“I will look into it when I get back to England.”
Which Lise fervently hoped would be soon. The hope was disloyal, she knew, yet her mother cast a shadow of anger and pain on her she’d shed during these last two months in Italy.
She wanted the joy back.
She wanted him back.
Though it was lucky he’d left on one of his infrequent business trips right before her mother had arrived. He’d been patient with Esther during the weeks before the wedding. But Lise highly doubted he’d want to share her company for three full days. Or longer.
He was due back tomorrow. She missed him. And as a bonus, maybe his arrival to his home would force her mother to leave for her own.
A girl could hope.
“I am sure there is something sleazy to find with all those businesses he owns.”
There was nothing sleazy about Vico or his business practices. None. During the last month, she’d seen more and more. Plus, he’d confided in her more and more. About this decision, or that decision. About HSF’s future and the future of many of his other businesses. The knowledge he valued her for her mind as well as her body added to the joy swimming inside her.
Did he value her heart too? Her love?
She moved restlessly, trying to ignore the niggling self-criticism lying in the back of her brain. Throughout this month, she’d reveled in the lovemaking, the delight, the happiness. In every area of her life, she’d embraced this new wonderful Lise she’d found with Vico’s help. The Lise who relished the nights in her husband’s bed and delighted in dancing in the moonlight with him as his family chuckled and applauded. The Lise who laughed and joked and dreamed and hoped. The Lise who cherished every look Vico gave her. Looks of tenderness, of contentment, of…
Only in one area of her new life had she still hid.
Hid her love, hid her confession of love.
The hiding wasn’t right. She knew it. He deserved the words. He deserved to know her heart.
He hasn’t admitted anything to you. He hasn’t spoken the words either.
She knew it was childish to think such things. Over and over, she chided herself for clinging to her confession. The new Lise was better than this.
She would tell him. Tell him as soon as he got home this time.
“Can you imagine the scandal that will erupt when one of his business secrets is revealed?” The older woman clucked. “The man breeds scandal wherever he goes.”
Not anymore. Not one tabloid picture in the entire time of their marriage. Pictures of their wedding had been released to the press, but after that, nothing. Without a doubt, they’d been in semi-seclusion, though she had noticed how his security shielded instead of courted tabloid coverage.
No pictures of him with other women.
No photos of him attending parties without her.
No images of the playboy in the tabloids.
No, it appeared Vico was totally satisfied with settling into private married life.
A budding trust had built inside her. A budding hope for something she’d dreamed about forever. The flower of trust and hope bloomed deep within her heart.
The three words she’d hid were definitely going to be said as soon as she set eyes on him.
“However, what can you expect from a man who was raised in such squalor?”
His family had been poor, that was true. Yet pride in their heritage and the love they held for each other told her very clearly Vico had strong roots and traditions that guided him in his life. His enormous drive to succeed came from more than a wish to pull his relatives from poverty. The drive also came from his honor as a man, his belief in himself, his innate skills and intelligence.
“That juvenile delinquent is in him, mark my words.” Her mother huffed. “Once a scoundrel, always a scoundrel.”
Apparently, her mother had been doing some Googling and investigating of her own. Lise had run into a story reflecting badly on Vico during her search of his background, too. Some incident involving gangs and death. There hadn’t been much to work with, a few newspaper articles, a few mentions of jail time. Still, her vivid and vicious imagination had filled in the holes just as it appeared her mother’s had, too.
During the last two months, she had made her peace with whatever had happened. Childhood hijinks, not juvenile delinquency. Because the man who was her husband couldn’t have fallen that far from his honorable core.
His family never spoke of it. Neither did Vico.
She had wondered, but hadn’t wanted to poke into old pain. Not in these glorious months of pleasure. She’d wanted to wallow in the acceptance she received from her new family. She wanted to wade in the stream of bliss she experienced every time she saw her husband.
“I don’t understand why you welcome all of them hanging about.” Her mother wagged a finger. “A bunch of parasites, if you ask me.”