A Life Sublime Read Online Free

her.
    Belinda’s voice disturbed his reverie. “I’ve been calling and calling and you were ignoring me.”
    He glanced up from the beads and smiled in apology. “Just thinking, sorry Auntie.”
    She sighed and sat down on the chaise next to the bed, the chiffon of her long dress drifting over the cushions. “What’s the matter?”
    He debated talking about this but he needed to get it out. Dwelling on his mother guaranteed his irritation. “I haven’t been back here since my mum died. There’s nothing left of her.”
    “And what are you? Are you not her child?”
    He glanced down at his scuffed shoes, “You don’t know what she did.”
    “What did she do? She gave birth to you. She raised you. She loved you. What else do you want?”
    “I’d like to understand why that’s the final card for everything. She could do whatever she wanted but it’s okay, she was my mother? She was wrong. So wrong.”
    He could feel himself getting angry, until she spoke again. “You make mistakes in your life. No one is ever just right. When you have your own children, you’ll understand that.”
    “I would never do to my children what she did to me and to Paul. Paul especially, and he loved her more than any of us.”
    “Then you’ve learned from her mistake. A parent is there to teach, to guide but never control. Some people have years to learn that lesson.”
    “I didn’t need it,” he said stiffly. No one needed that type of lesson.
    “Do you now appreciate your father? Do you now know what sort of marriage you wish to have? The type of father you wish to be? It’s a painful lesson Nicholas, and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy to lose a parent the way you have. But you are strong and you have a strong woman next to you. Don’t let anger of the past take that away from you.”
    “You sound like Gina,” he said in surprise. “It’d be better if I was in the same room as my wife,” he added with a suggestive smile.
    Belinda’s dark and perpetually suspicious eyes narrowed immediately. “She’s not your wife yet, you sneaky boy. Meditate and appreciate and respect that. And don’t try to forget your mother. Whatever wrong she did, it led you here to this day with this family.”
    Wise old bird , he thought. “Thank you.”
    She smirked, “You didn’t think I’d be smart and beautiful did you?”
    “It crossed my mind,” he murmured, resisting the urge to start laughing. “Gina’s lucky I met her first.”
    She kissed her teeth. “Silliness! Hurry up and make yourself presentable. We’re all hungry and that Sofia is drinking champagne like it’s water.”
    “Sounds about right.” He got up and gave her a brief hug. “I’ll be ten minutes.”
    She still scared the hell out of him, but there was definitely something comfortingly maternal about her. Now, how to get around the enforced celibacy rule?
     

     
    Dinner wasn’t at all what Belinda was used to and it took will power she wasn’t sure she had to keep her jaw in place. They were all seated under the loggia , surrounded by candles as mosquitoes batted against the flames. Large fans circled from the roof of the loggia .
    “They’re mosquito repellent candles,” Paul assured her as he pulled out her chair. “In case you haven’t got your spray on.”
    “They haven’t been too bad this year, actually,” Sofia answered as she sat herself down and reached for the nearest bottle of champagne. The balmy air was infused with gardenias and freshly baked rosemary focaccia bread, served with balsamic vinegar and olive oil.
    “Red or white, Belinda?” Massimo asked, standing to pour her drink.
    “White wine, please.”
    She watched as he filled her glass, sending her a smile before he sat down. He didn’t look much older than his sons. She itched to see photographs of him when his wife was still alive. Her death must have taken its toll on his body as well as his mind.
    Despite Belinda’s warning, Nick practically had Gina in his