The Devil to Pay (22 page)
Authors: Rachel Lyndhurst
Tags: #romance,spicy,contemporary,millionaire
Rianna rubbed both her eyes hard and began to cry. “My head’s all over the place. What does all this mean?”
“It means you and I can marry and start our own family, just like we’d planned to three days ago.” He handed her the envelope. “I’ve even had DNA tests run. Your hair’s all over the Bugatti, so you’ve got no excuse. You promised to marry me. You have to now.”
“Do I? Can I? I don’t know if I dare believe you. Every time something wonderful happens, something equally awful follows. It’s always been like that, for as long as I can remember. Dad always told me not to chase impossible dreams, but that’s exactly what I did when I fell in love with you, and then everything was snatched away.” She gulped back tears as he pulled her against his chest, away from the cold dampness of the garage, and wrapped her inside the muffled warmth of his coat. “I couldn’t think straight when Tomos told me why I had to go. The pain was so intense, I just ran. Ran as far and as fast as I could.”
“I’ll never let that happen again. Run
to
me, not away, and I’ll do everything in my power to protect you. I won’t let anything or anyone hurt you, Rianna. I’d throw myself into that bloody river down the road every day if that’s what it takes to prove how much I love you. To show that without you my life is shallow and empty, I thought watching Gino slip away was the worst that could possibly happen to me, but I was wrong. The thought of losing you and the quiet, cold, empty space by my side for the past three days was almost more than I could bear. I never want to feel that way again.”
“Then never let me out of your sight, Daniel, like you said the first day in the villa. I don’t want to be on my own anymore.” Rianna reached up past his collar to stroke the hollow under his cheekbone. “I don’t want to be independent, to struggle and fight. I’m exhausted. I want you to look after me.”
He kissed the top of Rianna’s head. “Just try and stop me, it’s time someone did.”
She’d been alone so long, she’d forgotten how it felt to be loved and the cold sword of harsh memories sliced through her again. “What did Gran say about Mum?”
“Are you sure you want to know?”
“I think I have a right to know why she abandoned us, however dreadful the truth, and then I can forget about her for good. Any information Gran has might help us all to heal.”
“She ran away because she had no choice. She and your dad had been rowing for a long time over her disobedience and choice of friends. He’d become increasingly angry and possessive, getting people to spy on her and report back, going through or taking her handbag. It’s around this time he started to drink on the way home after chapel and things came to an awful head after Bill was born.”
“When I was about two,” Rianna murmured.
“Your dad went off the rails, started to knock her about, and then gave her an ultimatum. He’d convinced himself she’d been cheating on him, that she would shame them all at church and at work. He said if she didn’t clear off, he’d kill her and her children so she went to save you both. She had no choice. She knew what her husband was capable of and feared for your young lives.”
“He never hurt us, not physically.”
“No, your gran made sure he didn’t. She had no one else to turn to so your mum got in touch with my dad in Italy. My mother wasn’t very happy about it. She didn’t want anything to do with her old valley friends, so he fixed your mum up with some of his family contacts in New York.” He squeezed her gently before continuing. “She tried to contact you and Bill when you were old enough to understand, but you never got those letters. Your dad told her you’d both been adopted, and unfit mothers didn’t get a second chance. He told her she might as well be dead as far as you two were concerned.”
“So she did have affairs then?”
“Your gran says she did, desperate for the love and affection she wasn’t getting at home. Your gran knew her son wasn’t treating your mum properly, but she turned a blind eye. She still wonders if it was the right thing to do.”
“We’ve had a life built on lies, it seems.” She sniffed and shook her head. “The devil really has had his way with us.”
“The devil’s been paid. That life’s over now, no more lies, all the secrets are out. We can all start again.”
“How will your dad feel about me knowing all this?”
“It’s hard to predict. We’ll just have to see, but this is our life now, not our parents’ and I won’t lie for him anymore.” He stroked her head. “Dad’s condition is unlikely to improve, but we can manage it and try to stop it getting any worse. His doctor’s trying out a new therapy, and it seems to be working really well already. Dad’s a lot more like his old self. He even sent Isabella packing and told her to sort out her marriage when she came round on the scrounge again. Her face was a picture, you’d have loved it.”
“I feel sorry for the dreadful woman, but yes, I would have.”
“You’ll never believe what Dad’s new pills are made from though, my darling, and even though I’ve never believed in notions like fate or destiny it really shook me up when the doctor told me. The active ingredient, galantamine, is made from Welsh daffodils. They’re ordinary Welsh daffodils, but once they’re harvested, processed, and refined, the magic ingredient is worth as much per kilo as pure gold.”
Rianna lifted her face up to shine her delighted eyes into the vibrant azure of his. “Really? How amazing!”
“Not as amazing as you are, nothing’s more beautiful or precious in my eyes.” He reached his arm around to the back pocket of his trousers. “You deserve the best, and I’ve brought this.” He held out a small red and gold velvet box. “Open it.”
Rianna gasped as he flipped open the lid to reveal an enormous ring in Art Deco style. Gleaming platinum wreathed around a brilliantly cut square aquamarine surrounded by the clearest diamonds she had ever seen. “No...”
“
Yes
. It’s brand new. No more family heirlooms, No more tradition. We’re doing it our way now. Will you still marry me, Rianna? Make me whole, and give us both a reason to forget all the pain and suffering in the past. Will you let me give you a life better than you could ever have imagined? I promise never to hurt you. I’ll do everything in my power to make you the happiest woman in the world and love you with all my heart.”
“I can’t believe this is really happening,” Rianna whispered through tears of joy. “How can the world suddenly be such a wonderful place again? I’m so happy I think I might explode!”
Daniel cupped her face in his hands. “You haven’t answered my question,” he said quietly, a nervous smile hovering on his lips. “Let me make it easier for you. Agree to be my long-suffering wife, till death us do part, and you get to keep the car.”
She glanced at the decrepit Morgan. “You drive a hard bargain, Bracchi.” Rianna laughed and tugged mischievously at his lapels as she looked up at him. “Do I have to provide heirs and spares?”
“It doesn’t matter. All I’m asking for is you. You are all I need in this life and if at some stage we are blessed with a little Bracchi, then—”
“We may already be blessed.”
Daniel took a step backwards and his jaw dropped as he stared blankly at her. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying
yes
.” Rianna reached up and threaded her fingers through the black silk of his hair. “In fact, I’m saying double
yes
!” She relished the confusion on his face. “Yes, I will marry you.” She kissed him lightly on the lips. “And yes, my period’s late, so we could already be expecting a baby. We’d better get married quickly!”
Epilogue
Castello Rhondda, one year later
Rianna relished the euphoric glow that washed over her as she watched Daniel cradle David Tomos Anthony Bracchi in his arms. Their scrap of a dark-haired son nestled contentedly in his father’s protective embrace as he paraded his pride and joy amongst the gaggle of excited relatives on the terrace. As Daniel looked up and smiled in her direction, her heart flipped over as it always did, with the same unbridled excitement she had felt when she married the most eligible bachelor in Europe. She also felt a familiar rip of desire shoot through her as his long, dark-suited legs strode purposefully toward her.
“Isabella’s like a different woman since the twins came into her life, don’t you think?” Daniel said as he jiggled their happily gurgling baby.
“Yes, she seems so settled now. And happy.” Rianna thoughtfully stroked the sable down of David’s head. “She told me earlier that she now sees what a hard time she put Alonzo through over the last few years and how much she really loves him. And now that the adoption process is well and truly over, they can get on with being a happy little family. She’s completely changed since Alonzo agreed to adopt. It’s quite wonderful how things have turned out for them.”
“And as for Bill,” Daniel added as he reached out his free arm and stretched it across his wife’s shoulders. “Those two months he spent getting better in Switzerland were nothing short of miraculous. Just look at him now with Gavin and Fi. He’s nothing like the emotional wreck you first introduced me to.”
“He can see he’s got everything to live for now, not just his children and the mum we’d thought we’d lost forever, but the daffodil farm and the Bereaved Family charity you helped him establish. Feedback so far has been incredible, and I truly believe that each and every person he manages to help contributes to his own long-term recovery.”
Daniel nodded and lowered his voice. “There’s even a rumour about a girlfriend in that darned green valley of yours. Your mum might be able to make their wedding now we’ve tracked her down.”
“Yes! Wouldn’t it be wonderful? But he didn’t tell me he’d met someone,” Rianna replied indignantly, and then a smile spread across her face. “Ooh, more babies for Eliza to fawn over then?”
“Oh, I do hope so, Signora, gorgeous, sexy Bracchi.” He grinned and slid his hand down over the rounded curve of her bottom. “But Bill’s got a race on his hands, and I won’t be beaten. You should know that. Project Baby Bracchi number two starts tonight!”
Rachel Lyndhurst lives on the south coast of England with her partner and two young children. A law graduate and qualified accountant, she now writes full time and loves every minute of it.
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