‘What…?’ Until Orla had lost her memories, Sophia’s pain and her unwitting contribution towards it had plagued her. She’d hoped she could put her guilt to bed but now Tonino was saying the ending of his engagement had been about her? ‘You ended your engagement for me?’
Long moments passed before his nostrils flared. ‘It wasn’t strictly about you. It was about my desire for you. It was a desire no man who is bound to one person should feel for another.’
‘I might be Irish but that’s a riddle too far, even for me.’
He laughed but it contained a bitter tinge. ‘The truth is, Sophia and I should never have got engaged.’
‘Then why did you?’
‘It was something our families always hoped for. Our mothers have been friends since they were babies. It was a running joke between them from when we were babies that Sophia and I would marry and as I neared thirty and felt the urge to settle down, marrying her made sense. On paper we were perfect for each other. You see, dolcezza, when you’re rich you have to think of marriage in terms of reputation and with an eye to the future. My personal reputation is of little concern to me, but my parents’ reputations matter greatly to them. Marriage to a Messina, a family as old and as noble as the Valentes, could only enhance that. And vice versa.’
‘How did they take the ending of the engagement?’
She caught the flash of bitterness on his features.
‘Not well?’ she guessed.
‘No,’ he agreed shortly.
‘I suppose that was understandable.’
His features sharpened. ‘Understandable?’
Feeling she was dipping her toe in water infested by sharks that no one had told her about, she said tentatively, ‘If they were such good friends with Sophia’s parents, it must have been embarrassing for them.’
His jaw clenched. ‘They weren’t embarrassed. They were furious that I’d ruined their dream. They accused me of disloyalty. Can you believe that?’ He ran an angry hand through his hair and shook his head. ‘I knew they wouldn’t be happy about it, but I never expected my mother to come this close to slapping my face or for my father to threaten to disinherit me if I didn’t change my mind.’ He made a distinctive snorting sound. ‘As if I cared about his money. I was already worth far more than him.’
Orla, thinking of all the times her grandmother had threatened to cut her mother off without a penny without actually going through with it—after her death, her mother had shared the small inheritance with her siblings—said softly, ‘And how are things between you now? I assume they must be better if we’re taking Finn to their party.’
He made the snorting sound again.
Dismissive. That was what it sounded like.
‘I will never forgive them for putting their reputations and pride above my happiness but they’re still my parents. We’re still a family and nothing can change that.’
‘Did they disinherit you?’
Her question caused him to pause then give a low chuckle. ‘Not as far as I know.’
‘The threat was made in anger?’
He didn’t answer.
Despite the seriousness of the discussion, a bubble of laughter rose up Orla’s throat. ‘You are so your father’s son.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘When you get angry you make threats you don’t mean. Like your threats of taking custody of Finn… I wonder if he’ll inherit the Valente temper,’ she added musingly.
Tonino stared at her, part in disbelief. Was she taking his parents’ side? Surely not? If it had been one short argument he would get her point but he’d lived with their hot fury for months, a period when his mother could hardly bring herself to look at him. The first big argument had come the evening he’d ended it. He’d done the right thing by telling them personally and immediately.
He’d found solace from their fury in Orla’s arms. He’d turned his phone off and cloistered her in his oldest apartment. Those magical days together had pushed the mess he’d created far from his mind. Unfortunately it had given his parents the time and space to build everything up so when he’d next seen them, they’d been ready to unload their venom at him. Reeling at their selfishness, reeling from Orla’s disappearance, he’d unloaded right back at them.
‘There are some lines that should never be crossed,’ he said shortly. ‘And now that I’m a father it makes their reaction even more unforgivable.’
‘Oh, come on.’ Her shades masked her eyes, but he could swear he heard her eyes roll. ‘They’re only human. Life’s too short to hold on to grudges.’
‘Can you forgive your mother?’
‘That’s completely different. She was always a useless parent.’ And then she surprised him completely by climbing onto his lap and straddling him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and sighed. ‘Remember, to err is human, to forgive divine.’
‘When are you going to forgive me?’
‘I’m working on it.’ And then she kissed him with such tenderness that if Finn hadn’t been sleeping beside them, he would have ripped both their shorts off and taken her there and then.
LATER THAT NIGHT, dressed only in Tonino’s shirt, which she’d adopted as her own, and replete in his arms, Orla made circles around his nipples. ‘Can I ask you something?’
He answered sleepily, ‘Anything.’
‘Did you have any feelings for Sophia?’
She had no idea how she was going to feel whatever answer he gave, but it was a question that had been bugging her since their earlier trip to the beach. It took such a long time for him to answer that she thought he’d fallen asleep, but then a hand burrowed into her hair.
‘I was attracted to her—Sophia is a beautiful woman—but that’s as far as my feelings towards her went.’ He sighed. ‘The chemistry was not there. Not for me. I assumed familiarity would breed desire but I was wrong—all it bred was contempt. We’d been childhood friends but the more I got to know the grown-up Sophia, the less I liked her.’ He twirled a lock of her hair around his finger, his voice dropping to a murmur. ‘But it was only when a beautiful Irishwoman walked into my hotel that I knew I had to end the engagement.’
Her heart skipped.
Tonino kissed her head and tightened his hold around her. ‘You, dolcezza, were the most beautiful woman I had ever set eyes on. I spent the day organising the refurbishment of your room when I should have been in meetings with lawyers and accountants.’
He felt the heavy beats of her heart pressing against his stomach. He felt the stirrings of arousal.
‘I could not stop myself from fantasising about you. I fantasised about stripping you naked and making love to you.’ The stirrings grew stronger. ‘They were fantasies that told me I had to end things with Sophia—how could I marry her when I felt such intense desire for someone else? I did the honourable thing and ended the engagement immediately. I did not ask you out until after I’d spoken to her. When we made love, I was a free man.’ Moving smoothly, he manoeuvred her onto her back and covered her body with his. ‘And I am still a free man. Marry me and you will have me for ever.’
She stared up at him, her eyes like dazed orbs.
Cupping her cheeks, he pressed