Under the Italian's Command (19 page)

IT WAS SOME WEEKS before Lorenzo had the opportunity to tell
Carly
, ‘I told you so,’ and nine months before he held their beautiful daughter, Adriana, in his arms. He brought his two girls home from hospital to the country house he and
Carly
had chosen together in the latter stages of
Carly’s
pregnancy. The Georgian manor house was reminiscent of the boutique hotel in Cheshire where their baby had almost certainly been conceived. The property was an easy drive from the city, and provided them both with a much-needed break from the hustle and bustle of city life. An Internet connection had been set up to ensure that the newest party planner in town could continue to grow her business while heavily pregnant, or nursing a baby, and
Carly’s
inbox was already bulging with an impressive number of potential clients.

She was integral to his life in every way, and his only concern was her happiness. He had settled effortlessly into the role of devoted husband, and now devoted father, and, following in the footsteps of his parents, he was determined to share that happiness around.

‘My mother won’t come,’
Carly
stated confidently six weeks after the birth of Adriana, by which time he judged her ready to face the storm. ‘She’ll never forgive me for leaving law.’

‘We’ll see, shall we?’ When had he ever allowed a small thing like a mother-in-law to put him off his stride?

‘Who said your mother wouldn’t come?’

Carly
couldn’t believe her eyes as her father’s car pulled into the yard.
Livvie
piled out first, and then her father hurried round to open the passenger side door.

‘Mother?’ she breathed incredulously.

‘And bearing gifts, by the look of it,’ Lorenzo observed, watching as
Mrs
Tate
marshalled
her handbag, her carrier bags and her troops.

‘She looks lost,’
Carly
said, staring transfixed through the window. Her father and
Livvie
were hurrying excitedly up the path, while her mother remained in the same spot, gazing up at the façade of
Carly
and Lorenzo’s beautifully restored home.

‘She is lost,’ Lorenzo pointed out. ‘She’s not in her kingdom now, she’s in yours.’

‘I’ve got to go to her…’

Lorenzo’s voice stopped
Carly
halfway across the hall. ‘Take it easy,’ he said. ‘Don’t intimidate her—’

‘Intimidate my mother?’

‘Just remember the tables have been turned,
Mrs
Domenico
. Be gentle with her…that’s all I’m saying.’

Carly’s
face softened as she looked at Lorenzo holding their baby. He was such an amazing man. ‘You know I will…’

‘Yes, I do. That’s why I love you.’

‘I love you too…’

As
Carly
opened the door
Livvie
fell into her arms, hugging her as if she would never let her go. ‘Can I hold the baby?’ she asked the moment they released each other.

Lorenzo made the careful transfer, and then went to greet
Mr
Tate. Giving the older man a firm handshake, he drew him into the house as if they were old friends. ‘Your father and I have things to discuss,’ he said to
Carly
as father and daughter hugged, ‘so you can’t keep him long.’

‘My flying lesson,’
Carly’s
father confided. ‘Good man. He remembered.’ Holding
Carly’s
face between his hands, he searched her eyes. ‘That’s better,’ he said quietly, releasing her.

As Lorenzo led him away towards the kitchen, and
Livvie
followed with baby Adriana,
Carly
waited with apprehension to greet her mother. She felt anxious, but she told herself she couldn’t possibly feel half as awkward as her mother.

‘
Carly
…’

The voice hadn’t changed, and they didn’t attempt to embrace each other.

‘Come in…’
Carly
stood back, remembering Lorenzo’s counsel. ‘Welcome…’

‘Very nice,’ her mother observed, walking past her. ‘You’ve done very well for yourself,
Carly
.’

Lorenzo always made her feel that he had done very well for himself too, but the moment her mother spoke the doubts set in again. As she turned and raked her face with the narrowed gaze, searching for signs of insecurity, it took all she’d got to respond openly with a smile. ‘Won’t you come into the kitchen? Everyone’s there.’

‘Don’t rush me,
Carly
. I bought you something.’ She pushed a carrier bag into
Carly’s
hands. ‘I expect you’ve got something better. It’s only a quilt cover for the baby’s cot.’

‘But it’s beautiful,’
Carly
exclaimed softly as she looked inside the bag. ‘I love it. Thank you.’

‘Your father chose it,’ her mother said awkwardly. ‘And we bought a little gift for Lorenzo too, which I chose.’

Carly
hid her astonishment. ‘That’s very generous of you, and there was absolutely no need.’

‘There was every need,’ her mother argued. ‘This is Lorenzo’s house, and we’re enjoying his hospitality.’

Carly
nodded. The barb might sting, but she refused to let it show.

‘Well, go on…look at them,’ her mother urged impatiently, handing over a small stiff bag. ‘You’d better make sure I got it right.’

‘I’m sure you did,’
Carly
reassured. When she looked inside the bag she had to try very hard indeed not to laugh. Her mother’s gift to Lorenzo was socks. Grey socks. It would take more than that to turn Lorenzo into a strawberry cream,
Carly
reflected, pressing her lips down hard to keep from smiling. ‘They’re lovely,’ she said. ‘And it was very kind of you to think of it.’ Her mother didn’t seem such a dragon any more, and impulsively she leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek.

Her mother jerked back as if she’d been hit. ‘I’m not interested in whether you like them or not. What I want to know is will Lorenzo like them? We’d better keep on his right side. You’ll need someone to support you now you’ve thrown away your career.’

‘And got another one,’
Carly
reminded her mother, who responded with a cynical hum. ‘I’m sure he’ll love the socks,’ she lied, for the sake of her mother’s feelings.

‘This way, is it?’ her mother said briskly, turning away.

‘That’s right.’ And don’t stop walking until you find the tall, dark handsome man wearing jeans, a rugby shirt and ruby-red, heart-festooned socks,
Carly
thought happily. For the first time in her life her mother couldn’t hurt her; in fact she felt sorry for her and for everything they’d missed over the years. Lorenzo was right; her mother was far more vulnerable in this situation than she was.

Carly
followed her mother into the kitchen where she found her hovering just inside the door. It was as if she couldn’t bring herself to walk into the room, which was strange,
Carly
thought, because she found the scene idyllic. There was home-cooked food on the table, and the people she loved were standing around it. Her very own newborn baby was lying contented and asleep in her sister’s arms…

Lorenzo found her gaze and smiled reassurance at her. His look told her how much he loved her, and how he was always there for her, whatever might happen.

‘Won’t you come and join us, Mother?’
Carly
said, returning to the door where her mother was still standing. Taking her mother’s arm, she drew her gently inside the room.

Lorenzo came forward and put his arm round her shoulders. As he did so
Carly
noticed her mother’s gaze flinch away and land on Olivia…with disapproval. She’d never seen that before. Her mother started to say something and then stopped herself. As she looked at
Carly’s
father for support her mouth hardened when she
realised
he was too engrossed in his grandchild to notice her.

‘Support the baby’s head, Olivia,’ she said, her voice sounding cracked and strained. ‘Olivia, are you paying attention?’

‘Of course I am, Mother,’
Livvie
crooned, gazing adoringly at her niece. ‘Don’t you think she’s lovely?’

‘What do I think? Does anyone care what I think?’ When this received no answer,
Mrs
Tate went on. ‘I think it’s hard to credit
Carly
got married before you and had a baby.’ The harsh words were out, but somehow they’d lost their sting; everyone was too happy to take it in. ‘You’d better hurry up and find a man, Olivia,’ she pressed on, ‘or all the best ones will be gone.’ She flashed a meaningful glance at Lorenzo.

‘Olivia is taking her time to pick out the best of the best. Isn’t that right,
Livvie
?’ Lorenzo said kindly, and perhaps only
Carly
detected the thread of disapproval in his gaze as he looked at her mother, but then she knew his court mask.

‘Well, she’d better hurry up, that’s all I’ve got to say—’

‘Mother—’
Carly
began, noticing that
Livvie
was now paying attention and was on the verge of tears.

‘Your mother always did have to have the last word,’ her father cut in to everyone’s surprise. ‘Me? I’ve always known what a lucky man I am to have two exceptional daughters.’

‘Well said,
Mr
Tate,’ Lorenzo agreed.

‘Call me Arthur. And now you and I had better discuss that flying lesson—’

‘What?’ Exploding out of her brooding silence,
Mrs
Tate clutched her chest.

‘Don’t worry, Enid, I won’t be taking you with me,’
Carly’s
father said dryly.

There was another moment of silence, and then
Carly
noticed her mother was blinking back tears. She was about to go to her when her mother looked at her beseechingly. ‘Can I hold her?’

There was such hope and fear in her voice it was as if the world as
Carly
knew it had come to an end, and something far better had taken its place. ‘Of course you can,’ she said warmly.

Olivia carried her baby niece across the room and placed her carefully in her grandmother’s arms. ‘Adriana, meet Granny,’
Carly
said softly, smiling at
Livvie
and Lorenzo before backing away.

‘Thank you.’ Her mother’s gaze flickered up, and then quickly flashed back to her grandchild.

As she was the child of two such strong-minded parents it came as no surprise to anyone that Adriana had her own thoughts on reconciliation. Curling her tiny fist around her grandmother’s forefinger, she held on tight.

‘This is a new beginning,’
Carly’s
mother murmured, entranced.