‘And she didn’t know?’
‘She was young and in love. My father was rich and charismatic. She’d never known anyone like him. It was not difficult for her to lose her heart.’ His eyes met hers. ‘Right here, on this island. She spent some time here with him, touring it just as you have been.’
The notion of history repeating itself filled her with a strange sense of wariness.
‘And she got pregnant?’
‘Right. And that’s when he offered to pay for an abortion.’ His face shimmered with determination.
‘Your mother must have been so upset.’
‘I’m sure she was. But she focussed on making a life for us.’
‘I don’t understand why he didn’t pay child support. And I don’t understand why your mother let him get away with that,’ she said quietly.
His eyes were hard in his handsome face. ‘I think she knew she could have. But she was proud. So proud. He made it obvious he didn’t want her—or me—and she was not going to beg.’
‘I’m sorry, Rio.’
He brushed away the apology, shifting a little and reminding Tilly of their powerful attraction.
‘He got in contact with me about five years ago, trying to “connect”, as he called it.’
Indignation rushed through her. ‘How dare he?’ she said fiercely. ‘After all that time! And what you’d been through! What did you tell him?’
His laugh was short. ‘Exactly that. His explanation helped me understand, I suppose, though ultimately it just proved how selfish he was.’
‘What did he say? How did he explain it?’
His eyes clouded and he shook his head.
She dipped her head forward and kissed him, letting her mouth tell him what was in her heart and soul.
‘What did he say?’ she murmured, keeping her face close to his.
‘That he was married. And, yes, he loved his wife—very much, he said.’ Rio’s scathing tone showed how little he believed that. ‘Carina—that’s her name—and he were high school sweethearts. They had been trying to conceive a child for ten years. He told me that it took its toll on their marriage. That he met my mother and was captivated by her.’
Tilly was quiet, but inside she was raging against this selfish man who’d conned Rio’s mother into an affair. ‘And she didn’t know he was married,’ Tilly clarified.
‘No. Not until she told him about me. That’s when he told her that he and Carina had been trying for a baby. News of my mother’s pregnancy would have been devastating for her.’ His smile was flat. ‘My mother actually felt sorry for Carina. Can you believe it?’
‘Yes,’ Tilly said honestly. ‘I can tell what kind of woman your mother was, and I imagine her heart would have been easily touched.’
His
eyes flashed with unknown emotion as they met Tilly’s. ‘He told my mother that he would never acknowledge me. That he would never speak to her again. So she was left devastated instead of his wife,’ he said softly.
‘How awful.’ She frowned. ‘You said he contacted you a few years ago?’
He made a noise of agreement. ‘Eventually they adopted. A boy. Then, six years ago, their son died. And a year after that he left Carina. Or she left him. I do not know. Only that he suddenly felt a compulsion to meet with me, his biological son.’ His expression was harsh.
Tears, unwanted and hot, stung Tilly’s eyes. ‘You must have been—’
‘Furious?’ he interrupted. ‘I was. But by then I had established myself. I had a fortune behind me, and I had learned to live without my mother. And, obviously, my father. What did I need from him? A man who had given my mother only heartache?’
His bitterness touched Tilly deep in her heart. She understood it, and yet it was impossible not to grieve for both Rio and Piero.
‘I could not look at him without seeing my mother’s pain. The way she’d been when she was ill. Weakened by cancer and chemotherapy, pale and hollowed out, as if all the living had been scooped from inside her. I wanted nothing to do with him. Nothing. And I told him so. I particularly did not want him to have the satisfaction of claiming me as his prodigal son.’