"Loved?"
He laughed, cool and mocking. "No. But that's my choice."
Sam had never met anyone like Cristiano Bartolo, didn't un*derstand anyone like him, either. "Why wouldn't you want love?"
"Love's complicated. It involves layers of emotion including guilt and fear. I'm happier without it,"
"With out love."
"As I said, I'm happy as I am."
She shook her head, perplexed- "So why do you want Gabby?"
He hesitated for the briefest second- "Because she's a Bartolo. She should be raised by a Bartolo"
He was making her sick. She couldn't stand his way of think*ing- It was harsh, horrible, and selfish- "This isn't why you take a child—"
"It is for me," he cut in sharply before lifting the menu. "Do you know what you're going to eat?"
Sam couldn't imagine eating a bite after that but when the waitress appeared at their table, she ordered toast and tea, think*ing she had to put something in her stomach if she was going to survive the day.
They sat in virtual silence while they waited for their break*fast to arrive until Sam couldn't stand the miserable tension a moment longer. "So what are you going to do? How exactly does this work?"
"In the morning we'll fly back to Monte Carlo. On Monday Gabby will begin at her new school."
"A new school?"
"Yes."
Sam stared at him aghast. So upset she ignored the waitress when she brought Sam her pot of tea, "You're out of your mind." And he was. He had to be to think he could just rip Gabriela from everything she'd known and loved. "Maybe adults understand moves and shifts, maybe adults can be relocated overnight, but not children—"
"I'm not asking you, Samantha. I'm telling you this. The de*cision is made. It's no longer your concern."
She shuddered, knowing he was wrong, knowing Gabriela would always be her concern. She might not be her nanny any*more, might not even be her stepmother, but Gabby was part of her heart, her life. "What is the rush?"
"I've lost enough time trying to get her home. I refuse to lose anymore."
The hopelessness of the situation wrapped hard fingers around Sam's throat. "And what about Gabby? What about all she loses?"
Cristiano's eyes narrowed. "She'll thank me one day."
"Maybe. And maybe not"
He shrugged. "I guess we'll find out"
Sam felt as if he were splitting her heart and head wide-open. How could he do this? How could he even talk this way? How was it possible to be so callous...much less about your own child? "Why can't you give her time," Sam pleaded. "At least let her finish the school year where she is. Don't change every*thing on her overnight. She's so young. She's been through so much. Give her time to understand what's happening...time to adjust."
He leaned back as their breakfast plates were carried to the table. "She'll have time," he said. "She'll have the next fifteen years to adjust."
She swayed on her seat. "What kind of man are you?"
His steady gaze held hers, and the way he studied her made her skin prickle, her body tingling with alarm. "The kind who gets what he wants."
"And what about what other people want?"
"Not my concern."
Sam's stomach rose, nearly upending. "God, that's cold."
"Yes, but damn practical."
Conversation finished, Cristiano concentrated on eating his bacon and egg breakfast while Sam tore apart her toast, heart*sick.
Sitting there, Sam wished she could do something, wished she could intervene even as she'd foiled the kidnapping attempt three years ago by hurling herself at the kidnapper. She'd used her own body to shield Gabby, and it had worked. Sort of.
Sort of.
Sam's lower lip quivered and she bit into it ruthlessly. She wasn't going to let him see how much he upset her, wouldn't let him have the upper hand again.
She waited until he'd finished his meal and then gathered her coat and purse. "Can we go get Gabby now?"
"You haven't taken a bite of your toast."
"Not hungry" she answered, chilled on the inside. Three years ago she'd saved Gabby, three years ago she'd been brave, heroic. Why couldn't she find a way to save Gabby today?
It felt bitterly cold outside, the sky like an endless sheet of metal, and Sam shivered on the way to the shop where they bought milk, bread and groceries for dinner. It was a relief to reach the car, where Cristiano immediately turned on the heat. They didn't speak though, and as Cristiano drove, Sam stared intently out the window, trying not to obsess about Cristiano's plans for Gabriela, but it was impossible to think of anything else.
"I'll need your help," he said abruptly, "I brought the school admissions packet with me, and there's quite a long list of things she'll need. Proper uniform, wardrobe, essentials."
"Cristiano."
"I'd initially planned on leaving her in her current school," he continued as though she'd never spoken. "But I was naive, I thought you could continue taking her to school in the morning, and then picking her up again after, but obviously that's not going to work, not if I can't trust you with her."
06-12-07, 02:50 PM
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