A Facade to Shatter(61)

Shuddering relief coursed through him, leaving his knees weak. He put a hand on the wall to hold himself upright. He was about to ask if he could see her when Teresa Corretti came out of the room. She was an elfin woman, but she had a spine of steel. He’d seen that the instant he’d met her. Right now, she was looking at him with a combination of fury and concern.

“She will see you,” she said. “But don’t you dare upset her, young man. If you do, I will not be responsible.”

He took her meaning quite well, especially since it was accompanied by a hard look that said she’d like to rip his balls off and feed them to him if he harmed a hair on her granddaughter’s head.

She jerked her head toward the door. “Go, then. But remember what I said.”

“Sì, signora,” he replied. Then he took a deep breath and went inside.

His heart turned over at the sight of Lia in a hospital bed. She was sitting up, but her normally golden skin was pale, and her head was turned away from him as she gazed through the window at the parking lot beyond.

“Lia.” His throat was tight. His chest ached. He’d been through so much this past month, so many emotions. He hadn’t thought seeing her again would be so hard, but he should have known better. He’d done his best to destroy her feelings for him, hadn’t he?

“Why are you here, Zach?” she asked, still not looking at him.

He went over to the bed and sat in the chair beside it. He did not touch her, though he desperately wanted to. “To say I’m sorry.”

Her head turned. Bright blue-green eyes speared into him. “You have come all this way to say you are sorry? For what? Breaking my heart? Abandoning your baby?” She waved a hand as if to dismiss him. “Take your apologies and leave. I do not need them.”

His chest was so tight he thought he might start to hyperventilate at any moment. But he swallowed the fear and looked at her steadily. He could do this. He would do this.

“I’m ready to fight,” he said.

She blinked. “Fight? I don’t want to fight, Zach. Go away.”

He took her hand this time. He had to touch her, needed to touch her. She flinched but did not try to pull away. Currents of heat swirled in the air between them, like always. It gave him hope.

“No, I want to fight for you. For us.”

She turned her head away again, and his heart felt as if someone had put it in a vise and turned the screws. Her lip trembled, and something like hope began to kindle again inside his soul. If she was affected by his words, maybe it wasn’t too late.

But it was a fragile hope. He’d done too much to her to deserve a second chance. He’d taken her love and thrown it away. He knew what kind of life she’d had, how she’d been deserted by her father and ignored by her family, and he’d pushed her away just the same as they had.

He’d discarded her when he should have fought for her. He’d figured it out finally. He just hoped it wasn’t too late.

“You come here now and say this to me,” she said, her voice thready. “Why should I believe you? What has changed in the past month? Do you dare to tell me you realized you cannot live without me?”

She’d turned back to him then, her voice gaining in intensity until he could feel the heat of her anger blistering through him. Her eyes flashed and her red hair curled and tumbled over her shoulders and he was suddenly unsure what to say. What if he got it wrong? What if she sent him away?

He couldn’t let that happen. He’d do anything to prevent it.

“Yes,” he said firmly. “That is exactly what I intend to say.”

Lia’s chest ached, and not from her fainting episode. She’d gotten overheated, her grandmother had told her. She’d fainted on her terrazzo, though Zach had caught her before she’d hit the hard marble. And then he’d carried her up to the house and ordered someone to call an ambulance.

Now she was here, feeling like a fool for getting too hot and fainting. She was also getting flustered by Zach’s presence. By the words she could hardly believe he’d uttered.

They made her heart sing. But she was also afraid.

“I want you to come home,” he said. “I want to be with you.”

Lia swallowed. “I’m not sure I can do that,” she said softly.

His expression was stark. Terrified.

“Leaving was hard,” she continued, resolutely ignoring the ache in her heart, “but I’ve started to live my life without you. And if you drag me back, if you pull me into your life and then decide you can’t handle a wife and child, I’m not sure I will survive that heartbreak a second time.”