The Duke's Willful Wife (18 page)

She nodded sadly.  “Yes.  I’m sorry.”

“So my mother has been at the heart of most of this.”

“No.  I should have done
something
about this a long time ago as well.  I should have insisted on moving to our own place.  You suggested it, but I didn’t want to be the one to break up the family.
  Besides, you’d spent so much money building that gorgeous studio for me and I really didn’t want to hurt your feelings.
”

“My mother did that to my father for years, always picking on
him
and driving him crazy.”  He led her over to one of the benches.  “So my brother has a fiancée, eh?”

“Yes.”

“And he was afraid of my mother or of me?”

“Your mother. He knew you’d always approve of
him
.  In fact, he tried to convince me several times to talk to you, to explain why I was so unhappy.”

“But you tried to make it work so that my mother wouldn’t be hurt.  Is that it?”

“Yes.”  There was no sugar coating the answer. 

“The reason I worked so many long hours is because you were painting all the time.  I didn’t want to disturb you.”

She laughed and put her hand on her
forehead
, flabbergasted
by this latest reve
lation
.  “The reason I was painting so much was because you were working such long hours.  I thought something was wrong at the company and was worried
that
I was in the way.
  I didn’t want to be a
hindrance
to you and make you feel guilty for staying at the office so late.
”

He laughed, deep and ironic.  “My assets have improved dramatically with the miscommunication we’ve been having.  I’ve been working my staff half to death.”

She laid her head on his shoulder and smiled.  “Maybe I could start looking for a new house?  Maybe one that has several bedrooms close to each other?”

He shook his head and pulled her closer. 
“Cristolo and his wife will have to find their own house.  There’s no way I’m sharing you with anyone.”

Sasha laughed and looked up at him.  “I was thinking about children.  I’d really love to have several.”

He pulled her onto his lap and kissed her, not letting her up for breath for a long time.  “We’ll move into a hotel room until we find a place to live.”

“What will your mother say?”
  She had no argument for that, preferring the arrangement enormously.  She could now understand why Riasa acted the way she did, but that didn’t mean she wanted to be around it any longer.  She was a disturbed woman who would probably never admit that she was in the wrong. 

At least she loved her sons and wanted what was best for them, even if what she thought was best was actually hurting them like nothing else could. 

Dante slipped his hand under her tee-shirt, enjoying the way she squirmed on his lap in a feeble, and not very dedicated attempt to avoid his searching fingers. 
“I don’t give a damn what she says.  In fact, I might even move my grandmother in with us.  Would that be a problem?”

“Of course not.  Rennata and I have always had a good friendship.”

“
A
nd you’ve been e-mailing her all this time, haven’t you?”

She pulled back slightly and looked at him curiously. 
“How did you know that?”

“
I eaves
dropped that first day you were with her so I overheard you mention something to her about that. 
She
also
told me
that the two of you were communicating with each other
. 
Not to mention the fact that o
ne night when she first started becoming ill, she said I was wrong and should get down on my
knees and beg you to come back to me.
  I think she mentioned something about talking to you through e-mail but I was too angry to process that piece of information.
”

“I kind of like that image,” she said, grinning as she touched his neck. 

“I’ll do it if you’ll just forgive me.”

She kissed him gently and said,
“I do.  And will you forgive me for not fighting for our marriage
before?  I gave in to your anger too soon.  I should have forced you to talk to your brother a year ago.
  And I should have confided in you myself.  I kept a secret from you and that wasn’t fair.
”

“I didn’t give you much of a choice.”

“I folded at the first opportunity. You
accused me and I was so furious
I just walked out.”

“
I’m not sure if I would have listened last year.  I was
too jealous
at the idea of anyone touching you.”

“No one has ever touched me.  Not the way you do.”  She brought his hand up to her heart and covered his hand
, letting him feel the rapid beating of her heart cause
d
only by his nearness and his touch
. “I love you.  You’re the only one who does this to me,” she said with tears in her eyes. 

Dante looked down at his hand, feeling her heart beat under his fingers.  “And this?” he asked, moving his hand slightly so that it was cupping her breast.  He watched as the breast instantly peaked under her shirt and smiled. 

The shrill voice from across the garden startled them, especially since they had forgotten where they were and any possible audience. 
“Dante!  What are you doing!  Take your hand off her breast this instant!” Riasa said from one of the
pathways
in the garden.

Dante looked over at his mother but didn’t move his hand.  In fact, he pulled Sasha closer, his other hand moving over her bottom.  “Mother, leave us alone or I’m going to make love to my wife right here in
the courtyard
and you’ll really be horrified at what you’ll see.”  His voice was husky and Sasha knew he was only joking, but his mother wasn’t so sure. 

Riasa couldn’t believe what she was hearing.  “This is completely undignified!  You have a place in society that must be respected.  People look up to you and follow your lead.
  Public displays
of affection are not only inde
cent but it sends the wrong message to anyone who might see a picture of you and your….wife,
”
she snarled out the word, “in the papers tomorrow morning.”

“So we’ll have lots of people being arrested for public indecency,” he mumbled so that only Sasha could hear as he bent his head and covered her mouth gently, kissing her with a tenderness that melted her heart. 

Sasha laughed and wrapped her arms around Dante’s neck. “You’re going to infuriate your mother, you know.”

“I don’t give a damn.”

Neither one of them heard Riasa stomp away, muttering under her breath about the horrible, low-class females that dared to enter a place in society that they weren’t prepared to fill. 

Epilogue

“They’re here!”
Sasha
called up the stairs as she walked
slowly
to the front door.  “Hurry up!”

Sasha opened the
front
door
to her relatively new house and instantly
two little bodies rushed through, eager to see their cousins.  “And hello to you too!” she called with a laugh to the two year old boys.  Turning back, she face
d
Cristolo and Gloria who had their arms filled with presents.  “Come on in.”

“Sorry for the crazy greeting,” Gloria said as she kissed Sasha on the cheek before heading into the living room to deposit presents under the tree.  “Joey and Luke just couldn’t wait any longer.”

“Never worry about those two.  Antonio and Liza woke us up at five o’clock this morning, asking when you guys would be arriving.”

Cristolo cringed as he hugged Sasha himself
, careful to avoid putting any pressure on her swollen belly
.  “And Dante allowed that? 
I would
have thought he would be pretty strict about letting you sleep.”

“He’s an old softy,” she said and sat back down in  the chair, her
pregnancy of eight months
feeling abnormally heavy this morning.  “Besides, he enjoys their morning antics. 
After breakfast, t
hey all went out for a long walk, giving me time to myself.”

At that moment, four tiny little bodies rushed through the room, two with dark black hair and two with the same blond as Gloria’s magnificent hair. 
Dante came in a bit more slowly, Rennata on his arm and leaning heavily on a cane. He led her over to the sofa, to a place nearest the fire and the Christmas tree, then went to get her a glass of wine. 

“Where’s mother this time of year?” Cristolo asked
her
as he poured a glass of seltzer water for Sasha and a glass of wine for Gloria. 

“I believe she’s over in Los Angeles this time,” Dante mentioned, obviously not caring a whole lot where his mother was.  “But she hasn’t contacted me in several months, so I can’t be sure.”

As the nine of them gathered later that night for Christmas dinner, Dante looked down the table and saw his wife and brother.  His mother so completely disapproved of both Gloria and Sasha that she refused to take part in these celebrations.  But he couldn’t be happier himself.  He had a daughter on the way, twin sons and his brother back, not to mention a sister in law
who loved his brother and completely ignored all of his obvious flaws
and two
rambunctious
nephews
who were always a delight
.  He worried about his grandmother’s health, but he preferred to concentrate on the
happy
moments now.  Sasha had taught him
how
to do that, he knew.  And he would always treasure her for
that
gift. 

He caught her eye as he gazed down at the other end of the table.  Raising his glace, he gave her a silent salute, an unspoken declaration of his love for her and their family. 

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