Convenient Brides: The Italian's Convenient Wife / His Inconvenient Wife / His Convenient Proposal

Lowering his voice, Salvatore said with such deadly emphasis that Callie’s blood ran cold. “What need is there to talk of compromise when I know full well, as do you, that those children belong to us in a way that supercedes any claim this Johnny-come-lately aunt thinks she might have?”

“What if I can prove differently, Signor Rainero?” Callie said, goaded past all caution. “What if I plead my case before a family court judge, with evidence to support my claim?”

Hissmileresembledadeath’sheadgrimace.“Thenprepare for a long and fruitless battle, my dear, because there is not a court in this country that will uphold a foreigner’s right to interfere in the upbringing of children of Italian citizenship.”

Sick with fear, she said, “Those children were born in the United States and are half American.”

Cursing, Salvatore lunged up from the sofa, and strode to where she sat on the other side of the coffee table. “They have no ties to America,” he thundered, looming over her threateningly. “They are Italian in every way that counts.”

Paolo immediately intervened by pushing his father aside none too gently. “That’ll do, le mio padre! You resolve nothing by browbeating our guest in such a fashion, and have said enough.”

A timely reminder, Callie thought, realizing belatedly that she, too, had said more than enough. Salvatore wasn’t the only one at fault. For all that she’d not intended it to be so, she’d allowed herself to be provoked into speaking rashly and inflicting pain, and for that she was sorry.

Paolo was right, she realized dazedly. There was no clearcut solution to the situation in which she and the Raineros found themselves. They had to find a compromise, one which would not trample anyone’s rights, least of all the twins’.

Her children’s welfare had always dictated her choices. It was why she’d made that promise to Vanessa in the first place. But she had neither the heart nor the stomach to enforce it for enforcement’s sake. And nor, she acknowledged dazedly, would Vanessa expect her to do so.

Things had changed from what they’d been eight years ago, and so had the people—no, the person, Paolo, as closely involved as she herself. He was not the same man who’d loved and left her without a second thought. Perhaps, in view of that, what she’d perceived to be her inalienable rights weren’t so inalienable, after all.

“Caroline?” Paolo approached her with outstretched hand. “I could use a little air, and so, I think, could you.”

“Yes,” she said, grateful for the suggestion.

A week ago, she’d been so sure she had all the answers. To find herself suddenly rethinking the whole issue of what was best for the children left her shaken and confused.

She needed to escape the tension in the room and clear her head. She needed to come to terms with her own abrupt change of heart and try to figure out exactly where that left her. And she could do neither pinned in Salvatore’s inimical glare.

Chapter Four

“WHERE are we going?”

“Away from a confrontation grown too painful for all of us.”

Callie’s rational mind cautioned her not to trust every word that came out of Paolo’s mouth, nor blindly follow where he led, just on his say-so. He might be a much more admirable man than he’d once been, but he was still a Rainero and, not five minutes ago, had admitted his first loyalty lay with his family. But the sure clasp of his fingers around hers warmed her soul; the compassion and, yes, the tenderness in his voice, soothed her battered spirit. In a house suddenly filled with such a wealth of enmity and mistrust, he was her only friend, because even Lidia must have lost sympathy for her now.

Taking her hand, Paolo led her out of a side entrance and along a path to a miniature two-story villa, some fifty feet removed from the main house, and hidden from it by a high hedge of flowering shrubs. Lights showed behind the draperies at the upper windows.

“Who lives here?”

“Jolanda and her husband.”

“We’re visiting them?”

“No. The night is mild. We’ll take adrive around the island.”

“I didn’t know there were any roads here. I’ve only ever seen the helicopter pad and the boat dock.” Not that Callie in fact cared, one way or the other, but it was easier to focus on the insignificant than dwell on the scene they’d left behind: Lidia weeping and distraught, and Salvatore almost foaming at the mouth with rage and hatred.

“Hardly roads,” Paolo said, sliding back a huge metal door on the main floor of the housekeeper’s quarters, to reveal a late model Jeep parked inside a garage that also served as a handyman’s workshop. “More like dirt tracks which can be accessed only by a four-wheel-drive vehicle like this, especially during the winter rains. Rather basic transportation, I’m afraid,” he commented dryly, helping her climb into the passenger seat, “but it’s the best I have to offer.”

“Basic” was too kind a description. Once clear of the welltended grounds of the villa, the Jeep bucked and jolted over the rocky terrain, sometimes veering frighteningly close to the edge of the cliff. Yet rather than fearing for her life, Callie felt safer and more comfortable than she had, back in the luxury of the villa. At twenty-four, Paolo had driven his low-slung luxury sports car like a maniac bent on self-destruction, but he handled the Jeep with masterful skill, and her pulse, which had raced erratically during the showdown with Salvatore, gradually settled back to normal.

“Thanks for rescuing me from your father’s wrath,” she ventured, the knots in her neck and shoulders lessening. “For a moment there, I thought he was actually going to hit me.”

“My father would never strike a woman, Caroline.”

“You could have fooled me. He was out of control.”

Paolo debated her statement for a moment, then conceded grudgingly, “Sadly, I must agree with you. He hasn’t been himself since we learned of the accident. But even if he’d so far forgotten himself that he’d attempted to touch you, I would have prevented it, even if it meant physically restraining him.”

At that, a comforting warmth stole through Callie. Paolo was a big, strong man, but so was Salvatore. Restraining him would not have been easy. “You’d have fought your father? For me?”

“I would fight any man threatening a woman,” Paolo replied flatly. “But if you’re asking me if I would embark on such a course lightly with my father, be assured I’d do so only as a last resort. A better solution by far was to defuse the situation by removing you.”

“Why? Because I dared to tell him things he didn’t want to hear?”

“Because it’s not good for him to become so disturbed. His heart cannot take such stress. But seeing my mother hurt and suffering is never easy for him.”

“I’m truly sorry I upset her. She’s a remarkable, lovely woman, and it hurts me to know that I hurt her. But don’t ask me to feel sorry for your father, Paolo. He’s nothing but a bully when someone dares voice an opinion that doesn’t coincide with his, especially if that someone happens to be a woman—and a Leighton, to boot.”

“And again, I apologize for his behavior. He should not have treated you as he did.”

“I don’t want your apology, nor his, either,” she said wearily. “All I ask is to be recognized as having the right to some say in the future of my niece and nephew.”

“I give you my word that no one will deny you that right. One way or another, I’ll find a way to keep everybody happy.”

Before she could ask him how he expected to achieve the impossible, he turned off the main track and steered the Jeep down a narrow, less traveled path which ended on a small promontory overlooking the Adriatic.

“This last week has taken a toll on all of us,” he said, bringing the vehicle to a stop on the lip of the cliff. “We’re each dealing with grief in our own way, and liable to speak hasty words we immediately regret. My father’s certainly guilty of that.”

Shame-faced, she stared at her hands, clutched tightly in her lap. “No more than I am. I spoke out of turn. I should never have phrased my concerns in such a way that they came out as a threat.”

“You mean, you aren’t serious in wanting to take the children back to America with you?”

The moment of truth came out of the blue and left her gulping back a sob. “Oh, Paolo, I’d be lying if I said it’s not what I’ve hoped for. But the more I see of them, the more I realize it’s not about what I want. It’s about what’s best for them. And I’m no longer sure I have the answer to that.”

“Perhaps none of us has,” he said quietly, “which is why I brought you here. Sometimes, focusing on something else, even if it’s only for a short time, helps restore our perspective and lead us to solutions we might never otherwise have considered.”

“I wish I shared your optimism.”

“There’s no reason you can’t, if you put your mind to it. Please, cara, try for a little while to forget about what the future holds, and simply enjoy this moment.” He stabbed a finger at the Jeep’s windshield. “Look out there, and tell me, did you ever see such a night?”

In truth, it was spectacular. Although the grounds of the villa were lushly planted with all kinds of tropical trees and flowers, there was little vegetation native to the island. By the light of the moon, hanging full and round and yellow just above the horizon, the bare landscape assumed an austere beauty that was almost ghostly.

Paolo leaned both arms on the steering wheel and gazed across the moon-dappled water. “Tell me about your life over the last nine years, Caroline. My mother has mentioned how very excited you were about attending Smith College, and that you spoke of it often, when you were here for the wedding. What made you decide against it?”

You did, she could have told him. Because of you, all my dreams turned into nightmares…

“You might as well take it off,” he’d said, lifting one corner of her mangled maid-of-honor gown. “It’s past saving.”