Page 205 of Modern Romance Collection February 2025, 5-8

‘Was he angry with me,’ Mari asked, ‘because he found me married?’

‘No. He was upset that you’d married. But he was angrier with himself, for taking so long to go back and find you. He blamed himself.’

Mari swallowed. ‘I loved your son,’ she said. ‘I missed him so much.’

‘I know. It’s no wonder you sought solace elsewhere.’ Rosaria softly patted Mari’s hand. ‘And that’s what makes you and Dominico marrying now all the more magical. It’s like love finally got it right.’

Mari squeezed the older woman’s hand. ‘Thank you for telling me that Dom came looking for me,’ she whispered. Because while love hadn’t figured into her marriage with Simon and it didn’t come into the current state of her relationship with Dom, it was good to know that Rosaria didn’t judge her for not waiting for her son to make up his mind. ‘It means the world.’

Rosaria asked, ‘Did Dominico come with you this afternoon?’

Mari found her first smile of the day. ‘He insisted on coming. He’s waiting outside. No doubt pacing, wondering what we’re talking about.’

Rosaria chuckled. ‘I bet he is. Would you send him in, please? I’d better talk to him; I want to know how he’s going with the party plans. He’ll no doubt need help with the guest list.’ She sighed. ‘And then it will be time for another nap. That’s all I seem to have the energy to do these days.’

Mari stood up from the bed, leaned over and kissed Rosaria’s brow. ‘I’ll see you later.’

The woman in the bed smiled and squeezed Mari’s hand. ‘You sweet girl. I’m sorry I made you cry.’

I’m sorry I lost your grandchildren.

I’m sorry Dom didn’t come to find me earlier.

I’m so sorry.

But Mari said none of those things. She simply smiled and said, ‘I’ll visit you again later.’

Dom looked at his watch. Again. What the hell were they talking about in there? Why did his mother need to get to know her new daughter-in-law when they’d met twenty years ago? What more did she need to know? And what was so private that he had to be excluded?

Marianne had played her part well this morning—if you didn’t count that ridiculous party suggestion that his mother had taken to like a duck to water. He’d been on the phone to party planners ever since, all of them asking questions. How many guests? Day or evening? And music and menu choices.

How the hell was he supposed to know this stuff? Weren’t they supposed to be the party planners? And given his entire team down to his PA were either fully employed on either the Melbourne takeover or the Brazil deal, he couldn’t even shunt it to an underling.

Hopeless.

The door to his mother’s room opened, and Mari emerged. ‘She wants to see you now.’

Well, good. He wanted to see her too. It was on the tip of his tongue to ask Mari what they’d talked about, when he noticed the shadows dimming the vividness of her green eyes, as if someone had pulled down the shades. And now that he looked closer there was a smudge under one of her eyes. For the life of him, he couldn’t remember it being there before. He put one hand on her shoulder and lifted a thumb to her cheek.

She flinched but didn’t pull away. ‘What?’ she said.

‘There’s something under your eye.’

‘Oh.’ He felt her tremble as he gently ran his thumb along the tender skin. ‘Oh, yes, I had an eyelash in my eye. I must have smudged my mascara.’

‘Dominico!’ a thready voice called from inside the room. ‘I haven’t got all day.’

He smiled as he stepped away. ‘That’s my cue.’

He kissed his mother on both cheeks and pulled a chair closer alongside her bed. ‘How are you, Mamá?’

‘Better now I’ve had a chance to talk to your delightful wife.’

‘Really? What did you talk about?’

She chuckled, and it caught in her throat, turning into a cough.

He reached for her water, waiting while she sipped it from a straw.

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