Page 30 of The King's Christmas Heir

Olivier had sent her digital copies, but Lara wasn’t so fond of her image that she had sat down to look at them in any great detail. Now she saw the photo that had attracted Leah Zanetti’s interest. It was a close-up and she was smiling, probably laughing at one of Olivier’s jokes. She knew from the letter that the other woman believed that she bore a striking resemblance to her late mother, whose newborn baby had been adopted shortly after her death.

‘Of course, if the British paps hadn’t been so diligently engaged in trying to dig up your background, the fact that you are adopted would never have entered the public domain and it would probably never have occurred to Leah Zanetti that there was a chance that you could be her missing sister,’ Gaetano commented. ‘Unfortunately, that would make it more difficult for you to check out your birth parentage for yourself because it would be almost impossible to do it discreetly now with the press watching out.’

‘Yes,’ Lara conceded, wincing because she hadn’t thought about that risk, and she was quite sure that her possible siblings wouldn’t want that kind of searchlight shed on their family secrets any more than she did.

‘The DNA test, however,’ Dario imparted as he pulled out a chair for her to sit in, ‘would be much more straightforward. It’s quick and accurate. You will have an immediate answer, if you’re interested.’

‘But Lara maynotbe interested in pursuing this further,’ Gaetano interposed quietly. ‘You once told me that you hadn’t enquired into your birth parentage because you were afraid of digging up trouble.’

Her brows pleated at that reminder, and she glanced at his tense profile, wondering why he was so lukewarm, even discouraging, about her researching her background, but before she could speak Dario spoke up for her.

‘I don’t think that will be an issue. Ari Stefanos has happily acknowledged Leah Zanetti as his half-sister. It seems that his father must have had a long-running affair, which Stefanos only found out about after his father’s demise, but nobody would ever have known about that affair if Stefanos hadn’t decided to find and acknowledge his sister, Leah,’ Dario advanced, his mouth quirking. ‘Full marks to him for not caring what anyone said about it.’

Lara had been pondering that warning about press interest, which made her shrink. Now she looked directly at Dario and said, ‘I’ll agree to the DNA test. It seems the easiest option.’

‘Are you sure you’ve thought it through?’ Gaetano prompted.

‘Yes, I’d rather know one way or the other, even if it means I’m disappointed.’ Lara raised her head high. ‘They’re both married with children. Do you realise that that could mean thatIhave nieces and nephews?’ she murmured in wonderment. ‘A sister and a half-brother? It’s so exciting!’

‘I’ll make the arrangements for the test,’ Dario announced. ‘It can be done today and sent off.’

‘Don’t forget that this may only be a mirage,’ Gaetano breathed, closing an arm round her slender back to guide her out of the office again.

‘Why are you so down on me looking into this?’ Lara demanded of him in the corridor.

‘I’m not down on it. I just don’t want you to get hurt,’ Gaetano parried, casting a tense look down at her delicate freckled profile. ‘You’re already investing too much in what may be false hopes.’

Lara spun and tiptoed her fingers down over his lean, muscular midriff in reproach. ‘You’re such a gloomster sometimes.’

His hand captured her wandering digits. ‘I’m more realistic than you,bambola. Let’s discuss something more practical...perhaps, the party we’re holding next week to introduce you to everyone?’

Lara paled. ‘You didn’t warn me about that.’

‘I’m proud of you and I want to show you off. Do you remember that gorgeous ball gown you insisted that you’d never ever wear? It’s for this party. I’ve already organised travel for Alice to attend and I promise I won’t leave your side for a moment,’ he intoned huskily. ‘I’ll act as though we’re chained together.’

‘And then everyone will say, “Look at how trapped he looks with her!”’ Lara quipped with amusement.

He gazed down at her, dark golden eyes full of heat and hunger. ‘Or, look how much heenjoysbeing trapped with her?’

The DNA test was quickly carried out that same morning. Conscious of Gaetano’s warnings, Lara put the whole matter to the back of her mind because she didn’t want to build fantasy castles in the air. Shortly before lunch, Gaetano appeared with an air of purpose etched into his lean dark features and walked her into the dining room. With the wine poured and the meal awaiting them, he dismissed the server and tucked her into a seat.

‘Where’s Dario?’

‘He went home to Carla for lunch and plans to return to that arrangement. Vittorio didn’t like staff leaving the palace to eat. He made a lot of rules and I’m changing some of them.’

Lara sipped her wine.

‘Now...’ Gaetano hesitated, his mouth tightening. ‘Something I’ve been avoiding but which was a major experience for both of us. I’d like to talk about the day I regained my memory.’

Lara glanced at him in surprise. ‘I thought that was on the forbidden list.’

‘That wasn’t one of my wisest decisions,’ Gaetano admitted tautly. ‘As I’ve already admitted, I don’t remember that day’s events very well. I saw Dario on that path and immediately recognised him. But when my two worlds—the one with you and the one I originally came from—merged all of a sudden...everythingblurred. I got lost between the past and the present.’

Time had already slid back for Lara to that momentous day. She was staring into mid-air while recalling how on edge she had been even before the helicopters landed. ‘Cathy’s son, Patrick came home unexpectedly the night before his mother had texted to tell me that he’d lost his job and was coming back home for a while—’

‘I remember Jamie and how drunk he was when his friend dropped him off.’

‘You helped me put him to bed. I was fretting about how much longer we could stay with Patrick in residence. With him there to take care of the pets and everything, we were surplus. And I didn’t know where we were going to go at short notice or how we would live when we got there,’ she completed weakly.

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