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‘Ava...’
‘Please, can we go and get Annabelle? I want to see my baby.’
His lips compressed for a second. Then he nodded. Pulling his phone from his pocket, he made a call, presumably to his parents. Minutes later he ended the call.
‘They’ve taken her to the zoo. We can collect her from there once we get our things from the apartment.’
‘I don’t want—’
‘Don’t worry, I won’t force you to have this conversation now. But it will be discussed.’
‘What is there to discuss? I won’t subject myself to a marriage based on sex.’
‘Last night’s events suggested differently. Are you sure you’re not refusing to consider us because of another reason?’ A shadow of vulnerability echoed through his words.
It took a couple of seconds for her to grasp his meaning. ‘You think just because we’ve discovered you carry a defective gene, I’m taking the opportunity to bail out of a marriage you didn’t want in the first place? You’re unbelievable, Cesare.’
He had the decency to redden. ‘So you still maintain your need for a family above everything else?’
‘Yes. I want a family, and that’s not what you’ve offered. You’ve offered distance, secrets and the occasional sex marathon. I want to be needed; I want to be loved. I want you to come to me when you have a problem, not turn to your childhood friend or deal with it alone. God, you don’t trust me, not even when it comes to sex.’
He frowned. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘Last night, in bed...you...you pulled out before you... The first time I thought I’d imagined it. Then you did it again. I don’t have to be a genius to work out that the last thing you want is to get me pregnant again!’
He cursed under his breath. ‘Why does that surprise you? You got pregnant with Annabelle despite my use of condoms and you being on the Pill.’
‘Can’t you see what’s wrong? Once again, you’ve decided, without asking me how I feel about it.’
‘And if we’d had the talk you so desperately craved last night, if I’d laid all my cards on the table, would you still have come to my bed?’
‘I guess we’ll never know now, because you didn’t.’
‘Santa cielo, I can’t believe you’re condemning our marriage based on the fact that I won’t come inside you!’
Heat engulfed her face and neck. ‘You’re vile! I’m condemning our marriage because you’ve never trusted me enough to tell me the things that matter!’
‘I’ve told you everything!’
‘How do I know? You didn’t even tell me Roberto had died. I have to drag everything out of you. Well, guess what? That machismo thing may be sexy for a while, but it wears thin eventually, especially when you know I’m not a wallflower who’s scared of my own shadow. Face it, Cesare. Even though you claim not to, you’re still trying to protect me. And it hurts.’
Relief shot through her when she realised they’d reached the apartment. She lunged for the door and was halfway to the lift before Cesare caught up with her.
‘Ava, stop—’
Her phone pinged and she pounced on it. Seeing the message, her fury grew. ‘For the love of sweet baby meerkats, please tell Agata Marinello you’re not going to her son’s wedding before I kill her!’
In silence, he withdrew his phone from his pocket and tapped in a few keys. ‘It is done.’ The lift came and he stepped in after her.
Just before the lift shut, her phone pinged again. Her mouth dropped open at the effusive message displayed on her screen.
‘You’re going to the wedding?’
He eyed her with a mixture of triumph and determination.
‘Sì. I’ve messed up big time where we’re concerned. But I’m owning it now.’
Her heart hammered. ‘What does that mean—you’re owning it?’
‘It means you’re not going to get rid of me that easily, mia bella moglie.’
* * *
When they picked Annabelle up an hour later, Ava had to restrain herself from smothering her child in hugs while Cesare stood a distance away talking to his parents. Her heart tightened when she saw the stricken look on their faces.
As he hugged his mother and shook his father’s hand, she contented herself with holding Annabelle’s hand as she was regaled with tales from the giraffe pen and the varied animals she’d become best friends with at the zoo.
