heard it somewhere, but she couldn’t quite place the name.
“Thank you for telling me.”
He smiled the smile that had seduced her on her first trip here. “Di niente. I can’t have my pregnant bride suffer from an attack of the vapors on our wedding day.”
“I’m not the type.”
“Grazie a dio.” He drank the last of his coffee. “I think you’ve toyed with your salad long enough. Your cheeks look a little flushed from the heat. Let’s get you back to the apartment. While you nap, I need to run over to the plant for a brief meeting with the staff.”
A nap sounded good. He escorted her through the restaurant to the street. Once again they walked the short distance hand in hand, this time uphill. Vincenzo was a demonstrative, physical man who touched her often.
Irena discovered that with each contact, she felt more and more alive. When he saw her inside the apartment and told her he’d be back later, she suddenly didn’t want him to leave.
After he’d gone she decided to lie down for a few minutes. It surprised her that when she heard her phone ring and reached for it, an hour had gone by. The pills the doctor had given her seemed to have kicked in. They’d taken her nausea away, but she found she was sleepier.
“Deline?”
“I just put the twins down for their afternoon nap so we could talk. Tell me what’s happening.”
Getting up from the bed, Irena walked through the apartment to the terrace laden with potted flowers of every color. She leaned against the railing, feasting her eyes on the breathtaking view. “There’s so much to tell you I hardly know where to begin, but in a word, Vincenzo and I are being married on Thursday.”
The palpable silence coming from the other end wasn’t surprising. “You’re really planning to go through with this?”
“Yes. I just came from meeting the local priest who’ll be officiating.”
“You’re having a church wedding?”
“It’s what Dino wants.”
“Who’s Dino?”
She bit so hard on her lower lip, it drew blood. “Vincenzo’s adorable six-year-old son.”
“What?”
“I know this is a lot to absorb. For me, too. Let me start from the beginning.” For the next little while Irena told her everything.
“Oh, Irena…I don’t envy you for having to deal with an ex-wife.”
“I’m not thrilled about it myself.”
“Yet you still want to go through this. Obviously you’re crazy in love with this man, right?”
“Love? I don’t know about that yet, Deline. I thought I loved Andreas. I know one thing—he’s bigger than life to me, Deline. Every minute we’re together I find him more amazing.”
“Maybe too amazing?”
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Have you asked yourself why he’s willing to rush into marriage with you?”
“Deline—” she cried in exasperation. “I was the one who approached him, remember?”
“I know. I guess I don’t know what I mean.”
“He wants this baby and believes it’s his.”
“But it might not be his, Irena. If only you could find out before you go through with this marriage.”
Irena sank down in one of the wrought-iron chairs. Her eyes closed tightly. “The last doctor I talked to said that only a DNA test could give me definitive proof of paternity.”
“Then for all your sakes, I’d go get it done.”
“I’ve been considering it.”
“To tell you the truth, I’m surprised Vincenzo hasn’t demanded it, especially as he is making such willing huge sacrifice as quickly as possible to keep you. He must be nuts about you!”
Irena jumped up from the chair. “I know exactly why he’s marrying me, Deline. I figured it out the second I saw him with his son. That was no idle proposal he made two months ago. The fact is, he’s bound to a strict visitation order. He wants his boy to be able to live with him and be with him as much as possible. For that to happen he needs a wife, but she has to be someone Dino can accept.”
“Which means you’ve already won him over. There isn’t a child in the world who wouldn’t love you, Irena.”
Tears pricked her eyelids. “You’re a better friend than I deserve.”
“Who helped me through the blackest period of my life?” she said almost angrily. “I’m glad if I can do anything for you.”
“You already have by listening to me. In talking to you, I’ve come to a decision. No matter how painful it’s going to be on everyone concerned, I’ll never have a good night’s sleep again until I know the truth about this baby’s father.”
Deline groaned. “Now you’ve got me worried.”
“In truth it’s all I have done since I found out about this baby, but for the first time my mind is clear. I know what I have to do. When I look back, I realize Gabi went to Andreas armed with the DNA results on the twins. Before he ever approached your husband, he immediately had them checked against Leon’s DNA for a match. If I tell Andreas I’m having his baby, he’ll want DNA proof, so that’s the first thing that needs to be done.”
All of sudden Irena heard Vincenzo calling to her. “Deline?” she whispered. “I have to go.”
“Understood. Stay in touch.”
This was the second time Vincenzo had walked in on Irena and found her on the phone acting furtive. She broke out in a smile. It didn’t deceive him. “How did things go at your office?”
“Everything’s been taken care of for the time we’ll be away on our honeymoon.”
Her smile cracked. “Vincenzo—”
“I was hoping some rest would have done you good, but you seem agitated. What’s wrong?”
“There’s something you need to know. We can’t get married yet.”
He was used to his gut taking hits, but this one penetrated. “If you’re worried about a dress…”
She tossed her head back so hard, her hair came unfurled and the heavy weight swished against her shoulders. Much as he liked her gleaming black mane swept up, he preferred it undone. “You know I’m not.”
Irena didn’t have a vain bone in her fabulous body. “You said yet. What does that mean exactly?”
