High Stakes Seduction - Book 5 (22 page)
Read High Stakes Seduction - Book 5 Online
Authors: Ami LeCoeur
"I didn't even realize who Lorenzo Cartoli was on the cruise until after we got back and I saw the newspaper article about the large donation," I told him. "I had never met him, so I guess that's not too surprising."
Then I remembered the revelation I'd had in Walker's office. "When you had me sit in at the meeting, there was a weasely little man sitting at the end of the table. He kept fiddling with his digital tablet, which I thought was odd. Well, when he shook hands with me at the end of the meeting, I noticed a face on the screen. It was only a quick glance, because he slid the tablet away when he noticed me looking at the image. But there was something about the man that would have made him instantly recognizable, if I had ever seen him before. He had an unmistakable scar near his left eye. It was a large discolored blob."
"Cartoli." Antonio looked at me. "And you're sure that's who you saw?"
"Yes, the scar wasn't visible in the newspaper photograph when I first learned about him. See, it was the same as this one," I pointed to the article Maria had shown me earlier. "But it was obvious when he turned his face toward me at the gallery. I didn't put two and two together until I heard his name while I was eavesdropping in Walker's office."
"That's very interesting. Maybe a little circumstantial, but your photograph nailed it. And it helped us nail him."
"Good," I told him. "I’m glad. And you can thank Maria for insisting I take my camera." I smiled at her. She'd been awfully quiet during our conversation, watching the two of us with intense curiosity as Antonio shared the details.
"Would you like more soup, Antonio?" she asked as the conversation slowed down.
"No, thank you. It was delicious, by the way." Then he paused, looking directly at her. "I think we need to let her in on the secret."
Secret?
"What secret?" I asked, staring from one to the other of them.
"You should do it," said Maria. "I wouldn't know where to start."
"What secret?" I repeated, my heart starting to pound a little more heavily.
"Okay," Antonio said, turning toward me and taking my hand.
"Angela, when you were missing, I became painfully aware of how much you've come to mean to me." He paused, looking over at Maria. "I also realized that I'd been keeping some things from you, from both of you. Things I should have told you long before now. So I came to see Maria, hoping to explain."
I looked away from him, toward Maria. She sat there, smiling her big sister smile. I couldn't tell if that was good or bad. "What things?"
Maria looked at Antonio and so did I. "Would you like me to tell her?" she asked him. He shot her a grateful glance, nodding.
"Angela, ‘Uncle Benito’ is Antonio's father." Antonio's
father?
Uh Oh.
"Then we're…
related?"
I asked Antonio in confusion.
"No," he said. "Yes," Maria said.
I looked at each of them. "Well, what is it, Yes or No? It can't be both."
"Here, let me, please," Maria said. Then turning to me, she continued. "Uncle Benito is Antonio's father. Antonio promised Uncle Benito that he would continue to send us money, to kind of watch out for us. That's why the Christmas cards have continued, and why I got the college fund, bless his heart."
"Okay. But why did you say 'Yes' when I asked if we were related?"
Maria looked at Antonio, who gave her a small nod.
"Sis, apparently Uncle Benito is my father also. It happened a long time ago, before our folks were married. When Antonio told me, I didn't know what to think. But I wanted to find out if it was true. So I checked with Mr. Conner, and he reluctantly told me about the birth certificate you found. That's when I knew it
must
be true. Everything fit. It seems that Dad—Jack—adopted me when he married Mom. Sis, Antonio and I
are
related. But he and you are
not
. Except through me." She smiled at that.
"Why did you keep this secret?" I asked him, suddenly angry. "Weren't we good enough for you? I mean obviously you knew about us… "
"Granted, it's a bit unconventional." He held up his palms as if trying to defend himself and placate me at the same time. "But I really never expected to become personally involved with you. I was simply fulfilling my father's last requests by making sure the Christmas cards continued and that Maria got the college money. At least until the day you showed up in my office and challenged everything about my 'old ways'."
"Continue," I demanded, struggling to process this new information.
"When he told me I had a sister, a half-sister, I really hated him. For what he'd done to my mother, to our family. I'd always hated being an only child. And since he was always gone, Mama and I were really close. At least we had each other."
He paused for just a moment. "I resented anything that took away from that. He'd always said there was nothing more important than family, and now he was admitting to having a child with someone who wasn't my mother. I vowed I would never forgive him."
"But you kept your word to him," I said.
He nodded. "When he told me about the affair, I didn't want to hear it. I told him he was vile and heartless. But he was my father and he demanded that I listen. He said I was headed down the same path and if I didn't pay attention, I'd be no better than him. He used my own anger against me, in a way that really was for my own good.”
He looked at each of us and then at the ceiling as if he were asking for divine guidance.
"He told me about the sweet woman he had met, the innocent young girl who had stolen his heart. How he'd broken it off because he didn't want to involve her in the tangled up nastiness his business and life had become. That woman was your mom."
My sweet, always-be-responsible, be-a-good-girl, Mom who I'd modeled my own little-miss-straight-and-narrow behaviors after?
Having an affair with a married man?
I looked over at Maria. She didn't seem nearly as shocked as I felt.
"Then she came back to him, about a month after he'd broken it off, telling him she was pregnant. He offered to help her take care of it, to 'get the situation handled' as he put it. She refused, saying she couldn't do that. To her this was a child born of love, and she was going to make sure the child had a chance."
I looked at my sister.
"And you're okay with this… this…
revelation
?" I stared at Maria, still not certain what to think.
"I wasn't sure how I felt at first, but I've had a little longer to think about it," she said, looking over at Antonio, shrugging. "It's not so strange, really. And it does answer some questions."
"Did Conner verify this?"
"Not in so many words. He said the records of my birth had been lost or misplaced. So except for the certificate you found, there's nothing to go on."
"But what about their anniversary? They always said they were married a year before you were born… that's why we celebrated on the same day."
"Mr. Conner says the adoption happened right after the marriage. That was something he could verify. So they just told us it was a year earlier."
I shook my head. It was too much at once. Too many thoughts tumbling over each other in my mind. Too many new things to process.
"Forgive me," I said. "Maybe it's the strain of everything, but I'm having a hard time reconciling all of this."
"I thought you might," said Antonio. "And I'm sorry to hit you with everything all at once. I wish I could have told you sooner. You made it really hard for me to keep my mouth shut. Especially after I stopped fighting my feelings for you. You probably have a ton of questions. Just ask me anything. I don't have to keep anything from you any longer. Now I'm free to answer anything you ask me."
He was right. I had a ton of questions. My world had pretty much been turned upside down. But for the moment, the only thing I could think of was…
"So, what's going to happen now?"
Antonio and Maria exchanged glances.
"Ultimately, that's entirely up to you. But, we have some other things that need to be settled up. This is the first one."
He handed me a large envelope with my name on it. I tore the flap open and pulled out the weighty document. Then I gasped as I scanned the front page quickly. I looked over at Antonio as I handed the document to Maria.
"Sis!" she nearly squealed with glee. "Our mortgage!"
"In both your names," said Antonio, watching my face melt into tears. "It was the least I could do. You've held up your end of every agreement I've asked you for, Angela. And you've stuck by me even when I gave you serious reasons not to."
I couldn't speak. Now the house was ours. Fully ours. I wouldn't have to worry about me or Maria being homeless again. Maria wheeled over to where I sat, throwing her arms around my neck, and we sobbed on each other for a few moments as the reality sank in.
"Thank you," I finally managed, grabbing a napkin to blow my nose. "But what about the store?"
"Well, of course, I hope you'll keep your role with the store. But Ange, that's entirely up to you. I consider your obligations fulfilled."
"Why are you doing this… Antonio?" I had to ask.
His eyes softened. "I never met your mother, Angela, but if you are anything at all like her, then I finally understand what it must have been like for my father. Because the same thing's happened to me."
My insides went all mushy at that. It was just about the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to me. "I guess this means you forgive your dad?"
He laughed a gentle laugh deep in his throat. "I do. I have."
"Good," I told him. "The last thing we need are ghosts from our past chasing us around and messing with our future."
"Does that mean you're willing to help me build a future worth having?"
"Oh, yes," I told him, a grin spreading across my face. "You need me. Who else knows how to handle Carlo and Poula?"
He laughed and took my hand. “Very true, I can’t think of anyone more capable to handle that particular task. But," he said, eyes twinkling, "I just thought of something else I'm sure you'll want to take care of, considering we're talking about things that need to be handled.”
I lifted an eyebrow, wondering what it was. "I thought you said I'd fulfilled my agreements?"
He smiled. "Well, this one is voluntary, but I think you'll want to take it on."
I leaned back in my chair, arms folded across my chest. "Oh yeah? What makes you so sure?"
"Because I know you. And I know what you like."
I narrowed my eyes at his comment. He seemed awfully confident, almost arrogant.
This was more like the Antonio I knew.
But then again, he'd certainly gotten my curiosity stirred up.
"So long as it has nothing to do with the store. And so long as I don't have to worry about it being finished right away, then I
might
be interested in hearing more. But I want at least a week off before I have to seriously consider anything new."
He leaned forward, "A week you say? That's an interesting thought."
The way he looked at me gave me butterflies, and I shifted nervously in my seat. His eyes flickered to my lips before once again rising to meet mine. "Angela, do you realize that you and I have never had an official 'first date' yet?”
I burst out laughing. He was right. Together, Antonio and I had been through hell and back… but all under the umbrella of our ‘agreements’.
"What are you proposing?" I asked, trying to be snarky, but nearly cringing when I realized my choice of words. Embarrassed, I blurted, "And at this point it better be pretty good."
"I propose we take that week you just asked for, and go away to a cabin in the mountains. Just you and me."
"Just you and me?"
"Just you and me."
"No gambling, no charity events? No business meetings? No gallery openings? Sorry Maria," I said with a wink. "Just the two of us. Alone?"
"I promise," he said.
"Hmmmph. That sounds awfully forward for a first date. What kind of girl do you think I am, anyway?" I challenged him with a grin.
He laughed as he stood and held out his hand toward mine.
“Okay, Angela, first things first. Would you
please
have dinner with me tonight?”
Taking his outstretched hand, I hesitated only long enough to pull myself up and into his strong capable arms. Right where I belonged. Then, I grinned. "Thank goodness. I thought you'd
never
ask."
>>>>End Book 5<<<<
High Stakes Seduction
The Series
