the nursery he had watched Nico become increasingly upset as he had waited for Kristen, and Sergio’s heart had ached for the little boy. It had brought back memories of how his mother had regularly been late to pick him up from the after-school club she had sent him to every day. On several occasions she had forgotten him completely, until one of the staff had phoned her to remind her about her son. Sergio remembered the cramping fear in his gut that one day his mother simply would not show up. What would happen to him then? he had wondered. Who would take care of him? He had given up hoping that his father would come and take him back to Sicily.
He had brought Nico back to the hotel, convinced that Kristen was irresponsible and did not deserve to have custody of their son. But, glancing at her pale face, he recalled how her voice had trembled when she had explained how she had been trapped on a Tube train, and his anger lessened. Her physiotherapist’s uniform of navy trousers and white jacket gave her a professional air but she still looked heartbreakingly young with her long golden hair falling around her shoulders. The purple smudges beneath her eyes indicated that she had slept as badly as he had for the past three nights.
Had memories of making love with him kept her awake until the early hours? Perhaps, like him, she could not forget the intense passion that had blazed between them three nights ago. He had never wanted any woman as badly as he had wanted Kristen. And he still desired her, Sergio acknowledged grimly. Much as he might resent the fact, he could not deny the truth.
When she moved her head her hair shimmered like a silk curtain and he could smell the lemony scent of shampoo. A button on her uniform had popped open so that he could glimpse the curve of her breasts beneath her semi-transparent bra. Heat flared in his groin and he shifted his position to try and ease the throb of his arousal.
Just then she glanced at him from beneath her long lashes and as their eyes met and held, something unspoken passed between them. If they had been alone he would have carried her into the bedroom—and she would have let him. It was the one thing he was certain of.
But they were not alone. He jerked his gaze from her and focused on his son—the child she had kept secret from him. Nico was still playing with the toy cars, his expression utterly absorbed as he chatted to himself in his sweet childish voice. A shaft of golden evening sunshine slanted through the window and fingered the little boy’s dark curls.
‘Dio!’ Sergio exhaled raggedly as he felt an arrow pierce his heart. ‘How could you have hidden him from me?’ he asked Kristen in a tortured voice. ‘He is my child. My blood runs through his veins. You must have known I would want to be part of his life.’
She shook her head, genuinely shocked by the raw emotion in his voice.
‘You didn’t give me that impression in the hospital. After I’d had the miscarriage, you said it was for the best that I had lost the baby...and I took that to mean you didn’t want a child.’ Her voice shook. ‘I thought you were relieved that I was no longer pregnant. And so when I discovered weeks later that I was still carrying your child, I assumed that you wouldn’t welcome the news.’
Sergio had stiffened and he looked almost grey beneath his tan. ‘I certainly did not feel relieved that you had lost our child. That day at the hospital...’ He swallowed convulsively. ‘You misunderstood me. One of the nurses had told me that miscarriages often occurred if the baby was not developing properly. She also said that women sometimes blamed themselves when they lost a child, and it was important I should reassure you that you could not have prevented what had happened.
‘That was why I said that perhaps it had been for the best. You were so upset, and I didn’t know how else to try and comfort you. You were crying and you needed me to be strong...not to cry too,’ he said raggedly.
‘I was so shocked when the doctor told me I was pregnant, and then in the same sentence that I had miscarried the baby,’ Kristen whispered. She stared at Sergio. ‘I had no idea that you were sad about it. Did you really feel like crying?’ It was hard to believe that he could have been as deeply affected by the loss of their baby as she had.
‘The knowledge that we had lost something so precious and irreplaceable felt like a body blow. At first I couldn’t take it in. We had created a new life, but tragically our child was not destined to live.’
Sergio watched Nico playing. ‘But we did create a new life after all,’ he said so softly that Kristen only just caught his words. ‘I still can’t quite believe that this beautiful little boy is my son.’
She bit her lip. ‘I often think about the other baby, and I wonder what Nico’s brother or sister would have been like. I feel so lucky to have him, but I mourn for his twin and, although it’s selfish, I wish I could have had them both.’ She glanced at Sergio. ‘I’ve heard that the bond between twins is unique. Do you feel especially close to your twin brother?’
He shrugged. ‘I did not grow up with Salvatore, and when we met again after being separated for many years we did not have a close relationship.’
She gave him a startled look. ‘Why didn’t you grow up together?’
‘My parents split up when Salvatore and I were five years old. My mother returned to her native New York and she took me with her.’
Kristen frowned. ‘It seems a strange decision to have separated you from your brother. You told me that your parents had divorced when you were young, but I assumed that you and Salvatore grew up in Sicily with your father.’
‘I did not discover until I was much older that my father had been awarded custody of both of us,’ he told her emotionlessly. ‘My mother snatched me and took me to America. My father tried to get me back but...’ He broke off and shrugged.
How hard had Tito really fought for his return? Sergio brooded. Surely in the ten years that he had lived in the US his father could have done more to force his mother to allow him to return to Sicily? The thought was a poison that continually festered in his mind. The only answer as far as he could see was that Tito had not loved him as much as he had loved Salvatore.
‘I suppose she couldn’t bear to lose both of her children.’ Privately, Kristen wondered how Sergio’s mother could have taken him away from his brother and broken the special bond between the twin boys.
Sergio’s expression became sardonic. ‘The only reason she took me was to get at my father. Their relationship was a constant power struggle both before and after they divorced. Patti didn’t actually want me. She was busy pursuing an acting career and having a child around was hugely inconvenient.’
Kristen was startled by the bitterness in his voice. ‘I’m sure she didn’t think that,’ she murmured, not knowing what else to say. The coldness in his eyes sent a shiver through her. Four years ago she had thought she had known him, but clearly there were secrets in his past that might explain why he kept such a tight rein on his emotions.
She glanced at her watch and jumped to her feet. ‘I must take Nico home. He needs his dinner and a bath before bed.’
‘He’s already eaten. I asked the chef to prepare him grilled chicken and vegetables and he ate most of his dinner.’ Sergio gave her a piercing glance. ‘He looks too thin and I am concerned that he is underweight. I think he should be checked over by a doctor.’
‘He has been off his food recently,’ Kristen admitted, ‘but he’s perfectly healthy.’
‘Nevertheless, I have made an appointment for him to see a top paediatrician in Harley Street tomorrow morning.’
‘There’s
