He set down his cutlery and focused on her, the whole concentrated power of his energy coming at her full blast. ‘I’ll make it work.’
She leaned forward, fighting for her independence again. ‘If you think, for one moment, I’d live under the same roof as…’
‘I don’t live there myself,’ he added. ‘I moved out when Roberto married. Bought my own apartment at Bondi Beach.’
Her mind whirled at this apparent disconnection to his family, though it quickly seized on the fact that the suburb of Bondi was right next to Bellevue Hill. ‘Not far from them,’ spilled from her mouth.
‘Far enough to have separate lives,’ he retorted.
Separate… Skye paused to catch her breath. Was she making bogey-men of everything, snatching at whatever fed her fear of the power his family had to hurt? Luc was proving at every point he was his own man. And he had been hurt, too, by the dreadful deception that had been played to make him turn his back on her.
‘Why did you move out?’ she asked, wondering if there had been some earlier rift between him and his family.
He shrugged. ‘I didn’t care to have the happiness of Roberto’s marriage rubbed in my face every day.’
Her insecurities surged again. ‘Regrets for rejecting it yourself, Luc?’
‘None at all. I wished my brother well with it.’
‘Then why did it upset you?’
‘It didn’t upset me. I knew my father would constantly use it as leverage to get me to fall into line with his plans, which would end up being unpleasant for everyone, so I removed myself from the situation.’
‘While still maintaining your relationship with your family,’ she said, pressing to ascertain just how important it was to him.
‘I had the choice of coming and going as I pleased.’
‘Did you ever miss a special family occasion?’
‘I just did.’
Again she felt her defensive mat being swept out from under her feet. ‘What was it?’ she asked, needing to know how much it meant.
His eyes glittered a joyless challenge. ‘You remember the Easter Sunday luncheon you attended with me six years ago?’
The memory leapt vividly to mind—the huge luncheon party, and feeling like a fish out of water amongst all the Italian families, people engaging Luc in conversation and subtly ignoring her presence. Not obvious snubs, but definitely left out in the cold while warmth was overflowing everywhere else. It had been such a relief when Roberto had taken the time to charm her out of her sense of alienation.
Luc’s brother…setting up the trap to get rid of her.
‘You haven’t told me how Roberto died.’
Luc frowned.
Realising she’d thrown him off-stride, Skye bitterly reminded him of the person who had betrayed them both. ‘He was nice to me that Easter Sunday, making me feel welcome when no one else did.’
There was a flash of pain in his eyes. ‘I’m sorry…sorry I subjected you to…’ He shook his head. ‘It won’t happen again, Skye. I swear it. I won’t take you anywhere near my family without an assurance that you will be welcomed.’ He looked at her with searing intensity as he gave her his personal assurance. ‘And I’d be watching. Watching every minute. If you’re made to feel uncomfortable—’
‘I would feel uncomfortable anyway, Luc,’ she cut in bleakly.
He nodded, not pressing. ‘You might find that Matt will break the ice,’ he said hopefully.
She couldn’t help thinking their only hope of having any happiness together was in living separate lives to his family. And was that really a possibility?
‘Roberto died of extensive injuries from a car accident,’ Luc said, grimacing as he softly added, ‘He did regret what he’d done, Skye.’
‘Not while he had his life to live,’ she pointed out, her eyes sadly mocking Luc’s view of the situation. ‘I don’t think your father is ever going to accept me.’
‘I’d like to give him the time to take that option.’
‘Time won’t make any difference. I’m sure you challenged him over this Easter Sunday, asking if Matt and I would be welcome. He wouldn’t come at it, would he?’
‘I don’t expect a quick turnaround. But the point was made, Skye.’
‘And he made his. You’re welcome. I’m not.’
Ruthless steel answered her. ‘It will be his loss if he doesn’t change his attitude.’
Your loss, too, Skye thought, and spelled out the most testing scenario of all. ‘What if he threatens to cut you off?’
‘So be it.’
Not the slightest dent in the steel. But Skye felt it was pride talking. In his heart of hearts, Luc didn’t believe it would happen. To him, the family link was too strong. Blood would tell in the end. It was the argument he’d used to her for his parents’ eventual acceptance of Matt as their grandchild. What he didn’t take into consideration was how much they felt Matt’s blood was tainted by hers.
A wave of sheer misery washed through her. Here she was sitting opposite a man she’d loved—a man she still couldn’t help loving—the father of her child, wanting to marry her—and a decision about their future should be simple and straightforward, not hemmed around with the dark threat of endless pain.
‘Skye…’
She had nothing left to say. The grief his family had already given her was swimming through her mind, carrying her towards rocks that would smash any happiness she might achieve with Luc. It startled her when his chair scraped back. Her heart leapt erratically as he rose to his feet, his eyes blazing with savage emotion.
‘You come first with me!’ he hurled at her, using his voice like a hammer, forcefully intent on breaking through anything that held him out of the centre of her existence.
The words rang in Skye’s ears, drowning out the voices of doom that kept tugging her away from him…first with me…first with me. Not his son. Not his family. She came first.
In a few quick strides he was around the table, pulling her up from her chair, wrapping her in a fierce embrace, pouring out passionate pleas.
‘Don’t reject me, Skye…’
She didn’t want to. Her whole body was flooding with the need to be held by him, loved by him, surrendering so utterly to his embrace, her head nestled onto his shoulder and her eyes closed to shut out the rest of the world.
‘You know it’s good between us. We connect on levels that no one else even touches.’