‘Yes, of course.’ She smiled at the six white-uniformed staff ready to unload their luggage and followed Romeo up to the buggy parked on the pavement. He lowered an excited Lucca onto the seat and fastened his seat belt before turning to her.
‘Would you like a quick tour now or later?’ he asked coolly.
‘Now would be great, thanks.’
He nodded and started the buggy. When Lucca wriggled excitedly, Romeo slowed down and touched his son’s arm. ‘Sit still, bambino, or you’ll have to walk all the way back to the house.’
Lucca looked round. ‘Where’s the house?’ he asked.
Romeo pointed up the hill to a large villa whose glass cathedral-like dome dominated the hilltop. ‘All the way up there.’
Lucca immediately stilled, his eyes rounding as he stared up at Romeo. ‘I’ll be still.’
Romeo looked over at her, a small smile playing on his lips before he tentatively ruffled Lucca’s hair. ‘Bene...that means good in Italian.’
‘Bene,’ Lucca repeated, intoning the syllables in near perfect match of his father’s accent.
Maisie looked around and realised two things. That the brochure hadn’t done enough justice to the description of Hana Island. And also that only two of the mansions that Romeo drove past looked occupied.
‘But I thought this place was fully booked for years in advance?’
‘It was...until yesterday when I cancelled half of the bookings.’
‘Why?’
‘Because I wanted to guarantee our privacy. The two families who are staying here have been fully vetted and have signed confidentiality agreements. The others were a little more testy, so I compensated them for their trouble and sent them to another resort. Complimentary, of course.’
Maisie looked around as they headed up the hill. The whole place was the very epitome of paradise. But then paradise had contained a poisonous snake.
‘Surely you don’t think...’
He sent her a warning look. She bit her lip and waited until he’d stopped the buggy in front of a large set of double doors made of polished koa wood and released Lucca’s seat belt. When Lucca scampered off towards the house, he turned to her.
‘No, I don’t think we’ll have any trouble here, but I took the necessary precautions nevertheless.’
She looked around the lush paradise. ‘But we can’t stay here for ever, Romeo.’
His jaw flexed. ‘We’ll remain here until I find a way to fix this. Besides, the world thinks we’re on our honeymoon, so why not enjoy the time off?’ He glanced over to where Lucca was examining a spray of giant bright orange flowers. ‘I can’t imagine you’ve had any downtime since he was born.’
Maisie smiled reluctantly. ‘I don’t imagine I’ll be getting any until he’s at least eighteen.’
He watched her with a quizzical look. ‘But it will be a relief not to be burdened with him 24/7, sì?’ There was a hard bite to his tone that set her nerves on edge.
She frowned. ‘I don’t consider him a burden,’ she retorted.
‘Was he the reason you switched careers?’ he enquired.
‘Well...yes, but—’
‘Pursuing a career in criminal law to operating a restaurant in a quaint little village is quite a change.’
‘It was a choice I made both for Lucca and myself.’
He nodded. ‘You’ve proved you’re capable of adapting. So adjusting to our new situation shouldn’t be a big problem.’
She looked around. ‘I’m not built to lie about sipping cocktails. I need a challenge, even with Lucca around.’
‘Then we will find other challenges for you.’
‘Thank you. Now, is this interview of my mothering skills and commitment over? I’d like to get out of these travelling clothes.’
He continued to stare at her in that direct, invasive way of his, as if trying to see beneath her words to any truth she was hiding.
After several minutes he nodded and alighted from the buggy.
Double doors swung open and two women came forward, one an older Tongan native and a younger girl who approached Lucca with a smile. Maisie noticed she walked with a slight limp.
‘This is Emily. She’ll be helping you look after Lucca. And Mahina is our housekeeper.
Maisie managed to keep a smile on her face throughout the introductions and the tour of Romeo’s mansion. She even managed to make the right noises when she saw the Olympic-sized pool and the hot tub, and the man-made cave that opened up into a private waterfall complete with pool at the back of the property.
She smiled through giving Lucca a quick wash, with a helpful Emily unpacking his clothes. When the girl offered to take him away for a glass of juice, Maisie forced a nod, welcoming the opportunity to find Romeo and give him a piece of her mind.
After searching fruitlessly upstairs and knocking on over a dozen doors, she finally found him in a large, airy room converted to a study, with rows of books covering one wall, and an imposing desk and chair fronting a floor-to-ceiling glass window.
She shut the door behind her after his imperious directive to come in and stalked to where he sat, master and commander of his empire.
‘How dare you hire a nanny without consulting me,’ she fired at him when he looked up from the document he was perusing.
His brows clamped for a second before he rose and rounded the desk. Maisie forced herself not to step back from the broad-shouldered magnificence of his physique. He’d also changed from the suit he wore to travel, into a turquoise polo shirt and a pair of white linen trousers, into which he shoved his hands. ‘I didn’t think you would object.’
‘Why? Because I’m so eager to be lightened of the burden of caring for my son?’
‘Because I’m told every mother needs a break every now and then.’
‘And who, pray tell, enlightened you of this fact? It can’t have been your mother, since I’m guessing she wasn’t a contender for mother of the year?’
His cold tensing confirmed she’d gone too far. ‘We seem to be straying away from the issue under discussion. You slept for less than an hour on the plane and I’m sure you didn’t have much sleep the night before. The jet lag will kick in very hard shortly.’ He shrugged. ‘I thought you would welcome the help.’
She told herself not to soften at his consideration. ‘Is that all she is—temporary help?’ she pressed.
‘No. She helps around the resort when needed, but she’s the only one with childcare training.’
She shook her head. ‘Romeo—’
Narrowed eyes studied her closely. ‘What exactly is the problem here?’
‘The problem is you made a decision about Lucca’s care without consulting me.’
He exhaled with a rush of irritation. ‘This is an adjustment for all of us, Lucca included. Some decisions will have to be made with or without your input.’
‘No, I don’t accept that. Not when it comes to my son.’
He shrugged. ‘Okay, you can use Emily when you see fit, or not at all. I’ll leave that decision up to you. But you can’t control every moment of his life, Maisie.’
Cold anger robbed her of breath for a moment. Then the words came tumbling out. ‘You’ve known him for what, two days? And you dare to say that to me?’