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Tears were thick and glassy in her eyes now. She had no more will to fight.
‘What are you saying, Coral? That you don’t want it now? You’ve changed your mind?’
She looked up at him. Her chin wobbled uncontrollably and her throat burned.
She shook her head. ‘What is ahead for us, Raffaele?’
‘Trust me! You have to trust me. I know what I’m doing. You’re the right woman for me—I know that deep down.’
‘I so want to believe that, Raffa,’ she whispered. ‘I really do.’
‘Let me show you.’
He bent his head and kissed her.
The sobs that had gathered in her throat sighed away as his lips found hers.
‘You’re the most amazing woman.’
He held her face in his hands and she looked up into eyes etched with care. His took her hand, put it to his lips and kissed it. In that gesture, with the warmth and weight of the soft press of his lips on her skin, it was as if he’d found her Achilles’ heel. As if she’d been pierced and the last of her fight had fizzled away.
‘I’ve never met anyone like you. Your spirit, your integrity…’
And then he kissed her again. Gently, softly, and with such care. His lips pressed against hers, and when she began to respond he demanded more. Her body began to sing. He pulled her closer, but carefully. She felt each press of his hands, softly soothing her skin.
‘Your beauty…’
He slid his hands down her arms and pulled her close. Then he wrapped his arms around her and she sighed into the embrace, feeling for the first time how it could be, how it should be. Mother, father and baby—one little unit. It felt so right, so incredibly perfect.
They stood, rocking slightly together, relearning each other’s touch and scent, and her cares were soothed away with each passing second.
Suddenly the dogs started to bark. Cars rolled onto the driveway.
Her eyes flew open. ‘My lawyers.’
‘Send them away. You don’t need them,’ he said, kissing her again. ‘We’ll have more than enough. Don’t start fighting Salvatore. It’s not worth it.’
He started walking her back towards the bedroom, still kissing her. Her body ached for his hands, his lips.
‘Raffa…’ she breathed.
The dogs started to bark louder. She heard voices. Car doors closed and she looked through the windows at the small team of people, all dressed in black and grey, exiting the cars.
‘I need to see them.’
‘You don’t need to do anything. I can handle everything for us.’
She shook her head. ‘No,’ she said. ‘I told you. This is my condition. I want to make things right. My whole existence has been denied by the Di Viscontis and there’s only a few weeks left to put it right. My son deserves everything. Not just half of everything.’
He stepped away and she sensed the coldness return. The shades went down over his eyes again.
‘You’re going to cause a war.’
‘I’m going to stand up to Salvatore, if that’s what you mean.’
‘I’ll deal with Salvatore.’ His tone was sharp.
She fumed and breathed in deeply. ‘I’ll deal with Salvatore!’ she spat back. ‘Just like I’ll deal with all my own problems. If you can’t handle that, then don’t marry me!’
His eyes flashed and he took two more steps. Fury roared from his body, held back as the harbour wall held back the ocean. But she could see it—the points of colour on his cheeks, the grim set of his jaw and the proud lines of his chest.
‘You have no idea what you’re saying.’
‘Yes, I do! I will not have the world filtered and sanitised because you think I can’t cope with it. I will be your equal partner—in everything! Or I won’t be your partner at all.’
‘You’ve no idea what you’re saying, Coral,’ he repeated, more loudly.
‘I’m saying what I feel is right, from the bottom of my heart. I want nothing more than justice for us all.’
‘You want too much.’
His eyes were the clearest blue she had ever seen. His face, at that moment, had never looked more sorrowful, more beautiful. More utterly unattainable.
‘Yes, I do. And I won’t apologise for it.’
‘Do you think going on the warpath is going to help our son?’ He shook his head. ‘A child needs a parent who is focused on them—not someone who is tearing up the world, trying to prove a point.’
‘If I don’t have the qualities you think I need to be your wife, then call it off.’
Her throat closed over the words. Her eyes burned with tears.
He stared at her, fierce and unforgiving. ‘Oh, you’re good, Coral. Very good. But be careful. If you push me too far…’
