‘You can stay with me until you sort other accommodation. There’s no rush. I have lots of space and bedrooms.’
Elene sagged further and he made to catch her and hold her upright, but as he took a step forward she began pulling herself together, one click at a time. ‘Thank you,’ she whispered.
‘Don’t thank me. It is why you turned up here, isn’t it?’ There. Bring this back to practicalities—definitely not about the child, not about Elene, not his unexpected reaction to her.
‘I was desperate. Aimee was screaming the roof down. The hotel receptionist was struggling to find accommodation at a hostel and—I’m sorry. I couldn’t think of anything else to do.’ Just as it was for him, it was as though Elene was afraid to talk about what had brought her to Sorrento in the first place.
He’d go along with her. There was no way he wanted to delve into that particular mess. Not tonight. ‘You did the right thing.’ By Aimee, at any rate. He’d have been furious if they’d stayed in a room amongst strangers. His daughter deserved better. So did Elene, though he wasn’t sure why he felt that way. Perhaps he’d extend the invitation to stay through to the end of her visit, but he’d wait on that decision. ‘I’ll be back shortly.’
Mattia strode away without a backward glance, despite his head pounding with incredulity. He was a babbo. Elene had brought his daughter to meet him. Sure, he wasn’t naïve; there was a lot to get through, decisions to make about Aimee. But a fizz of excitement ran through his veins.
Except it was Elene’s face popping into his mind, not Aimee’s. Elene’s expression when their lips had brushed that night, the sudden tightening in his blood and manhood when he’d breathed her in. That would not happen again. Not now that they had a child whose future needed sorting out.
He’d never seen Elene so exhausted, heard her voice so flat—not even after a day of emergencies and dramas in Theatre. She’d run out of steam, and was unlikely to be back up to speed quickly. Jetlag was a killer of even the toughest souls, so he’d see she had everything she needed to get through it. If he lived to regret that, so be it. It wasn’t in his nature not to help someone and, in this case, Elene was in a mess partly because of him. Even if he hadn’t had a clue what had been going on with Danielle, he owed Elene for bringing his child across to him, and he hated owing anyone. Debts were repaid pronto. This particular one was too close for comfort, so the sooner it was dealt with the better.
Mattia charged along the corridor, trying to outrun the sight of Elene looking so lost. Normally a feisty woman who rattled his cage and annoyed the hell out of him, this was not Elene Lowe. Bring her back. She might push every button he had and some, but he’d prefer that any day. The feisty version heated his blood with anger, sometimes with lust; this version also made him sympathetic, warmed him towards her. Made him want her with him.
Mattia swore.
ELENE WAS ONLY vaguely aware of the mansion Mattia drove up to, barely noticed the wide expanse of wall hanging off the hill, her mind busy, racing from Mattia to Aimee to sleep and back again. Once inside, the heat fell away under the onslaught of air conditioning, but she couldn’t find the energy to take in what was in front of her. In her arms, Aimee was busy squirming and staring around, making up for her lack of interest.
Ahead, Mattia paused. Her case swung from one large hand, the stroller from the other. ‘I’ll show you which bedroom you’ll use. There’s a cot in the basement my niece and nephew used when they were a similar age.’
‘That’s a bonus. Aimee will be safer in a cot than on a bed with pillows tucked around her. She’s a restless sleeper.’
‘Shall I put it in the same room as you?’
‘Please. So far she’s doing okay, but being in an unfamiliar room without me on hand could exacerbate her mood.’ The last thing Aimee was about to do was go to sleep; not after the hours she’d put in getting here, while the only thing Elene wanted to do was pull bedcovers over her head and succumb to the lethargy tugging at every cell and not reappear for twenty-four hours. But, hey, that was never going to happen. Not now she was a parent.
‘Let’s get this sorted so you can relax.’ Once again Mattia was striding away and she scurried to keep up.
How long this unusual politeness would last was anyone’s guess. Elene looked around the bedroom he led her into. It was huge and even this late in the day still warm from the sun. A bonus was the attached bathroom. ‘Perfect.’ She’d better not get too comfortable. This was a short-term fix.
‘Glad you’re happy with it.’
‘Why wouldn’t I be?’ No clues in that inscrutable face staring at her. ‘I’ll start phoning around hotels tomorrow so we can get out of your way as soon as possible.’
‘Leave it for a day or two.’
So he wasn’t inviting her to stay for the whole time she was here, but then he didn’t know how long that was, or if she even intended returning to New Zealand. ‘We’re heading home in three weeks.’
His tense stance appeared to relax a fraction, but that could’ve been the play of light from the overhead lamp causing her to think so. Of course he didn’t want her here, had yet to come to terms with Aimee—if he accepted his role in her life. There were many hours ahead for him to come up with lots of questions, demands and denials. The questions she was prepared for. The demands not so much; they worried her enough to make her shake in her shoes, but until she heard them she couldn’t fight them. As for the denials, she’d wait and see.
‘Are you intending staying in Sorrento the whole time?’ He spoke as though holding his breath—as if her answer was important.
‘That depends on you and how things go. I have family outside Florence I might catch up with.’ The trains were reliable and fast, and would make travelling with Aimee a doddle. ‘But this trip isn’t about them.’
‘I’ll arrange transport if you decide to head up there.’
Typical. ‘I am perfectly capable of organising a couple of train tickets, thanks all the same.’ Take it easy. He mightn’t be on the ward now, but there was no need to antagonise him when he was offering help. She wasn’t thinking straight, there was so much fog in her head. Why else did she keep noticing that flat belly and wide chest? Presumably he’d had them when she knew him before and they hadn’t impacted on her in any way then. Oh, yeah? Who do you think you’re fooling?
‘I wasn’t thinking trains.’
They’d be beneath him. Stop it. ‘Let’s leave it until I’ve caught up on sleep and can think straight.’
‘Done. I’ll get the cot.’ Within minutes Mattia returned with a large square bag which he emptied onto the carpet before assembling the cot like a pro.
‘You’ve done that more than once.’ Elene aimed for friendly as she plugged in the nightlight disguised as a plastic teddy. ‘How many nieces and nephews have you got?’
‘One of each, both aged two and a half, and there’re two more bambini on the way.’ He glanced sideways down to Aimee, now crawling towards her bed. ‘She doesn’t look much like her mother.’
‘Except for the curls.’ Those were definitely Danielle’s.
‘Danielle always complained about hers.’ His tone was wistful. ‘Despite what you thought, I liked her a lot. We got on well, but the friendship was never going further than those few weeks.’
Time to fess up. ‘I know.’ When his eyebrows lifted she hastened to explain.