Free Venetian Masquerade by Suzanne Stokes Page B

.
    “I shall be quite safe,” she told him. “And anyway, it’s a while since I had a chance to practice my jujitsu skills. Just wait with me till the boat comes.”
    “It’s been a wonderful evening, Amy. Thank you for dinner. I hope you can afford to eat for the rest of the week.”
    She laughed. “Just about. Thank you, too, Gabriel, for a lovely evening. Even an encounter with you-know-who couldn’t spoil it.” She reached up and kissed him, and he gave her a hug as the boat arrived.
    A few moments later, she was heading back to the Lido, alone with her thoughts, the image of Alessandro and his lovely companion etched in her memory.

Chapter Seven
    A cold wind was blowing the next morning, whipping up white horses on the lagoon. Amy had taken the children to school and, tired of the noise and mess at the villa, walked to the park with Snoopy. He was a lively little fellow, just getting the hang of fetching a ball, and she sat on a bench for a while, watching him hunt for his toy in some bushes, his tail wagging furiously.
    It was then Alessandro walked through the park and wordlessly came to sit beside her. His hands were deep in the pockets of his coat, and he made no move to touch her.
    “I knew you would find me.” Amy’s heart was hammering, and she felt sick.
    “You have a son,” he stated finally.
    “Yes.”
    “Is he mine?”
    “Yes.”
    “Dear God, Amy, why didn’t you tell me?”
    “I was afraid I might lose him. You family is quite capable of moving against me and taking him away.”
    “Did you not think I had at least a right to know about him?”
    “No.”
    “Then what about his right to know about me?”
    “I…I had to take a chance he would understand why I did what I did.”
    “And does he?”
    “No.”
    “What are you saying?” he demanded.
    “That he has begun to ask why he doesn’t have a papa.”
    “Does that imply that you would let me meet him?”
    Amy sat silently, staring at her hands, tightly fisted with anxiety.
    “I don’t know what to say, Alessandro. Once he knows who you are, he will want to spend time with you, and I don’t think I could bear to have you in my life on a permanent basis. My life has moved on, and for the first time in years, I have a kind of happiness.”
    “I know your life has moved on. I saw you last night with your…what…lover, fiancé?”
    Amy didn’t enlighten him, nor did she turn her face to look at him, for he would have seen the longing, the burning, aching desire for him in her eyes. Just sitting beside Alessandro made breathing difficult, and talking even more so.
    “All right,” he continued, “I accept that you have a new life, and I won’t try to take you from your new love, although I cannot imagine how you could have given yourself to me so passionately that day in London if you love someone else. So we must deal with the situation with…what’s his name? I don’t even know my son’s name.”
    “James,” she whispered.
    “James… We must discuss the situation with James dispassionately and decide what is best for him. Do you agree?”
    “I suppose so. But you must promise me on everything you hold holy that you will never try to take him away.”
    “Amy, what do you take me for?” he spat out so scornfully, she felt about an inch tall. “I am appalled that you have such a low opinion of me after everything we shared. Quite apart from any moral issues, my company and I have a reputation to be proud of, and I would hardly sully that by being accused by the media of being a child kidnapper, even of my own son.”
    “I’m sorry. But what will your wife say when she finds out about James?”
    “My wife? You mean Sophia?”
    “How many wives do you have? You remember—the woman you were with last night?” she flashed back at him.
    “But that wasn’t…” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, choosing his words. “Sophia has nothing to do with this—or anything.”
    So, Amy mused, the marriage