A Dark Sicilian Secret(17)
Vittorio studied her for a long, silent moment. “You really wish for me to have him woken up just so you can hold him?”
She heard condescension in his voice. Condescension and disbelief. Because what kind of woman would put her needs before her child’s?
“No,” she choked, lifting a hand to shield her eyes so he couldn’t see her tears. “No. You’re right. I don’t want to wake him. It is his naptime. He should sleep.”
Again Vitt subjected her to his scrutiny. “Sometimes it is difficult to do the right thing, but I have found that difficult or not, doing the right thing is the only real option.”
The jet was moving faster now, racing down the runway, picking up speed by the second. Within moments the jet’s front wheels left the ground and then the back wheels. They were airborne.
Dark pine trees dotted the ground. The blue of the Pacific Ocean came into view. In less than an hour they’d leave California far behind. In eleven hours they’d be in Sicily, in his world, and Joe, her baby, her child, would be living in Vitt’s home.
And if Joe were to live in Vitt’s home, where would she live? Would Vittorio keep her nearby, or would he set her up in her own house or apartment, someplace close by but not in his immediate household?
During the two weeks they’d spent together in Bellagio, Vitt had told Jillian a great deal about the twelfth-century Norman castle the d’Severano family called home. His family hadn’t always owned the property. Apparently his great-grandfather had purchased the crumbling fortress in the early 1900s and each generation since had spent a fortune restoring sections at a time. Over half the castello still remained uninhabitable but Vittorio had said that was part of the charm.
Twenty months ago she’d been anxious to see this historic property. Now it was the last place she wanted to visit.
“My family is old-fashioned,” Vitt said, breaking the silence. “And my mother is extremely devout. At first she might seem cold, and unapproachable, but given time, she will grow to accept you. But you must give her time. She is slow to embrace change.”
This sounded far from encouraging, Jillian thought, turning from the view of the deep blue Pacific Ocean to look at him. “Is she upset with you for having a child out of wedlock?”
“She doesn’t know.”
Jillian’s eyes widened. “What?”
He shook his head. “I haven’t told her. Or anyone else in my family.” He saw her expression and shrugged. “There was no reason to share such news. You were hiding from me. I didn’t have legal access to him yet. But it’s a different situation now.”
“And now?”
“Now it is a joyful occasion. My wife and son return home with me. Everything is good. Everything is as it should be.”
His wife and son…
His wife and son…
His wife.
Her heart hammered relentlessly and her hand shook as she clutched the flute. Is this why he’d ordered the champagne? “So that is the story we’re to tell them.”
“It won’t be a story.”
She exhaled in a painful rush. It was both a protest and a prayer. “Vittorio.”
“My captain has the authority to marry us in-flight, allowing us to land in Sicily in the morning as husband and wife.”
“That’s crazy,” she whispered, her fingers clenched so tightly around the flute’s fragile stem that the tips had begun to go numb.
“Why is it crazy? We arrive married, stepping off the plane as a family. Joseph is no longer illegitimate. You are my wife. Problem solved.”
Problem solved? Problem multiplied.
Her head spun. She was dizzy with the shock of it. Marriage was so serious, so binding, and even more so among the Mafioso. Once you were part of the family, there was no way out. At least not alive. “Your family has never heard of me, and then to produce me from thin air, introducing me as your wife, and Joe as your son—?”
“It would be the truth.”
“They’ll never accept us this way, Vittorio, surely you can see that. Especially your mother. She’ll be hurt that you’ve kept her in the dark, and suspicious as to why you’re only introducing us now. She’ll have so many questions—why was there no proper courtship or wedding? Why didn’t you tell her about the pregnancy or Joe’s birth? You’re bringing him to Sicily at nearly a year old. You know that won’t go over well.”