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His gaze held hers. “And now you’re here.”
“Yes.” Her chin lifted, and yet she kept her voice even. As long as she maintained control, she’d be fine, and he’d be fine. Really, it was just a matter of needing time to work through the shock that he must be feeling. “It seemed best to tell you in person. I knew you would want to know, and you deserve to know. It didn’t seem fair to just make all the decisions without consulting you.”
Brando arched a brow. “And yet you haven’t consulted me.”
“I am now. That’s why I’ve come.”
Silence stretched and the silence made her pulse do an odd, uncomfortable thudding in her veins, a thudding she felt all the way through her. This was not the Brando she’d last seen. In fact, this was not a Brando she recognized. They were like strangers, and yet the last time she’d been with him they’d been incredibly intimate. She’d given herself all of him and had never regretted it...not until she discovered there were consequences for that night of passion.
“The pregnancy stunned me,” she said after a moment. “It wasn’t part of my plan, and it took me a few weeks to sort through all my feelings, but I’m actually now very much looking forward to motherhood.”
“This consultation... What is your goal? You want money? Financial support?”
“No.”
“What, then?”
Her plan was to offer him exactly what he didn’t want—a chance to be a father. She’d give him the opportunity to co-parent, an opportunity she knew he wouldn’t want, and when he balked, she’d gently offer to do it all herself, and he’d be relieved, and accept. Brando was handsome and brilliant but not ready to settle down. His sister had said so more than once. Brando was the least committed to family. Brando was the rebel and valued his independence. She understood that, though. Charlotte valued hers.
“I want you to be this child’s father,” she said quietly, “if you want to be his or her father, and if not, I am sure one day I will fall in love and marry a man who will raise this child as his. In the meantime, I recognize your rights, and I respect your rights, and would like to include you in the decision-making, should you want to be included.”
“You were pregnant when I was in Los Angeles earlier in the year.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me then?”
“It was early in my pregnancy, and I wasn’t sure that the pregnancy was viable. My sisters have miscarried in the first trimester, and they warned me that it could happen to me.”
“Your family knows, then?”
“No. I’ve managed to hide the pregnancy so far, but it’s impossible now. I’m obviously expecting.”
“Why haven’t you told your family?”
“It’s none of their business.” She put a hand to her bump again, feeling another fluttery shift inside. “And if I was going to share the news with anyone, it should be you.”
Charlotte Parks was every bit as beautiful as the last time Brando had seen her, naked in his bed, her long golden hair splayed across the pillow, her mouth swollen from his kisses. This morning she looked impossibly self-contained, as well as impossibly glowing. Pregnancy suited her. Her skin appeared more luminous, her eyes bluer, brighter, her long, golden blond hair shimmering in the sunlight that poured through the tall windows.
When Louisa had come upstairs to tell him there was a woman at the door, demanding to see him, he’d arched a brow, but hadn’t been concerned. When he discovered it was Charlotte in the salon, he’d been intrigued. Charlotte, fascinating Charlotte, never made demands, and yet she’d been pure pleasure in his bed. But now he wasn’t as sanguine. Apparently, she was pregnant. With his child.
He’d heard this before, years ago. Thankfully he’d asked for a paternity test, and the test had turned out negative. He couldn’t have been more grateful.
Now... Now he didn’t know what to think and Brando’s gaze swept over Charlotte, skimming her fair hair, high elegant cheekbones, before dropping to her full breasts and her taut, round bump. She looked radiant, but not quite as serene as he’d first thought her to be. “Hasn’t this been a difficult secret to keep?” he asked.
“No.”
“Really?”
She shrugged. “I’m not one that needs to discuss things to make decisions, and I’ve never turned to others for advice. What I needed was time, and I had that time, which is why I’m here, ready to discuss the future.”
“And yet this is all news to me.”
Color swept her lovely high cheekbones, and her head dipped. “True.” Her chin lifted and her gaze met his. “I expect you’ll want a paternity test. I’ve already checked into clinics that do the testing here in Florence. It’s a simple procedure, just a blood draw for both of us and then we wait for results.” She hesitated a moment. “If possible, I’d like to get it done today. That way we’ll have the results sooner than later.”
“And if I am the father?”
“Well, you are the father, but please let me reassure you that I have things well in control. I’m not asking for anything from you. In fact, nothing in your world needs to change. I just wanted to be courteous—”
He laughed, a low husky sound that stopped her midsentence.
She glanced at him, winged eyebrows arching higher, her color even more heightened. “I wasn’t trying to be funny,” she said rather stiffly.
“Maybe not, but I found it comical when you said nothing in my world needs to change. Bella, everything in my world will change. It’s already changed, if I’m to become a father.”
“I’m obviously going to become a mother. But you... You don’t have to do this...or be part of this. I’m quite comfortable parenting on my own.”
“Which would be fine, if it wasn’t my child, but if it is my child, then I’m going to be involved.”
Her lips parted and then pressed together. She glanced to the tall windows framed by large red-and-white-check silk curtains, the checked fabric a contrast to the marble terra-cotta parquet floor. She suddenly looked anxious and appeared to be struggling to find the right words.
“I’m surprised you’re taking this so well,” she said at last, looking over at him, her blue gaze clear. “We had one night together, little more than a fling, and yet you seem ready to embrace parenthood.”
“I’ve always taken precautions to prevent an unplanned pregnancy, and yet now that we’re here at this crossroads, it’s not a tragedy, not something that needs to be overcome. We’re mature and independent, able to provide a safe, happy home for our child.”
Again, her lips parted, and again they pinched closed. Color washed through her cheeks, her eyes shone overly bright.
It struck him then that he’d caught her off guard. What had she imagined he’d say? No thank you, and goodbye?
Th
at he’d wash his hands of his child?
“But maybe it’s not mine,” he said, thinking back to that other time where a woman had tried to trick him.
“No, it’s yours. Without a doubt. But I didn’t expect you to believe me. Why should you? We spent only one night together. Which is why I want the blood test done today. I’m only here for the weekend, and then Monday I head to England for a week, but we should get the results in seven business days, or three, if we pay to rush the results.” She drew a breath. “I’d prefer to pay the rush fee, so I could return here and draw up custodial paperwork before my flight back to California.”
“Custodial paperwork?” he echoed, thinking she’d certainly mapped it all out.
“The baby will live with me.”
Her calm, crisp answer stirred his temper. “It seems we do have things to discuss.”
“I just want to reassure you, Brando, that I have no intention of sharing the baby’s paternity with anyone. This isn’t anyone’s business but ours, and the secret will be safe with me.”
He lifted a brow. “Our child isn’t to know I’m his or her father?”
“Do you want to be a father?” she asked bluntly.
“I don’t understand the question, cara. If I’m the father, I am the father.”
Fresh color swept through her face. “I suppose that is the part we need to discuss.”
Was she seriously wanting to cut him out? Was she envisioning him as a sperm donor, but nothing more? He felt a surge of temper, but swiftly checked it. “It seems you and I do have a great deal to discuss,” he said, “but I’d prefer more privacy. Now isn’t the ideal time, not with Louisa here.”
Charlotte glanced up to the ceiling, as if she expected Louisa to be there, on the hand-blown glass chandelier. “True.” She slipped her coat back on, opened her handbag and drew out a slip of paper. “This is the nearest clinic that can do the blood draw. They can get you in this afternoon. I’ll be going straight there when I leave here. If you could just call and make an appointment for today? Would that be possible?”
