“You had no advocate?” her mom asked, sounding horrified.
“Not after being adopted. But at one point I gathered enough courage to talk to her about it. She said she’d wanted me to feel like I belonged. Nadine had the right instincts, but there was too much wrong in their marriage, and I know for a fact they didn’t consult Cliff. He was so angry, I got out of the house the second I turned eighteen. As you know, they were killed in a car crash later on.”
Her mother’s eyes had filled with sadness. “Where did you go, darling?”
“I’d been scanning the classifieds and found a want ad for a roommate. I went to meet three single girls who’d rented part of an old house and could fit one more person. I told them that if they’d give me a month, I’d get a job and move in. Since I needed a cell phone, I applied for work at TCCPI and they hired me. That was my lucky day.”
“Now she’s a manager,” Leon interjected. He’d just gotten up from the table to walk Concetta around. “In fact, the corporation is taking her in to the head office in New York City in two months.”
Belle’s head flew back. “You didn’t tell me that earlier. You only said I was going to be promoted.”
His features sobered. “I overstepped my boundaries when I contacted them, and didn’t want to give away all the surprises in store for you.”
He’d surprised her again.
“That’s wonderful!” Luciana exclaimed, but a look of pain had crossed over her face, belying her words. “Do you love your work?”
Bemused by the question, Belle turned to her mother. She knew what she was really asking. They’d met only last evening. After finding her parent, the idea of separation was unthinkable to her right now, too. “I like it well enough. It’s been a way to earn a living, and they’ve been paying for me to go to college at night. Another semester and I’ll get my business degree.”
“I’m so proud of you! Are you still living with roommates?”
“Yes. It’s cheaper and I’ve been able to save some money.” Belle pulled the wallet out of her handbag and passed around some pictures of her friends. She had one photo of the Peterson family to show them.
After studying the photos, Sullisto leaned forward. “I must admit I’m surprised you didn’t show us the picture of your latest love interest. Why aren’t you married? Are the men in America blind? Who’s the miserable man you’re driving crazy at the moment?”
Belle laughed quietly. “I’ve been too busy with studies, along with trying to put my store on top, to get into a relationship.”
“You sound like Leonardo,” he grumbled.
“Concetta keeps me so occupied, there’s no room for anyone else.”
She sensed a certain friction between him and his father. Belle happened to know how deeply enamored Leon was of his little girl. It surprised her Sullisto would touch on that subject, when he had to know his son was still grieving over his wife’s death. No wonder she’d detected an underlying trace of impatience in Leon’s response.
Belle could only envy the woman who would one day come into his life and steal his heart. As she struggled with the possibility that he might always love Benedetta too much to move on, she heard footsteps in the background, and turned her head to see an attractive man and woman dressed in expensive-looking sport clothes walk out on the terrace.
“Ah, Dante!” Sullisto got to his feet to embrace his son, who bore a superficial likeness to him and Leon. “We didn’t expect you until this afternoon,” he said in English. “You’ve arrived back from Florence just in time to meet our home’s most honored guest. Belle Peterson from New York? This is my son Dante, and his lovely wife, Pia.”
Belle agreed Pia was charming, with amber eyes and strawberry-blond hair she wore in a stylish bob. They walked around and shook her hand before taking their places at the table. But already Belle felt uncomfortable, because Leon’s brother had seen her sitting next to Luciana, and had to have noticed the resemblance. He kept staring at them. So did his wife, who whispered something to him.
Sullisto turned to his wife. “Cara? Why don’t you carry on from here?”
Luciana cleared her throat and got to her feet. Belle’s gaze collided with Leon’s oddly speculative glance. She had the impression he didn’t know how this was going to play out, and she felt an odd chill go through her.
“After all these years, my greatest dream has come true.” She reached for Belle’s hand and clung to it. “Years ago my father sent me to New York, because he thought I was in danger here.
“You know the family history, but there are some things no one ever knew except your father, who loved me enough to marry me anyway. You’ll never know what that love did for me and how much I’ve grown to love him since then.”
Her mother’s revelations brought moisture to Sullisto’s eyes and touched Belle to the depths of her soul. But as she saw a bewildered look creep over Dante’s face, the blood started to throb at her temples.
“While I was there, I met a man from England named Robert Sloan, and we fell in love. When we found out we were expecting a baby, we planned to be married with or without my father’s permission. But Robert was killed in a hit-and-run accident. At the time I was convinced he’d been murdered, and it brought on early labor for me.”
Dante looked like a victim of shell shock. As Luciana continued talking, he transferred his cold gaze to Belle. It reminded her of Cliff’s menacing eyes when his mother had first introduced them. That memory made her shrink inside as Luciana came to the end of the story.
“Her real name is Arabella Donatello Sloan. She flew to Rimini this week to try and find me. If it weren’t for Leon, we would never have been reunited.”
Dante turned to his brother. A stream of unintelligible Italian poured from his mouth.
“Our guest doesn’t speak Italian,” Leon reminded him. For an instant his gray eyes trapped Belle’s as reams of unspoken thoughts passed between them. This was the crisis Belle had prayed wouldn’t happen.
Sullisto intervened and in English told Dante how she’d researched the Donatello name until it came to Leon’s attention at the bank.
“It’s an absolute miracle,” Luciana interjected. “It’s one that has brought me the greatest happiness you can imagine. Sullisto and I talked it over last night. We’re hoping she’ll decide to make her home here at the palazzo with all of us, permanently.”
“Mom...”
While Belle was still trying to absorb the wonder of it, Sullisto tapped his crystal goblet with a fork. After clearing his throat, he said, “We want to take care of you from here on out. Now that you’re united with your mother, we don’t want anything to keep you two apart.” He reached for Luciana’s hand. “I’m planning to adopt you, Arabella.”
“Adopt?” Belle gasped. “I—I hardly know what to say—” Her voice caught.
A smile broke out on his lips. “You don’t have to say anything.”
Belle was so overcome with emotions sweeping through her, she hardly noticed that Dante had gotten to his feet. With one glance, she saw that he’d lost color. He stared around the table at all of them. The dangerous glint coming from those dark depths frightened her.
“That’s quite a story. The resemblance between mother and daughter is extraordinary, thus dispensing with a DNA test,” he rapped out. His gaze finally fastened on Belle. “Welcome to the Malatesta family, Arabella. We truly do live up to our name, don’t we?”
“Basta!”