“Go, Carlo. I really need to be alone right now.”
He stood up, giving her a curt nod. “Give me a call when you are ready to finish this conversation, Daníella.”
When Daníella didn’t respond, he left, his heart sinking further into his chest with each step. Carlo hadn’t wanted to tell her this information for this reason. Daníella had always talked about a family, and to know he couldn’t give her one tore at him.
He froze in midstep when he heard Daníella cry out in what could only be described as anguish. It took everything he had to keep walking when her cry of anguish turned into sobs. He had hurt her as he had known he would. Once Carlo made it to his car, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed Tierra’s number. She answered quickly.
“Hello.”
“I made a mistake, Tierra.”
Concern laced Tierra’s voice when she spoke. “What do you mean you made a mistake?”
Carlo sighed heavily. “I told Daníella everything.”
Tierra was silent for a minute. “Then you didn’t make a mistake at all, Carlo. It was time she knew, but I take it the reaction to the news wasn’t good?”
Carlo closed his eyes and leaned back against the headrest. “She told me to leave, Tierra. When I was outside her apartment, I could hear her crying.”
It tore at him to say it. To know he was responsible for that. He’d vowed to never hurt her again. Even though he knew it was a promise he couldn’t keep he’d wanted to.
“You have to go back to her, Carlo. The two of you can work this out.”
He sighed, rubbing his eyes. “I’m not sure if we can, Tierra. Daníella has always wanted a family.”
“There are other ways to have children, Carlo.”
“She told me to leave.”
“Of course she did. Daníella is hurt. Give her a few minutes then go back.”
Tierra hadn’t been wrong so far in any of the advice she’d given him, but still he wasn’t sure about this. He had never known Daníella to react the way she had tonight. Not that he could blame her.
“Are you sure, Tierra?”
“I’m positive. You can’t leave her tonight without this resolved.”
“What if she won’t let me in?”
“You’ll find another way in.”
Carlo thought about his spare key, sighing heavily. If it was one thing he did agree with Tierra on, it was this. “Okay, Tierra. I will give her a few minutes, and then I’ll go back.”
“Good, and remember, Carlo, she loves you just as much as you love her.”
“Grazie, Tierra.”
“Siete benvenuto, Carlo. Call me back if you need me.”
Carlo disconnected the call, taking a deep breath, hoping Tierra was right. Now, he had to figure out what to say to keep Daníella from walking away from him for good.
* * * *
Daníella pressed a cold compress to her eyes. They hurt so badly. She could barely see out of them, telling her that they were swollen. But she didn’t care. Right now she was hurt, and it was all she could think about. How could Carlo keep such a thing from her? If he had been present, she would ask him. But she had asked him to leave. At least that proved he cared enough to respect her request, even when it was clear he didn’t want to. Now that she was a little calmer, she wanted him to explain his idiotic reasoning.
Daníella nearly jumped twenty feet in the air when a knock sounded at her door.
“Who is it?”
“Carlo.”
She pulled the cold towel from over her eyes. Her vision was still blurry, but she could make out the door.
“Daníella, let me in. We need to talk. I don’t want to leave with things like they are. I’ve made that mistake before. I refuse to do it again.”
As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. She stared at the door for another moment before realizing she wasn’t going to be able to open it that way. Getting up slowly, she made her way toward the door. Daníella took a deep breath as she opened the door. The look that appeared on Carlo’s face told her she looked worse than she originally thought. Stepping back, she allowed him to enter her apartment.
Closing the door behind him, she turned to look at him. The pain in his eyes was somewhat unexpected. After what he’d just revealed, she expected guilt. Looking at him expectantly, she waited for him to say something.
“I’m sorry, Daníella.” Carlo sighed heavily before continuing. “I should have told you.”
“You’re right. You should have told me.” She walked to the couch and sat down before pressing the cold towel back over her eyes. “What hurts more is the reason you didn’t tell me.” She took the towel down and looked at him. “Did you really think I would leave if you couldn’t walk—if you couldn’t give me children? Did I really appear to be so selfish?”
It reassured her when a look of shock appeared on Carlo’s face. He moved toward her, taking her hands into his.
“No, that isn’t what I thought. That isn’t what I thought at all. I didn’t want you to be stuck with me considering what I could have been, especially when there was the possibility someone else could give it to you.”
She snatched her hands from him quickly, angry. How could he think such a stupid thought? “But I didn’t want anyone else, Carlo. I wanted you.”
His smile was sad. “I realize that now. When I look back, I can’t believe how stupid I was.”
Daníella shook her head. All the time they lost because of his insecurities. “I can’t believe you doubted my love.”
Carlo didn’t reply, and she didn’t expect him to. Judging by his expression, he hadn’t realized that was what he’d done until now. When she looked into his eyes, she had to hold back a wave of fresh tears.
“Tell me, Carlo. Would you have left if it had been me—if I had been the one in the accident facing the possibility of never walking again, unable to give you children?”
He remained silent because they both knew what the answer would be. It only made her feel worse. She knew if their roles had been reversed, he would have never thought about leaving her side. Carlo would have done everything to make sure she recovered fully. Exactly what she would have done for him if he had given her the chance.
He reached for her hands again, bringing them up to her lips. “Ah, tesoro mio. Please forgive me for being so stupid.”
Daníella sighed heavily as she looked at the man she loved. There was no way she could walk away from him twice. Then she would only be doing what he had four years ago—giving up on their relationship because of fear of the unknown. This time she had a choice. If she walked away, it would be her decision. The one thing she was sure of was Carlo’s love for her. He had proven that his love for her had never died, neither had hers. He just pushed her away because of a stupid miscalculation on his part. One she was willing to bet he’d never make again. In the time they’d rekindled their relationship, she realized Carlo had been just as miserable without her in his life as she had been without him in hers.
She loved this man, and she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. No way in the world would she give up on this now, but that didn’t mean she had to make it easy for him along the way.
“Carlo, you have to promise me not to do this again.”
“I’m not sure I can make that promise considering my record.”
She laughed and knew he’d meant for her to. “I guess you have a point there.”
He stared at her for a long moment before sighing heavily. “I might sound like a broken record, but I’m sorry, Daníella. I don’t know what came over me. How I could be so weak and insecure to allow such doubts to enter my mind. What I do know is that I love you and I want to be with you. I would have never married you in the first place if I didn’t. I wouldn’t have come back to you begging for another chance if I didn’t. I want to make this work.”
“Carlo, please don’t make me regret forgiving you. It would kill me if you break my heart again.” Daníella reached up an
d cupped his cheek in her hand. “No matter what, Carlo, always remember that I love you.”
He closed his eyes briefly, and when they reopened, she was blinded by the emotion she saw there.
“And I love you, tesoro mio, with a love that passes all understanding now and always.”
She fought back tears at his heartfelt words. “Then we can get through this.”
Daníella leaned forward to place a kiss on Carlo’s lips, and deep down she knew they would. This was a new beginning for the both of them, and she planned to make the best of it.
THE END
WWW.STEPHANIEMORRIS.WEBS.COM
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Stephanie Morris resides in Fort Worth, Texas. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, traveling, dancing, cooking, and spending time with her friends and family. In Stephanie’s opinion, there is nothing like curling up with a good book that you can’t put down, and she is addicted to writing them. Stephanie can be contacted through her website, http://www.stephaniemorris.webs.com/, or via email at [email protected].
Also by Stephanie Morris
BookStrand Mainstream: Indulgence 1:
Propositioning the Rich Italian
BookStrand Mainstream: Indulgence 2: The Seduction of Hayden
Available at
BOOKSTRAND.COM
www.BookStrand.com
Morris, Stephanie - Unfinished Business [Indulgence 3] (BookStrand Publishing Romance) Page 17
