Shock: One-Night Heir

by MELANIE MILBURNE

  ‘Luca is a very private person,’ Giorgio said. ‘He didn’t even tell his own family what he was going through.’

  ‘I don’t want to get into it,’ she said. ‘They have sorted it out now and are so much in love; how could anyone not be happy for them?’

  ‘I am happy for them,’ he said. ‘I just know that Luca has missed out on his child’s first year of life. No one can make that up to him or to us as his family. We were all cheated of that year. I would never forgive you the way he has done Bronte if you had tried to pull that kind of stunt on me.’

  Maya glared at him heatedly. ‘How could I have done that when up until now I have never even stayed pregnant longer than a measly six weeks?’

  The air rang with the pain of her words, filling every large and small space of the room with its presence.

  He took a step towards her. ‘Maya…’

  She warned him off by folding her arms tightly around her body. ‘Don’t make this any worse than it already is,’ she said. ‘You forced me to come back to you to give your grandfather peace in his last days but he’s gone now. I don’t have to stay with you any longer. You can’t force me. I could pack my bags and leave you today and there’s nothing you could do to stop me.’

  A flash of anger fired in his gaze like the blast of a gun. ‘If you leave me this time around, Maya, you will regret it for the rest of your life. I was too easy on you the first time around. I thought you needed space; I thought we both needed it. But this time the gloves will be off. I will take my child off you as soon as it is born and don’t for a moment think I couldn’t or wouldn’t do it.’

  Maya swallowed as his hateful words began to sink in. This was no longer a fight for his money, but for his child as well. He would do anything to keep both under his control. She was immaterial to him: just another piece on the chessboard of his life, to move around as he pleased. If he loved her wouldn’t he just have said so to get her to stay with him?

  ‘You are assuming, of course, that this child will be born,’ she said in a voice she barely recognised as her own: it sounded hard and bitter and full of ice-cold contempt.

  ‘The doctor is very confident you will deliver a perfectly healthy child this time,’ Giorgio said. ‘I want that child, Maya. Don’t make me take it off you with a long drawn out divorce and custody battle. You should know by now I will not let you win.’

  She threw him a flaying look. ‘I know you are ruthless and heartless when it comes to getting what you want. You are prepared to lock yourself into a loveless marriage for God knows how many years just so you don’t have to give me what I want.’

  ‘It seems to me you don’t even know what you want,’ he threw back. ‘You said you wanted a divorce but as soon as we were thrown together for a few hours you were back in my bed. Nothing’s changed, Maya. You want me. I want you.’

  Maya hated that her colour was high. She felt the shame of her capitulation to him all over again. She was so weak, so wanton when it came to this man. Why couldn’t she have better self-control? ‘How long do you think this lust fest is going to last?’ she asked.

  His coal-black eyes glittered as they challenged hers. ‘It’s lasted pretty well so far,’ he said. ‘In fact, if there wasn’t a crowd of people just outside this door I would take you here and now and prove it.’

  Maya felt her body respond with hot wires of need. Her skin broke out in goose bumps at the mere thought of him possessing her the way he had done the night of his grandfather’s death. They had made love every night since, and yet each time it had transcended the prior experience, as if her body was only now coming to full sensual maturity. She had lost so many of her inhibitions; she had enjoyed his body in every way possible.

  There was a knock at the door that shattered the sensual spell like a rock on a thin glass window.

  Giorgio strode over to the door and tugged it open. ‘Yes?’ he barked curtly.

  ‘Oh…sorry,’ Bronte, Luca’s wife, said, blushing. ‘I was just looking for Jade Sommerville. I saw her briefly at the funeral but I haven’t seen her since. I guess she must have left early or something.’

  Giorgio muttered something about not keeping a head count on every guest and how he should not be expected to and, curtly excusing himself, strode out of the room.

  Bronte looked across at Maya, who was still standing with her body so stiff it looked as if she were wrapped in cling film and couldn’t move. ‘Are you OK, Maya?’ she asked.

  Maya unpeeled her arms from around her body and let out a sigh. ‘Sorry about Giorgio being so rude to you just then. He’s had a lot on his mind, as you can imagine.’

  ‘I know.’ Bronte’s voice was softly sympathetic. ‘It’s such a sad time for the family. And poor Giorgio’s had to do so much for so long. No wonder he’s a bit tetchy with everyone. But how are you holding up?’

  ‘I’m fine,’ Maya said, shifting her gaze a little.

  There was a small but telling silence.

  ‘Look, you can tell me if it’s none of my business, but I couldn’t help noticing things were pretty tense with you and Giorgio just now,’ Bronte said. ‘Is that just because of the stress he’s been under or something else?’

  Maya felt her chin start to wobble but quickly got it under control. ‘We are having some teething problems, but no doubt we’ll sort them out in time. I haven’t exactly been the best person to be around just lately. I can’t quite let myself believe this baby is going to make it.’

  ‘Oh, Maya.’ Bronte came over and hugged her close. ‘You poor, poor darling. I know it’s hard but you have to think positively. Soon you’ll be showing and then I am sure it will feel much more real to you.’

  Maya pulled back from the hug after a moment. ‘I know; it’s just I’m not sure how to handle Giorgio. The thing is, I have never known how to handle him. I can’t get close to him, at least not emotionally. He won’t let me.’

  Bronte frowned. ‘You still love him though, don’t you?’

  ‘That’s the problem,’ Maya said on another heartfelt sigh. ‘I love him just as much, if not more than I did before.’

  ‘But?’

  Maya’s eyes met Bronte’s concerned ones. ‘Giorgio is incapable of love, or at least of showing it.’

  Bronte frowned. ‘But he must have loved you once. He married you, didn’t he?’

  Maya’s chin wobbled again and she bit down on her lip to steady it. ‘Our marriage was not a romantic match, more of an expedient one.’

  Bronte’s brows went up. ‘What on earth do you mean?’

  Maya sighed heavily. ‘Giorgio and I met just before his father had the accident. I fell in love with him, but he only married me because his family expected it of him, especially once things looked so grim with his father. His goal was to get married and have an heir and I stupidly agreed to it, hoping that one day he would fall in love with me, but of course he didn’t. We made each other positively miserable, especially when it became pretty clear I wasn’t going to fulfil my end of the arrangement in producing an heir and a spare on schedule.’

  ‘Oh, Maya,’ Bronte said again, clearly lost for words.

  ‘We’re only back together because of Salvatore dying and, of course, the baby,’ Maya went on. ‘If it hadn’t been for this pregnancy, we would be apart now that Salvatore is gone. Giorgio was as keen to move on with his life as I was to move on with mine.’

  Bronte’s expression looked pinched with pity. ‘Oh, dear…You surely don’t think he has someone else? You know, like a mistress or something?’

  Maya thought of that svelte lingerie model and pain sliced through her like the blade of a scimitar. ‘I don’t know…maybe…I hope not…’

  Bronte put a gentle hand on Maya’s arm. ‘Do you want me to have a word with Luca about it to see if he can talk to Giorgio?’

  Maya shook her head. ‘No, please don’t involve Luca or anyone else in this. Giorgio and I have to sort it out ourselves.’

  ‘Give it time, Maya,’ Bro
nte advised. ‘A lot of stuff has happened over a short period of time. From what I’ve seen, Giorgio takes on a lot of the stress for other people. I guess that comes from being the oldest brother. Once things settle down a bit he might see things differently. He certainly looks and acts like he cares about you. Luca and I were only discussing it the other day. Giorgio is so protective of you, making sure you get enough rest and don’t do too much. He was absolutely furious with us for allowing you to sit with Salvatore for several hours the week before he died—you know, the day I had my doctor’s appointment? He said you were only to be allowed to take short shifts. I was quite frightened of him but Luca assured me it was because he really cares about you and the baby.’

  The door opened and Luca came in carrying a fractious Ella. ‘Ah, here she is,’ he said, winking at Bronte. ‘Here’s Mummy.’

  ‘Mum Mum,’ Ella wailed piteously and reached out her little arms for Bronte.

  Maya felt a wave of envy go through her. How she longed for a child of her own to do exactly that, not to mention a husband as loving and devoted as Luca was to Bronte.

  ‘This young lady needs a sleep,’ Bronte said, smiling ruefully at Maya. ‘Do you want to go shopping with me tomorrow? I can come and pick you up. I found this great maternity boutique. There was a pink and white top and trousers with an expandable waistline that would look fabulous on you with your gorgeous colouring.’

  Maya smiled. ‘I would love that. I haven’t got anything planned.’

  ‘Great,’ Bronte said, cupping Ella’s sleepy head against her shoulder. ‘I’ll pick you up about eleven, OK?’

  Maya watched as Luca put a loving arm around his wife as they left the room together, the bond of their child and the new one they were expecting cementing them together in a bond that was unbreakable.

  The door had barely swung shut when it opened again, roughly this time, with a stormy-looking Nic striding in, ready for some sort of showdown. ‘Oh, scusi,’ he said, pulling up short when he saw her. ‘I thought you were someone else.’

  ‘Sorry to disappoint you,’ Maya said, unable to remove the tartness from her tone in time.

  Nic’s expression lost some of its hardness. ‘Look, Maya, I know you think I belong under a rock some place but, for Giorgio’s sake, can we try and get along? I’m really happy about you being back together. Giorgio needs the stable influence. He’s not been the same since you left him.’

  ‘I might not be able to give him the family he wants,’ she said. ‘It’s still early days.’

  ‘You’re doing a great job so far,’ he said, his eyes flicking to her belly and back with a green-flecked twinkle in them.

  ‘I’m really sorry about your grandfather,’ Maya said to fill the awkward little silence.

  The hardness came back into Nic’s face, making him look older than his thirty-two years. ‘That old conniving bastard has just tried to screw up my life,’ he bit out. ‘But I am not going to roll over for him or for anyone.’

  ‘You sound exactly like your brother,’ she said with a touch of wryness.

  ‘Yeah, well, I’ll take that as a compliment, even though right now I swear to God I could bloody his nose for him. I just bet he put the old man up to this.’

  ‘Up to what?’ Maya asked.

  ‘Never mind,’ he said, shoving open the door. ‘See you around.’

  Chapter Twelve

  GIORGIO was silent on the drive home and Maya refused to try and nudge him out of it. She was still a little angry with him, but even angrier at herself for not having the strength to call his bluff over his threats. She could leave him before the baby was born and spend the next six months just as miserable as the six months she’d spent when she left him the first time. But, for the baby’s sake and her own, she decided to stay. She was just starting to feel the bloom of pregnancy everyone always talked about, the higher level of energy, the glow of the skin and the rush of hormones that made her feel gloriously alive as a woman. It would be crazy to jeopardise all of that by living in a rented flat with Gonzo, who would no doubt lounge about mirroring her misery every day.

  Besides, this had been a tumultuous and very difficult time for the Sabbatini family. They were all feeling the loss of Salvatore and it would be selfish of her to complicate things at such a raw emotional time.

  And then, of course, there was the fact that she simply didn’t want to miss seeing Giorgio every day. She was only just beginning to understand his character. He often showed an air of aloof indifference when something was troubling him. In the past she had taken that as cold dismissal of what was important to her, but now she could see he needed a little more time to process things before he revealed what he felt about them.

  Bronte’s revelation about his reaction to her sitting with Salvatore for so long had surprised her. Giorgio had made no mention of it, although she seemed to recall he had employed another nurse soon after that day. But maybe that was because the baby was his main priority. It was the only reason their marriage was continuing, after all.

  But, in spite of everything, Maya didn’t want him to miss seeing their baby grow inside her. Bronte had told her a couple of weeks back how hard it had been to have no one by her side, apart from her mother, when she was carrying Ella. Bronte had longed for Luca to have been there, witnessing every subtle and not so subtle change in her body, as he was doing now for this new baby.

  She placed her hand on her abdomen protectively, wondering if the baby could sense how much love she had for it, how much she longed for it to grow to full term and arrive safely. If will alone could achieve such a miracle, she felt she was in with a very good chance.

  ‘Are you feeling all right?’ Giorgio asked, glancing at her. ‘You’re not in pain, are you?’

  Maya put her hand back in her lap with her other one. ‘Is it the baby you’re worried about or me?’ she asked, longing for reassurance.

  His mouth tightened as he turned the car into the driveway. ‘I have a lot of worries in my life right now and you are certainly one of them,’ he said.

  ‘Thanks,’ she said. ‘That makes me feel a whole lot better.’

  He blew out a breath as he turned off the engine and swivelled in his seat to face her. ‘I am sorry for taking a hard stand with you over this issue of divorce you keep raising. It’s not that I don’t believe in ending a miserably empty marriage; I just think we could make things work for us if we stick at it.’

  Maya looked into his eyes, wondering if she had the courage to ask him outright what his feelings for her were now. But then she wasn’t sure she would believe him if he said he did love her. How easy would it be for him to pretend so she fell in with his plans?

  Celebrity divorces were ugly. They were also very public and a lot of mud could get thrown back and forth. He would want to avoid it just as much as she would.

  He reached out and brushed the back of his bent knuckles along the curve of her cheek in a faineant movement that sent all her nerves dancing in delight. ‘I promised my grandfather I would look after you,’ he said in a husky tone. ‘You were like another grandchild to him. I think he saw you as a replacement of the granddaughter he lost.’

  Maya put her hand over his, holding it to her cheek. ‘You never talk of her—of Chiara,’ she said softly. ‘I don’t think I’ve even seen a photo of her.’

  His eyes became shadowed and he pulled his hand out from under hers. ‘She would have looked just like Ella,’ he said, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly, even though the car was not in motion. ‘Luca showed me some photos of when Ella was the age Chiara was when she died. It was like looking at a mirror image.’

  ‘It must have been a terrible time for you, finding her like that,’ she said, imagining the tragic scene in her head and feeling sick with anguish for him.

  There was a silence that lasted only a few seconds but it felt much, much longer.

  ‘It was,’ he said, his expression darkening as if he were walking back through to that tragic day i
n his mind. ‘I went into her room and it was so silent, so terribly, eerily silent. And then I realised she was too still, too pale, waxy, just like a doll.’

  Maya swallowed against the tennis ball of emotion that clogged her throat. ‘Oh, Giorgio…’

  ‘We should go inside,’ he said, swiftly changing the subject. ‘You have been on your feet way too long and I too am exhausted. It’s been a hell of a long week.’

  Maya followed him into the villa, glad of his supportive arm around her waist, the feel of that strong band of flesh reminding her of all the passion that simmered between them, even when they were angry with each other. He had opened up to her, just a little bit, just enough for her to see how deeply he felt about things even though he gave no outward sign of it. He was obviously trying to connect with her for the sake of their baby. It clearly wasn’t easy for him. She had seen the struggle played out on his face as he had spoken of finding his baby sister and she loved him all the more for it.

  Once inside, Giorgio turned her into the circle of his arms. ‘Why don’t you go upstairs and run a bath? I will join you in a few minutes. I have some calls and emails to see to first.’

  Maya felt her heart trip in excitement. Sharing a bath with Giorgio was an experience that was totally unforgettable. They hadn’t done it since their reconciliation but she knew it would be every bit as thrilling as the last time they had, if not more.

  She was sitting soaking luxuriously in a deep pool of warm bubbly water when he came in. He was totally, gloriously naked. She feasted her eyes on his body: his broad chest with its dusting of coarse hair, his flat brown nipples, his even flatter abdomen, and lean hips and strongly muscled thighs, and the most intensely masculine part of him rising proudly between them.

  He came over and stepped into the bath, sending a wave of rippling water over her partially submerged breasts. ‘How’s the water?’ he asked with a smouldering look.