Like you trusted Aaron?A voice prompted, reminding her that she’d been in a fool’s paradise once before. And somehow, despite the fact that she and Raf had known each other for barelyany time, compared to her relationship with Aaron, in her heart of hearts, she knew that this had the potential to be so much worse.
They just couldn’t let it come to that.
Unlike with Aaron, she and Raf were equals. Partners. When she talked, he listened. They cooperated.
“They’re fairly adamant about us coming home this weekend. I can obviously say no. But if you were ready to meet them, it might make things easier to just get it out of the way.”
She nodded. All their reasons for holding back seemed silly now. Of course she should meet his family. It was the most natural thing in the world that they were curious about her. And then, he should meet her parents.
“Yes,” she agreed on a rush. “Let’s get it over with.”
He smiled. “They’re not that bad.”
“I just mean the whole situation,” she explained, sucking in a deep breath. “But we should just rip off the Band-Aid, as you say. Let’s go to your family and then, let’s go to mine.”
His eyes flared with an emotion she couldn’t read and then he was nodding. “This weekend?”
She murmured her agreement to that, for the simple reason that gave them another couple of days out here on his yacht, and she wasn’t yet ready to leave this idyllic paradise.
His family homewas only a twenty-minute drive from his villa. As they cut through a delightful little town that was signpostedSenzafine,Elodie’s heart whooshed with joy at the beauty of it, even as her stomach was knotting itself into a total tangle. She was wearing a floaty dress from the wardrobe at his villa, as well as a denim jacket and a pair of espadrilles. She’d liked the outfit, when she’d tried it on, but now, she felt completely anxiousabout meeting his family of highflyers, and the beautiful women she’d no doubt encounter. She felt nervous abouteverything.
“You’re going to be fine,” he said, somehow just knowing how she felt. He reached out and put a hand on hers, squeezing it encouragingly. “I promise, they do not bite.”
She made a non-committal noise and smiled weakly, showing gratitude for his trying to help her through this.
As the car pulled to a stop at the top of a sweeping drive, an older, but very elegant, couple strode from the house, the man with his hand lifted over his eyes, to block the early afternoon sun.
“Oh, God,” she whispered, butterflies bursting through her.
“I’m going to be with you the whole time,” Raf promised. “You’ll meet everyone, decide if you are comfortable staying for dinner, and go from there. This is all your call, Elodie.”
She loved how he said her name. It reminded her of the first night they’d met, how right it had seemed. He squeezed her hand again. “I promise, they’re harmless.”
“Okay,” she whispered, but her legs were shaking as she stepped out of the car. She was so overwhelmed with feelings she barely noticed the huge, sprawling villa behind them, with the wisteria vine that was scrambling over one wall, purple flowers buzzing with bees.
“Ah, Raf, Raf,” the woman said, striding across the gravel towards them and wrapping him in a hug, before quickly turning her attention to Elodie. “Welcome, dear one,” she said with a kindly smile, so Elodie found herself smiling, even when she felt she might collapse to the ground.
“Thank you for inviting me.”
“Of course, of course,” the man joined them. “Famiglia è tutto.Come inside.”
Raf reached down and gripped her hand for encouragement. Elodie knew she should pull hers away—it might send the wrongmessage for them to seem like a couple—but the truth was, his touch gave her strength, and strength she badly needed.
His family was assembled on a stunning terrace behind the house. Large terracotta tiles, a timber pergola with more wisteria growing over it, a large pool, and a brick pizza oven; it was the perfect entertaining space.
“Dante and Georgia,” Raf said, then continued around the group, “Marco, Portia, Rocco and Maddie, Francesco, Willow, Salvatore and Emme, and you’ve already met Gianni and Maria,” he finished.
“Sofia wanted to be here, but Ares is doing something with his parliament,” Maria explained. “They’re coming for Christmas, though. And inside, of course, the children are currently playing a board game.”
“Actually, last I checked, they’re tearing about in a spirited rendition of hide and seek,” Marco corrected with a grin. “At least, the ones who can walk are. The babies are staring from their chairs…”
“Their poor nannies,” Francesco said with a shake of his head.
“How many children?” Elodie asked, something tightening in her heart, to think of her baby having so many ready-made cousins to play with and care for him or her.
“Too many to count,” Gianni said with a wink.
“There are eight, including the twins,” Maria corrected, slapping his arm in an affectionate chide. “But they are not here.”
