She shook her head. ‘I’ve never wanted to. I’m sure they had good reasons at the time for not keeping me.’
And if she managed to trace them and they didn’t want to know her, Gio knew that a second rejection would shatter her trust in people completely.
Right now, Fran needed security—something Gio knew he couldn’t give her in a relationship, given that he didn’t know what he wanted from life right now. But he could definitely make her feel part of Giovanni’s.
‘It’s good that you’re not judging them too harshly. Not bitter about it.’
‘There’s no point. Being bitter isn’t going to change anything or make things better.’ She shrugged. ‘Besides, Mum and Dad gave me a stable home.’
She hadn’t mentioned love, Gio noticed, something he’d always taken for granted in a large and noisy family where you got hugged and kissed every day and told how special you were. And even though the demonstrativeness had been excruciatingly embarrassing during his teens—especially when his parents insisted on showing all his baby photos to any girl he brought home—he’d always known he fitted in, that he was part of the family.
‘Your family’s proud of you,’ he said softly. ‘Maybe they’re not good at telling you—maybe they’re English and reserved instead of Italian and over-demonstrative like my lot. But my guess is they’re proud of you. And they’re going to get even prouder when Giovanni’s expands and your parents realise that their daughter is the number two in the company.’ He squeezed her hand again, and this time let it go. ‘Want my advice? Go home, ring them and tell them you love them.’
‘I might just do that.’
‘No “mights”. Do it. It’ll make you feel better.’ He smiled at her. ‘Go home. I’m not going to make you stay really late on a Friday night.’ Even though what he wanted to do with her would take the rest of the weekend, let alone the night. Because he was going to be sensible about this. ‘I’ll see you on Monday, OK?’
‘Sure. Have a nice weekend.’
He laughed. ‘You’ll never know how glad I am that you didn’t say, “Giovanni Mazetti, don’t you work too hard”…’
CHAPTER SIX
‘MORNING, Fran. How was your weekend?’ Gio asked as she walked into the coffee shop on the Monday morning.
‘Fine, thanks. Yours?’
‘Fine.’
She’d just sat down when he brought a latte in to her. This time, there was the shape of an apple floating on the crema. ‘You’re definitely showing off. Flowers, hearts, apples…’
‘Just you wait. Tomorrow I’ll do you an ammonite,’ he said with a grin.
She scoffed, ‘No way can you free-pour an ammonite.’
‘I didn’t actually say I’d free-pour it. I said I’d do you one.’ He looked thoughtful. ‘But as challenges go…that’s a good one.’ He leaned against her desk. ‘Did you do what I suggested, on Friday?’
She nodded. ‘Thanks for the advice.’
‘Don’t thank me—it’s Nonna’s wisdom, not mine. She says you can never tell people too often that you love them. And no doubt, as she’s coming over from Milan soon, you’ll get to thank her in person.’ Gio sighed. ‘I have this feeling she’ll be “just passing” the café, like Mum was. And when she’s finished grilling you, she’ll start on me. Telling me that I work too hard, and I need to find myself some bella ragazza and settle down and produce a great-grandchild for her to spoil.’ He rolled his eyes. ‘I’m really hoping that she gets distracted by her newest great-granddaughter. Lorena’s absolutely gorgeous.’ He pulled his mobile phone from his pocket and flicked through the photographs. ‘See?’
For someone who was so adamant that he didn’t want babies, Fran thought, Gio had a very soppy look on his face. She’d bet he had a picture of every single child in his family on his mobile phone. Not that she was going to take him to task for being a fraud. ‘She’s lovely,’ she said.
‘Nonna will enjoy cuddling her. But then again, it’ll probably make her worse. Once she gets started on this settling-down stuff…’
‘You can always try distracting her with latte art,’ Fran said, laughing and gesturing to her mug.
‘I could even draw her a bat with a long nose, to make the point. But she’d only laugh and say I was trying to get her off her favourite subject. Like when is her youngest grandson going to settle down,’ he said ruefully.