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But such unimaginable luxury and style. So different from how she’d grown up. A flash of memory came to her of the cabin in the West Virginia hills, with its worn wood exterior, sagging furniture and peeling linoleum.
But so comfortable for all that. So full of love. Her beloved home. Her parents. Her older brother.
Gone. All gone.
They would never know her son.
A sudden pain, like a razor blade in her throat, made her gasp as fresh, unexpected grief ambushed her.
Setting down his newspaper, Cristiano looked at her sharply. “What is it?”
Blinking fast, she looked at him. She swallowed. “I was just remembering...”
“What?”
Jack fussed a little in her arms. She was grateful for the excuse to turn away. “Nothing.”
Getting up, she set the baby down in his new play gym with a padded blanket on the floor, so he could bat at the brightly colored mobile overhead. She felt Cristiano’s gaze on her as she went to the room-service carts and lifted a silver lid. Taking the plate of food and silverware, she returned to sit beside him at the counter. She forced herself to take a bite, then another. The waffles and bacon were indeed lukewarm, and all she could feel was sad.
“Can I ask you something?” Cristiano asked, setting his fork down on his own empty plate.
“What?”
“Why did you refuse my marriage proposal yesterday?”
She glanced at him. “I told you—”
“That we hate each other. I remember.” He took a drink of black coffee. The dainty china cup looked incongruous in his large, masculine hands. “It’s just funny. I always thought if I ever asked a woman to marry me, the reaction would be very different.”
“But you didn’t ask. You told.” Hallie looked at her limp waffles. “And I’m not convinced you know what commitment means.”
“How can you say that?”
Setting down her fork, Hallie stared out at the view of the city and bright blue skies. “My parents married straight out of high school. They fought all the time, but never threatened to leave. We were a family. And family means sticking together, no matter what.” Her voice choked, and she looked down at the marble floor. “After they died, it was all I dreamed about. Having a family again. A home.”
“That’s why you were still a virgin when we met,” he said slowly. “You were waiting for the man you could give your life to. Not just your life. Your loyalty.”
She nodded, unable to meet his eyes, bracing herself for his cynical, mocking re
sponse.
Instead, his voice was quiet. “I destroyed all your plans by seducing you.”
Hallie’s gaze lifted to his. Then she looked at their baby in his play gym. Jack was stretching out his chubby arms, waving them like a drunken sailor as he tried to reach the mobile hanging over his head. With a trembling smile, she shook her head.
“How can I blame you, when that night brought our baby? Besides.” She stared down at her hands. “What happened wasn’t just your fault. It was also mine.” With a deep breath, she said, “If I had really wanted to wait for marriage, I wouldn’t have let you or anyone else change my mind. No matter how badly I wanted you. Because I knew even then that I could never be more than a one-night stand to a man like you.”
“You’re wrong.” His voice was low. “You were always more than a one-night stand to me.”
“So that’s why you had me fired and tossed out of the hotel?” Her lips lifted humorously. “Because you wanted to spend more time with me?”
“You were an employee. A virgin. But from the moment I first heard you sing, from the moment I saw you, floating my sheets softly through the air, I had to have you. I smashed every rule.”
“You knew I was a virgin?” she breathed.
He gave a slow nod. “I could tell when I kissed you. But I still couldn’t stop myself from taking you to my bed. And once I had you,” he said softly, “I only wanted more.”
“Then why did you send me away?” she said, trembling.
