AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Michael
Nothing could have prepared me for what Alessia said.
Only one thought crossed my mind when I opened the door and saw her standing there, clutching her single bag and her hair ruffled from the trip. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in my life.
I stepped to the side, letting her into the suite, and caught myself staring at her longingly. I could not afford to allow her to see me mooning like this. I still had no idea what she wanted that was so urgent, and I tried to keep the curiosity off my face.
One thing was obvious, though. I had been missing Alessia deeply. I hurried away, avoiding being caught staring. I pretended to be indifferent and cool. I heard her shut the door behind me and took a deep breath. I need a drink to get through whatever brought her halfway across the world.
I went behind the counter of the massive wine bar that came with the suite. Alessia stood quietly across from me as I poured myself a stiff drink.
“I have something important to tell you.” Alessia’s voice was barely louder than a whisper, and I grew impatient. I tried not to let her see how anxious I was to hear what she had to say, but I could not keep the edginess out of my voice.
The only explanation I could come up with was that Lorenzo had found out what happened between Alessia and me. I knew how protective Lorenzo was with his sister, but I did not think it was so severe as to lead to a serious problem.
Alessia seemed to feel otherwise in Tuscany, and I could tell she held a lot of fear of her father and brother. I still could not rationalize that fear; I tried as hard as possible. I could not reconcile my jovial, humorous, and easygoing best friend with the man Alessia was so terrified of.
I swirled the whiskey in my glass and regarded Alessia coolly. For all I knew, this was all a ruse. But why? What could she possibly want from me? That was the million-dollar question. Why was she here in New York with a bag that could not have held over two changes of clothing and toiletries? What the hell is going on?
I mastered my anger and frustration, displaying an expression of cool indifference. If all Alessia was going to do was stand there and stare at the ground, then I would also ignore the elephant in the room. She was the one who came all this way, after all. I had all the time in the world to burn.
I raised my glass to my mouth, and then she dropped the boulder on me, flattening me to the ground.
“I am pregnant, Michael.”
Everything else she said blew past my ear with a loud whoosh, like a strong wind. I felt like a toddler, speaking for the first time. I heard her words, but I could not make sense of anything she was saying. What did she mean when she said she was pregnant?
My mind took a tumble through memory lane, and in my mind’s eye, I saw the many ways I released inside her. Time and time again, I thrust deeper as I spilled my seed. The visual clarity of those images made me feel sick to my stomach. Of course, she’s pregnant. Shit.
I set the glass, which was halfway to my mouth, down, not trusting the alcohol in my current state of disorientation. I thought about the next outcome of such a situation. She probably felt worse than I did now when she found out. No one was more shocked and afraid than Alyssa right now, and the last thing she needed was for me to look like I could not take control of the situation.
I could not afford to be weak. Alessia was probably holding it all tightly together, with the whole thing threatening to unravel with one wrong move or gesture from me. I took a moment to think about how I felt about what she had said. So Alessia was pregnant. Odds were the child was mine. Big surprise. What did I want? Did I want to keep the child? Did I want to build a family? The answer was obvious.
I thought back to how jealous I had been of Thale and Ivanna and how I had craved what they had for the longest time. Right in front of me was an opportunity to have that - and with a woman I had not been able to force out of my mind over the last three months.
While the news of her pregnancy had caught me entirely by surprise, it was not the worst thing that could have happened in the world. A child is a beautiful thing—especially a child who comes into the world with such passion and fire.
If Alessia had wanted to discard the child, I would never have known its existence. She was only here right now because she had hoped that something could happen. While that reasoning was speculative, it was the only one I had, and I needed to hold on to something.
I took a deep breath to clear my head. “You’re sure?” I asked after what must have been a long pause.
“I am.” Her reply was curt. I watched her ball up her fists and her shoulders square off. She had expected me to turn down the responsibility. No wonder she had looked so shaken the entire time. Good thing I planned to disappoint her.
“Would you like to keep it?” I asked quietly. I felt a slight satisfaction from the shock and confusion on her face.
“I’m sorry, what?” she asked indignantly.
I raised my hands apologetically. I felt awkward having to spell it out to Alessia, but I did not want her to think I was suggesting an abortion. “What I meant was... what I am trying to say is this… I am willing to raise the child with you as a family. Only if you want to keep it, so would you like to keep it?”
It took me a while to articulate my words, and I was careful not to say the wrong thing. However, as soon as I had it out there, I felt immediately better. Things were moving too fast for my liking, but I had no option but to move along with the tide of events.
I watched Alessia with a vacant expression. She watched me wordlessly. It was obvious she had not expected my reaction. I swallowed my drink and refilled my glass. I enjoyed how the whiskey burned through my insides and sparked my senses.
“Look, you do not need to give me an answer right away,” I offered. “You have just arrived from what must have been a stressful journey. I think you should get settled in first, and then we can talk more about this later?”
She looked at me gratefully, pleased to be off the hook. “That works, thanks,” she muttered and looked around the vast suite. “Where would I be staying?”
I smiled and walked around the counter, leading her to the stairs. “Second door on the left. It’s the guest room. You can stay there as long as you need.”
