VITTORIO'S MISTRESS (The Vittorio Series) (23 page)

Ravenna’s eyes were as cold as her voice.
 
“You have caused my son a lot of pain.
 
That is not something a mother can easily forgive.”

Paige nodded solemnly.
 
“I know he was hurt when he found out about Daniella but we’ve moved past that.”

“I am not talking about the discovery that he had a daughter, I am talking about the four years of hell you put him through before that.”

“I’m sorry to disagree with you, Mrs. Vittorio, but I think you’re wrong.
 
Yes we were close but he wasn’t in love with me, or at least he didn’t know it at the time, and there have been other women in his life since.
 
I bruised his ego is all, but I’m sure it didn’t take him long to bounce back.”

“I imagine my son did try to convince himself he was not in love with you after you had deserted him because it was the only way he could make it through each day.”
 
Ravenna's stone mask slipped and a heavy sadness took its place.
 
“Oh, he covered it well but I knew he was deeply disturbed about something, I just did not know what it was.
 
There were other women but they were merely a distraction to keep him from thinking about you.”

Paige drew in a stilted breathe.
 
“Did he tell you that?”

“Not in so many words.”
 
Ravenna leaned forward.
 
“I found him in the study one day sitting behind the desk and just staring vacantly into space.
 
It broke my heart to see
such utter desolation on my son’s face, but when I asked him what was wrong he would not tell me.
 
When he stood up, something slipped out of his hand and dropped onto the desk.
 
That is when I knew a woman was the cause of his anguish.”

“What was it?”

Ravenna shook her head sadly.
 
“A ring.
 
An engagement ring to be more precise.
 
You see, that is why I know he was in love with you, and that is how I know what pain he has suffered over the past four years.
 
Now maybe you can understand why I find it so difficult to forgive what you have done.
 
Dante was going to ask you to marry him, Paige, but you killed that dream when you walked out on him and took his heart with you.”

The color seeped from Paige’s face.
 
“That can’t be true,” she said weakly.
 
“He couldn’t have been thinking of marriage when he hadn’t even told me he loved me.”

“Did
you
have to say the words out loud to know they were true?”

Paige shook her head slowly.
 
“What…what did he say when you saw the ring?”

“He tried to brush it off and said it was just a trinket he bought for his current lover, but he did not fool me.
 
Cesare loves seeing me in diamonds and has been extremely generous over the years.
 
I know a trinket from an expensive piece of jewelry and I can certainly tell the difference between a cocktail ring and an engagement ring."

"I should have pursued it,” Ravenna said remorsefully.
 
“I should have coerced him into telling me who it was for and why he looked so miserable but I assumed he would be able to fix whatever was wrong between him and the woman he loved.
 
After all,” her smile was wry, “he is a Vittorio, and what woman could possibly resist his charms?”

“If only he’d told me…” Paige choked back the enormous boulder lodged in her throat.
 
“It hurt…leaving Dante was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life.
 
I thought I was doing the right thing, giving him his freedom so he’d be able to concentrate on his career.”

“It was wrong of him not to be honest with you, though I understand why he did it.
 
It is inconceivable to me that any woman could look at my sons and not realize there is more to them than the power and money they possess.”

“I hope you don’t think that I…”

“Of course not,” Ravenna cut her off.
 
“Dante realized from the very beginning that hiding his wealth from you was unnecessary, but your relationship had only just begun so he was reluctant to confess his dishonesty.”

“I wasn’t exactly honest about my financial status either.
 
It seems doubly sad to know that neither of us would have cared in the least how much money the other had.
 
So much time has been
wasted,
so many lonely hours spent grieving over something that should never have been lost in the first place.”

“Is that how it was for you?”

“Yes, yes it was.”
 
Paige curled her arms around her waist, reliving her own pain even as a new, sharper pain seized her heart.
 
“I never meant to hurt him.
 
I guess I never really believed his feelings for me ran deep enough to cause the same kind of anguish I went through.”

Ravenna eyed her speculatively for a moment.
 
“Is that why you ran, because you thought he did not love you?”

“No, I…”
 
Was
that why she’d done it?
 
Her stomach knotted as the revelation that Ravenna was right sent another spiral of pain twisting its way through her.
 
“Maybe that
was
part of it,” she admitted.
 
“I was so happy when I discovered I was carrying his baby but I was scared too.”

“So you thought it was better to walk away still holding onto the dream that he might be in love with you rather than stay and find out for certain that he did not?”

“Something
like
that,” Paige said in a hoarse whisper.
 

“Are you sure he loves you now and that he is not with you because of Daniella?”

A soft smile curved her lips.
 
“I’m sure.”

“That is a good start, Paige, but it takes more than love to hold a marriage together.
 
So often people are willing to work hard to get married, but nobody wants to work to stay there.
 
It is not easy being the wife of a Vittorio; they are hard-headed and domineering and extremely possessive of their women, but they are also passionate and kind-hearted and they love with a fierceness that takes your breath away.
 
Are you prepared for that?”

Paige shook her head with a helpless smile.
 
“I was lost the second I laid eyes on Dante and I’ve been lost ever since.
 
I don’t know if I’m prepared for a life with him, I only know I have no life without him.”

“You have much to atone for.”

“I know.”

“You are getting yourself into more than just a marriage, Paige.
 
This family will demand a lot of you and we will expect you to be a Vittorio to the core.
 
It is not just Dante’s name you will be taking but everything he stands for too.
 
There is not one member of this family who would not drop everything at a moment’s notice to come to the rescue of another and we will expect no less of you.”

Hope bloomed in her heart.
 
“Does this mean you and the others will accept me as part of the family?”

Ravenna laughed.
 
“Oh my dear, there was never any question as to whether
we
would accept
you
.”

“I…I don’t understand.”

“It is my fault, and I apologize.
 
There was a lot of…animosity on my part before you even arrived but when I saw Daniella, I was even more resentful towards you for keeping her from us.
 
I realize now that Dante was not the only one who endured the pain of being separated from the one he loved.”

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Vittorio.
 
I had no idea you’d welcome Daniella the way you did.”

“No, Paige, I am the one who is sorry.
 
I should have welcomed you in the same manner and waited for a more appropriate time to talk.
 
It was unfair of me not to listen to your side of the story, especially when Dante has admitted he is not entirely blameless.”

“I’m glad we talked it out, but I’m afraid I still don’t understand what you meant about there not being any question I’d be accepted into the family.
 
It was pretty obvious by my reception that I wasn’t winning any popularity contests.”

Ravenna smiled.
 
“Dante loves you.
 
What other reason do we need?
 
What concerned everyone was whether you would accept
us
as your family.
 
Do not mistake
Cesare’s
silence or that of others as rejection, Paige.
 
I am extremely…protective where my children are concerned and they are all very much aware that I have no fear of voicing my opinion.”

“So I noticed,” Paige said with a grin.

Ravenna laughed.
 
“I imagine they are all sitting out there worrying about whether I have reduced you to tears or forced you to take a defensive stand.
 
You are much stronger than any of us gave you credit for; you did not balk at having this talk with me even when it was quite obvious it was not going to be pleasant.
 
I am glad
 
my son has found someone who will not meekly surrender to his every demand.”

Recalling how meekly she’d surrendered to him earlier that evening sent a blush to her cheeks.
 
“He’s not an easy man to say no to,” she said with sigh.

“It is Vittorio trait, my dear; a trait my granddaughter seems to have inherited.”

Paige had to agree. “Daniella is so much like Dante it scares me sometimes.”

“She will grow up to be a strong woman but I have faith that you and Dante will teach her the importance of tempering that strength with love and kindness.”

“So…where do we go from here?”

“From here,” Ravenna rose to her feet, “we shall go to the dining room to join the others.”

Paige stood up but she made no move to leave.
 
There was still one question she had to ask.
 
“Mrs. Vittorio…do you think Dante will ever forgive me?
 
I can’t stop thinking about the ring and how you said he looked when you found him in the study and I wonder if…if it’s even possible to forgive someone after they’ve hurt you so deeply.”

Compassion stirred behind Ravenna’s dark eyes.
 
“Love is a powerful emotion, Paige.
 
It gives you the ability to forgive the unforgivable, to forget the sorrows of the past and move forward.
 
Whatever resentment he may have felt over the years dissolved the moment he saw you again.
 
You were the one he’d given his heart to.
 
It would not have mattered how many years passed, Dante would never have loved any woman but you.”

Paige blinked back the sting of tears.
 
“It would have been the same for me.”

“I know,” Ravenna smiled.
 
“The Vittorio men
do
have a way of making all other men cease to exist.
 
Come,” she pulled the doors open, “we must set everyone’s mind at ease and start making plans for your wedding.”

“As much as I appreciate your offer to help, Mrs. Vittorio, I really have no idea how soon Dante wants to get married.”

“Please, you must call me Ravenna.
 
As for how soon he wants to marry, I am sure you know patience is not a virtue Dante possesses.
 
We will be lucky if he allows a month to put it all together.”

“A month!”
 
Paige just shook her head as she walked beside Ravenna.
 
“Who could possibly put a wedding together in such a short time?”

“With the help of Milana and my daughters-in-law, I am sure we can accomplish it.
 
Now, about your wedding dress; I know a woman who makes the most exquisite…”

Ravenna stopped short when Daniella hopped down from her chair and
came
racing towards them, her brown eyes round with worry.
 
Paige couldn’t imagine what had been said to upset her little girl, especially since everyone at the table seemed just as shocked by her behavior as she was.
 
Daniella threw her arms around Paige’s legs, clinging to her as if she’d never let go.

Alarmed, Paige stroked
Daniella’s
hair in an attempt to comfort her.
 
“Angel, what’s wrong?”

Daniella tipped her head back.
 
“I was scared, Mama.”

“How could you be scared when Daddy was right here with you?”

Dante rose from the table and squatted down next to Daniella, a horrible suspicion making his stomach churn.
 
“Was it something you heard at the table?”
 
He groaned inwardly when she nodded her head.
 
“You must have misunderstood then…”

“I didn’t
misstood
,” Daniella insisted with a stubborn tilt of her chin.
 
“You said
Nonna
was going to bite Mama’s head off and serve it up for dinner.”

Dante glanced up at Paige with a sheepish grin.
 
“I...uh...guess she understands a little more Italian than we thought.”

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
***

Paige waited until she was sure Daniella was sound asleep before returning to their bedroom.
 
After she managed to convince Daniella that Dante had only been joking they’d sat down and had an enjoyable meal.
 
Ravenna immediately launched into suggestions about the wedding, her eyes daring Dante to protest when she told him they’d need at least six weeks to plan it properly.
 
He’d sulked a little but was soon caught up in a side conversation with his brothers.
 

After dinner they’d all gone back to the great room where the women had gathered around her to discuss it in more detail while the men entertained Daniella.
 
Paige’s eyes had wandered frequently to the man who had so completely stolen her heart and that of their daughter.
 
Daniella was soaking up the attention and though she allowed her Papa and uncles to amuse her with rides on their shoulders or plunking at the keyboard on the piano, inevitably she sought out Dante for a few minutes of cuddling before she was off again.