his mood lightened as he thought of Shay and that stolen night in Oahu. She was the first woman he’d been with since Olivia had crushed his heart. Shay was one American he could get used to having around. Even now, months later, he could still feel her lips on his.
Only she was off who knew where on her latest assignment and he had to make nice with a stranger. Someone he didn’t trust, and it brought back why he was in a bad mood.
His father. Someone else he absolutely didn’t trust.
At dinner last night with his younger brother, Enzo, Dante had learned that their father, Prince Marco Affini, had once again sold off more of the family land. And he was eyeing the land their late mother had left in trust for Dante and Enzo until they married and produced an heir. At least their father couldn’t sell it off yet. Unless they married before they turned thirty-five and produced an heir within a year of that marriage. Last night Enzo had reminded Dante once again that soon Dante would be turning thirty-five in a matter of months, without a marriage in sight.
Dante was painfully aware that his villa on Lido di Venezia was in danger of being sold as well, because that had been his maternal grandfather’s home.
The villa on the sandbar, a ten-minute ferry ride from Venice proper, was part of Dante’s inheritance. It would be his as long as he married and produced an heir by the time he was thirty-five, according to the stipulations of the trust fund and the marriage contract between his parents, as his mother had been a commoner and his father of royal blood.
And his thirty-fifth birthday was approaching fast, without a wife or heir in sight.
And whose fault was that?
It was his. He knew it; he just didn’t have any desire to get married after what had happened with his ex, Olivia, and he didn’t want to have a child out of wedlock. Even if he did, that wouldn’t help him recover his inheritance, such were the archaic terms of the trust.
If he didn’t get married and have a child, he would lose his home, everything that was meant for him by his late mother, including his beloved vineyard in Tuscany.
His grandfather had worked that vineyard. It was his pride and joy. Even though the family had money, his maternal grandfather always took pride in working his land. A work ethic that Dante had picked up on. He loved saving lives and he loved the life that bloomed in his vineyard in Tuscany.
Dante loved it there.
He loved working the land himself as well and the thought of someone else owning it was too much to bear.
It kept him awake most nights and he had the legal receipts to prove that he’d tried to get around the trust his mother signed on her wedding day, but it was ironclad. His father had the upper hand, until Dante and Enzo were married.
Dante downed the shot of espresso he’d grabbed before he headed to the lecture hall where he’d welcome the new United World Wide Health Association nurses and first responders who had come from all over Italy to join the organization. Here they’d learn what they needed to know, and then they would disperse over the world, providing health care.
Dante admired them and, even though he didn’t want to be here and meet with his new associate from the United States, he knew he couldn’t take his frustrations out on them.
He took a deep breath, ran his hand through his dark hair as he glanced in a mirror briefly, cursing inwardly for not having shaved the stubble from his face, and he hated the dark circles under his eyes, but he hadn’t got much sleep last night.
Once, he’d had the chance to save all the land meant for him, but that had cost him his heart and he swore he would never fall into that trap again. He just had to get used to the fact he was going to lose it all.
He was going to let down his brother and the memory of his mother.
His father would sell it all off and Dante would have to find a new place to live in a matter of a few months. He shook his head as he tried not to think about that now. He had to be charming and affable as the head of trauma at the Ospedale San Pietro.
Bracing himself now, Dante opened the door, ready to greet the American.
“Ciao, I’m Dr. Dante Affini, Head of...”
The nurse turned, just slightly, and Dante couldn’t believe who he was looking at. His pulse raced and a rare smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. It was Shay!
She looked stunning. She was absolutely glowing, her cheeks rosy with a bloom she didn’t have before.
Her honey-blonde hair wasn’t as long as he remembered. She’d cut it, shorter in a bob, but it suited her delicate heart-shaped face. Those dark brown eyes of hers were warm and welcoming as she smiled at him, her pink lips soft and inviting. He could still feel them pressed against his. A blush rose in her round, creamy cheeks, deepening the healthy glow. Her lithe frame was fuller, but the curves suited her. “Hello, Dante.”
“Shay?” Dante whispered, and then he smiled, realizing it was her who was here to work with him. “What are you doing here? I thought...I thought Daniel Lucey was going to be running this program.”
“He was,” Shay said. “But something came up for him, so I jumped at the chance to come to Italy and take an easier job for a while.”
“An easier job? You’re never one to back away from a challenge, cara.”
A pink blush deepened on her cheeks and she tucked away an errant silky strand behind her ear. “I know, but I have no choice.” She bit her lip. “Dante, I took this job because...because I’m pregnant.”
Pregnant. Shay was having a baby?
It hit him and for a moment he wasn’t sure he’d heard her correctly. Well, that explained the glow and the newly acquired curves. And then another realization struck him...
“Is it... Is it mine?”
“Yes.” She bit her lip in a way that had driven him wild before but now filled him with a sense of trepidation.
A baby.
He had put up the walls to protect himself for a reason and he’d been a fool for letting her in back in Oahu.
It had been a moment of complete weakness on his part.
Dante scrubbed a hand over his face.
Why didn’t she tell me? Was he really the father? Olivia had led him to believe that she carried his baby, only then he’d found out she’d tricked him. She’d already been pregnant when they’d slept together. Olivia had viewed Dante as perfect daddy material for another man’s child...
He was angry. Angry at himself for thinking Shay might be different, but apparently not. He should’ve known better—a week and a one-night stand were no time to get to know someone. To trust someone.
A pink blush tinged her creamy cheeks. “I took this job so that I could tell you in person.”
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” he demanded. “Why didn’t you contact me before you showed up here? As soon as you found out? It’s been months, Shay. You can understand my trepidation. My anger, surely?”
She
