Although his encouraging words about art—in her case writing her book—were music to Isabella’s ears, the tacit implication in Leandro’s words told her that he already believed he had her full agreement to go to Spain and live with him, and that was not a decision that she had definitely reached at all. It made her panic a little. Especially when she believed that he was only asking her because of his deep sense of responsibility towards Raphael. What if the profound connection she had sensed between them had been one sided? She did not know as yet what Leandro really felt about her at all. And she still couldn’t help wondering if he had only looked her up because he was in London and saw an opportunity for another hot little encounter with her. Now, because of their son, he was saddled with a woman for whom the only feelings he entertained might be purely sexual. Hurt and disappointment welling up inside her, Isabella knew she could not remotely consider marriage with this man if he didn’t love her.
‘I’m sorry, Leandro, but I’m overwhelmed by what you expect me to do! First you insist that we move to Spain with you practically immediately, then you tell me that we must get married! You say that it’s in Raphael’s best interests that we make a life together, but can you really be so sure that that’s what’s best? What if him being here with me and seeing you whenever you can make it to England would be the best thing for him? He’s happy at his nursery. It’s run by a very close friend of mine and I know that she ensures he has the best care. As for us …’ The skin between Isabella’s dark brows puckered a little as she contemplated the thing that was disturbing her the most. ‘We slept together once and we made a baby. That doesn’t mean that we could make a marriage between us work or that we’d be better parents if we were together. What I think is that we both need more time to really work this out …to come up with the best solution. Don’t you agree?’
Her plea for understanding did not elicit the positive response she might have hoped for. To her shock and surprise Leandro abruptly turned and walked away from her, but not before Isabella registered the volatile spark of fury and impatience in his eyes with a nervous somersault in her stomach.
‘I cannot give you more time!’ he declared, turning to face her again. ‘Have you not been listening? I already told you that I needed to be back in Madrid in three days’ time. I do not have the kind of job where I can get someone to stand in for me when I take time out …I have an expensive cast and crew waiting for me when I get back that expect me to be there on schedule to start shooting this film, not to mention the financial backers who expect one-hundred-and-ten-per-cent commitment for the money they are investing. So you see, Isabella, I cannot wait for you to make up your mind to come to Spain with me. Raphael is my son too and I want full custody of him alongside his mother! To lose nine months of my child’s life is bad enough—to lose even one more day of that life is inconceivable to me now that I have seen him and held him in my arms. Can you not comprehend that?’
As well as being furious at her seeming obstruction of his desires, simmering deep inside Leandro was absolute rage that he had not received any of Isabella’s messages about her pregnancy. When he got back to Madrid, one of the first tasks he would be undertaking was to call on the film offices concerned, make a proper investigation about what had happened and then make his fury known to the people responsible. Their over-zealous protection had denied him knowledge of his son as well as the once-in-a-lifetime chance to witness the miracle of his birth, and to his mind that was not an action that would be eliciting his unconditional forgiveness any time soon …
‘Of course I can comprehend that you want to be with your son, Leandro, but sometimes it’s just not possible to have our desires instantly gratified. Sometimes a little planning and forbearance is required.’
‘Dios mio! You test my forbearance, Isabella!’
His white-hot anger cut Isabella to the quick. This was definitely not the kind of reunion she would have envisaged for them both, given the choice. Now she felt utterly miserable.
‘You have no idea what it means to me to discover I have a son …no idea at all.’ His lean jaw visibly clenched, Leandro focused his agitated gaze firmly on Isabella’s unhappy face. ‘It is punishment enough that I did not know of his existence until yesterday. Do not punish me further by keeping him from me another day.’
As she heard the anguish in his voice Isabella’s heart ached for his distress. Now she knew an instinctive need to hold him, to tell him she understood his great need to be around his child …but, fearing that he might reject such advances when the atmosphere between them was fraught with such tension, she stayed where she was, her arms down by her sides.
‘My father died.’
‘What?’ Isabella held her breath in surprise and shock. She saw Leandro lift up his hand to push it through his hair, but he stopped halfway and shook his head, as if it pained him beyond measure to even say the words. ‘When?’ she asked him. ‘When did this happen?’
‘Not long after we said goodbye in Vigo. He was mowed down by a drunken driver …It is also why I need to be with my son.’
Sensing that he did not want to go into detail, Isabella felt her heart swell with compassion. Now she understood why he was so vociferous about his demands that they go to Spain. If he had recently lost his father …and in such a brutal, shocking way …it must be even more important for him to have a close bond with his son.
‘I’m so sorry, Leandro.’ She moved towards him to touch him, to show him how moved she was by his confession, but he stepped away from her, as if he almost regretted having to share this information with her. His gaze glittered fiercely.
‘I do not need your sympathies, Isabella!’ he said savagely, and a muscle ticked at the side of his lean jaw. ‘All I need is for you to come to Spain with Raphael!’
Leandro had not wanted to tell Isabella about what had happened to his father, but the emotion of their situation had prised the information from him. He only hoped that he could trust her not to share it with anybody else. He was fiercely protective of his especially close relationship with his father, even more so since he had gone. His reasons for wanting Isabella to move to Spain with him were imperative and he was not playing games here. He wanted Raphael with him …he wanted his son. He could not go home without him now that he had seen him. He owed it to Vincente to be a good father to his grandson—the way Vincente had been a good father to Leandro. What he could not afford to do was let Isabella’s doubts cloud the issue in any way.
‘Leandro? Raphael’s happiness and well-being means everything to me and I don’t want to do anything to jeopardise that. If I come to Spain with you, I need to feel that I’m doing the best thing for my son …that I won’t regret it.’
He stared at her as though it pained him to look at her. ‘Put yourself in my position—a father who did not know he was a father until yesterday, nine months after my son was born—and then you will know about regret, querida …’
And without another word he left her there alone in the kitchen, his expression an amalgam of sorrow and anger as he furiously brushed past her, leaving Isabella feeling as if she’d done him the most dreadful wrong that she might never be able to put right ….
Leandro ended the conversation with his mother and placed the receiver back on its rest. His hand shook slightly as he did so. After getting over the initial shock, Constanza Reyes had been ecstatic to learn that he had a son and that he was bringing him home with him tomorrow. She had laughed and cried for joy, as well as pledging to offer prayers to the saints, and the terrible depression that had descended upon her since his father’s death had seemed to miraculously recede. For such a blessing, Leandro knew only the most unimaginable gratitude. But strangely enough the conversation had left him a little morose instead of completely happy. He had lost a father and gained a son, but