Honestly, what had she expected to happen the morning after? They were locked together in atemporarymarriage and Tore was telling her right now up front that he didn’t want that to change. He wouldn’t suddenly fall in love with her and decide that he wanted to keep her. No, Tore was still looking forward to the freedom he would reclaim in three years’ time. She was the fool who had briefly toyed with the dangerous suspicion that he might want something more from her than her body. Unfortunately, she hadn’t even admitted that truth to herself.
As Violet finally grasped what had upset her most about his chilly, adamant declarations, she paled and guilty unease gripped her. She couldn’t afford to catch feelings for Tore. Succumbing to that stunning beauty and shocking sex appeal of his was one thing; feelings of attachment entirely another. She gave herself a good, hard talking-to.
In recent years, she had often been lonely. The weight of her obligations had made it impossible for her to enjoy a normal social life. What free time she had, had been spent with her mother, her sister and Belle. Therefore, it made sense that she would be more likely than most women to fall for the first handsome man who paid her attention. It was just unfortunate that that man should also be the guy she had married as part of a business deal. Tore was extremely unemotional about their connection, and she would have to learn to think and behave like that as well. Not only for the sake of conserving her pride but also out of a very real need to look after herself. Three years down the road, Violet had no plans to reel away from their divorce with a broken heart.
Belle in her arms, Violet clattered back downstairs to be slotted into a very large and comfortable SUV. When they stepped out at their first stop, she was surprised when Stella emerged from one of the cars behind them, immediately moving forward to ask if there was anything she could do to help.
‘Thanks, but if we’re only here for a walk, we’re fine,’ Violet said lightly, choosing not to comment on the new designer stroller that had appeared for her daughter’s use and settling her into its pristine interior.
She had not realised that sightseeing with Tore would require an entire cavalcade of cars, staff and security. He grasped her hand and planted it on his arm and they strolled along the promenade. She still had to almost trot to match his pace and it was too much for her in the heat. At one point she paused to catch her breath and stood by the railings on the esplanade. The views of Sicily were utterly spectacular. It was a clear day and Tore pointed out Mount Etna, and she smiled as the sunlight glanced off the pale turquoise water of the sea and almost blinded her.
When a paparazzo darted up waving a camera, one of their bodyguards prevented him from taking a photo. He was soon followed by another paparazzo and then another. A literal mob of the cameramen gathered to hover on the pavement outside the promenade café where they’d stopped for cold drinks.
‘Now I understand why we haven’t been going out,’ Violet admitted, striving to act as if the amount of attention their party was receiving wasn’t spooking her. But it absolutely was.
‘I have a much quieter location picked for the afternoon,’ Tore imparted, stroking a forefinger across the tense clenched back of one of her hands where it rested on the table. ‘Relax. I rarely appear with a woman in public. Now that news of our marriage is out, you are a major source of interest. Belle is an added draw because they haven’t worked out yet where she fits into the picture.’
‘I had no idea it would be like this for us,’ Violet muttered, goose bumps breaking out on her arm beneath his careless touch and an awareness of him blossoming that she was trying fiercely to ignore. ‘I’m not used to being stared at.’
‘This is your world for the next three years,’ Tore pointed out wryly, his attention locked to her soft pink mouth like a laser beam and making her feel intensely self-conscious. ‘We can only enjoy privacy within our homes but don’t let it get to you. Privilege has to have a downside.’
Chapter Six
‘So where are we?’ Violet asked as the car drove up a long, twisting, steep lane to pull up outside a weathered sprawling farmhouse. The creamy stone walls were draped in climbing plants, and flowers were everywhere she looked. It was very picturesque and redolent of southern Italy.
‘While the Renzettis lived at the castle, this farm supplied the family food. After the castle became ruinous my grandfather persuaded his mother and siblings to move back here and live in greater comfort. They lived here for a decade,’ Tore explained. ‘Of course, they all felt that it was a terrible humiliation. They had been born into a certain stratum of society and then lost status through lack of money.’
‘Your grandfather was wise. A castle is not impressive as a home if it’s falling apart,’ Violet agreed.
‘And the original Renzettiwasborn here, a farm boy who became a soldier and climbed the ranks. Only when Aldo went into business and succeeded beyond his wildest dreams were the Renzettis able to reclaim the castle.’
Climbing out of the car behind them, Stella hurried towards them. ‘Can I take Belle into the house to meet my family?’ she asked hopefully.
‘Your family lives here?’
‘Stella’s family runs the farm,’ Tore explained.
‘Of course you can take her,’ Violet said warmly.
‘And I’ll give you the official tour,’ Tore told Violet, closing one hand over hers to move her on to a worn path that wound farther uphill. ‘Nothing very exciting, I’m afraid. Some Roman ruins, the fruit orchards,’ he extended, turning to indicate the points of interest. ‘We grow clementines, mandarins, oranges and lemons here. Aldo extended the farmland over the years.’
‘By the sounds of it, you are a regular visitor.’
Tore dealt her a wry smile. ‘Aldo first brought me here when I was four years old to show me where the family started out and impress on me the conviction that any kind of honest labour was worthwhile. I was far too young to take on board those ideas. Back then I hadn’t been living with my grandparents for very long and it was a very awkward conversation. My Italian was still very poor and his Norwegian was even worse.’
‘I didn’t realise that you’d lived with your grandparents,’ Violet admitted.
‘They brought me up from the age of four.’
‘And you spent your early years in Norway? Tell me about your parents,’ she urged.
Tore winced as they reached the viewpoint at the top of the hill. ‘They were never together in the usual sense of the word. My father, Marco, was only eighteen, my mother, Ingrid, only a few years older. She was a model. They had a fling one weekend in Rome and I was the result. I imagine that I wasn’t the most welcome surprise to my father because he never made the effort to see me or have anything further to do with me…’
‘Gosh…’ Violet muttered, unsure what to say to such a wounding admission.
‘But I can’t really complain about Marco because he did provide handsomely for my upbringing. Hedidaccept responsibility for me. Unfortunately, however, he didn’t tell my grandparents that I existed. I was his grubby little secret to be hidden away in another country forever.’
Violet winced. ‘Oh dear…’
