‘Of course it is.’ Matteo’s voice came from behind her, translating her words and then providing the answer before his aunt could say anything.
Rose responded with her brightest smile and Matteo’s aunt got the message. A brief glance at Matteo, which carried a hint of I-told-you-so, and then a frank, warm smile for Rose that melted into a kiss on both cheeks, before she retreated back to the house.
‘All right. You’ve made your point.’ Matteo was looking a little sheepish.
‘Seems I needed to.’ Rose plumped herself back down on the chair. ‘What on earth possessed you, Matteo?’
A brief quirk of his lips and Rose glared at him. ‘Come on. Give. You can’t just warn all of your family about me and then shrug it off. What must they think of me?’
‘If they’re thinking anything, it’ll be about me and I imagine I’ll be hearing all about it in the not too distant future.’
‘After I’ve gone home, you mean? You’ll be talking about me after I’ve gone home?’ Actually, she didn’t mind that so very much. The idea that Matteo might even think about her when she wasn’t there sent a thrill racing towards her fingertips.
‘No...’ His denial didn’t ring true, and he heaved a sigh. ‘When I was living in London, I brought my partner and her children over here for a couple of weeks. She hated it, and said that my family were smothering her. Couldn’t wait to get back to Battersea.’
‘Really?’ Rose didn’t want to say anything against someone that Matteo had clearly cared about, but the woman sounded insane. ‘I suppose... It’s an approach.’
One that had obviously hurt him deeply. But that must have been years ago now. Why was he still holding on to it? She wanted to ask but dared not.
‘She made me choose.’ His finger traced the condensation on the outside of one of the glasses. He seemed deep in thought.
‘She made you...what?’ Maybe Matteo had chosen Sicily and his partner had chosen England. She could see how that must have been a problem, but surely they could both have compromised.
‘My family or her. When my grandmother became ill, and I wanted to spend some time back here, she made me choose. I had to cut all ties with my family back here or never see her again.’
Rose’s head began to swim. Maybe it was the heat, but a mouthful of ice-cold lemonade didn’t seem to clear it. ‘How long did you intend to spend here?’
‘A month or so. No more.’
‘And you were going back to England afterwards?’
‘Yes.’
Why? There must be something more to this. Rose was trying to frame a question in her head, but it must have already been written on her face.
‘Angela had been in a difficult relationship with the father of her two children, he’d played around a lot, lied to her. She had to know where I was all the time, and she had to believe that she was the only person in my life. I understood that, and I tried to reassure her.’
‘So it wasn’t really about your family at all, then. It was all about what she wanted.’ Rose bit her lip. The only thing she was good at in a relationship was messing up, and she was hardly in a position to comment on anyone else’s. Just listening would have been the better option.
‘I suppose not.’ He shrugged. ‘But that was the choice she gave me and I took it. It wouldn’t have mattered so much, her jealousy was a hard thing to take and it was pretty much over between us by then. But the kids...’
‘She stopped you from seeing them?’ Rose couldn’t keep the shock from her voice. She’d tried so hard to involve Alec in William’s life and had failed miserably. The idea of denying children a relationship, just because the one between adults had broken down, was unthinkable.
‘Yeah. I knew that a break-up would be hard on them, and I’d reckoned that if it was inevitable it was best that they didn’t have to watch Angela and I tearing each other to pieces. But I hadn’t seen that one coming. She wouldn’t let them take my calls, and ignored my emails and letters. I went back to England, hoping I could sort things out, and at least let them know that it was all my fault and none of theirs, but she shut the door in my face.’
She could understand how that would have hurt him. Matteo wouldn’t have been able to resist becoming a great stepdad to his partner’s children. He wouldn’t be able to comprehend what had happened. And it had soured everything for him. Even his relationship with his family had this shadow hanging over it.
‘It was my choice. I made it, and I have to live with it.’
It didn’t sound as if he lived with it very easily. And however many objections Matteo put up, there was one thing she needed to do.
She stood up, putting her half-empty glass back on the tray. ‘Do you think Nannu Alberto will show me around? If I take his lemonade to him?’
Matteo grinned suddenly. ‘I think I’d have to wrestle him to the ground to stop him. And I wouldn’t like to try that, he’d probably get the better of me, even now.’
‘Good.’ Rose didn’t wait for him to argue, but picked up the tray and made for Nannu Alberto and William, who seemed to be grubbing around at the foot of one of the bushes with the express purpose of making themselves as dusty as possible. She heard Matteo’s footsteps behind her and smiled.
‘Here...’ She’d left her bag, with her sunhat in it, under the orange tree, and he dropped his own Panama hat onto her head. ‘The sun’s pretty strong.’