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She lifted her eyes to his and her heart squeezed tightly at the expression in his eyes.
‘No…’
‘But you are finding it hard, are you not,’ he said calmly, ‘to learn to trust another person? Presumably because of what happened to your mother and because you have been let down so many times in the past.’
‘Yes,’ she said honestly. ‘I—I didn’t think I’d ever be able to trust a man. Even now I’m worried that you—that you…’ Her eyes slid away from his and she stumbled slightly over the words. ‘Might be keeping all sorts of secrets from me.’
There—she’d said it. Now she just had to wait for Luca’s response.
She looked at him, searching for signs of guilt or discomfort but she saw nothing but sympathy in his expression.
‘Tia, you can trust me,’ he said quietly, his dark eyes trapping hers. ‘But I can understand that, with your experiences, my word is not enough to stop you worrying. Only time will do that. So let us tackle another issue. How do you feel about being pregnant? How do you feel about having my baby?’
Her heart thumped steadily as she looked into his eyes. Could she tell him the truth? That she was terrified? That she wasn’t sure she’d be a good mother.
No.
She couldn’t threaten the fragile peace that had settled between them by admitting that she’d never thought she’d get married or have children. ‘I’m pleased about the baby,’ she whispered at last, concentrating her attentions on the plate of ham in front of her. ‘Very pleased.’
There was a long silence and she could feel his gaze sweeping her pale face.
‘Are you sure? This isn’t the time for secrets between us. I want you to tell me the truth.’
Secrets?
He was a fine one to talk about secrets when he still
hadn’t mentioned Luisa.
‘I’m pleased,’ she repeated firmly, poking at her food. ‘What about you, Luca? How do you really feel now that you’ve had time to get used to the idea?’
‘I still would have chosen to have more time alone with you,’ he admitted, his accent almost unbearably sexy, ‘especially in the light of what you’ve just told me, but I am very pleased, Tia. Very pleased indeed. I love children.’
Tia added some salad to her plate, her hands shaking slightly. Of course he loved children. All Italian men loved children, didn’t they?
‘But if I hadn’t got pregnant? What then?’
He shrugged. ‘Then we would have had more time to get to know each other properly. But it is pointless to dwell on what might have happened. We need to concentrate on the present. You still haven’t seen a doctor. I want you to register with Dan.’
She opened her mouth to accuse him of being autocratic but then closed it again. Luca was right. Dan was easily the best consultant. Everyone knew it. And he was kind and approachable too. Which helped when you were absolutely terrified.
‘I’ll talk to him,’ she offered, and Luca lifted an ebony brow.
‘Just like that.’ His mouth twitched at the corners. ‘No arguments? No accusations of trying to run your life?’
‘It just so happens that on this occasion I agree with you, that’s all,’ she said primly, and he laughed.
‘Well, that is definitely a first. Maybe we’re making progress.’
Maybe they were.
The next morning she was sick again and Luca was by her side in an instant. He murmured something soothing in Italian and held her until she finally collapsed against him, exhausted.
‘Oh, Luca.’ She felt pitifully sorry for herself and he tightened his grip.
‘Remind me to be more sympathetic the next time a woman tells me she is suffering from morning sickness,’ he said gruffly, wiping her face with a flannel and helping her to her feet. ‘I never realised how awful it can be. Go back to bed for a few minutes and I’ll bring you a drink.’
She did as she was told, knowing that she shouldn’t be leaning on him but unable to help herself. She had to admit that for a very macho male, he was surprisingly undaunted by her antics in the bathroom.
