Love in the Vineyard (Tavonesi #7)(83)

Adrian fought down the urge to track the guy down and give him a one-way ticket to Mars.

Natasha’s nervous laugh chilled him. “He even provided the name of his PTSD therapist and said I could call her to check up on him.”

She gestured toward the kitchen counter. “Would you like some coffee? It’s cold, but I can heat it.”

Why did he feel like he was on stage? Like they were running through lines with emotions kept in check under carefully rehearsed words?

“No, thank you. I had some before I left the house.” Four cups. And they hadn’t put a dent in the thick feeling in his head. Hadn’t done a thing for the ache in his heart either.

“He’s offered to help support Tyler.”

“He’s obligated by law.” Adrian didn’t succeed in keeping the anger out of his voice. Timing. He had to time his news carefully. But as he looked into Natasha’s eyes, he knew there wasn’t any timing that would make his news hurt less.

“And he apologized for the court summons,” she said quickly. “He was afraid, he admitted. He wants to have us in his life. He wants to try his hand at being a dad.”

Adrian felt her searching his face. If she saw what he felt, she’d back a mile away. It was all he could do to control the rage building in him.

“He said he wants us to be a family. Said his war wounds have healed.”

She deserved the truth.

“He may have mixed motives for coming back into your life.”

She crossed her arms. “How would you know anything about his motives?”

Her words challenged, but the rise of her shoulders reminded Adrian that she already had doubts about Eddie.

Adrian wanted to wrap her in his arms, to hold her, to tell her that everything would be okay. But would it? Eddie would have to prove his fitness to be a father, and likely he would. And then she’d have to share Tyler with him. If Adrian were in Natasha’s place, he’d be terrified at the prospect. And what he was about to reveal might make her life and her decisions harder.

He reached into the pocket of his jacket and withdrew the copy of the will that Santino had printed out the previous night.

“You might want to read this.”

She put her hand to throat. “What is it?”

“A will. Eddie’s grandfather’s will.”

She took the pages, glanced through them and then handed them back. “You know I can’t read this very well. And the legal terms… I don’t understand them. What does it say, Adrian? You tell me.”

How many people over the course of history had felt the anguish of bearing bad news?

“Basically it says you don’t have to marry him.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Eddie. You don’t have to marry him.”

“I never thought I had to marry him. It was just an idea of his. I never took it seriously.”

Relief flooded Adrian. Then he considered whether to tell her the rest. Who was he helping? Himself? No, she should know. Might as well tell her the whole truth. Even if revealing his information and how he obtained it might hurt his chances with her.

“Eddie has to have an heir. He gets his money, major family money, just by the fact that Tyler exists.”

“I don’t understand.”

She leaned against her kitchen counter, and the trembling in her arms made him feel like the worst sort of villain.

Worse, every time he wanted to express his own intentions toward Natasha—to tell her he wanted to marry her, to give Tyler a home, to provide both of them a secure future, to love them—circumstances made it not only impossible to tell her but just plain wrong. Unfair. And justice was his compass, fairness the only guide he trusted.

“By the time Eddie turns thirty—which is in less than a month—he has to have an heir,” Adrian stated in the most level voice possible. “A child of his own. Without one, he can’t claim his inheritance. Without Tyler, no mega inheritance. Poof. Gone to Eddie’s grandfather’s country club for a new fountain and golf greens.”

“Is this a joke?”

“No, Natasha. I wish it were.”

She motioned toward the will. “How did you get that?”

“My father pulled in some favors. He has a… a friend in the court system.”

“I dreaded Eddie coming into my life. I dreaded it with all my heart. I thought he could never find us, even if he looked. That damned baseball game!”

She shuddered. And Adrian couldn’t hold back. He moved toward her, but she angled closer to the counter, away from him.

“I want Tyler to have a better life than I had,” she said, her voice trailing off. “I still do.”

His heart was breaking. He’d reviewed his motivations, all right. He wanted her and couldn’t imagine life without her. But he couldn’t say any of that, not now. He couldn’t sway her. She needed to choose on her own.

“I can help you. I have resources.”

She shot her gaze to his. “I don’t want to be another of your projects, Adrian. Don’t get me wrong, I think what you’re doing with the vineyard is great. Amazing, really. But I don’t want to be a project. Not yours anyway.” She pushed away from the counter and began to pace in a circle. “And Eddie wants to be a father to Tyler. I believe that much.”