‘Come in, come in.’ Alessandro ushered his cousin inside. ‘Julian will be dying to see you.’
As if he’d been called, Julian suddenly appeared. ‘Zio Val?’ He looked at the person in the doorway for a second, not quite believing who it was. ‘Zio Val!’
‘Juliano!’ Valentino held out his arms and the little boy ran straight into them. ‘Il mio ragazzo caro, è meraviglioso vederti.’
Julian hugged his uncle’s neck tight. ‘I missed you, Zio Val.’
‘And I you,bello bambino.’
‘I’m not a bambino,’ Julian denied hotly.
Valentino roared with laughter. ‘Of course not.Sciocco me!’
Nat watched the family reunion, her sense of isolation, of being on the outside looking in, grabbing an even firmer hold. ‘I’ll just go and put on a pot of coffee,’ she murmured, pointing in the direction of the kitchen and taking her leave.
Alessandro watched her go, conscious of Valentino’s shrewd eyes on his profile.
‘Alessandro? Che cosa state facendo?’
He glanced at Val, noting his cousin’s furrowed brow.Good question.What the hell was he doing? ‘Va bene,’ he dismissed.
Val rocked from side to side as Julian snuggled into his neck. He was clearly not convinced by Alessandro’s assurance that everything wasfine. He raised an eyebrow. ‘She’s the spitting image of?—’
‘She’s nothing like—’ Alessandro halted abruptly. He couldn’t say her name. Not in front of his son. ‘You il ll vede,’ he explained.
And Val would see. Alessandro knew it would only take his cousin a few minutes in Nat’s company to see she was nothing like Camilla. Not remotely. He didn’t even see the physical resemblance any more. Hell, he couldn’t remember the last time it had struck him.
They moved into the sitting room and Val stayed for the afternoon, drinking coffee and beer and reminiscing. Julian sat so eagerly, so naturally, on Val’s lap and Alessandro tried not to feel jealous. His son had always adored his Uncle Val and why not? Valentino had always been fun and good times. And Julian, beneath everything that had happened, beneath the sadness and grief, was still a four-year-old boy.
But, as it turned out, Uncle Val’s lap was only temporary. Before too long Julian had switched places, crawling into Alessandro’s lap and his heart just about burst out of his chest as his son snuggled in. Glancing at Nat he smiled and she smiled back, understanding in her eyes.
He was so thankful for her in this moment, his heart filling a little more with such warmth it almost overwhelmed him. Would he and Julian be where they were had it not been for Nat?
Conversation ebbed and flowed between him and Val for a few hours with Julian seemingly content to watch his movie from Alessandro’s lap and occasionally add something to the conversation, which switched easily between Italian and English depending on whether Nat was in the room or not.
Unfortunately, she was more out than in, coming and going, plying them with food and drinks but otherwise leaving them to catch up. He missed her, he realised, and wished she’d sit with them, but Val was eyeing her a little too curiously so it wasprobably better this way. A fact confirmed when Val asked Nat if she had a special person in her life.
Alessandro wasn’t sure if it was a bid for more information or Val deciding she was fair game for himself. Either way, he opened his mouth to warn his cousin off but Nat beat him to it.
‘Oh, I never kiss and tell.’ Then she smiled at Val and batted her eyelids, making him throw back his head and laugh. ‘What about you?’ she asked. ‘Is there a special person in your life?’
Alessandro laughed heartily at her enquiry and her skill in turning the tables. His cousin was the original Italian lothario. Val clutched his chest, faking a wound at Alessandro’s hilarity.
‘The world is full of beautiful women, Nathalie. Why limit myself to just one?’
Alessandro shook his head as his gaze met Nat’s and he rolled his eyes. His cousin truly didn’t understand what it meant to have a special person in your life. But he did.Now. After Camilla, hereallyunderstood. Weirdly enough, that thought didn’t freak him out, it just sat warm and light in his chest. Just as her small, almost secret little smile was doing.
Neatly changing the subject, she said, ‘Will you join us for dinner?’
Thankfully Valentino declined, citing jet lag and the need to prepare for his interview in the morning, and he and Alessandro made plans to meet for lunch. Val hugged Julian and promised he’d see him soon before turning to say goodbye to Alessandro, whose phone chose that moment to ping with an incoming text alert from the hospital.
He wasn’t on call so it must be something significant for them to contact him.
Alessandro swore under his breath as he read the message. ‘Looks like we’ve just had our first confirmed case of swamp flu.’
Nat’s eyes went wide. ‘Where?’
‘Victoria.’ He embraced Val. ‘Sorry, I need to call the hospital.’
