Read Online To Love Again by Danielle Steel - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Danielle Steel
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when your father was alive.' I owe him more than that, and Amadeo, and you and myself. I'm coming back on Monday.
I'm not saying you shouldn't come back. I'm just saying it's too soon. He tried to sound gentle but he was not Amadeo. He couldn't handle her in Amadeo's gentle way, only with fire.
But this time she only shook her head, her eyes filling with tears again. It's not, Bernardo ' it's not too soon at all. It's much ' much ' too late. He put a hand over hers and waited until she caught her breath. What would I do here? Wander? Open his closets? Sit in the garden? Wait in my boudoir? For what? For a man' . A sob broke from her as she sat very still, her head held very high. ' a man ' whom ' I loved ' and who is never again ' coming ' home. I have to ' come back to work. I have to. It is a part of me, and it was a part of him. I will find him there. Every day. In a thousand different ways. In some of the ways that mattered most. I just' have to. That's all. Even Alessandro understands. I told him this morning. He understood perfectly. She looked proud for a moment. He was such a good little boy.
Then you're making him as crazy as you are. But Bernardo didn't mean it unkindly, and Isabella only smiled.
May I make him as crazy as I am, Bernardo. And as lovely as his father was. May I make him just as fine as that. And with that she stood up, and for the first time in days he saw a real smile and only a glimmer of what had once been the sparkle in her eyes, only days before, only days. I need to be alone now. For a while.
When will I see you? He stood up, watching her. Isabella was still there. Somewhere, sleeping, waiting, but she would come alive again. He was sure of it now. There was too much life in her not to.
You will see me on Monday morning, of course. In my office.
He only looked at her silently and then he left. He had a lot on his mind.
Chapter FIVE
Isabella di San Gregorio did indeed appear in the office on Monday morning, and every day after that. She was there from nine to two, inspiring awe, terror, admiration, and respect. She was everything Amadeo had always known she was. She was made of fire and steel, of heart and guts. She wore his hat now as well as her own, and a thousand others. She worked on papers in her room at home at night long after Alessandro went to sleep. She had two interests in her life now, her work and her child. And very little else. She was tense, tired, drawn, but she was doing what she had said she would do. She even sent Alessandro back to school with a guard, with caution, with care, but with determination. She taught him to be proud, not afraid. She taught him to be brave, not angry. She taught him all that she herself was and still managed to give him something more. Patience, love, laughter, and sometimes they cried together too. Losing Amadeo had cost them both almost everything they had. But now it brought them closer and it made them friends. The only one whose friendship suffered was Bernardo. It was he who took the brunt of her sorrow and anxieties and fatigue. Instead of running more of the business, it seemed to him he ran less. He worked harder, longer, more, and yet she was trying to be everything, the root, the core, the heart and the soul of the House of San Gregorio. It left him drudgery. And bitterness. And anger. Which showed in every meeting between them now. The wars were constant, and Amadeo was no longer there to temper them. She was trying to be Amadeo as well as herself, and she was not sharing with him as she had with Amadeo. She was still in command. It created more tension than ever between them. But at least the business hadn't suffered from the blow of Amadeo's passing. After a month, the figures were stable; after two months they were better than they had been the year before. Everything was better, except the relationship between Bernardo and Isabella, and the way Isabella looked. The phone rang constantly day and night, at home and in the
I'm not saying you shouldn't come back. I'm just saying it's too soon. He tried to sound gentle but he was not Amadeo. He couldn't handle her in Amadeo's gentle way, only with fire.
But this time she only shook her head, her eyes filling with tears again. It's not, Bernardo ' it's not too soon at all. It's much ' much ' too late. He put a hand over hers and waited until she caught her breath. What would I do here? Wander? Open his closets? Sit in the garden? Wait in my boudoir? For what? For a man' . A sob broke from her as she sat very still, her head held very high. ' a man ' whom ' I loved ' and who is never again ' coming ' home. I have to ' come back to work. I have to. It is a part of me, and it was a part of him. I will find him there. Every day. In a thousand different ways. In some of the ways that mattered most. I just' have to. That's all. Even Alessandro understands. I told him this morning. He understood perfectly. She looked proud for a moment. He was such a good little boy.
Then you're making him as crazy as you are. But Bernardo didn't mean it unkindly, and Isabella only smiled.
May I make him as crazy as I am, Bernardo. And as lovely as his father was. May I make him just as fine as that. And with that she stood up, and for the first time in days he saw a real smile and only a glimmer of what had once been the sparkle in her eyes, only days before, only days. I need to be alone now. For a while.
When will I see you? He stood up, watching her. Isabella was still there. Somewhere, sleeping, waiting, but she would come alive again. He was sure of it now. There was too much life in her not to.
You will see me on Monday morning, of course. In my office.
He only looked at her silently and then he left. He had a lot on his mind.
Chapter FIVE
Isabella di San Gregorio did indeed appear in the office on Monday morning, and every day after that. She was there from nine to two, inspiring awe, terror, admiration, and respect. She was everything Amadeo had always known she was. She was made of fire and steel, of heart and guts. She wore his hat now as well as her own, and a thousand others. She worked on papers in her room at home at night long after Alessandro went to sleep. She had two interests in her life now, her work and her child. And very little else. She was tense, tired, drawn, but she was doing what she had said she would do. She even sent Alessandro back to school with a guard, with caution, with care, but with determination. She taught him to be proud, not afraid. She taught him to be brave, not angry. She taught him all that she herself was and still managed to give him something more. Patience, love, laughter, and sometimes they cried together too. Losing Amadeo had cost them both almost everything they had. But now it brought them closer and it made them friends. The only one whose friendship suffered was Bernardo. It was he who took the brunt of her sorrow and anxieties and fatigue. Instead of running more of the business, it seemed to him he ran less. He worked harder, longer, more, and yet she was trying to be everything, the root, the core, the heart and the soul of the House of San Gregorio. It left him drudgery. And bitterness. And anger. Which showed in every meeting between them now. The wars were constant, and Amadeo was no longer there to temper them. She was trying to be Amadeo as well as herself, and she was not sharing with him as she had with Amadeo. She was still in command. It created more tension than ever between them. But at least the business hadn't suffered from the blow of Amadeo's passing. After a month, the figures were stable; after two months they were better than they had been the year before. Everything was better, except the relationship between Bernardo and Isabella, and the way Isabella looked. The phone rang constantly day and night, at home and in the
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