Everything was moving too fast. “That sounds good in theory, but you’ve only just dropped him back with his mother. What if she has arranged something special for him? He hasn’t been home in a week.”
A tiny nerve hammered at the edge of his mouth. She noticed it appeared when he was unusually tense. “If she has plans, it will be a first. As for my needs, this time they’ll have to take precedence.” After pressing a warm kiss to her lips, he let her go with reluctance and started the car.
BE THERE, ARTURO.
“Vincenzo! I saw your name on the caller ID and couldn’t believe it. We haven’t talked in ages. What can I do for you?”
“I need my attorney’s help.”
“Of course.”
“I’m in Milan and am driving over to Mila’s villa right now to pick up Dino. It’s imperative I take him out for a few hours, then I’ll return him. She’s going to refuse because I only just brought him back from our holiday in Riomaggiore, but something’s come up and it’s vital I talk to him alone. Be the master counselor you are and call her attorney to let him know my special circumstances.”
“I’ll get on it right now.”
“Grazie, Arturo.” He clicked off.
Whether Arturo could reach Mila’s attorney or not, Vincenzo had no intention of letting his ex-wife thwart him. She was already worked up because Dino had told her about Irena. He could just imagine the fireworks when he showed up at the door in a few minutes, but this was one time he didn’t care, because hopefully it would be the last time he or Dino would ever be at her mercy in the same way.
“Signore?” The maid looked surprised to see him at the door.
“Would you tell Mila and Dino I’m here to see them.”
“Sì.”
He moved inside the foyer and shut the door. The noise resounded in the tomblike interior. Pretty soon he heard the patter of feet.
“Papa!” Dino came running into his arms.
Mila followed. “What are you doing back here?”
“Something important has come up. I need to talk to Dino for a little while. I hope you don’t mind.”
She had to think about it. “You can go in the salon.”
“No, I meant I need to talk to him away from here, Mila.”
“I don’t want him leaving the house.”
“Do you have plans for him?”
“We don’t, do we, Mama?” Dino piped up.
“That’s not the point, Dino.”
“Then it won’t matter if I take him for a few more hours. I’ll have him back in time for bed.”
“You’ve had your week with him, Vincenzo.”
She didn’t care that their son could hear this. Much as Vincenzo hated it, she’d left him no choice. “Legally I have the right to be with him until nine tonight. I bring him back early as a consideration to you, Mila. Go ahead and call your attorney. By the time you reach him, I’ll have brought Dino back.”
He glanced at his son. “We’re going out to dinner.”
“Can we get pizza?”
“If that’s what you want.”
“With her?” Mila demanded.
Vincenzo didn’t answer. Dino walked out the door with him. It closed hard behind them.
“Mama’s real mad.”
“I’m sorry about that. She’s missed you a lot.”
They got in the car. “Are we going to eat with Signorina Spiros?”
“We are.”
“Did she want me to come?”
“I’ll say. In fact, she refused to eat with me unless you came.”
A smile broke out on his face.
“Hey—our hotel!” he cried a few minutes later. “Is she waiting in our room?”
“Yes.”
Irena thanked the clerk in the gift shop and took the two presents she’d bought back to the hotel room. Vincenzo had told her it was the one he and Dino always stayed in. They pretended it was their home away from home. The more she was getting to know him, the more she realized what an exceptional father he was.
If Vincenzo was the father of her unborn child, it would have no better parent. But she was getting ahead of herself. First they needed to broach the subject of marriage with Dino. These things took time.
Under the best of circumstances, his son might need months, even a year, to get used to the idea. Unfortunately Irena didn’t have that long with a baby on the way. She still hadn’t given up the idea of going to Canada.
Her ears picked up the rap on the door. Nervous over what was to come, she turned in time to see the two of them enter the room. It suddenly hit her they could be her future husband and stepson. As the thought penetrated, she was overcome by a myriad of emotions ranging from anxiety that it couldn’t work, to excitement that it might.
“Hi, Dino!”
His brown eyes smiled. “Hi, signorina!”
Vincenzo’s gaze traveled from one to the other. “I’ve just told him we’re going to have dinner here. I’ll call the kitchen. He wants pizza. What else would you like?”
“Salad? Coffee?”
He nodded and picked up the house phone to place their order.
“Come over here, Dino.” She’d put one of her gifts on the table. When he joined her, she told him to open it. Out of the bag came a canister of fifty pickup sticks. “Have you ever played this before?”
When he shook his head, she looked at Vincenzo. “What about you?”
A gleam entered his eyes. “Once long ago. We called it Shanghai.”
“Well, the game I know works like this.” She opened the top and put all the sticks in her hand. Then she placed it on the table and let the sticks fall. Picking out the black stick she said, “The trick is to remove each stick one at a time so the others don’t move. The person who can remove the most sticks is the winner.”
She got busy and loosened ten sticks before disturbing some. Dino couldn’t wait to be next. The game entertained all of them until their meal was wheeled in on a tea cart.
While they ate, Vincenzo took over in the translation department. “Dino? We brought you here to discuss something very important. It’s about me and Irena.”
“What is it?” Above his lips he had a milk moustache.
Irena exchanged a private glance with Vincenzo and they both smiled. “Do you know how you always ask me how come I’m not married and I always tell you it’s because I haven’t found the right woman yet?”
He nodded. “But now you’ve found Irena, huh.”
When Vincenzo explained what Dino had said, Irena expelled the breath she’d been holding.
“Yes. We want to get married right away. How do you feel about that?”
Once the question was posed Dino said, “Can I see you get married?” He’d asked it without