by Marinelli, Carol; Hayward, Jennifer; Stephens, Susan; Anderson, Natalie
‘No.’
She had never known such happiness and later in their little room on the maternity ward they watched the sun set over Casta on their wedding day and the birth day of their son.
‘Here.’
Bastiano cracked open a bottle and Sophie had her first, long-awaited taste of champagne, smiling when Stella came in to check on them.
‘You have had a lot of phone calls,’ Stella informed then. ‘There is a big party going on in town.’
‘What time do you finish?’ Bastiano asked.
‘Midnight.’
Sophie handed Bastiano their baby, who was now content, and she watched as he placed him in the little Perspex cot.
‘I’m tired,’ Sophie said.
‘Sleep.’
‘You’ll stay?’
‘Of course.’
It was an exhausted sleep that she fell into and it was after midnight when she woke and there was a frantic moment because neither her baby nor Bastiano was there.
Sophie put on a gown and headed out, past the delivery suite, and she came to the nursery and saw Bastiano sitting there, their baby in his arms, talking with Stella.
She heard a cry from her baby and watched as Stella held out her arms and Bastiano handed him over.
They were talking, deep in conversation, and Stella looked in no rush to go anywhere, despite the fact her shift was over.
Something told Sophie not to approach. For Bastiano to be sitting talking so intently made her certain that Stella was saying something he might just need to hear.
She went back to her room and lay watching the moon drift across the sky and the surf crash onto the rocks. She hoped that there could be some resolution for her husband, for he had made his peace with the past, but there was so much still missing.
* * *
‘Hey.’
It was a long time before he came back and his face was like marble in the moonlight, his scar vivid, and she could hear the strain in his voice, though he carried on as if everything was normal. ‘He is hungry again.’
She fed their not so tiny baby and tried to work out a name for him.
‘I can’t decide,’ Sophie said, when they had nailed it down to the final two. He slept in her arms and made little contented noises, barely murmuring when Bastiano took him and placed him in the cot.
Then he came back to the bed and took her in his arms, breathing in the scent of her hair, and a world that had gone off kilter tipped back to delicious normality again.
‘Stella was with my mother when she had me.’ He told her of the conversation he had had. ‘I always thought she died giving birth but it wasn’t until after…’
‘So she knew she had had a son?’
She felt him nod and they held each other. ‘She chose my name. It means respected man, and that was what she wanted for me, even though she was not married.’
‘She chose appropriately,’ Sophie said, for Bastiano was very respected in Casta now.
‘Apparently, she had a heart attack, her blood pressure kept going up. During the birth she kept calling out for my father…’ He was the closest in his life he had ever been to tears, but he fought them, and then he told her the truth he had just learnt. ‘He couldn’t come, of course, as he had a wife and son. I’ve just found out that Raul is my brother.’
She peeled herself from his arms and during a conversation where there were no smiles to be had, Sophie found one.
‘Half-brother,’ she said. ‘There is a very important half, for Maria was not your mother.’
‘No.’ He smiled. ‘Certainly not.’
And he told her what he had gleaned, for his mother had cried through the long delivery with the young student midwife.
‘She and Gino were dating a little but she wanted to save herself for marriage. Maria decided she wanted Gino and gave him what my mother refused to. Maria got pregnant so he married her, but it would seem he had loved my mother all along. She gave in and slept with him and an affair commenced, but by then he had a wife and a son. He loved her, I think, he gave her this ring…’
‘What about you?’ Sophie asked. ‘Did he love you?’
He let out a long breath. ‘He blamed me for her death, and apparently he took one look at me and walked out.’
‘Do you think Maria knew?’
‘I think she seduced me the same way she seduced my father,’ Bastiano said. ‘I think I reminded her of him and to get back at her husband for not loving her, she left her money to his son…’
‘And look what you did with it,’ Sophie said.
For he had fought his way back to respect, and turned ruins into beauty.
They shared a kiss, and there was peace when he lay on the bed beside her. They stayed up to watch the night disappear and light fill the sky.
‘Call Raul,’ she told him.
‘It’s too early.’
‘I would think this news is thirty-two years late.’
So she lay there and listened to Bastiano as he told Raul the news. That they were more than friends, and even as enemies they had been tied to each other and unable to walk away, for they were brothers.
Which meant there were more questions as they worked their way back into each other’s lives.
‘Yes,’ Bastiano said, ‘we have a name.’ And he looked over at Sophie as he said his son’s name out loud. ‘Rafael.’
They had chosen appropriately for it meant God has healed.
He had.
EPILOGUE
THERE WAS NO place nicer for afternoon tea than at the Grande Lucia and Sophie did not have to be asked twice before she said yes.
Lydia and Raul were coming in from Venice and Gabi and Alim were in residence, so what better excuse than to fly to Rome and catch up with friends?
Ronaldo greeted them warmly and Anya waved. What bliss to sink into a leather chair and eat the pretty cakes and to laugh and catch up.
Raul and Lydia had a daughter, Serena, just a few days younger than her cousin Rafael, and little Lucia was a delight, the boss of the babies, they all agreed.
Oh, Sophie loved being back here.
There was a soothing familiarity to the place and she was thrilled that Gabi had persuaded Alim not to sell it.
It was almost a second home.
She looked over at Bastiano, who was holding their son, and to see him laugh at something Raul said made her heart swell.
Yes, Sophie was a thief for she had stolen his heart and she treated it with such tender care, as he did the same for hers in return.
Familia.
Absolutely.
They had been born to love each other, she was certain of that.
‘Are you staying?’ Gabi asked.
‘Of course.’ Sophie smiled. ‘I just wish they hadn’t fired Inga and she could serve me breakfast in bed.’
Oh, that would be perfect, but she could more than live without it.
It was a wonderful catch-up and afternoon tea stretched into dinner, so it was late in the night when Bastiano took Rafael through to the nursery and placed him in his crib while Sophie got ready for bed.
‘Sophie,’ Bastiano called to her, for she was taking ages and now that the baby was asleep it was time to crack open champagne.
‘One moment.’
He poured two glasses and placed hers by the bed. The turndown service had been in and he was just about to get up from bed and open the drapes and shutters for the view when Sophie emerged from the bathroom.
She was wearing her old uniform and her hair was up in a messy bun. She always made him smile.
First she opened the drapes and the shutters and stood a moment to take in the view, and to take in her life, for it was everything she had hoped for and more
.
‘Get over here,’ he told her.
‘I’m just preparing the view for you, Signor Conti,’ she told him, and turned around and smiled. ‘Then I am going to make the bed…with you in it.’
Yes, the words were out, and she had let them out, and they were how she felt.
They loved each other so.
* * * * *
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ISBN-13: 9781459293052
Sicilian’s Baby of Shame
Copyright © 2017 by Carol Marinelli
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, M3B 3K9 Canada.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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The challenge: take revenge for a decades-old injustice…
Tycoon Alejandro Salazar will take any opportunity to expose the Hargrove family’s crime against his—including accept the challenge to pose as their stable groom! His goal in sight, Alejandro cannot allow himself to be distracted by the gorgeous Hargrove heiress…
Her family must pay, yet Alejandro can’t resist innocent Cecily’s fiery passion. And when their one night of bliss results in an unexpected pregnancy, Alejandro will legitimize his heir and restore his family’s honor…by binding Cecily to him with a diamond ring!
Alejandro cradled the glass in his palm, a ghost of a smile curving his lips.
“I do care, Cecily. Thus the situation we find ourselves in. I told you that before I knew about the pregnancy. In fact, everything I said to you in Kentucky was true, every emotion I expressed real. The only thing I lied about was my identity, and that I had to do.”
Her stomach curled with the need to believe him. To believe something in all of this was true and real—that what they’d shared had been real. But she’d be a fool to take what he was saying at face value—even more of a fool than she’d already been.
He gestured toward the cream sofa that faced the spectacular view. “Why don’t we sit down?”
“I’d prefer to stand.”
“Fine.” He lowered himself onto the chaise and splayed his long legs out in front of him. “We are keeping this baby, Cecily.”
“Of course we are. I am,” she corrected. “I would never do anything else.”
“Good. And just to clarify,” he drawled, eyes on hers, “when I said we are keeping this baby, I meant us. We are both going to be parents to this child, which means we need to be together to do that.”
She frowned. “What do you mean, together?”
“I mean we will marry.”
Her knees went weak. She slid down onto the sofa, a buzzing sound filling her ears. “You can’t be serious.”
“Oh, but I am.”
“I wager that not one of you could go two weeks without your credit cards…”
The Secret Billionaires
Challenged to go undercover—but tempted to blow it all!
Tycoons Antonio Di Marcello, Stavros Xenakis and Alejandro Salazar cannot imagine life without their decadent wealth, incredible power and untouchable status—but neither can they resist their competitive natures!
Dared to abandon all they know, these extraordinary men leave behind their billionaire lifestyles—and take on “ordinary” lives.
But disguised as a mechanic, a pool boy and a groom, they’re about to meet the real challenge…
Conquering the women they’ll meet along the way!
Di Marcello’s Secret Son by Rachael Thomas
May 2017
Xenakis’s Convenient Bride by Dani Collins
June 2017
Salazar’s One-Night Heir by Jennifer Hayward
July 2017
Salazar’s One-Night Heir
JENNIFER HAYWARD
Jennifer Hayward has been a fan of romance since filching her sister’s novels to escape her teenage angst. Her career in journalism and PR, including years of working alongside powerful, charismatic CEOs and traveling the world, has provided perfect fodder for the fast-paced, sexy stories she likes to write—always with a touch of humor. A native of Canada’s East Coast, Jennifer lives in Toronto with her Viking husband and young Viking-in-training.
Books by Jennifer Hayward
Harlequin Presents
A Debt Paid in the Marriage Bed
The Magnate’s Manifesto
Changing Constantinou’s Game
The Billionaire’s Legacy
A Deal for the Di Sione Ring
Kingdoms & Crowns
Carrying the King’s Pride
Claiming the Royal Innocent
Marrying Her Royal Enemy
The Tenacious Tycoons
Tempted by Her Billionaire Boss
Reunited for the Billionaire’s Legacy
Society Weddings
The Italian’s Deal for I Do
The Delicious De Campos
The Divorce Party
An Exquisite Challenge
The Truth About De Campo
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For my husband, Johan, who helped me find my perfect ending in a book that stole my heart. You call life with a writer a “roller coaster” but I think you secretly like it!
For Melita and Maria—your help with the beautiful Portuguese language was so very much appreciated.
And for my cowriters, Dani Collins and Rac
hael Thomas—it was a joy to work together and create such a fabulous series. I can’t wait for the world to read it!
xx
CONTENTS
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
EPILOGUE
PROLOGUE
St. Moritz—February 2017
A 1946 MACALLAN, his three closest friends consuming that exceptional bottle of whiskey with him and a game of high-stakes poker played in a private room at one of St. Moritz’s swankiest clubs was a trifecta of such absolute perfection, Alejandro Salazar could not deny it was the ideal ending to a day spent paraskiing in the Swiss Alps.
Cutting a vertical line to the cliff’s edge, throwing yourself off a mountainside only to hope your parachute landed you in an equally traversable stretch of snow below required some coming down from—quality bonding time that only this particular male ritual could supply.
It had dwindled down to the four of them tonight after today’s challenge—Sebastien Atkinson, his good friend and mentor, founder of the extreme sports club they’d joined in college; Antonio Di Marcello, a giant in the global construction industry and Stavros Xenakis, the soon-to-be CEO of Dynami Pharmaceutical—perhaps the only quartet with the spare change to put up the ante this type of a game required.
Not even the trio of delectable Scandinavian women draped across the packed bar, looking for an opportunity to crash their party had been enticement enough to abandon such a rich moment in time. Friendships forged in fire.
Just last year they had pulled Sebastien off a Himalayan mountainside before it had collapsed in a cloud of snow that had nearly killed them all. The ending to this weekend’s challenge seemed tame in comparison.