Shock: One-Night Heir

His arm tightened like a band of steel around her waist. It was a possessive touch but also a warning. ‘Play along with it, Maya,’ he said. ‘Look at Nonno. He is enjoying himself so much. Our announcement on top of Luca and Bronte’s will be the icing on the cake—literally.’

The announcement hardly needed to be made formally for as soon as they walked into the salone all heads turned. There were whispers and gasps, nudges and did-you-see-that looks. More camera flashes went off and then Salvatore looked directly at Giorgio and Maya and his old weathered face broke into a rapturous smile.

‘Is this what I think it is, Giorgio?’ he asked, tears glistening in his eyes. ‘You and Maya have changed your mind about divorcing?’

Maya felt Giorgio’s hand reach for hers and squeeze it gently. ‘Yes, Nonno,’ he said. ‘We have called it off. We are going to work at our marriage.’

Salvatore grasped Maya’s free hand and almost crushed it between both of his gnarled ones. ‘Maya, you and my grandson have made me such a happy man tonight. I cannot tell you what this means to me. All my family is here around me to share this wonderful news.’

Maya could feel the bars of her gilded cage moving in on her, just as they had done for the last five years. She was trapped in a charade that went against everything she believed in. She felt such a fraud, playing to the crowd and most especially to Salvatore. She wasn’t sure she could get through a night of it, let alone a few weeks. Surely someone would see it for what it was? The press were already eyeing her rather closely, she thought, or maybe that was her imagination. She had always found the intrusion of the press rather difficult to deal with. It was so different from her anonymous upbringing, when even her great-aunt had barely noticed her.

More champagne was called for and more and more cameras documented the celebration. Luca and Bronte announced their delightful news which, in Maya’s mind, deserved far more attention than theirs, but it seemed everyone was intrigued by the news of the acrimonious Sabbatini divorce being called off.

Giorgio’s mother greeted Maya with guarded enthusiasm. Maya understood Giovanna’s caution; she had made things difficult for her son by bickering over every little detail to do with their separation, but Giovanna was gracious enough to welcome her back into the family fold. Besides, her mother-in-law was thrilled to finally be a grandmother. She doted on little Ella and, with the news of Bronte’s new pregnancy, Giovanna was clearly preoccupied with the new branch of the family tree.

Nicolò, or Nic as he was more commonly called, the youngest of the Sabbatini brothers, was less accommodating. He adopted his usual sardonic expression as he approached Maya after Giorgio had gone to fetch another glass of juice for her.

‘So it seems you changed your mind after reacquainting yourself with how the other half lives, eh, Maya?’ he said. ‘Glad you came to your senses. You weren’t going to come out in front, not with Giorgio’s legal team working on it.’

Maya kept her expression coolly contained, even though inside she felt furious at being reminded of how outmatched she had been right from the start. ‘Hello, Nic,’ she said. ‘How are things with you?’

He rocked his almost empty champagne flute back and forth, his hazel eyes penetrating as they held hers. ‘Fine enough,’ he said.

She looked around his broad shoulders for signs of a current date. ‘What? No Hollywood starlet tonight?’ she asked with a mocking lift of her brows.

Nic gave her a crooked wry smile that reminded her of Giorgio in one of his rare playful moods. ‘No, I didn’t think Nonno would approve of my latest lover. He mentioned the “M” word a few moments ago. It was enough to turn me to drink.’

‘You’re only what…thirty-two?’ she asked.

He nodded rather grimly. ‘You know the Sabbatini rule. Once you turn thirty, you are meant to settle down.’

‘Luca has only just done so at thirty-four,’ Maya said. ‘You shouldn’t rush into these things. You could end up making a mistake.’

He rocked his glass again, his eyes still boring into hers. ‘Like you did?’

The words hung in the air like a swinging sword.

‘I don’t consider my marriage to your brother to have ever been a mistake,’ Maya said, wishing she really believed it. ‘We just hit a rough patch, that’s all.’

Giorgio came over at that moment and handed Maya a glass of juice. He must have picked up on the atmosphere, for he narrowed his gaze at his youngest brother. ‘I hope you are keeping your thoughts and opinions on marriage to yourself, Nic,’ he said. ‘I don’t want Maya upset by your teasing.’

Nic’s smile was instantly charming. ‘I was just welcoming her back into the family,’ he said. His expression became a little more serious as he addressed Maya directly. ‘I hope it works out for you. I mean that, Maya.’

Maya wondered if he somehow sensed her insecurity. He was an out-and-out playboy—everyone knew about his wild child antics as a teenager and young adult—but the outcome of that madcap lifestyle had given him an almost intuitive sense at times. He had grown up a lot after the tragic death of his father, but it was common knowledge in the family that his mother and his grandfather in particular wanted him to settle down with a suitable wife, which was something Nic made it clear he was not prepared to do. He was a free spirit and hated being tied down. Even within the family corporation, he was the one who had been given the most flexibility. Nic was the one who travelled the world, hardly settling in one place longer than a week or two as he acquired property and oversaw the redevelopments of their hotel chain.

‘Thank you, Nic,’ she said. ‘I aim to give it my very best shot.’

After a few more desultory exchanges with other guests and family members, Giorgio led her away to a quiet corner. He was aware of how strained she looked. Her face looked pale and he had noticed she had surreptitiously mopped at her brow a couple of times, as if she was finding it too warm. ‘Don’t take any notice of Nic,’ he said, watching as his younger brother started chatting up a stunning redhead near the buffet table.

‘Nic is Nic,’ she said in a downbeat voice.

‘Yes, indeed.’ Giorgio sighed and looked down at Maya. ‘You look tired. It’s been a long night. Do you want me to take you home?’

Her fingers slipped on the glass she was holding and he took it from her before she dropped it. ‘Sorry,’ she said, glancing up at him self-consciously before looking away again, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip.

He studied her for a moment, wondering if he should have given her more warning about his intentions. Dropping it on her like that out on the balcony had obviously shocked her. But he was still reeling himself from his grandfather’s revelation. Salvatore had always seemed so ageless to Giorgio. In spite of his weathered skin and arthritic body, his mind was sharp and he still had an active role in the corporation. Giorgio felt humbled by the trust his grandfather had shown in him by telling him first about his illness. Ever since the death of Giorgio’s father, Giancarlo, Salvatore had entrusted more and more responsibility on Giorgio’s shoulders. It would be very hard to say that final goodbye to the man who was not just his grandfather but his business partner and friend.

Maya too would find it hard. She had developed a special kind of relationship with Salvatore over the five years of their marriage. She had grown up in a single parent household but then tragically, when she was just ten years old, her mother had been killed in an accident. Maya had been brought up by a great-aunt who had never married and had no children of her own. Maya hadn’t spoken much about her childhood. She seemed to find it painful so Giorgio mostly had avoided the topic.

He had been delighted when Maya had expressed her avid desire to have children. It was one of the things that made him so determined she was the one he should marry. When the first couple of pregnancies had ended in a miscarriage he had been upset, but out of concern for Maya he had concealed his feelings. He hadn’t wanted her to think she had let him down. He knew she had blamed herself, wondering if there was something wrong with her for not being able to have a child. It was only after the fourth miscarriage had occurred that he wondered if somehow it was him that was causing the trouble. But subsequent tests had shown that he was fine, although sometimes he still worried.

And then Maya had stopped falling pregnant altogether. They had done everything they were told to do. They kept temperature charts, Maya mapped her ovulation period and they had sex when she was supposedly most fertile, but still she’d failed to conceive.

The progression to IVF was something he had not felt entirely comfortable with. It all seemed so clinical, nothing like the sex they used to have when they’d first met. Nothing like the sex they had the night of Luca and Bronte’s wedding.

His body tightened as he recalled that night. He hadn’t cared about anything other than having her as quickly and as passionately as he could. It had been the best sex of his life and he wanted more. He had realised that the day he had gone to her flat to invite her to the party. He had gone there thinking their one-night stand would have cooled his ardour. He had been confident he could have seen her, talked to her and even touched her without feeling a thing. He had been shocked to find out how wrong he was. Putting his hands on her shoulders had sent zapping wires of electric want through him. He wanted Maya as he wanted no other woman. How could he have forgotten how fantastic it was with her? His body had tingled for hours afterwards. He only had to look at her and his blood raced through his veins and made him rock-hard.

He was feeling it now, standing so close to her, breathing in her sexy new fragrance: flowery but spicy and exotic at the same time. The dress she was wearing brought out the glow of her skin and the platinum blond of her hair. She had left it loose this evening, the way he most liked it. Before he even realised he was doing it, he reached out and threaded his fingers through the silk of it where it lay about her shoulders.

She gave a little shudder of reaction and looked up at him. ‘Do you have to do that?’ she asked in an undertone.

‘We are supposed to be reconciled, cara,’ he said, taking the opportunity to brush his lips against her forehead. ‘People will expect us to touch each other in public. They will imagine we will be doing much more when we are finally at home alone.’

‘Where is home supposed to be now?’ she asked in a soft breathless sort of voice. ‘Your place or mine?’

Giorgio shifted his mouth ruefully as he straightened. ‘My place, or what used to be our place, is not quite ready. I’ve been staying at the hotel most nights. We will have to stay at yours tonight, otherwise the press will not believe we are truly reunited.’

‘You think they will follow to check up on us?’ she asked with a worried frown.

He gave her a wry look. ‘Surely you haven’t forgotten what the press is like. Haven’t they been on your tail over the last six months of our separation?’

Maya captured her lip between her teeth, thinking of all the times she’d had to get away from the intrusive eyes of the press. That ridiculous ‘date’ with Howard Herrington was a case in point. They had blown it right out of proportion with a photograph that looked far more intimate than it was. She had been leaning forward, trying to catch something Howard had been saying and a flashbulb had captured the moment, making it appear she was about to press a kiss close to Howard’s mouth. When it appeared in the gossip pages the following day she had taken a devil-may-care approach to the fallout. There had been a photo only a week earlier of Giorgio with his model friend. It seemed fitting that Maya had started to reclaim her life, even if Howard Herrington was the worst date she had ever had.

Maya cast her eyes over the crowd. The party was in full swing now; several couples were dancing as the band played some classic dance hits. She remembered the days when she had danced in Giorgio’s arms; he had swung her around and around and even though her head had been left spinning she had always gone back for more. The early days of their courtship and marriage had been so much fun, so dizzyingly exciting for a girl who had grown up with so little. There had been no parties that she could remember during her childhood, no massive family gatherings, no huge celebrations of her own or anyone else’s milestones or achievements.

As soon as she had met Giorgio she had clung to him and his family, subconsciously looking for the anchor she had lacked for much of her life. She had slotted in like a small sea-tossed craft into a safe and sheltered harbour.

She had never wanted to be cast adrift.

She had done that herself.

But now the rules had been changed. She was back, but only temporarily. Giorgio wanted her to pretend things were back to normal and she could do that for a few weeks, maybe even a month or two. The chances were her pregnancy would disappear down the drain of despair, just like the others had done. All she had to do was keep it a secret until Giorgio’s game of pretend was over. There was no point in getting his hopes up as well as hers, or anyone else’s for that matter.

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