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‘You said they’re surveillance photos?’
‘They appear to be, yes.’
She shook her head, her frown deepening. ‘I don’t understand. How did he even know about Ethan? He knew I was pregnant obviously, but... How did he know I didn’t have an abortion? Unless...’
He watched her expression shift, confusion giving way to dismay and then something resembling horror as she no doubt considered the same possibility he had. That Franco had kept tabs on her from the moment she’d left his office five years ago—meaning she’d been tracked and watched from before Ethan was born to right up until a few months ago.
Reaching over the table, he covered her hand with his. She jumped, but didn’t pull her hand away.
Did she feel the same surge of electric warmth from the contact as he did?
‘Don’t, cara,’ he said.
She looked down at their joined hands, then back at him. ‘Don’t what?’ she whispered.
‘Don’t run a million scenarios through your head and wonder which, if any, are true. The answer died with my father—and, like I told you yesterday, so did any threat he might have posed. You and Ethan are safe. You have my wo
rd.’
Their mains turned up, and Luca withdrew his hand. For the next few minutes he watched her toy with her food, her mind clearly stuck on their previous conversation.
He put down his knife and picked up his wine. ‘Tell me about Ethan.’
She looked up, her head tilting. ‘What do you want to know?’
He shrugged. ‘Anything. Everything. What’s his favourite food?’
A smile curved her mouth. ‘I wish I could say peas or broccoli. But unfortunately it’s ice cream.’
He chuckled, and she laughed with him, visibly relaxing. And then she talked easily about their son—his preschool programme, his love of animals, his quirks and habits.
When they’d finished their meals and the time was right, he posed a more serious question. ‘Did Ethan ever ask about his father?’
She hesitated. ‘Yes. A few months ago. He started noticing that most other children had daddies and he didn’t.’
‘What did you tell him?’
‘That sometimes mummies and daddies don’t live together. That sometimes children live with only one parent while they grow up.’
‘Was he satisfied with that?’
She gave a wry smile. ‘Not really. He wanted to know where his father lived and if we could visit. I told him you lived across a big ocean, too far away.’
The waiter returned to remove their plates, and Luca requested a few minutes before they looked at the dessert menu.
Then he leaned forward and finally cut to the chase. ‘I want a hand in raising my son, Annah.’
* * *
Annah stared at Luca across the table. Over the last hour she’d let herself relax a little, even laugh now and again, but in the back of her mind she’d kept reminding herself this moment was coming.
‘Visitation rights?’ she ventured.
‘Shared custody.’
It wasn’t really a surprise, but still her heart dropped into her stomach and then began to pound hard.
‘And how would that work, exactly?’ she said, willing her voice to stay calm. ‘We live in different countries, Luca.’
