Page 68 of Redemption
“The body knows what it needs. You have no need to be concerned. We have kept ourselves perfectly occupied, getting to know our beautiful granddaughter. She is a delightful ray of sunshine.”
I have to agree with her, especially as my baby girl reaches for me with sticky fingers. I press a kiss to her precious curls as my attention moves to my father, who nods in agreement.
“You are lucky we are on a small island or else Francesca would have a stable of ponies for her by now. When we all go to the family estate in the country, she will have her choice of several.”
The family estate. Ponies. All completely surreal.
“I have no doubt she’d love that. Thank you,” I say to my father.
His expression is soft and gentle, which seems unlike the man my mother and brother described. But if I can sleep for two nights and an entire day for the first time in my life, apparently anything can happen on this magical island away from the world.
Like I woke up in a dream, I turn to my brother, and it’s like I’m seeing myself at breakfast with my family. Except, in his open-collared, short-sleeved shirt, I see the artistry of his intricate tattoos on display—heavy black lines with cherry blossoms on branches and tapestry-like patterns in a distinctly Japanese style.
“This is unreal,” I say, unable to help myself.
Marco smiles in response. “It has been wonderful, although I can’t imagine what this morning must be like for you, but all is well. Mother is right; you needed the rest. When is the last time you had a full night’s sleep anyway?”
Keira laughs quietly. “Full night’s sleep? Lachlan? Never. At least not as long as I have known him.” She grins with eyes shining. “I’m so glad you were able to sleep. That, in itself, was a miracle.”
“Lachlan. That name is hard for me to say it fits you,” my father says, seemingly taking in every detail of me as I stand beside my wife and daughter. “But it is not far from Luca, I suppose. If you want to keep it.”
“Alesso,” my mother says with a warning note in her tone. “He has had nearly as much shock as you. Let the boy have whatever name he wishes. The name doesn’t matter. The fact that he is home does.”
“I know; I know. It does not matter, but I have only thought of him as Luca. Marco and Luca, our boys.”
“It’s been a long time since anyone has called me a boy or since I have thought of myself as one,” I say.
“But you shall always be our boy. Our beautiful baby boy. We are so glad you are here,” my mother says, her hands coming together, as if in prayer, for a beat. “You must eat though. You must be starving since it has been so long since you were fed. Your plate is there beside your wife. We did not know if you would awaken for breakfast, but I had everything prepared anyway, just in case. There are American options as well since we did not know if you would adjust quickly to Italian fare.”
“I don’t care what I eat at this point. Anything will do.”
“Rory recommends the homemade raspberry jam. I’m pretty sure she would smear it all over her body if I let her,” Keira says with the brightest smile I’ve seen on her face maybe ever.
Coming here was the right choice.
I lean down and use my thumb to wipe the smear of red from the silken skin of my daughter’s precious face before pressing a kiss to her cheek. Ah, raspberry, not strawberry. “Always so sweet.”
“And those sticky fingers of hers are about to get you.”
I pull back just before Aurora can smear the raspberries on my face in return. “If that is the price I must pay, then so be it. But you’re still not as quick as Daddy.” I lean in and steal another kiss before straightening.
After loading my plate with a wider variety of options than I would normally eat in a week, I take the seat beside my wife and daughter, across from my brother. My father sits at the head and my mother at the foot of the table, which must be at least ten feet long.
“I still can’t believe I slept so long,” I say with another yawn before reaching for the linen napkin.
It’s truly mind-blowing to me that I could remain unconscious for that long in a house full of people I barely know, on a strange island in the middle of a lake, in a foreign country. But as my mother said, my body knew what it needed.
“You did not miss much,” Marco replies as he spreads preserves on a small piece of bread. “Just the tour of the island and villa. Mother will happily give the tour again and again.”
“I also learned about some of your family history. Very impressive.” Keira wipes Aurora’s hands with a napkin as she smiles.
“We can trace our lineage back over a thousand years,” my father adds.
“And you did not need to return to Milan for business?” I ask him before taking my first bite of poached egg.
My brother laughs and slaps a hand on the tabletop. “His she-devil of a secretary forbade him to return for at least a month when he told her why he left so abruptly with me.”
“She says she can run the entire company without me, if need be,” my father says with a soft smile.
