Another rush of emotion stormed up through him, overwhelming him once again. He cleared his throat gruffly, and stepped away to look out of the window.
‘No, don’t turn away from me,’ Chloe said, pulling him back towards her. ‘I love you—and I won’t let you shut me out again.’
Lorenzo felt himself smiling.
A bubble of laughter burst out of him. He was in love with Chloe and she was taking no prisoners.
‘You’ve been battening down your heart for too long,’ she said, thumping him playfully on the chest. ‘But now we’ve broken it free—don’t think I’m going to let you get away with closing it up again.’
He caught her hands in his, and gathered them up to him, looking seriously into her eyes once more.
‘I’ve been a fool,’ he said, with heart-wrenching honesty. ‘I put so much energy into convincing myself that love was a lie—that it didn’t really exist. I thought I’d found another way to build my life, a practical approach that wouldn’t let me down. When you said you loved me I was angry. In one fell swoop you undermined everything I had set up to be true. I think even then I knew you were telling me the truth, but I couldn’t let myself believe it.’
‘You believe it now,’ Chloe said. ‘That’s the most important thing.’
‘But we wasted so much time,’ he said, shaking his head as he thought about the months they’d spent apart.
‘It wasn’t wasted,’ she said earnestly. ‘Not if that was what was necessary to reach through to your heart.’
Lorenzo looked down at her, feeling another wave of emotion rising through him. She was amazing.
‘You are the best part of me,’ he said, reaching out to her again and drawing her into his arms. ‘Without you I was nothing. Don’t ever leave me.’
Chloe closed her eyes and gave herself over to the awe-inspiring depth of emotion that was flowing through her body. She’d always loved him—but this was something different. Somehow knowing that her love was reciprocated had magnified the wonder of it a hundredfold.
She had never been so happy, and she had never been filled with so much hope for the future. She leant into his embrace, knowing that she had finally found what her heart had been searching for.
A few wonderful moments later, she felt herself being lifted into his arms, and he carried her back up to their bedroom. As they passed through the doorway the sound of Emma chatting to herself in her cot drifted through to her consciousness.
‘I’ll get her,’ Lorenzo said, placing a lingering kiss on her lips before walking through the open door into Emma’s nursery next to their bedroom.
Chloe watched with happiness as he carried her in. He looked so comfortable with the baby girl. He had made a true connection with her and Chloe knew truly he was ready to be her father emotionally as well as practically.
‘Let’s sit here a while,’ he said, getting onto the bed and placing Emma on the soft cover.
Chloe smiled and picked up a handful of toys before joining them.
‘You know, she can’t balance very well on here,’ she said, crawling into the centre of the king-sized bed to sit with them. ‘It’s too wobbly.’
‘I’ll hold her,’ Lorenzo said, sitting her between his legs and gently supporting her little body. ‘I just want to sit here for a while, with my family close to me.’
Chloe felt her eyes tingle with tears once again. She looked at him holding Emma and she suddenly knew she had never seen a more beautiful sight. He looked completely relaxed, sitting with his little baby daughter.
He lifted his glowing eyes and caught her gaze with his.
‘Come closer,’ he said, holding out his arm. ‘I want both my girls close to me.’
Chloe smiled and moved across the bed, careful not to wobble Emma off balance, although she knew Lorenzo had her.
She snuggled up against him, revelling in the warm strength of his arm around her. It felt truly wonderful sitting there. Then suddenly she heard the familiar rustle of a foil packet coming from his trouser pocket as he shifted his position slightly.
At that moment she made another decision—or rather she knew that the time was right to take the next step.
She slipped her hand into his pocket and drew out the condom packet.
‘Hmm.’ Lorenzo made an approving sound. ‘But I think it’s still a bit too early to take Emma down to Mrs Guest.’
‘That’s OK,’ Chloe said. ‘We’ll be alone later. But we won’t be needing this.’
With that she tossed the little packet away, towards the waste-paper basket under the dressing table.
She felt a tremble pass through Lorenzo, and she looked up to see the shimmer of moisture in his eyes once more.
‘I love you,’ he said.
The following morning, before the cool light of dawn started to creep over the horizon, Chloe felt Lorenzo lifting her gently out of bed.
‘Come with me,’ he murmured in her ear, drawing her out of a deep, restful sleep. ‘I have a surprise for you.’
‘What is it?’ Chloe asked dreamily. Her body was still fabulously relaxed, and glowing from the aftermath of the most wonderful lovemaking they had ever shared. Somehow, knowing that a new life might form inside her because of it had made it even more magical than usual. ‘It’s the middle of the night—where are you taking me?’
‘It’s not the middle of the night,’ Lorenzo said, carrying her out of the bedroom, duvet and all.
He took her downstairs, then pressed a button on the concealed control panel, and the giant sliding doors in the living room glided open.
Chloe drew in a surprised breath of fresh pre-dawn air, but her body was still cosy, wrapped up snugly in the duvet.
‘I’ve got us a front row seat,’ Lorenzo said, carrying her across the glistening dew-covered lawn towards the bench that overlooked the meadow. ‘With full surround sound.’
Chloe smiled—completely speechless. She couldn’t believe he had planned this, woken up hours before he had to, just to bring her outside for the dawn chorus.
They sat together on the bench, watching the golden tinge in the east unfold into the most beautiful sunrise Chloe had ever seen, and listening to the sound of myriad birds greeting the new day in a truly magnificent ensemble.
‘Thank you,’ Chloe breathed when the symphony of birdsong had eased from its glorious crescendo. ‘That was the most amazing thing anyone has ever done for me.’
‘You’re welcome,’ Lorenzo said. ‘All I want, more than anything in the world, is to make you happy.’
‘All I need to make me happy is your love,’ she replied, gazing up into the face of the man she adored.
‘Chloe Valente, I love you,’ he said, his voice vibrating with powerful, heartfelt emotion. ‘I love you more than I can say. And I always will.’
ISBN: 978-1-4268-5199-5
THE BLACKMAIL BABY
First North American Publication 2010.
Copyright © 2009 by Natalie Rivers.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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Natalie Rivers, The Blackmail Baby
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