He had shut down his emotional centre.
Bludgeoned it into a coma.
But since his conversation with his mother there were tiny flickers of life deep in his chest like the faint trace of a heartbeat on an electrocardiograph. A pulse of something he had thought long dead. A need he had denied for so long he had fooled himself he wasn’t capable of feeling it.
The need to love and be loved.
Three more words popped into his head like a blinding flash of light.
You love her.
Luca let them sit for a moment, for once not rushing to block them or erase them or deny them.
You love her.
And then he tweaked them, substituting the ‘you’ for ‘I’.
I love her.
Bringing himself inexorably closer to the truth, step by step.
I. Love. Her.
He embraced the truth of those words like someone sucking in oxygen after near strangulation.
I love her.
His chest ballooned with hope, positive energy zapping round his body.
I love her.
Luca snatched up his car keys and the wedding and engagement rings from the bedside table. He’d placed them there as a form of self-torture but now he couldn’t wait to see them back on Artie’s finger where they belonged. Nonno was right. Luca’s love for Artie was a force to be reckoned with—nothing would stop him from bringing her home.
* * *
Artie heard a car roaring through the castello gates and her heart turned over. She peered through the window in the sitting room and saw Luca unfold his tall, athletic figure from his car. Her pulse picked up its pace, her heart slamming into her breastbone, her skin tingling all over.
He’s here.
She walked as calmly as she could to open the front door, schooling her features into a mask of cool politeness. After all, there was no point setting her hopes too high—he hadn’t made a single effort to contact her over the past month. ‘Luca. What brings you here?’ She was proud of her impersonal tone. It belied the tumult of emotions in her chest.
He stepped through the open doorway with brisk efficiency, closing it with a click behind him. ‘You bring me here, cara. You and only you.’ He stood there with his hands by his sides and his expression set in grave lines. He looked tired around the eyes and his face hadn’t seen a razor in a couple of days. ‘I need to talk to you.’
Artie took a step back, her arms folding across her chest, her chin lifting. ‘To say what?’
He unpeeled her arms from around her body, taking her hands in his. ‘I’ve been such a fool. It’s taken me the best part of a month to realise what’s been there all the time.’ He squeezed her hands. ‘I love you, mia piccola. I love you so damn much it hurts. I can’t believe I let you go. Can you ever forgive me?’ He blinked a couple of times and she was surprised to see moisture in his eyes. ‘I made a terrible mistake in not telling you sooner. But I wasn’t able to recognise it until it was too late.’ He drew her closer, holding her hands against his chest. ‘Tell me it’s not too late. I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you. Please say yes. Please say you’ll come back to me. Please give me another chance to prove how much I adore you.’
Artie brought one of her hands up to his prickly jaw, stroking it lovingly. ‘I never thought I’d hear you say those words to me. I had given up hope, especially over the last few weeks.’
He grimaced and hugged her tightly to his chest. ‘Don’t remind me what a stubborn fool I’ve been. I can never forgive myself for that. I was in such denial that I couldn’t even bring up your name on my phone. I knew it would hurt too much, so I didn’t do it. Classic avoidance behaviour.’
Artie eased back to smile up at him. ‘You’re here now, so that’s the main thing. I’ve missed you so much. I felt only half alive without you.’
He framed her face with his hands. ‘You’re everything I could ever want in a life partner. You complete me, complement me and challenge me to be the best man I can be. I can barely find the words to describe how much you mean to me.’
‘I love you too, more than I can say.’
Luca lowered his mouth to hers and happiness exploded through her being. He was here. He loved her. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. His kiss communicated it all, passionately, fervently, devotedly. Even the steady thud of his heartbeat under her hand seemed to say the same. I love you. I love you. I love you.
After a moment, Luca lifted his mouth off hers and took something out of his trouser pocket. He held the wedding and engagement rings between his fingers. ‘I think it’s time these were put back where they belong, don’t you?’
‘Yes, please.’ Artie held out her hand for him to slip them back on her ring finger. ‘I’m never taking those rings off again.’
Luca smiled. ‘I want you to meet my mother. Will you come to New York with me as soon as possible?’
Artie raised her eyebrows in delight. ‘You’ve spoken to her?’
His face lit up with happiness. ‘We had a chat about things and I realised how blinkered I’d been all these years, reading things into her behaviour that weren’t accurate at all. You’ve taught me so much about myself, cara. I can never thank you enough for that. I hope you won’t mind sharing my mother with me? I should warn you that she’ll very likely shower you with love.’
‘I won’t mind sharing her at all. I can’t wait to meet her.’ Artie lifted her face for his kiss, her heart swelling with love. Her sad, closed-off life had somehow turned into a fairy tale. She was free from her
