She wanted this as badly as he did. They wanted each other equally.
“It just feels pointless going on. All of these years without him have been like wandering in a desert and there is no more purpose.”
“I do have good news for you,” he said.
She looked at him, her eyes filled with tears. “What is it?”
“You’re going to be a grandmother.”
Just like that, it was as if a light had turned on; the sun shone upon her. He got an adrenaline rush, a fiery, intense feeling that he only ever caught otherwise when he was closing a business deal. A sense of triumph. Of winning. He had found the magic combination to fixing her this time. This was how it always was. She was devastated. And only he could fix it.
He had fixed it. Now he just had to break the news to her that Heather was the mother.
Because of course his mom had hated Lisa more than just about anything. That she had been left for a housemaid, one who was inferior to her in every way, had been galling for her self-esteem, and he truly did believe that she had been heartbroken on top of it.
She had carried ill will for Lisa all these years.
It was one reason that Romeo had never been able to find a way to have a good relationship with his stepmother, even though, the truth was, she had been a kind woman.
Even though, he knew, his father had had a more peaceful life with Lisa that he ever would have with Carla.
“Yes. And I’m getting married.”
“That is wonderful news,” she said. “You must have a big fabulous wedding. And you should do green. I look wonderful in green, and the mother-of-the-bride dress will be stunning.”
“Yes. Of course there will be a big wedding. One fit for our family.”
“You will get married in Vienna, not in Italy.”
“There is no reason we can’t have the wedding in Vienna.”
It was beautiful here. And it would make a fine venue for a wedding. He could see no reason that Heather would object to the idea. They had enough money to fly all the guests here. And besides, he owned an airline.
“And who is she?”
And this was where it would be difficult. “Heather. Gray.”
The shock on his mother’s face nearly blotted out the earlier win.
“I am sorry if you find that difficult. I found it surprising. But…”
“You love her?”
He didn’t know what the right answer was here. Couldn’t quite grasp what she was looking for.
“Of course I do. I wouldn’t marry her if I didn’t.”
She nodded. “Of course. There is something about those women, I suppose. Something about them that is quite irresistible.”
“I don’t know about that. But in the grief over the last few years, Heather and I found ourselves bonding.”
He was lying. But if it smoothed things over, then so be it. It wasn’t a problem. It needed smoothing over. “I’m pleased about the baby,” she said. “A darling little child, one that I can dress up and hold and… That is good news.”
She was trying to rally; he could see it.
When she was happy, she was the loveliest woman in the world. The most fun. She could be a great mother.
She could also be the most cutting, vindictive person that Romeo had ever known, and it was difficult to know which version of her he was going to get.
