Catherine Spencer by Sicilian Millionaire Bought Bride

Author:Sicilian Millionaire, Bought Bride [Sicilian Millionaire, Bought Bride]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2011-12-24T18:38:15+00:00

Later, as she was on her hands and knees arranging Matthew’s favorite books on the shelf in his room, she glanced over her shoulder and found Elisabetta hovering in the open doorway. Again, the child’s face told all, but if it wasn’t exactly beaming with pleasure, Corinne, who’d been wondering how she could finagle some time alone with her without being too obvious about it, wasn’t about to turn down a heaven-sent opportunity when it landed in her lap.

Smiling, she said, “Hi, sweetie.”

“What are you doing?” Elisabetta asked mistrustfully.

“Just putting some of Matthew’s books and toys away. Want to have a look?”

“No. I’ve got my own books and toys.”

Oh dear, talk about getting off to a roaring start. “What if I told you I brought something for you, too. Would you like to see that?”

A flicker of curiosity flared in her stepdaughter’s eyes. “I guess.”

Standing up, Corinne brushed her palms together, and resisted the urge to take the child’s hand. No point in pushing too hard, too soon. “Come on, then. It’s in my room.”

She led the way across the wide hall and into the sitting room of the master suite, where contents from half a dozen cardboard cartons were strewn about. “Here it is,” she said, taking a flat box about the size of a paperback from the coffee table.

Elisabetta dropped down onto the sofa, opened the box and stared at the silver-framed photograph inside. “Who is it?”

“Your mother, Elisabetta, when she was just a few years older than you are now.”

“Is it yours?”

“Yes. But I thought you might like to have it.”

The girl traced her finger over the laughing face in the photograph. “She was pretty.”

“Just like you, sweetie. You look a lot like her, you know.”

“That’s what Papa always says, but he doesn’t have any pictures of her when she was little.”

“I know. That’s why I also brought lots of other photographs with me. They’re in those albums over there. You can look at them any time you want, and if there are some you’d like to have for yourself, I’ll get prints made for you.”

“How come you have so many pictures of my mama?”

“She was my best friend, Elisabetta. We were like sisters. We did everything together, and I loved her very much.”

“That’s why Papa brought you here, isn’t it?” Elisabetta cast her a sideways glance. “Because Mama wanted him to.”

Corinne nodded. “Yes.”

“But not because you wanted to.”

“That’s not true. I wanted very much to get to know my best friend’s little girl.”

“Maybe…but that doesn’t mean you can be my mother.”

“I know that, sweetheart. In fact, another reason I came here is to tell you everything I know about your real mama and make sure you never forget her. But even though I can never take her place, I want you to know that you can always come to me if something’s troubling you, or if you want to talk about your mama. I have so many stories to tell you, when you’re ready to hear them.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.