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She gave a half-laugh.
‘There’ll be none of that for now, though,’ Dante said. ‘We need to sort things out properly.’
They drove in silence for a while, both dwelling on that.
For Mia, the ‘for now’ offered if not hope then a glimpse of possibility that this wasn’t the end of them.
While for Dante he’d simply meant what he’d said: the attraction was there, it was pointless to deny it, and after all it had got him to considering more. Last night he had been thinking along the lines of an occasional affair, while knowing deep down that could never work in the long run.
The debris from the bombshell was settling and he was starting to think with a clearer head.
‘Have you seen a doctor?’ Dante asked.
‘Yes.’ She looked at him. ‘I’m keeping the baby, whether you want me to or not...’
‘That is one thing we are agreed on at least.’ He glanced over and then looked away. As to the rest, it was one hell of a mess.
‘Whether you believe me or not, I didn’t plan this, Dante.’
‘Not at first perhaps,’ Dante said. He was always honest and so did not amend his thoughts as he vocalised them, ‘but I believe that I was your Plan C.’ He had done alotof thinking last night. ‘I am sure that when you married my father, you wanted your little Romano baby to ensure endless wealth, and when my father was ill and could not...’ He blew out a breath as he couldn’t both drive and allow his mind to go there at the same time.
‘And my Plan B?’ Mia asked, curious as to how his mind worked.
‘Contest the will.’
‘I didn’t, though.’
‘Because there’s no need to if you’re carrying my baby.’
‘If?’ She gave a small mirthless laugh. ‘How did you get to be so suspicious?’
‘Because everyone lies.’ Dante shrugged. ‘My perfect family is a nest of liars.’
Mia swallowed because she, perhaps even more than Dante, knew he spoke the truth.
‘I think my mother had a long-running affair,’ he said, taking the curves in the road with skill, but Mia found she was holding her breath, not just at his driving but as he inched towards the truth.
‘Dante, can you please slow down?’
He glanced at the dashboard and then over at her and though he was within the limit, when he saw her pale features he slowed down the car but not the conversation. ‘Perhaps my father decided it was his turn to cheat...’ He blew out an angry breath. ‘And then you came along, dear Mia. Except he was too ill to give you a baby and permanent access to his fortune, and so to Plan B.’
‘But I didn’t contest the will,’ Mia pointed out.
‘No, you saw a chance for a Plan C.’
‘Which was?’
‘A last roll of the dice with me.’
‘Oh, please! Are you saying I set out to seduce you that night? Poor Dante...’ She scoffed.
‘I never said I was a victim,’ Dante countered. ‘We were both more than willing. I’m just saying you saw a chance and you took it—or rather,’ he added with a jaded edge, ‘youdidn’ttake your pills.’
‘If you think that,’ Mia said, ‘then you don’t know me.’
His temper was building. His theory, now voiced, was growing in momentum as they neared Luctano, where she had lived as his father’s wife for two years.
Two damned years!
