by Susan Meier
Bernice had tried to talk her out of leaving, but she’d explained that her mind was made up. She said goodbye to Rosina and drove herself to the airstrip, leaving Antonio’s car to be picked up by staff.
Strapping herself into the plane seat, she remembered flying to Italy, eating French toast, falling asleep beside Antonio, who’d put a cover over her. Her heart lurched, but the memory of his rejection poured through her. Dear God. She’d never been so surprised. She’d been so sure he’d say he loved her too.
Straightening in her seat, she scolded herself for letting herself remember even one minute of their time together. She’d had warning after warning that he wasn’t ready for what she needed. Twice he’d stepped back rather than kiss her. He hadn’t wanted her to go to Barcelona. Yet she’d ignored every signal he sent because he was a wounded man, so desperately in need of love that, of course, she’d longed to love him. Handsome, talented and desperate for love, he’d been just a little too much to resist.
Pain threatened to overwhelm her, but she shoved it down. She had responsibilities and realities of her own, and she’d come to her senses. After one quick pass of her hand over her tummy, she snuggled into a blanket, intending to fall asleep. But tears welled in her eyes. Her chest heaved. And sobs overtook her.
Alone on a plane with no one to see or hear her, she gave in and let herself weep.
On the ground in Kentucky, she rented a car. When she used her check card to pay for it, she discovered she didn’t merely have the full salary Constanzo had promised her, but Antonio’s father had also ponied up the promised severance pay.
She called Bernice to have it taken back, but Bernice laughed. “Are you kidding? Constanzo is happy to be alive. He’s so generous right now that I’m surprised he didn’t double it. He’ll never take it back. Besides, he gave orders for the money to be given to you weeks ago, when you first arrived. No matter when you left that money was going to you...so it’s yours.”
Though Constanzo’s generosity was a bit overboard, Laura Beth understood that he felt he owed her. Helping her set up her new life was probably how he’d deal with her leaving. He needed to know she’d be okay and money was his tool. So maybe it would be best to just take what he offered. She’d fulfilled at least part of her duties to Constanzo by helping Antonio clear out his office and getting him to a gallery opening. She’d also gotten him painting again—Constanzo’s real goal. So, yeah. She could understand why Constanzo had been so generous.
Plus, the money meant she could move on. Never see Antonio again.
That filled her heart with pain. She let herself feel it as a reminder that she never wanted to be so foolish again, but she didn’t really need a reminder. In her heart, she knew she’d never love another man the way she loved Antonio.
She arrived at her parents’ house a little before dawn. She made coffee and pancakes, and, as she expected, the scents woke her mom and dad and her two brothers.
As hugs were exchanged, she swallowed hard. She didn’t want to ruin this reunion, but she knew it was time to accept her fate and do what needed to be done.
When everyone had a few pancakes on their plates, she smiled at the group. “I have some news.”
Her tall, strapping construction worker dad laughed, and said, “You’re staying in Italy,” as if it were a foregone conclusion.
She shook her head. “No. No more Italy. I’m actually home for good. I got a huge severance from the gentleman who’d hired me. I can afford to buy a house here.”
Her mom clutched her chest. “You’re back?”
She nodded. “For good.”
Then her mom surprised her. “Oh, sweetie, we love you and we love the idea of you living in town with us—” she caught Laura Beth’s gaze “—but you wanted so much more for yourself. A big-time career. Are you going to be happy here?”
Laura Beth swallowed as unhappiness swelled in her. Still, it wasn’t the big-time career she would miss. It was Antonio. The real love of her life. But how could she explain that to her parents when she was pregnant with another man’s child? Worse, how could she explain that when Antonio didn’t feel for her what she felt her him?
She couldn’t. Her love for Antonio would have to stay her hidden secret. Another cross to bear.
For her parents’ sake, she brightened when she said, “Yes, I’ll be very happy here, because I have a child to raise.”
At her parents’ confused look, she said, “I’m pregnant. Bruce doesn’t want to marry me, but I’m okay with that. I don’t love him either.” An arrow pierced her heart again when she thought of the man she did love, but she ignored it. “And with the severance pay I got from Mr. Bartulocci, I can buy a house and support myself until after the baby’s born. Then I may need to take some courses, like accounting, so I can find a job around here.” She squeezed her mom’s hand. “But it’s all good.”
* * *
Nothing was good. Antonio glanced around the private suite they’d given his dad, at the rows and rows of flowers that covered every flat surface in the room, and even parts of the floor. Still, his father grumbled.
“It’s hot in here.”
“It’s almost June. It’s supposed to be hot.”
“I want to see Laura Beth.”
Pain squeezed Antonio’s heart, but he forced himself not to show it. When he’d returned to the house the day before, her room had been empty. Rosina knew nothing, though her crying suggested otherwise. He’d had to call Bernice before he got the news that she’d taken the plane and gone to Kentucky.
“She went home.”
Constanzo kicked his covers around, trying to get comfortable, but obviously failing. “I can’t believe she went home. What did you say? What did you do?”
“Interesting how you assume I somehow drove her off.”
“Didn’t you?”
He had. He knew he had. But this was none of his father’s business. Plus, there were bigger issues in Laura Beth’s life than a heartbreak from a guy who hadn’t deserved her love.
He sucked in a breath and faced his father. “She’s pregnant.”
Constanzo stopped struggling. “Oh, my God! How did I raise you to let the mother of your child go? Did you learn nothing from my mistakes?”
Antonio shook his head. “It’s not my baby.”
Constanzo’s eyes narrowed. “Is this why she was so eager to come to Italy?”
Antonio nodded. “She needed some time to think things through and a place she could gather herself while she figured out what to do. You provided it.”
“I am good that way.”
Oh, how the man could turn anything to his favor! “You’re a crabby old man.”
“I anticipate!” Constanzo yelled, then he sucked in a long, slow breath. Antonio tensed, worried something was wrong, but Constanzo quietly said, “You are going to make me pay until the end of time, aren’t you?”
Confused, Antonio caught his father’s gaze. “What? What am I making you pay for this time?”
“Leaving you.” He brushed his hand in dismissal. “No. That is not correct. You aren’t making me pay for leaving you. You are making me pay for everything wrong that happened in your life after your mother died.”
Antonio bristled. He did nothing but ask, “How high?” when his dad said, “Jump.” He catered to his whims and wishes. Canceled plans. Made plans. How could Constanzo even hint that Antonio was somehow making him pay?
“That’s insanity.”
“Is it? You always hold yourself away. You love me but you won’t give me love.”
Antonio gaped at him. “Are you lying in a hospital bed, recovering from a heart attack, splitting hairs with me?”
Constanzo fussed with the covers. “Yes.”
“You have got to be kidding me.”
“I almost
died. It gives a man clarity.”
“Right.”
“I am right! I want my son to love me and respect me. Not give me bits and pieces of affection.”
“Maybe you should have thought of that before you kicked my mom out of your office.”
“And there we have it.”
Antonio shook his head and turned away from his dad. “I’m not having this conversation. I’m tired, I’m stressed and you’re pushing me into saying things I don’t mean.”
“And why are you stressed? I’m the one who almost died.”
Antonio tossed his hands in disgust. “There’s no winning with you.”
“There could be. All you have to do is love me like a dad, not like an enemy you’re forced to interact with.” When Antonio said nothing, he sighed. “Forgive me for not believing your mom.”
Antonio squeezed his eyes shut.
“Then forgive Gisella for being a slut.”
His eyes popped open and he spun to face his dad. “What?”
Constanzo laughed. “You think I don’t know? You think my own daughter-in-law could flaunt her affairs in my favorite cities and word would not get back to me?”
Antonio rubbed his hand down his face.
“You carry the weight of betrayal like a good-luck charm. Something you’re afraid to set down for fear if you do bad luck will return. Because I didn’t trust your mom, you’re afraid to trust me. And because Gisella humiliated you, you won’t trust Laura Beth.”
“If it were that simple, I think I could get beyond it.”
“Then tell me the part that’s complicated.”
He blew out a breath. “Gisella aborted our child.”
His dad blinked. “Oh.”
“And Laura Beth is pregnant. I have mourned the loss of my child for two long years. I wake up most days knowing I should have a son or daughter playing in my yard. I cannot handle having a pregnant woman under my roof, and it isn’t fair to subject her to my anger when she’s not at fault.”
Constanzo closed his eyes and shook his head. “I am so sorry.”
“Why? It’s not like you understand. You very easily let my mother go...then forgot her. Forgot me. How could you possibly understand my loss?”
“I think it’s time I tell you what really happened with your mom.”
Antonio slowly lifted his gaze to meet his dad’s. “I’m not in the mood, Dad.”
“But this is finally the right time. The only time. If you don’t change now, I fear you will be gone for good.”
Gobsmacked, he only stared at his dad. “I need to change?”
“Yes. Just listen.” Constanzo cleared his throat and quietly said, “Your mother was a rebound relationship.”
Antonio frowned. “I thought you’d been dating?”
“We had. I’d lost the love of my life and one day your mother happened to be at a club where I was socializing. We struck up a conversation. One thing led to another and she came home with me.”
Antonio shook his head, not sure how the hell this was supposed to help him. “She was a one-night stand?”
“She was a rebound. I’d been ridiculously in love with a woman I thought loved me too. But she hadn’t. She hadn’t been with me for my money or for love. A rich heiress, she was simply biding time. Waiting for a better guy to come around.”
“So you did the same thing with my mom.”
He winced. “Yes. And after a few weeks, I let her go.” He fussed with the covers. “Then a few weeks after that she came to me with the pregnancy story and I thought it was a ruse. A way to get back with me or get back at me.”
“So you kicked her out of your office and forgot her because you were busy?”
Constanzo nodded. “And though it seemed like the right thing at the time, ten years later I suddenly realized what I’d done. If she really had been pregnant, I’d tossed away a child.”
Antonio sniffed a laugh.
“Oh, you think you’re so superior. But my loss of you is not so much different than the loss of your child. Except in my case I had a hand in things. But when a person comes to his senses and realizes he’s thrown away his one chance at real happiness...” He paused, caught Antonio’s gaze. “It more than hurts. Sometimes, it stops a life.”
Antonio swallowed hard.
“Did you love Gisella?”
“At one time.”
“But the love died?”
He glanced up at his dad. “I’m not sure she had any love for me to die.”
“So you feel a fool?”
He drew in a long breath and expelled it quickly. “That sort of gets lost in the grief I feel over my child.”
“And you don’t see the second chance you’ve been handed?”
He frowned.
“You love Laura Beth.”
He shook his head. “She’s a very nice woman. Far too good to be dragged into my pit.”
“Oh, pit, schmit.”
“Excuse me?”
“Now you are splitting hairs. Maybe because you’re afraid.”
“Afraid? Hell, yes, I’m afraid. How do I know I won’t see my baby every time I look at hers? How do I know I can be a good husband when the only chance I got to try resulted in failure?”
“Do you love Laura Beth?”
He squeezed his eyes shut. “I have feelings for her that are beyond expression. Sometimes when she’s around it’s comfortable. Other days, she makes me think. I can’t imagine anyplace I’d go, anything I’d do that wouldn’t be more fun if she was there.”
Constanzo laughed. “Oh, my son. You have it bad and it scares you.”
Antonio licked his suddenly dry lips. “I failed with a woman who seemed to be tailor-made for me—”
“Men like you and me, Antonio, we’re not made for princesses or supermodels. We’re high maintenance ourselves.”
Antonio laughed.
“We are made for the Laura Beths of the world. The women who bring sunshine. The women who make us stop and enjoy life. If you let her go, you will regret it for the rest of your days. But more than that, if you can’t finally learn to forgive, the regret you have over her leaving will be nothing compared to the sadness you will find when you wake up one day and discover you created your own prison.”
Antonio looked over at his dad. “You want me to forgive you?”
“For real this time. And I want you to forgive Gisella.”
He sniffed a laugh. “She doesn’t need my forgiveness.”
Constanzo shook his head sadly. “No. But your tired soul needs the rest forgiving will give you.” He patted the bed, asking for Antonio’s hand. Antonio slid his hand over to his dad, who caught it and squeezed. “You lost a family, but Laura Beth is offering you another. Sometimes fate is weird like that. It cannot give you back what you lost, but sometimes it finds a replacement.”
The room was quiet for a second, then Constanzo said, “If you don’t take this chance, another might come along. Fate is generous. But do you want to lose Laura Beth? The real love of your life? Now that you’ve met her, everyone will pale compared to her. You might find happiness. But you will never again find this joy.”
Antonio rose. He walked to the head of the bed, reached down and hugged his father. “I forgive you, you old coot.”
Constanzo patted his back. “For real this time?”
He sucked in a breath. “For real this time.”
“Thank you. Now, go get Laura Beth. I want the sound of small feet in our big houses.”
* * *
Antonio drove his Lamborghini back home. He understood what his father was saying about his mom. He also felt a swell of regret for withholding forgiveness from his father. But going to get Laura Beth?
Even though he kn
ew in his heart she was the one true love of his life, going to her with his heart in his hand was risky. He wasn’t just afraid. He was unworthy. Despite his ability to forgive his dad, he couldn’t trust. He didn’t want to trust.
Too wired to do anything, he headed for his studio. He unlocked the old wooden door and went to the back room.
There on the easel was Laura Beth.
He hesitated as he walked to the pencil drawing that would become a painting. Her laughing eyes beckoned. He ran his finger down the line of her cheek. The problem wasn’t fear that she’d hurt him as Gisella had. The problem was he feared she’d hurt him worse. What he felt for her went beyond the surface, beyond a desire for her beauty. He loved her in a way he never could have loved Gisella. With his whole heart and soul. And that’s why he feared her.
Gisella could never have held that kind of power over him, which was why it was suddenly easy to forgive her.
Feeling free for the first time in years, he made his way back to the house and stepped into quiet. The kind of quiet that became an early grave if a man wasn’t careful.
He walked upstairs, to his room, letting himself imagine the sounds of a child, a soothing lullaby from Laura Beth, the click of computer keys as he arranged for something totally American—a Disney vacation—and he laughed.
Maybe his dad was right? Maybe fate was giving him a second chance, with a different child. His child might be gone, but Laura Beth’s baby needed a daddy.
His life would be so different with her. Noisy. Complicated. Rich.
All he had to do was get on his father’s jet and find her.
* * *
Laura Beth dragged her mother to the fourth real estate appointment in as many days.
“There’s no sidewalk,” her mother groused. “I’m not coming to visit you if I’m going to get mud on my shoes every time I walk to your back door.” She stopped, crossed her arms on her chest stubbornly. “Take pictures with that fancy phone of yours. I’ll be in the car.”
“Mom!” Laura Beth called after her mother, who strode back to the little blue car Laura Beth had bought the day before.
