Santo pulled a face. ‘I?
??m expected to eat a pink turret and fairy wings?’ But he smiled at Fia. ‘Very clever. And now I’m going to put it down because I don’t want to be the one who drops it.’
He put it in the centre of the table.
From a distance, Chiara saw the cake and her eyes grew huge with wonder.
‘She’s too shy to come and investigate,’ Laurel said. ‘It’s because she doesn’t know you.’
In the end it was bouncy little Elena who dragged her big sister across the terrace towards the amazing cake.
‘Elena never lets her out of her sight,’ Laurel told Fia. ‘She has her own room, but she crawls into Chiara’s bed every night. She just adores her big sister.’
And the affection was clearly returned, although Chiara was less openly demonstrative.
‘This is only her second birthday with us,’ Laurel murmured. ‘She didn’t even know what a birthday was before she came to us, so if she doesn’t do or say the right thing, please forgive her.’
Fia’s eyes filled. Mortified, she blinked back the tears but not before Laurel had noticed.
‘I’m so sorry.’ Embarrassed, Fia pulled herself together. ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with me at the moment. Not enough sleep or something.’
‘Don’t apologise. I cry on a regular basis when I think how lonely her life was. It’s hard not to just want to give her everything, but of course all she really needs is love and stability.’
And it was obvious that she had that.
Chiara thanked her shyly for the cake but the real thanks was the look on her face as she examined each part of her fairy castle.
Cristiano strode over to join them and scooped up both his daughters, one on each arm. ‘Which one of you is the birthday girl?’
Holding tightly to the man who was now her father, Chiara blushed shyly. ‘Me.’
‘Then it’s time to come and greet your guests and make them welcome in true Ferrara style, young lady. And then we can cut that fantastic cake.’
Chiara wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. ‘Will you come too?’
Fia saw the emotion in Cristiano’s eyes. ‘Of course,’ he said softly. ‘I am your papà. Where else would I be but by your side?’ He smiled at Fia with genuine warmth. ‘Welcome. And thank you for that spectacular cake. It was very thoughtful of you to make her something so special.’
It was a crazy, happy afternoon and when it came to bedtime Luca chose to sleep in a room with Chiara, Elena and Rosa.
Laurel rolled her eyes in disbelief. ‘I’m so sorry. Are you OK with that? We have ten bedrooms. Don’t ask me why they choose to cram themselves into one.’
‘I think it’s fantastic.’ Fia thought about how lonely she’d been as a child. What she wouldn’t have given to be tucked into a cosy room with three giggling cousins.
‘Truthfully? I think it’s fantastic too. And you don’t need to worry because Cristiano’s aunt is staying the night and she has promised to watch them.’ Laurel gave the children a stern look. ‘Straight to sleep, no nonsense.’
Having issued that edict, they left the room and Fia caught her eye.
‘They’re going to be up all night.’
‘I think you’re right. But the upside is that they might sleep late. And now we need to get ready. This restaurant Cristiano has picked is very elegant. We’re all dying to hear your opinion on the food, although I’m not sure I can eat anything after all that cake. It was the best thing I’ve ever tasted.’
Warmth rushed through her.
She was one of them, she thought.
She was a Ferrara now.
Maybe her marriage wasn’t perfect, but it was still early days and Santo had been making a huge effort. Instead of wishing she could have more, she needed to make the most of what she did have. She needed to try harder. And the first thing she’d do was kick-start their sex life. In the beginning he’d found her irresistible. It was up to her to rekindle that side of their relationship.