Boss Meets Baby(90)

He cursed his selfishness at wanting to keep Lily away from the city for his own pleasure. There was nothing for it now. They’d have to return to Venice.

‘I love your grandfather,’ Lily said unexpectedly, catching his full attention. ‘He accepts me and he doesn’t judge me.’

‘He doesn’t know what you’ve done,’ Vito said in a tightly controlled voice, wishing Lily hadn’t said something— to remind him of her betrayal. ‘I do know what you’ve done,’ he added. ‘But I’m not the one who keeps bringing the subject up. I know the truth.’

‘Our son won’t grow up knowing his great-grandfather,’ — Lily said, as if she was wrapped up in her own thoughts and hadn’t heard a word he’d said. ‘But Giovanni wants him to grow up knowing about his family history—with a real sense of where he came from and where he belongs.’

Vito stared at her, unable to believe that she was still carrying on in the same vein. He felt a muscle start to pulse at his temple, and he clenched his fists, trying to control his rising anger. Why would she say things that were bound to make him remember that she had been unfaithful to him?

‘I never felt I belonged. My father didn’t want me, and my mother could barely cope,’ she said. ‘More than anything I want our son to know he’s truly wanted and loved. Know he belongs with his family.’

Vito gritted his teeth, not trusting himself to speak. Why didn’t she seem to care, or even realise, that she was skating on thin ice?

‘My grandfather is old now,’ Vito said. ‘You wouldn’t have found him so easy-going in his younger days. He was a formidable man.’

‘Of course he was. He still is,’ she responded instantly,— looking at him sharply. ‘It obviously runs in the family.’

‘Now that he’s old, he knows his time is limited,’ Vito continued. ‘I believe that has brought his remaining wishes into very sharp focus.’

‘I agree,’ Lily said. ‘I thought that’s what we were talking about.’

‘We are talking about his desire for a grandson.’

‘That’s what we are giving him,’ Lily said.

‘That’s what he thinks we are giving him.’ Vito spoke through gritted teeth. ‘The fact that for the sake of my grandfather’s happiness I am prepared to publicly— accept the child as my own does not mean I have forgotten the truth.’

‘Nor have I,’ Lily said quietly. She pushed her curly hair off her face with an exasperated gesture.

‘I thought we’d got past this,’ Vito said. ‘The pretence that the baby is mine is for the rest of the world. Don’t insult me by acting like I don’t know the truth.’

‘You don’t seem to,’ Lily said simply. ‘And I don’t know why you won’t give me a chance. I agreed to your wishes not to mention it any more, because I knew there was no chance we’d ever sort things out if we kept arguing. But I thought a bond was growing between us now, and I don’t understand why you keep shutting out what I’m saying.’

Vito clenched his fists and dragged in a controlled breath. No matter what he said, she just kept on claiming innocence. It was starting to grate on his nerves. He would not put up with it any more.

‘I know he’s not mine,’ he said. ‘Because I know that I can’t have children.’





CHAPTER ELEVEN


LILY stared at him in shock. His expression was tightly controlled, but she could see the strain he was feeling by the lines of tension around his blue eyes. Suddenly, despite the fact she knew he could father a child, she realised that he really did believe that he couldn’t.

‘Of course you can,’ she said at last. ‘You are. I mean, I’m pregnant and you are the father.’

‘For God’s sake!’Vito exclaimed, surging to his feet and raking his fingers through his short hair. ‘It’s time to let that ridiculous charade go.’

She looked up at him carefully, trying to see what he was keeping hidden beneath his rigid expression. She was still sitting on the rug in the meadow and he towered over her, his white shirt and black hair outlined by the blue mountain-sky.

A light breeze tugged his fringe forwards, and he scraped it back from his face again with an impatient jerk of his hand. The gesture revealed just how tightly wound he was.

Lily got to her feet, her aching back and increased size making her feel awkward, and stood in front of him. Instinctively, she reached out a hand and placed it on his forearm. The skin was warm and supple beneath her fingers, but his muscles were as hard and immovable as steel.

‘I can’t let it go, because it’s the truth,’ Lily said simply.

She saw the change in him instantly and, despite the tight rein his was keeping on his temper, she knew he was about to explode if she didn’t say something to defuse the anger that was building in him.

‘Why do you think that?’ she asked gently. ‘Were tests done?’

Vito took a shuddering breath and turned to stare in the direction of the crystal-clear lake. Lily knew he wasn’t really seeing the spectacular view. He was deep in his thoughts and memories.

‘Capricia and I were unsuccessful when we tried to start a family,’ he said, startling Lily with his sudden candour. ‘After a time we submitted ourselves to fertility testing.’ He paused for a moment, but when he continued— Lily could hear the strain crackling in his voice. ‘I was the one who could not have children.’