Shock: One-Night Heir Read online

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Maya said softly. ‘I didn’t understand how hard it was, for you particularly. You were so young to be looking after everyone like that and feeling so responsible for them all.’

  He looked at her with a grim expression on his face. ‘Marriage takes a lot of work, Maya,’ he said. ‘Even good ones can have bad things happen to them. It is worse for people who live in the spotlight as everything we go through is reported in the press, often incorrectly.’

  She eyeballed him, challenging him to tell the truth and nothing but the truth. ‘Did you sleep with that model?’

  It was a moment before he spoke.

  A long moment.

  ‘I am ashamed to say I fully intended to,’ he answered. ‘But when it came to the point of doing so I decided it wasn’t the best course of action. Clearly, that ticked off Talesha Barton so her little payback was to have my reputation besmirched and my marriage put on the line for the second time.’

  Relief made Maya feel giddy. She believed him because he had been honest, almost too honest. He had admitted how close he had been to having an affair, which, on reflection, she realised he’d had every right to have, considering they were officially separated at the time. ‘Are you going to do anything about the story she gave to the press?’ Maya asked. ‘Will you ask for a retraction of it or take legal action against her or the paper?’

  ‘I will get my legal team on to it,’ he said. ‘The sooner this is nipped in the bud the better. If the woman in question calls you, do not talk to her. Just hang up the phone. This is about money; it’s not about anything else.’

  A little bit like our marriage, Maya thought sadly.

  He came over and tipped up her chin with his finger. ‘I can’t promise you the press won’t target me again, or that some other woman I once dated before I met you won’t see a chance to make money out of it and do so. All I can promise is that I will look after you and our baby, to build the family we have both always wanted.’

  Maya decided to put herself out on an emotional limb. ‘If I was to lose this baby, will you still want our marriage to continue?’

  He frowned as if the question annoyed him. After all, it wasn’t just the baby he wanted. He wanted to keep his fortune under his control and a costly divorce was hardly going to allow that.

  ‘There are plenty of happy marriages around without children,’ he said at last. ‘Anyway, we have time on our side. We can have another round of IVF or even consider adoption.’

  ‘Isn’t love a prerequisite for a happy and fulfilling marriage?’ she asked, stepping a little further out on that precarious emotional limb.

  His eyes gave nothing away; they were dark and unfathomable. ‘Like this baby, it will be a bonus if it happens,’ he said. ‘You claimed to love me once; perhaps you will find it possible to do so again, but maybe with a little more maturity this time.’

  ‘You think I wasn’t mature enough to know what love was back then?’ Maya asked, frowning at him.

  ‘You were blindsided, Maya,’ he said. ‘You said it yourself. What girl could resist the designer clothes, the holidays, the luxury villas and hotels?’

  ‘Oh, for God’s sake,’ she said in frustration. ‘I only said that to annoy you. I wasn’t the least bit impressed by your wealth, well, maybe just a little bit in the beginning. I fell in love with you, not your money or your lifestyle. I just wanted to be with you, for who you were as a person.’

  He looked at her for a heartbeat or two. ‘Do you even know who that person is now?’ he asked.

  Maya looked into his eyes. ‘I would if you would let me,’ she said softly.

  ‘I want to be the sort of person who can make you happy, Maya,’ he said, touching her cheek again. ‘But I am not good at showing emotion. I don’t feel comfortable leaving myself open to possible hurt.’

  ‘But don’t you see you can’t go through life not loving or needing anyone?’ she asked. ‘What sort of parent will you be if you can’t show how you feel?’

  ‘If you are suggesting that I will not love this child, then you don’t know me at all,’ he said. ‘I would give my life for it, even now.’

  ‘And what about me?’ she dared to ask. ‘Would you give your life for me?’

  He took her by the upper arms and held her firmly, his eyes tethering hers with smouldering purpose. ‘I have already given up my life for you, Maya,’ he said. ‘I have agreed to resume our failing marriage, haven’t I? I could have walked away and started anew with someone else, but I didn’t.’

  ‘You know that’s not what I am asking,’ she said, holding his gaze as steadily as she could.

  ‘Sometimes you ask too much, Maya,’ he said, dropping his hold as if she had grown too hot to handle. ‘I have things I need to see to—some business. I will be away for most of the week.’

  Maya frowned. ‘You’re going away?’

  He gave her an impatient look. ‘I have a large corporation to control, Maya, you know that. My grandfather’s death has intensified the workload. I have meetings in three different countries and long hours of paperwork and figures to trawl through.’

  She dragged at her lip with her teeth, not sure whether she should reveal her vulnerability to him or not, but in the end she went for broke. ‘But what about me?’ she asked. ‘I don’t want to stay here by myself. Can’t I come with you?’

  His expression became shuttered. ‘I think it is best that you stay here where you are close to the doctor you know and feel comfortable with. Dr Rossini is just minutes away if you feel worried about anything. Besides, the travelling might be too much for you. I am going to be locked away in meetings, in any case. I won’t have time to spend with you.’

  Maya felt hurt that he obviously didn’t want her to be with him. ‘Fine.’ She folded her arms, not even caring that her bottom lip pushed out in a pout. ‘No doubt I’ll find something to do to entertain myself.’

  ‘Maya, the press attention here is bad enough,’ he said. ‘But they are like jackals after a meal everywhere else. I don’t want you to be harassed by them.’

  ‘I can handle the press,’ she said, glaring at the newspaper that was still lying all over the floor.

  His brows moved together. ‘I don’t want you speaking to the press under any circumstances; do you understand?’

  She raised her chin and gave him an arch look. ‘Are you worried I might sell out to them and tell the truth about how our reconciliation really came about?’

  Anger flared in his dark gaze. ‘If you do that you will regret it, Maya,’ he said. ‘I will make sure of it. You will not just be hurting me but my family as well. Do you really want to risk everything for a cheap shot at me?’

  Maya held his burning gaze for as long as she could, but in the end she had to lower her eyes from his to stare at the floor. ‘Of course I’m not going to speak to the press,’ she said on an expelled breath. ‘Surely you know me better than that.’

  He tipped up her chin again with the blunt tip of his finger. He looked into her eyes for a long moment, his gaze deep and dark and inscrutable. ‘Sometimes I wonder if I have ever known you,’ he said ruefully. ‘The real you, I mean.’

  Likewise, Maya thought as his lips came down and pressed against hers.

  Chapter Fourteen

  MAYA had almost forgotten about her shopping date with Bronte. She suddenly heard Gonzo barking and then realised it was right on eleven o’clock.

  She opened the door and Bronte immediately swept her into a tight hug. ‘Are you OK?’ she asked. ‘Oh, my God, that awful, hideous story in the paper.’ She pulled back to look at Maya. ‘You didn’t believe a word of it, did you?’

  Maya bit her lip, uncertain of how to answer.

  ‘Giorgio would not lie to you, Maya,’ Bronte said. ‘Luca told me how his brother’s word is his bond. If he said he didn’t sleep with that woman, then he didn’t.’

  ‘He was going to,’ Maya said, feeling the hurt all over again.

  Bronte looped her arm
through one of Maya’s. ‘But he didn’t and that’s the main thing. There are women out there that are predators. They see rich and powerful men as prizes to be claimed. Giorgio is too smart to let himself be taken in by a trashy little gold-digger like that. Give him some credit. He wants your marriage to succeed. He wouldn’t do anything to jeopardise it now.’

  Maya gave her a rueful smile. ‘You seem to know him better than I do and you only just met him a couple of months ago.’

  ‘Ah, yes, but I know Luca and he’s cut from the same cloth,’ Bronte said. ‘Now, let’s go shopping. I have left Ella with Giovanna but I don’t want to tire her too much. She is still very sad over Salvatore’s death. How is Giorgio taking it?’

  ‘He hasn’t said much,’ Maya said, thinking of how Giorgio had acted in the week since his grandfather’s death. ‘It’s business as usual for him. That has always been the way he handles things. I think he grieves in private, however. In fact I know he does. He’s away now for the next few days.’

  ‘Did he tell you where he was going?’

  Maya shook her head. ‘No, and I didn’t ask. All I know is he didn’t want me to go with him.’

  Bronte frowned. ‘Maybe he didn’t want to tire you with long hours of travelling. Living out of hotels, even Sabbatini ones, can be exhausting when you are pregnant.’

  Maya shrugged. ‘I guess…’

  Bronte touched her on the arm. ‘But you really wanted to be with him, didn’t you?’ she asked.

  Maya bit down on her lip again, this time trying not to cry. ‘I just want him to love me. Is that so very much to ask?’

  ‘How do you know he doesn’t love you?’ Bronte said. ‘There are lots of ways of saying it, other than in words. I know the words are important—I need to hear them too—but some men are just not comfortable revealing how much they love someone. It’s a guy thing.’

  ‘Does Luca tell you he loves you?’

  ‘Yes, but he didn’t until we got back together. Be patient, Maya. A few weeks ago, you were head to head with Giorgio in an acrimonious divorce. He’s not going to let you get any power over him by admitting how much he needs and loves you. You might take it upon yourself to walk away from him again. No man in his right mind would lay himself open to that happening, especially a Sabbatini. You know how impossibly proud they all are.’

  Maya knew what Bronte said was right, but she still didn’t have the confidence to believe that Giorgio loved her the way she longed to be loved. All she could do was hope that by sharing the bond of a living child he would one day tell her what he felt, if anything other than lust.

  The shopping expedition was a great success, so much so that Bronte insisted she come back to their villa for the rest of the afternoon. The afternoon drifted into the evening and then, because Luca was also away on business just for that night, Maya decided to stay on for dinner with Bronte rather than spend the evening alone at Giorgio’s villa.

  One of the staff drivers took her home just before ten p.m. and, as she opened the door, she could hear Gonzo howling because the phone was ringing incessantly.

  She dropped her shopping bags on the floor and, giving the dog a quick reassuring ruffle of the ears as she moved past, she snatched up the phone. ‘Hello?’

  ‘Do you have any idea of how worried I have been about you?’ Giorgio raged at her, his voice tight with anger. ‘Where the hell have you been and why haven’t you got your mobile with you? I’ve been calling it all bloody day and night.’

  Maya grimaced as she remembered how she’d turned it to silent when she and Bronte had lunched in a High Street restaurant. She had forgotten to turn it back to the ringtone. ‘Sorry about that,’ she said. ‘I went shopping with Bronte. I went back to spend the rest of the evening with her at Luca’s in London. My phone was on silent.’

  ‘Don’t ever do that again,’ he said. ‘I thought something must have happened to the baby.’

  Maya suppressed her instinctive retort and, taking a calming breath, said, ‘The baby is fine. I had a lovely day. I bought my first maternity outfit.’

  There was a long drawn-out silence.

  Finally Giorgio broke it but his voice sounded creaky. ‘What colour is it?’

  ‘Pink and white,’ Maya answered. ‘I don’t really need it yet, but Bronte talked me into it.’

  ‘It’s good you have her to spend time with,’ he said. ‘I just wish you had told me your plans ahead of time.’

  ‘I forgot all about her offer to take me shopping,’ Maya said. ‘Anyway, why should I tell you where I am going when you don’t tell me anything about where you are going?’

  ‘I told you I am on a business trip.’

  ‘You didn’t tell me where.’

  ‘I am in Prague at the moment, I will be in Lyon in France tomorrow and the day after I am going to New York. I will be back by the weekend. There is a charity ball at the hotel on Saturday night. I would like you to accompany me, if you’re feeling up to it, of course.’

  Maya gave her assent and, after another little silence, said, ‘Bronte and Luca are going to the villa at Bellagio this week, just for a couple of days. They invited me to come along. Would you mind? I will be back in time for the ball.’

  ‘Of course I don’t mind,’ he said. ‘In fact, I think it would be good for you.’

  There was another silence.

  ‘Gonzo misses you,’ Maya said softly.

  ‘I miss him too.’

  ‘Do you miss me?’ she asked, kicking herself for being so transparent.

  ‘I miss having you in my bed,’ he said in a smoky tone.

  Maya felt her insides flip over with longing. ‘I miss that too,’ she said.

  ‘Maya…’ he began, but then paused for so long she wondered if he had changed his mind about what he was about to say.

  ‘What?’ she prompted.

  ‘Nothing,’ he said. ‘Just be safe while I’m away, OK?’

  ‘I’ll be fine,’ she said, squashing her disappointment that he just wouldn’t say what she most wanted to hear.

  Maya had fed Gonzo after their return from Bellagio with Luca and Bronte and Ella and was about to unpack her small bag when she heard Giorgio’s car pull into the villa grounds. Her heart leapt at the deep throaty sound. Gonzo gave a joyful bark and bolted down the stairs. Maya followed at a more leisurely pace, not wanting to show such blatant enthusiasm until she was more certain of where she stood with him.

  Giorgio looked up from patting the dog when she came down the staircase. ‘Cara,’ he said, smiling, ‘you are positively glowing. Did you have a good time with Luca and Bronte?’

  ‘I had a wonderful time,’ she said, lifting her face for his kiss.

  She tasted of strawberries and he wanted to keep kissing her until she was beneath him, begging for the release he had been dreaming of giving her the whole time he had been away. ‘I have something for you,’ he said, picking up the packages he had brought in with him from the car.

  Her grey eyes flicked to the bags nervously. ‘But I don’t need anything,’ she said. ‘I have too many clothes as it is.’

  ‘It’s not clothes,’ he said, ‘or at least not clothes for you.’

  She took a step backwards when he held the first bag out for her to take. ‘No,’ she said. ‘No, Giorgio, take it away. Take it all away.’

  Giorgio frowned. ‘What’s the matter, Maya? It’s just stuff for the baby. I bought this sweet teddy bear; let me show you.’ He bent down to pull it out of the tissue wrap but by the time he’d straightened Maya had turned on her heel and stalked out of the foyer.

  He picked up the bags and followed her into the salone, his frown tightening when he saw that she had gone out of the French windows and to the furthest edge of the balcony.

  He felt the all too familiar panic seize him, the perspiration starting to pop out of his pores as he looked at her holding onto the balustrade, her ramrod-stiff back turned towards him.

  ‘Maya, come in here and talk to me,’ he co
mmanded.

  She turned and, leaning on the balustrade, sent him a challenging glare. ‘Why don’t you come out here and talk to me?’

  He clenched his teeth together, sure he would be spitting out tooth enamel dust for weeks hence. ‘Get the hell away from the edge of that balcony,’ he said, the perspiration dripping down now between his shoulder blades.

  She continued to challenge him with her stony expression. ‘You will have to come and get me because I am not coming in until you get rid of those bags and everything in them.’

  Giorgio felt like scratching his head in bewilderment. He had spent a fortune on baby goods, he had shopped when he should have been working but he had enjoyed every minute of it. He had trawled through baby wear shops instead of through the company’s figures. He had bought a train set for if it was a boy and fluffy animals and dolls for if it was a girl, and he had even ordered a make-it-yourself crib set that was being delivered from the States. He couldn’t wait to teach himself how to assemble it and varnish it. He couldn’t wait to get started on making a nursery. He now regretted redecorating the previous one. But Maya hadn’t gone in there for years and at the time he’d been glad to have it removed, as it had only reminded him of his failure.

  ‘Maya, this is ridiculous,’ he said, holding out a hand to her. ‘Come inside and let’s discuss this like adults.’

  She shook her head indomitably. ‘Get rid of the bags. Now.’

  He swore viciously and spun around, snatching up the bags and taking them to one of the storage cupboards in the foyer.

  He came back in, relieved beyond belief to see her now back in the salone, but her face was still rigid with anger. ‘Do you want to tell me what’s going on?’ he asked.

  Her grey eyes rounded with hurt. ‘How can you ask that?’ she said, her chin starting to wobble.

  Giorgio still didn’t get it. He was trying to but her reaction didn’t make any sense to him. He was trying to be a good husband. He was trying to be the sort of involved father-to-be that he knew young mothers these days wanted and needed. ‘Maya, tell me what’s upset you. I am not good at reading between the lines. I deal with facts and figures: concrete things, not abstract ones.’