A Moment on the Lips(39)

‘Thanks, bella.’ The taxi driver did exactly as she asked.

‘What the … ?’ Dante began as the cab pulled away.

‘My kitchen. Now,’ she said firmly. He looked absolutely haunted, and no way was she going to let him go back to his place in this state.

Once he’d sat down at the table, she heated some milk, added a little brown sugar and cinnamon, and then placed the mug in front of him. ‘This is better for you than an espresso at this time of night,’ she said. ‘Drink.’

He made a face, but did so.

‘I’m sorry,’ he said again. ‘I didn’t mean to hurt you.’

‘I know.’ Just as she hadn’t intended this evening to be such a nightmare for him. She paused. ‘So did you know that woman?’

He shook his head. ‘I’ve never seen her before.’

She needed to know the truth. ‘I saw you write something on the back of a card and give it to her.’

Dante looked at Carenza. He had a choice: he could either let her think he’d given the woman his number and he was cheating on her—which would hurt her and wasn’t true anyway—or he could tell her the truth and would no doubt have to field some awkward questions. But there was no demanding, shrewish look on her face; she clearly feared the worst and was trying to bite back the hurt, just as he’d done so often in his life. Which made the decision easy for him. ‘It was the number of a refuge.’

She frowned. ‘How do you know the number of a refuge?’

‘I …’ This was really hard for him to talk about. But he owed her the truth. ‘I support it.’

‘Support?’

The question made him squirm; he hated people banging on about the work they did for charity. In his view, the people who shouted loudest about it were the ones who cared the least; they were doing it to make themselves look good, not because they wanted to make a real difference. ‘Charitable donation,’ he muttered.

‘Why would you support … ?’ Carenza began. Then she remembered what her grandfather told her about Dante having a hard time as a child. The fact that there hadn’t been a photograph of his father in Dante’s flat. And suddenly it all fell together. ‘So that’s why you don’t let people close.’

‘What?’ He stared at her, looking shocked. ‘You’re jumping to conclusions. Wrong ones.’

‘No, I’m not. Nonno said you had a hard time as a child. He wouldn’t tell me any more than that, didn’t break any confidences,’ she reassured him swiftly. ‘But if you support a refuge now, there’s a pretty good chance that you do it because a refuge once helped someone you know. And if it happened when you were a kid, my guess is that it was your mum.’

Hearing it spoken out loud made him flinch. She noticed and took his hand. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t want to reopen old wounds. I just want to understand what makes you—well, you.’

‘I wish you really were an airhead princess,’ he said. ‘Then you wouldn’t even have noticed, let alone worked it out.’

‘That’s why you went to rescue that woman. Because you’ve seen it happen before.’

‘Yes.’ He swallowed hard. ‘Caz, I really don’t want to talk about this. Back off. Please.’

That last word stopped her asking any more. Instead, she pushed her chair back, walked round to his side of the table and wrapped her arms round him. ‘I’m so sorry that tonight brought bad stuff back for you. It was meant to be fun. You and me.’

‘It’s not your fault. You weren’t to know this would happen.’

‘Do you think she’ll be all right?’

He shrugged. ‘The first step is the hardest. If she just has the courage to ring that number, then she’ll get the help she needs.’

Was that how his family had got the help they needed? she wondered. Not that she was going to ask. This was clearly too painful for him—and he’d asked her to back off. So she just held him, willing him to take strength from her. To let himself lean on her.

And eventually he moved, settled her on his lap and kissed her. ‘Thank you. For not judging. For not pushing.’

His words put such a huge lump in her throat, she couldn’t answer him. All she could do was kiss him. Softly. Gently.

Except, as always, desire flared between them. The kiss turned hot, and the next thing she knew they were in her bedroom and Dante was peeling her dress off.