DIVING STRAIGHT IN, Jaco was beside her in a couple of seconds, scooping Leah up into his arms and wading towards the shallower water until he could safely set her down.
‘What is it with you, Ms McDonald?’ He pushed the streaming wet hair away from her face. ‘Why are you so determined to drown yourself in front of me?’
‘I’m not!’ Leah spluttered on a watery cough, rubbing her eyes and blinking furiously. ‘At least, not intentionally.’ She picked up a clump of hair and lifted it over her shoulder. ‘But thank you anyway. For the rescue, I mean.’ She looked up at him almost shyly.
‘Prego. You’re welcome.’ Jaco wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. ‘If rescuing you became my life’s work I would do it gladly. I would never let any harm come to you. You do know that, don’t you?’
‘Yes.’ She trembled against his neck, her words muffled. ‘I think I do.’
Jaco closed his eyes, savouring the moment. They were standing in a swimming pool, waist-high in water, fully clothed and soaked to the skin, but somehow it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered except this sweet moment of happiness. For several seconds they stayed like that, locked together, swaying slightly with the giddy absurdity of it all.
Finally Leah tipped back her head, searching Jaco’s eyes for clues. ‘What you said before...’
She sounded so unsure, so vulnerable, that Jaco felt his throat work on a painful swallow.
‘It’s true, mia cara.’ He rushed to take away her doubt, cupping her face in his hands, gazing down at her. ‘Ti amo. I love you, Leah.’
‘You love me?’ She repeated the words as if in a sort of daze, and her eyes, fringed by clumps of dark lashes, widened as she stared at him.
‘Sí, I do. More than I ever thought possible...more than anything in the world.’
‘But how...? I mean why...? How can this have happened?’ She pushed away slightly, her brow furrowed with confusion.
‘All too easily.’ Jaco pulled her back into his arms. ‘I admit I have tried to fight it, and that there have been times when you have driven me completely crazy, but when you feel something here, deep in your heart, there’s not a thing you can do about it.’
‘Really?’ She angled back her head, watching him cautiously.
‘Really.’ He was surprised at how easy it was to say. As if by stating his declaration out loud all the barriers between them had tumbled down like dominoes.
Leah’s frown cleared and she gave him a look of such happiness, such open honesty, that Jaco felt his heart soar with hope. But as he held her to him, willing her to tell him that she had feelings for him too—something, anything, to give him some hope—he felt her slender body shiver violently in his arms.
What was he doing, selfishly keeping her here like this, letting her freeze to death?
‘Come on—we need to get you inside.’
Sweeping her up into his arms again, Jaco moved them to the side of the pool, negotiating the metal steps one-handed, before setting her down and firmly taking hold of her hand, leading her below deck, their feet squelching along the carpeted corridors, until they were back at Leah’s suite of rooms.
Crossing the threshold, Jaco switched on the light and they gazed at one another, bemused, bedraggled, speechless. Water pooled at their feet.
Cesare appeared silently from the bedroom, a look of concern on his face at the sight of the two of them, until Jaco quickly assured him that everything was fine. After solemnly stating that the child was still asleep, he was thanked by Jaco and told he could go.
Jaco closed the door behind him and then turned to Leah.
Gazing at him in bewilderment, Leah searched the depths of his eyes to make sure this was actually happening. Here was the man she loved with all her heart. And he loved her too!
With his shirt plastered across his chest, every powerful muscle accentuated through the transparent fabric, his trousers sticking to him like a second skin, it was all she could do not to gasp at the wonder of him. Was it really possible that he could love her anything like as much as she loved him?
Somewhere inside her doubt started to fray the edges of her happiness.
Leaning forward, Jaco traced her jawline with fingers that had a slight tremble, and through the fog of her mind Leah could hear him telling her that they had to get out of their wet clothes. He was unfastening his shirt buttons, tugging the wet cotton over his torso and throwing the shirt on the floor. His trousers soon went the same way.
‘Your turn.’
He stood before her, wearing nothing but a pair of sodden boxers that clung to his shape, leaving little to the imagination. With his arms folded across his chest, his wet skin gleaming in the bright light, he looked simply magnificent.
‘Unless you would like me to do it for you?’
Leah moved unsteadily towards him, wanting nothing more than for Jaco to strip her bare, to take her in his arms and never let her go. But despite his macho show of glorious manhood, his teasingly seductive tone, and despite the heart-melting half-smile that threatened to undo her completely, Leah could see that his eyes were wary...serious. Yes, deadly serious.
He was waiting for her to speak. Waiting for her to reveal how she felt about him.
She reached up, cupping his face, her fingertips grazing over the rasp of stubble. How could it not be patently, painfully obvious that she loved him with every fibre of her being?
To Leah it had always felt as if she wore her love for him like an uncomfortable skin—a transparent layer that meant he could see through her to everything he meant to her. As if she gave herself away with every blush, every lowered glance, every barbed comment. But it seemed that Jaco needed proof.
Rising onto tiptoes, she pulled his beautiful face down to hers to plant the softest of kisses on his lips. Jaco groaned quietly against her mouth, his arms automatically moving over her bare back, pressing her against his chest.
Leah linked her arms around his neck, threading her fingers through his wet curls. She parted the cushion of her lips, breathing against him, sliding the tip of her tongue along the seam of his mouth until he opened it for her and she found the tip of his. He groaned again, more loudly this time, crushing her against him, and his glorious near-nakedness sent a thrill of sexual awareness to her core.
The kiss burst into flames until they were lost to it, swept along by its raging heat. But suddenly Jaco stopped, prising his lips away on a tortured breath, the hands that had roamed to her bottom stilling where they lay.
‘I need to know, Leah.’ He gazed at her with eyes of the darkest, deepest brown, searing into her very soul. ‘I need to know if you can find it in your heart ever to love me.’
‘Oh, Jaco!’ The words choked out on a sob of emotion, a solitary tear sliding down her cheek. ‘Of course I love you. I have always loved you and I always will.’
‘Grazie Dio.’ Holding her eyes for a long, dazed moment. Jaco traced the path of her tear with his thumb, leaning forward to kiss her damp cheek. ‘Then you truly make me the happiest man in the world.’ He paused, his face darkening. ‘Though I don’t know what I have done to deserve your love after the way I have treated you...’
Leah touched a finger to his lips. ‘We have both made mistakes. I should never have thought all those awful things about you.’
‘You had every right.’ He kissed her finger, then clasped her hand in his. ‘I know I have to try and make amends. But first let’s get you warm.’
Leading her through the bedroom, where Gabriel’s sleeping breaths lightly stirred the air, Jaco went into the bathroom and turned on the taps of the large circular bath.
Leah stood motionless, still in a daze, as he started to strip off her wet clothes, obediently raising her arms so that he could pull her sweatshirt over her head, then unclip her soggy bra to release her breasts. She felt them tighten with pleasure as he pressed feather-light kisses over them.
Lifting first one leg and then the other, she let him peel off her jeans and her panties, and watched as he stayed crouched at her feet, trailing his lips up her legs, along her inner thighs, until he reached her most intimate place, making Leah stiffen in glorious anticipation.
His breath was hot against her cold skin as he laid soft kisses against her, using his tongue to make her shudder and whimper with longing. He was saying something now, something dark and sexy, spoken in his native tongue, his words partly lost in the thunder of water.
Leah had no hope of understanding what he’d said. It didn’t matter. Gazing down at his bent head, blurred and out of focus beneath the rising steam, she simply let her eyes close against the bliss.
‘Bath.’
Coming up to stand, he lifted her effortlessly into the bubbling water and she slid down until she was submerged up to her neck. Pulling off his boxers, Jaco settled himself beside her.
‘Nice?’
‘Mmm...’ Leah sighed with pleasure. The heat, combined with the lack of sleep and the rollercoaster of emotions this evening had brought, made her close her eyes again.
Jaco took hold of her hand under the water. ‘There is so much I want to say to you, Leah. So much I need to explain.’
‘There’s no need, really.’ Leah turned drowsily to face him. ‘You did what you felt you had to do.’
‘But I was wrong. Wrong not to tell you the truth. Not to realise you were the one person I could trust. Instead I made everything worse by holding you against your will, refusing to talk to you, behaving like a jerk. I treated you very cruelly. Can you ever forgive me?’
‘I’ll think about it.’ Hiding a smile, Leah raised her hand to gently touch Jaco’s lips, then let it drift under the water and down his chest, watching as his nipples tightened and his abs flexed beneath her touch. ‘I suppose I haven’t always been the easiest person to get along with.’
‘True.’ Jaco mirrored her covert smile. ‘You’ve been a nightmare.’ He caught her hand before it could travel any lower. ‘It’s hard to believe that someone so lovely could have caused me so much trouble.’
‘Trouble is my middle name.’ Leah gazed at him, suddenly serious. ‘You should know that.’
‘No, it’s not, Leah. You must never think that. We’ve both had our fair share of problems in the past, but that’s all over now. The future is what matters, and I intend to make yours as happy as I possibly can. That’s if you will let me, of course.’
Leah hesitated, feeling the doubts creeping in again. Was it possible that Jaco could ever really make her happy? He said that he loved her now, but what if he didn’t truly mean it, or if it was some sort of temporary aberration? What if she was making another stupid mistake? One from which she would never recover.
‘Leah?’ Jaco’s eyes had darkened. ‘What is it?’
‘I need to be sure, Jaco.’ She swallowed painfully. ‘I mean totally, one hundred per cent sure.’
‘Certo—I understand.’ He stiffened, moving slightly away. ‘I’m rushing you. I’m sorry. It was stupid of me to expect you to make a decision when I have just sprung this on you. Take all the time you need. I will wait as long as it takes for your answer.’
‘Oh, Jaco.’ Leaning in, Leah stole his words with a light kiss. ‘I don’t mean I need to think about my feelings for you. If anything, I love you too much. And that’s the problem...’
‘But why? I don’t understand.’
‘Because if you were to change your mind...’
‘Never!’
‘If you were to decide that you don’t want to be with me after all and the relationship breaks down...’
‘That will never happen, Leah.’
‘I honestly don’t think I could bear it.’
‘You will never have to. Lo prometto. I promise.’
‘I want to believe you, Jaco, really I do. But I’ve messed up so many times in my life I no longer trust my own judgement.’
‘Then trust mine. It’s always right.’
‘Oh, Jaco.’ Leah’s laughter was choked with tears. ‘I do love you.’
‘Bene. Then that is all that matters.’ He kissed her softly on the lips. ‘Because I love you too.’ He linked their fingers, squeezing tightly. ‘I’m just sorry it took me so long to recognise it. I have been focussing on hate for so long that it had begun to consume me. I see that now. To the point where I barely recognised love, even when it slapped me in the face.’
‘Slapped you in the face?’ Leah giggled. ‘Is that what happened?’
‘Yes, it did.’ Jaco’s brow furrowed in mock concern. ‘In fact I think you may have tried a physical slap once or twice.’
‘Hmm...’ Leah pulled an apologetic face. ‘Sorry about that.’
‘Don’t be. You have no need to be sorry about anything. I’m the one who should be apologising. I was so twisted up with hatred that I couldn’t see straight.’
‘Because of the Garalino family, you mean?’
Jaco nodded grimly. ‘Sí. You have no idea how evil they were, Leah.’
‘Then tell me.’
Jaco hesitated, a muscle working in his jaw. ‘They blighted my childhood, which was bad enough, but they almost destroyed Franc. He wasn’t as strong as me—on top of which, he was struggling with his gender nonconformity issues. The Garalinos persecuted him mercilessly.’
‘Oh, Jaco, I’m so sorry.’
‘And do you know what tortures me more than anything else?’
Leah felt her heart constrict with pain at the sight of Jaco’s anguished face.
‘The fact that I put my trust in this evil family—to start with at least. That when we were children I tried to make Francesco fit in...bullied him into doing what they wanted to try and save him from another beating. I didn’t protect him as I should.’
‘But you were so young, Jaco. You wouldn’t have known any better.’
‘I should have done more. I should have taken Franc with me when I escaped to New York.’
‘I’m sure you did everything you could at the time. You must never blame yourself for the Garalinos’ wickedness.’
Jaco shook his head despondently.
‘So that explains why you have been so protective of Francesca ever since?’ Leah’s voice was soft.
‘Sí, I suppose it does. But there is something else.’ He hesitated again, dragging in a deep breath. ‘Luigi Garalino killed my parents.’
‘No!’ Leah’s hands flew to her mouth.
‘I’m afraid it’s true.’ He waited for the horror to sink in before catching her hand and holding it to his mouth. ‘There—now you know everything. Now you know why I have found it so hard to trust anybody ever again.’
And in that moment Leah did know. More than that, she knew that he really did love her. She could see it in his eyes, hear it in his voice, feel it in the way he had laid himself bare.
‘Don’t cry, Leah.’ Jaco stroked his finger down her cheek, removing the silent tears she hadn’t even known she was shedding. ‘The past is over—done with. This is about the future. A future that I could never have imagined twelve months ago. You, me and Gabriel. My family. Who would have thought?’
The clouds parted as his handsome face cleared.
‘What with all the horror and anger, the nightmare of trying to bring the Garalinos to justice, I had never given any thought to having a family of my own. And yet here you are, right before my very eyes.’
Leah felt the emotion shining from his soul, its warmth radiating through her like a sunbeam.
‘And I haven’t even thanked you yet.’
‘I don’t need thanks, Jaco.’
‘Oh, but you do. Thank you, Leah. Thank you un milione di volte for the precious gift of our son. You have no idea what that means to me.’
Leah swallowed, biting down on her lip. She loved this man so much.
‘Well...’ The twinkle of tears in her eyes turned into something more mischievous. ‘I didn’t make him all by myself, you know.’
‘True.’ Jaco matched her look. ‘Maybe it’s time to remind ourselves just how we did it.’
‘Maybe it is.’
Drawing her to him, Jaco enveloped her in his strong embrace, tangling their legs beneath the water, pressing himself seductively against her. With their bodies sealed together, Leah sighed with happiness.
‘I love you, Leah McDonald.’ Jaco breathed the words into her hair. ‘Ti amo moltissimo.’
As the warm steam rose around them he peeled them apart just enough to bring his lips down on hers, to kiss her with all the passion and possession of a man intent on proving just that.
* * *
With the sun beginning to rise over the sea, Jaco adjusted the throw around Leah’s shoulders and glanced down at his son, who was wriggling on her lap.
‘You’re sure you’re not cold, either of you?’ He looked doubtfully at Gabriel, who gave him a broad, gummy grin in return.
‘We’re fine.’ Leah turned to smile at him, raising her hand to smooth Gabriel’s curls. ‘You are talking to a girl raised in the Highlands here. And Gabriel...’ She lifted him up under the arms so that she could adjust his position on her lap. ‘He’s just thrilled to have anyone awake with him at this ungodly hour of the morning!’
‘He certainly seems ready to start the day.’ Jaco tickled his son under his chubby chin.
It had been Leah’s idea to come up onto the deck to see the sunrise. Neither of them had had any sleep, unwilling to waste a single precious moment of the night.
They had settled themselves on the sofa in the lounge, talking in hushed whispers as Leah had gently probed Jaco about his past—the Garalinos, their part in his parents’ deaths, his cruel upbringing—until Jaco had firmly kissed away her tears of sorrow and insisted they moved on.
So instead they had discussed the future—making plans, sharing their hopes and dreams. And they had made love slowly, tenderly, revelling in the incredible intensity of feelings they aroused in one another, stunned by the power of true love.
When Gabriel had woken for a feed about an hour ago they had torn themselves from each other’s arms and slipped into bed on either side of him. Gabriel’s delight at having two people to entertain him evident in the way he had shown absolutely no intention of going back to sleep. So they had thrown on some clothes and come up here into the salty fresh air, seating themselves on one of the wide cushioned loungers, positioned for the best view of the sunrise.
Now, pressed against Leah so tightly that there was not a whisper of space between them, Jaco revelled in the warmth from her body that was seeping into his side, the sound of her soft breathing, the scent of her hair as she angled her head against his neck.
This was happiness, he realised. Pure, unadulterated happiness. And he was so full of it that he thought his chest might explode.
‘Beautiful, isn’t it?’ Leah gazed at the fiery sky, painted so dramatically with reds and oranges, turning the water to a milky blue. ‘You want to bottle it so that you can take out the cork and look at it any time you want.’
‘You don’t need to do that, mia cara. I can offer you all the sunrises you like.’ Jaco reached to take Gabriel from her lap. ‘And sunsets and starry nights and cloudless skies. Sicily has an abundance of such things.’
‘It does, doesn’t it? I love it here—you know that.’
‘So it’s agreed?’ He gazed at her hopefully. ‘We will make Sicily our home?’
‘Agreed.’ Leah kissed him affectionately on the cheek.
‘Capezzana?’
He heard the businessman in him hurrying to close the deal. Because he knew with absolute certainty that this was the most important deal of his life. That if he didn’t have Leah by his side—permanently and for ever—he would never be whole.
‘Capezzana would be wonderful.’
‘Grazie.’ Jaco pressed a kiss to her lips, then turned his attention to his son, jiggling his knees to rock him from side to side, which produced a throaty, gurgling laugh of innocent pleasure.
Behind him, the rising sun highlighted Gabriel’s curls, the halo effect making him look like a little cherub—albeit one in a stripy sleepsuit.
Never had Jaco thought himself capable of such a depth of love for a child, even his own flesh and blood. And never had he imagined an intensity of love such as he felt for Leah—so fierce, so all-consuming that it almost hurt.
‘I can’t wait to meet Francesca.’ Leah broke through his thoughts, gazing at him lovingly. ‘When are you going to introduce us?’
‘Very soon, I promise.’ Jaco tucked a windblown strand of hair behind her ear. ‘I know the two of you are going to get along famously. In fact...’ He glanced back at Gabriel. ‘I’ll be looking to you for some male support, mio figlio. Once those two gang up on us we won’t stand a chance.’
‘And don’t forget Harper.’ Leah gave him a playful smile. ‘Gabriel hasn’t even met my twin sister yet, or his little cousin, Alfie.’ She paused, suddenly serious. ‘Trying to keep Gabriel a secret from Harper was the hardest thing. It was inevitable that I would crack in the end.’
‘And I’m very glad you did. If you hadn’t told Harper, and Harper hadn’t told Vieri, and Vieri hadn’t told me...’
Leah cast him an apologetic glance. ‘It scares me to think that if it hadn’t been for that we might never have...’
‘Let’s not dwell on the past, cara.’ Jaco laced his fingers through hers. ‘Let’s look ahead. In fact, there’s something—’
‘I know what we should do!’
Leah spun around to face him full-on, her eyes dancing with excitement, stopping Jaco in his tracks. He thought that he had never seen her look more beautiful.
‘We should have a party. At Capezzana. We could invite everyone we know and love.’
Jaco hesitated. He had something far more important on his mind. Something that wouldn’t wait a moment longer.
‘We could.’ He brought her hand up to his lips, lightly kissing her knuckles. ‘But I have a better idea.’
‘You have?’
‘Sí.’ He hesitated. He had to be sure he found the right words. ‘Instead of a party we could have a wedding.’
‘A wedding?’ Her eyes brightened with shock.
‘Sí.’
With her heart in her mouth, Leah watched as Jaco rose to his feet and carefully settled Gabriel on the cushions of the lounger. For a moment his tall frame blocked out the fiery ball of the sun, but then, in a dramatically graceful movement, he was down on one knee before her, one hand behind his back, the other reaching for her free hand.
‘I love you. Leah, with every beat of my heart, every thought in my head. I love you far more than there are words to say it. So I am just going to ask you this...’ He paused, his throat working on a swallow. ‘Leah McDonald, vuoi sposarmi? Will you marry me?’
‘Oh, Jaco!’ Jumping to her feet, Leah brought him up to stand with her, flinging her arms around his neck, pressing herself to him. ‘The answer is yes.’ She drew back to look into his eyes. ‘Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!’
Silhouetted by the sun, their bodies entwined, they sealed their pact with a lingering kiss, lost in the wonder of love.
Behind them a small person raised his chubby fists in the air, waving them about in celebration, impatiently waiting for someone to notice him. When that didn’t work he tried a loud squawk, followed by a winning smile when they finally turned to look at him.
Ah, that was better. Swooped up by his father, he snuggled into the crook of his arm, popping his thumb into his mouth. All was well with the world.
* * * * *