muttered the word baby each time. It shows how much you are thinking about this child you carry. I’m afraid you’re the only one to determine if you can live with yourself if the test does cause you to miscarry. It appears you’re going to have to weigh the possibility of suffering that guilt against your anxiety over waiting seven more months to know the outcome of the baby’s paternity.”
“They’re all horrible choices.”
He pulled her against him, molding his hand to the back of her head. “Irena, no matter what,” he murmured against her temple, giving her kisses, “I’m here for you.”
“I know that. I’m the luckiest woman on earth.” She embraced him once more, then pulled away from him before she drenched his beautiful shirt. “Will you find Dr. Santi and tell her I want to go ahead with the test?”
“I’ll be right back.”
Vincenzo had scarcely stepped out in the hall when he saw the doctor walking toward him. “My wife has decided she wants to schedule the test.”
“I think it’s a wise decision considering her emotional state. I’ve a feeling the waiting will be harder on her. We want her to have as normal a pregnancy as possible.”
He nodded. “Before you go in to her, I would like to talk to you about something. Since our marriage two weeks ago, I’ve been afraid to make love to her. Knowing there’s even a minimal risk to the baby because of the test, I’ve hesitated to do anything that could add to it.”
She gave him a frank smile. “You’ve just saved me from telling you to hold off on the intimacy. Three more weeks with no problems and you can start to enjoy that side of your marriage.
“While I examine her, go to the outpatient center and have them direct you to the lab. I’ll authorize them to do a swab of your cheek now. By the time the test is done and the results are in, you’ll know if it’s a match with your DNA. When your wife is through, she’ll be waiting for you in the reception room.”
“Grazie.”
He followed the doctor’s directions and didn’t have to wait long for his test. By the time Irena joined him in the lounge, he was still on the phone talking business with Bruno, his second-in-command at the plant. After hanging up, he walked her out to the car.
Before he helped her in he drew her close, looking down at the gauze taped to her arm. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.”
“Are you hungry?”
“Starving.” She said it a little too enthusiastically, but it meant she was making an effort even though she was nervous about the test. There was no one in the world like her.
“Bene. I’m taking us to a ristorante you’re going to love.” He kissed the lips he couldn’t resist. Three more weeks…He didn’t know how he was going to make it, but he had to for all their sakes.
Five minutes later they reached Spoleto’s. The head waiter showed them through to the terrazza that gave out on a broader view of the Mediterranean. “Your usual table is waiting, Signore Valsecchi. Shall I bring the wine list?”
“Not today, Giovanni. We’d like iced tea and linguini for two.”
When he nodded and walked off, Irena leaned forward. “What dish is that?”
“Linguini and their house sauce.”
“That sounds delicious.” She said the right words, but there was something else on her mind. “Before the waiter comes back, I’m waiting to hear the answer to the question I asked you last night. There’s no royal line in my background, so how is it that your father has still been willing to get rid of the old visitation rules?”
“I’ve given him what he wants. Before we left on our honeymoon, I agreed to take back the title and be the cochairman of the company.”
After a long period of quiet she said, “If you’re not careful, you’ll turn into my father. After he had to take over the newspaper business from his father, mother and I rarely saw him.”
Irena’s reaction was more than satisfying. It told him their time together was precious to her, too. He eyed her through veiled lashes. “But I won’t let that happen to us, because I’m not like anyone else.”
Her dark brows, perfectly shaped, knit together. “That’s true, but a father and son running a conglomerate like yours will be consumed by business whether you mean for it to happen or not.”
The waiter chose that moment to bring their food to the table. Once he went away again and they’d started to eat Vincenzo said, “Father won’t be cochairing anything. His cancer has come back. No one knows how much longer he’s going to live.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, putting down the iced tea she’d been drinking.
“I am, too. One good thing about the title is that it gives me absolute authority to choose the person who will cochair with me. What I need is a young outsider with business savvy and fresh vision. The company has been losing business over the last five or six years.”
“Because you left,” she stated baldly. Her confidence in him reassured him as nothing else could.
“It’s more a case of mismanagement and a bad economy. There are plenty of areas to attach blame. My way of doing things is to delegate once I’ve concluded the big contract negotiations. The detail work will be left to the others on the board who are capable of doing a good job if pointed in the right direction. Father didn’t give them that much responsibility.”
“That sounds good in theory.”
“The changes I make will cut down on my work-load. When I have to travel, you’ll go with me and we’ll turn those trips into vacations. Everything will be different.”
“Are you thinking of asking Fabbio to help you? Being your stepbrother, he’d be a natural choice and is young like you.”
Until Irena had come into his life, Vincenzo had felt like he was hurtling toward his old age at warp speed. Being with her was like finding the source of life all over again.
“There’s no question Fabbio’s an asset to the company. They all are in their own way, but after I chose to work at the plant, father did everything himself because he didn’t trust anyone. No one has been taught to act or think outside the box. As a result, they’re locked in a group mentality of business as usual. The company needs new blood for revitalization.”
“It sounds like you’ve already made your pick.”
“I have. It’s a woman.”
She looked down at her food. “In an all-male enclave?”
“Revolutionary, isn’t it?”
“One of your dozens of female cousins?” Did he detect approval in her question?
“Not a cousin, but she is a relative.”
At that revelation she lifted her head. Those dark,
