Page 24 of A Baby Scandal in Italy

The rest of the journey passed in silence. Rafa’s brooding tension did not invite further conversation, and Ivy retreated to her own thoughts. They left theautostradaand the narrow road twisted as it climbed higher into the mountains. The town of L’Aquila was a few miles behind them and the dense forest all around added to the sense of remoteness where even the sun did not venture. The mountain peaks were hidden by clouds and the fine drizzle had turned into a heavy downpour. The car turned a sharp bend and in front of them was an imposing, grey fortress.

‘Welcome to the Castello Dei Sogni,’ Rafa said, and Ivy’s heart sank. The building looked like a prison. ‘The name means Castle of Dreams,’ he told her. ‘The story goes that it was built by a man who dreamed of winning the woman he loved by building her a grand castle. But she turned him down because she loved someone else. The man had the castle’s walls reinforced and he spent the rest of his life living alone in his fortress so that love could not find him and make a fool of him again.’

‘What a sad story,’ Ivy muttered as the car splashed through the puddles in the courtyard. ‘What made you buy the castle?’

‘When I was a boy, my father sometimes took me trekking in the mountains around here. The castle had been abandoned many years ago and we used to explore the grounds. After my divorce, I needed a project, and a bolthole,’ he admitted.

‘Everyone, including the agent who had been trying to sell the place for years, warned me that it would be a money pit. Much of the restoration work has been completed. There are about forty bedrooms, but apart from a couple of live-in staff I’m the only person who comes here. The remote location ensures that I have privacy from nosy reporters.’

Ivy climbed out of the car. At least it had stopped raining, but the castle still looked like a forbidding fortress. Rafa carried Bertie up the front steps and Ivy walked slowly behind. Hearing about Rafa’s failed marriage and how his wife had betrayed his trust had given her an insight into why he had built a fortress around his emotions. Her heart thumped painfully. Was she doing the right thing by bringing Bertie to a castle that looked as grim as its owner?

Standing next to the front door was an olive tree in a terracotta pot. A sudden movement caught Ivy’s attention, and her heart fluttered when she saw an orange butterfly land on the silvery green leaves. It hovered there, opening and closing its delicate wings, before it flew up into the sky towards the patch of blue where the storm clouds had parted.

Ivy took a deep breath and a sense of peace filled her.Goodbye, Gemma, she said silently. The butterfly had flown away, but she was sure it was somewhere nearby. She followed Rafa into the castle and was pleasantly surprised to find that the interior was much more welcoming than her first impression of the craggy walls of the fortress. They were greeted by the butler, who led the way through a vast entrance hall and into a sitting room where a fire was blazing in the hearth.

‘Arturo lights a fire if there is one grey cloud in the sky,’ Rafa said drily. ‘It tends to be cooler here in the mountains than in Rome.’

‘I thought the rooms would be dark and gloomy, but the pale walls and colourful rugs on the floor give a homely feel to the castle.’ Ivy felt happier when Rafa showed her around. All the rooms had been decorated in muted shades and the furniture was a tasteful mix of antiques and contemporary pieces. ‘I love that it’s quirky and unique. The castle is special to you, isn’t it?’ she said perceptively. She’d noticed that Rafa had relaxed the moment they had arrived.

He gave one of his rare grins that made him seem carefree, as he must have been before his ex-wife’s terrible betrayal had left him bitter and mistrusting. ‘Everyone said that I was mad to buy a half-ruined castle, but I like a challenge. Although, restoration of the castle is still an ongoing project.’ He hesitated. ‘I could show you my plans for the unfinished rooms, if you are interested.’

Ivy could not look away from Rafa’s searing gaze. When she had met him for the first time—unbelievably, it was only a few days ago when she had burst into the boardroom and confronted him—his eyes had been as hard as steel. But right now his grey eyes were as soft as wood smoke. Warmth stole around her heart when she remembered how he’d said he wanted them to be a team to take care of Bertie. Her mouth curved upwards, and it felt as though it was the first time she had smiled properly since losing Gemma. ‘I’d love to see your ideas.’

‘Good.’ Rafa’s smile made Ivy’s heart leap, and she could not explain the feeling she had that she had come home after a long journey.

Rafa had intended to base himself in Rome during the week and return to the castle at weekends to maintain the pretence of his engagement to Ivy. But as one week slipped into the next he found himself opting to work from his study at the castle most days and went to Vieri Azioni’s headquarters only when it was absolutely necessary.

His conscience pricked that he could not ignore Bertie when there was a strong possibility that the baby was his flesh and blood. More of a concern was his fierce awareness of Ivy. He’d assumed that he would barely notice her presence in the vast castle, but he had been wrong.

She joined him for breakfast every morning, and he could not hide behind his newspaper while she chatted to him about a book that she was currently reading, or a film they had watched together the previous evening. She was always cheerful and charming to his staff, and somehow the castle seemed a brighter place since Ivy had arrived.

For the past four days and nights, Rafa had stayed in Rome to negotiate a business deal. He was frustrated that Ivy had been on his mind a lot. Now his heart rate accelerated in anticipation of seeing her again. The helicopter dipped low over the trees and moments later the castle came into view. The building looked less fortress-like in the afternoon sunshine, although it was still an unconventional home, Rafa conceded. He did not understand why the Castello Dei Sogni was the only place that felt likehishome. Perhaps it was because the ruined castle had needed rescuing and so had he. They had found each other.

The legend of why the castle had been built reminded him of why he would not risk his heart again. A wife, a child, a family of his own—he had thought he’d had everything until his life had come crashing down. Tiffany had made a fool of him and being separated from Lola had nearly destroyed him. He had missed being a father, but he’d decided never to have a child, reasoning that he could not miss what he did not have. It followed that, if he never fell in love, he could never be hurt.

When the helicopter landed, he gathered up his briefcase and a file of wallpaper samples he planned to show Ivy. She was enthusiastic about his plans for the refurbishment of the library, and most evenings over dinner they discussed ideas for the library and the various other rooms in the castle that were yet to be renovated. Rafa could employ an interior designer, but he was reluctant to allow a stranger to be involved in his private bolthole. The thought struck him that he did not think of Ivy as a stranger, even though he had known her for less than a month.

He strode into the castle and almost stepped in a dish of milk that had been left on the floor in the entrance hall. The dish tipped over and milk ran across the flagstones.What the blazes?

The butler came out of the kitchen, whistling a tune that Rafa vaguely recognised was a song from a popular stage musical.Seriously!Arturo could best be described as impassive, and he was certainly not prone to spontaneous whistling. He stopped mid-way through the chorus when he saw Rafa.

‘Signor, I was not expecting you until the evening.’

‘Evidently. Arturo, why is there a dish of milk in the hall?’

‘It is for the cat,signor.’

‘Cat?’ Rafa decided that he must have landed in a parallel universe when he followed the butler’s gaze and saw a fat ginger cat jump down from the window seat and stalk past him into the sitting room.

‘Signorina Ivy rescued the cat after she found it abandoned outside the gates of the castle,’ Arturo explained. ‘The vet thinks that the kittens will be born in the next day or two.’

Kittens! Rafa cursed beneath his breath. It was bad enough that the solitude in his fortress had been disturbed by a gorgeous woman who tempted him, and a cute baby who tugged on his emotions, without the addition of a pregnant stray cat. ‘Where is Signorina Ivy?’

‘I believe she is in the ballroom.’

The strains of the tune Arturo had been whistling were audible when Rafa neared the ballroom. He opened the door and halted. Ivy was dancing and did not notice him. He leaned against the door frame and could not take his eyes off her as she twirled, leapt and kicked her legs high in the air.

She was wearing tiny, sparkly shorts and a crop top that revealed her taut midriff. Her long legs looked stunning in black stockings with wide bands of lace around the tops of her thighs. Rafa had arranged for Ivy’s flat in Southampton to be cleared and her belongings sent to the castle.

---