He rubbed the back of his neck absently. “I’m on my way to the airport and planned to phone you before my jet took off.” It would have been the truth if something else hadn’t come up. Something that had changed the very fabric of his life. The Sami he’d been entombed with was alive and had just presented him with his son!
There was a distinct pause. “Are you all right? You sound...different.”
Different didn’t begin to cover what was going on inside him.
“It’s...business. I’m afraid I’m preoccupied with it. Forgive me.” It was the kind of business Chief Coretti had referred to at the station. But it had everything to do with Ric, not with his father. When he thought of the way his suspicious mind had worked trying to get answers...
“Of course I forgive you, Enrico.”
Ric took a steadying breath. Before they were married, those words were going to be put to the test in the cruelest of ways.
Sami had called him a great man. How honorable did it make him if he kept this revelation from Eliana? But he couldn’t tell her yet. It wasn’t possible when he could hardly comprehend it himself. With this news there would be so many ramifications, he needed time to think how he was going to handle everything.
“I’ll phone you from Cyprus tomorrow.”
“That had better be a promise.”
He gripped the phone tighter. “Have I ever broken one to you?”
“No, but I’m still angry you’ve let business interfere so much. After we’re married I intend to keep you occupied for a long time. For one thing, I want to give you a baby. Hopefully a male heir.”
Ric closed his eyes tightly. Someone got ahead of you in that department, Eliana.
His fiancée was a beautiful, polished product of her aristocratic upbringing. He couldn’t fault his future wife for voicing her womanly expectations. But neither could he do anything about the new state of affairs. Fate had blown in with the avalanche, altering his world forever.
“Forgive me, Eliana, but I have to go. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
“A domani, Caro.”
He ended the call and turned to Sami.
The baby had fallen asleep against her shoulder. She eyed Ric steadily. “While you were on the phone, I’ve had time to gather my thoughts. Maybe I’m wrong, but I sensed a woman was on the other end of that phone call. Judging by the tone of your voice, she’s either your wife or your girlfriend.”
During those hours they’d been trapped, they’d crossed all the boundaries waiting for the end. It didn’t surprise Ric she wasn’t only intuitive, but forthright. “My fiancée, Eliana.”
Not one dark eyelash flickered. “Were you—”
“No.” He knew what was on her mind. “I didn’t get engaged to her until long after I’d lost all hope of ever finding you. I kept the thought alive that since I’d told you my last name, you might come back to Genoa to look for me. Now that I understand you were carrying our son all that time, I know why you didn’t come until now.”
“Did you ever tell your fiancée about us?”
“Not her, not anyone,” he whispered before moving closer. “Are you involved with someone? Married?”
“No.” Her single-word answer shouldn’t have filled him with relief, but it did. “I’d just broken up with a man I’d been dating before I left for Europe on my trip in January. As you can imagine, I wasn’t the same person when I returned.
“When Matt found out I was back, he called me and told me he hadn’t given up on us.” Ric could understand why. “I told him it was over for me, but he said he was going to keep trying to get through to me. When I discovered I was pregnant, I told him the truth of what happened to me in Italy so he’d give up.”
Ric bit down hard. “And did he?”
“No. He said he’d marry me and help me raise the baby as if it were his own.”
The idea of another man parenting Ric’s son didn’t sit well with him. “He must love you very much.”
“Yes, I believe he does. I love him, too. He’s really wonderful, but I’m not in love with him. There’s a huge difference. That why I broke up with him in the first place, because I didn’t want to hurt him.
“He’s been very good to me, but I know it hurt him horribly that I would make love with a stranger, especially when he and I hadn’t gotten to that point.” Her voice faltered. “No matter how I tried to explain the circumstances, I realized it sounded incredible.”
“It still does,” Ric confessed. “Even to me, and I was there.”
Color crept back into her cheeks. “It would be asking too much of him to forget it. I know he’s still hoping I’ll change my mind, but I can’t see that happening.” She kissed the baby. “How soon is your wedding?”
The wedding to Eliana...
“January first.”
“New Year’s—that’s coming soon.”
With Sami standing there cuddling his son, Ric found it impossible to think about his upcoming nuptials. The shock still hadn’t worn off.
Her eyes searched his. “I realize it isn’t every day a man is confronted with a situation like ours—” she said anxiously. “If I’d known you were alive, I would have handled everything differently. But now that you know you have a son, I’m aware you need time for the information to settle in before you can tell how you really feel about everything.”
“How I feel?” he questioned, not understanding the remark. “You’ve just presented me with my child. I didn’t know that being a father would bring me this kind of happiness.”
Neither Ric nor his siblings had ever been close to their father. He was gone so much, they rarely saw him. Though he’d ruled over their family, he left the child-rearing to their mother and the house staff.
Not until college did his father take an interest in Ric. Even then it was all about duty and money. When Ric thought about how his father had always ignored Vito and Claudia, his insides twisted into knots. Early on he’d decided that if he were ever to become a father, he’d get totally involved in his children’s lives from day one.
For Ric, today was day one. He eyed the mother of his child. “I didn’t know learning I was a father would make me feel reborn in a whole new way.”
“Nevertheless, you’re getting married before long and have all this to talk over with Eliana,” she said in a pragmatic tone. “It’s a good thing my flight for the States leaves in the morning. Ric and I will go back to Reno while you let this sink in. Now that we know of each other’s existence and can exchange phone numbers, there’s no hurry.”
He frowned. “No hurry? I’ve missed the first two months of my son’s life and don’t intend to miss any more.”
“But with Christmas and your wedding almost here, this isn’t the time to—”
“To what?” He cut her off. “Decide how to fit our baby into my life? He wasn’t conceived on your schedule or mine, but he’s a living breathing miracle. Unlike my father, who hardly acknowledged the existence of his children until they were grown, I want to be with my son all the time that you and I can work out.”
Her face closed up. “There’s nothing to work out the way you mean. We live on separate continents. He’s my reason for living. After you and Eliana are married, I’ll bring him for visits the way I would have done if your father had been the one who was alive. My sister will help me so the flights won’t be expensive. When it’s possible, you and your wife can fly to the States to see him.”
Ric was listening, but the woman who’d given birth to his child was still a stranger to him in ways he had yet to understand. However, that was about to change, because he had no intention of letting her fly out of his life with their son.
CHAPTER THREE
“WE’LL talk about that later. For now we need to get better acquainted.” Already he sensed she would require careful handling first. “I’m on my way to my second home on Cyprus to do vital business, so I’m taking you there with me tonight.”
Her eyes widened in surprise.
She let out a small cry. “I couldn’t do that, Ric. I only intended to be here a few days.”
His body stiffened. “But you didn’t know you’d find me. Now that you have, everything’s changed for both of us. Our baby needs to be with his family. If your sister can’t rearrange your flight for a different day, I can.”
“I’ve no doubt of it,” she conceded, “if you didn’t have a fiancée who won’t understand.”
“She isn’t expecting me back until Christmas Eve day. Until then, what I do with my time while I’m not in Genoa is my business. You and I have to talk things through. For you to go home tomorrow is out of the question.”
“But—”
“Sami—” he broke in. “You wouldn’t refuse me this time with you and the son I didn’t know I had. We need time together to process the fact that the three of us are alive.” He sucked in his breath. “We were given a second chance, not only to live life but to rejoice together in our beautiful son.”
“Still—”
“There’s no still about it. After what happened to us at that resort in Imst, I’m not taking any chances of another unexpected disaster. Anything could go wrong on your way back to Reno. Don’t say it wouldn’t happen, because we know better. I need this time with you and Ric. Be honest and admit you need it, too, now that you know I’m alive.”
Sami looked away. “Even so, your fiancée will be devastated when she finds out the truth. How long do you plan to keep her in the dark?”
His eyes narrowed on her features. “For as long as it takes. I don’t have a better answer.”
“I’m afraid for her, Ric. I saw how the news affected Matt and we weren’t even dating anymore. The revelation about the baby will be so terrible for her, she might never recover from it, especially if you don’t tell her right away. I know if I were in her shoes and—”
“Let’s not anticipate what might or might not happen,” he interrupted her. “Your boyfriend heard the truth and told you he still wants to marry you.”
“Maybe, maybe not,” she answered honestly. “I told him I needed time and haven’t seen him in months. But if we did get together for the sake of the baby, I’m afraid that over time he would learn to resent me for what I did. He wants children one day.
“If we married, it would be normal for him to love a son or daughter of his own body more than he loved Ric. I couldn’t bear for that to happen. That’s been one of the things holding me back from getting involved again. I won’t let anything hurt Ric if I can help it.”
“I hear what you’re saying, Sami.” He loved it that she guarded their son’s happiness so fiercely. “I have those same protective feelings. That’s why I have to be careful before I tell Eliana anything. She’ll be hurt in ways I can promise not even you have thought of yet.”
She shook her head. “This is such an incredible situation.”
“But not insoluble. Ric’s been your first priority or you wouldn’t have flown to Genoa to find his grandfather. Now that I know of his existence, he’s my first priority. I want to get up in the night and feed him. Over the next week I want to bathe him and do all those things a new father does. In that amount of time I’ll know better how to approach my fiancée.”
“I—I’d feel better if Eliana knew I was with you,” she stammered. “What if someone tells her?”
“Who? My staff and pilot are all loyal to me. Chief Coretti knows better than to discuss my business with anyone.”
“Even so, I—”
“Even so nothing— Unlike you, I haven’t had the advantage of nine months to think things through while waiting for the arrival of our baby. Once I’ve spent time with you and Ric, I’ll be better equipped to know how to deal with Eliana and anticipate her questions. For you to turn around and fly back to Reno in the morning would be a knee-jerk reaction that will only complicate our situation.”
She still wouldn’t look at him. He admired her for wanting to protect Eliana, but the baby was a fact of life. While they’d clung together in the claustrophobic darkness, he’d made her pregnant. Little Ric was their creation. Despite the fallout when the news surfaced, the knowledge filled him with a wonder and excitement he’d never known before.
He darted her a glance. “The remarkable woman I was buried with wouldn’t begrudge me those privileges. Has she changed so much in eleven months?”
That brought her head up. “But you’re not prepared for a baby.”
“Is anyone? If you’re talking about his physical needs, you’ve brought everything he requires with you for the moment. Whatever is missing, I’ll take care of it. With one phone call, a crib and bedding can be delivered.”
“I don’t know, Ric.” She still wasn’t convinced.
“Don’t tell me you’re uncomfortable with me, not after everything we’ve been through?”
A faint flush filled her cheeks. “No. Of course not.”
“Then there’s nothing to stop you from agreeing to come with me. I’ll have one of my men check you out of the hotel.”
She eyed him in confusion. “Who are they exactly?”
“My bodyguards.”
“I remember you telling me you were in shipping. What I don’t understand is why you would need that kind of protection.”
“I’ll explain later.”
“But you’re not ready for guests,” she argued, “especially not an infant.”
“Guests?” he exploded. “Ric’s my son, and you’re his mother. That puts you in an entirely different category from anyone else in the world. Would you rather I stayed here with you for the next week?”
“You mean at the hotel?”
He heard panic in her voice and realized with satisfaction that she wasn’t any more indifferent to him than he was to her. “I mean in this room. After all you’ve gone through to find my father, do you honestly think I’d budge from here without you?”
“I thought you had vital business on Cyprus,” she said quietly.
“My son is the only business more vital. I thought I’d made myself clear. But keep in mind that on the island you’ll have your own bedroom with the Mediterranean only steps outside your suite. We’ll set up a crib next to you where you and Ric can live in total comfort. But we can stay right here if that’s your wish. The decision is up to you.”
She pressed her lips together, further evidence she didn’t like either option. “When were you going to leave?”
“Two hours ago. A limo is parked for me in front of the hotel.”
He waited while she mulled everything over in her mind. “I’m frightened,” she finally whispered.
“The woman who sought help from Genoa’s chief of police to find Ric’s grandfather was a warrior. It pleases me more than you know to realize my son has inherited that trait from you.”
“You don’t know that,” she answered shakily.
Ric shifted his weight. “What do you think are the chances of a fetus to survive what you lived through both emotionally and physically?”
Her haunted gaze collided with his, giving him his answer. “If you’ll get your things together, I’ll take them down. It’s a few hours’ flight to Paphos. Once we’re in the air, we’ll have dinner. I don’t know about you, but I’m famished.”
She looked at the baby, then glanced back at him. “If you’re sure about this,” she murmured.
“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”
After another long hesitation, she walked over to a closet for her suitcase. With that action, the tautness left his body. He pulled out his cell phone to call his housekeeper i
n Paphos and give her some instructions. While he waited for Sami to finish her small amount of packing, he spoke to Carlo and the driver, alerting them to his plans.
Earlier, on the drive to the hotel from the police station, he’d entertained the thought that his father had indulged in an affair with this woman. No way on earth could he have known that Christine Argyle would turn out to be Sami. Even more astounding was the knowledge that the baby he’d heard crying from behind the door was none other than his own son.
* * *
Sami’s legs felt shaky. The mixture of shock and hunger had reduced her to this state. For Ric to be alive didn’t seem possible, yet here he was, this tall, hard-muscled Italian male who held the baby to his shoulder with one arm, and carried her suitcase in his other hand.
But he had a fiancée! The news of it flickered off and on like a giant neon sign. How could she just go along with him like this knowing he belonged to someone else? She’d tried to reason with him, but he’d refused to listen to her fears.
“This is heavy,” he said in an aside, oblivious to her state of mind. “What’s in here?”
“Baby formula. I had to bring a lot in case of an emergency.”
He broke out in laughter, causing people to stare. She walked alongside him holding the car seat and diaper bag. For all the world the three of them looked like a married couple staying at the hotel for the Christmas holiday, yet the woman he intended to marry was somewhere in Genoa, not knowing what had happened.
Sami’s guilt was so overwhelming, she barely noticed that the hotel had been festively decorated for Christmas. All she sensed was Ric’s pride as hotel guests and staff alike smiled to see him carrying his baby.
She also saw the envy in the eyes of women young and old who found Ric drop-dead gorgeous. That’s what he was. A thrill darted through her to realize their son would grow up to look like him. It was followed by another stab of guilt to be thinking about him like this when he had a fiancée.
When he ushered her through the main doors to the outside, he’d said his car was waiting. But there were no cars parked in front, only three black luxury limousines. The center one had special smoked glass and a hood ornament with a unique gold figure of what looked like an ancient seaman.
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