter’s bed, his elbows resting against his long-boned thighs in his exquisitely tailored suit trousers and his body quite still. His avid gaze was transfixed by the angelic blond child who lay sleeping peacefully beneath the Walt Disney character-decorated pink duvet, one arm flung out by her side and the other clutching her favourite chewed teddy bear.
Anna needed a moment. It was as though one of her favourite made-up stories had come to startling, vivid life, and she hardly dared breathe for fear of disturbing it and making it disappear.
But Dante had heard her come in and, turning in his chair, treated her to the most disarming, knee-trembling smile she’d ever seen.
‘She’s so beautiful,’ he breathed quietly. ‘I don’t want to leave her…not for a minute or even a second. I’ve missed so much of her growing up.’
Anna didn’t mistake the catch in his voice. Advancing into the room, which was illuminated only by the soft night light glowing in the corner, she dropped her hand on his hard-muscled shoulder, silently thrilling to feel the sensuous warmth that emanated through the luxurious cashmere of his sweater.
‘She’s still got a lot of growing up to do, Dante…she’s only four. And children quickly adapt to new situations and people. One day she’ll forget there was even a time when you didn’t mean the world to her.’
Covering her hand and holding it against him, Dante held Anna’s gaze with a passionate heated look. ‘I want her to know I’m her father. I want her to know as soon as possible. Can you understand that?’
Gripped by the pain in his voice, Anna breathed out slowly. ‘I do. Of course I do. But we just—we just have to pick the right moment.’
‘Tomorrow when you pick her up from school we’ll take her somewhere for tea. It will give her and me the chance to get to know each other a little. But I don’t want her to be kept in the dark about who I am for long, Anna.’ He let go of her hand. ‘I don’t think I could bear that.’
‘We’ll tell her soon,’ she said reassuringly, seeing by his expression how in earnest he was about Tia knowing he was her father.
Clenching his jaw for a moment, Dante exhaled a heavy sigh. His eyes flashed like distant lightning in a velvet midnight sky.
‘Good…that’s good. Now, I think it’s probably time I left. We have much to do tomorrow. I’ll see you in the morning, Anna.’ His lips brushed briefly against her cheek as he stood up. ‘Try to get some proper sleep tonight, eh?’
The sensuous trail of his cologne and the seductive warmth that was the legacy of his lips lingered on Anna’s skin long after he had gone.
She asked if Anita could spare a few minutes to talk during their afternoon tea break. Expressing her usual amicable concern, the older woman kindly welcomed Anna into the office she shared with