“Ah. Tell me about him.”
“I took two classes from Matteo before he asked me to come into his office to discuss the direction I wanted to go with my studies. I believed him to be gender blind and was flattered that my revered professor was showing so much interest in my future career. I accepted a lunch date so we could talk more without interruption.
“That led to other lunch dates. I admired his intellect and looked up to him so much, naive me couldn’t see that all he wanted was to take me to bed, nothing more.”
She saw Giovanni grimace.
“Reflecting back on last year, I’m positive he slept with other students from time to time. No wonder he has remained single. My attraction to him hadn’t been physical. Since I’ve come from a family of engineers, I was determined to get my graduate degree. Matteo was the one who’d seemed to take me seriously and listened to my ideas. He fed my ego by saying all the right things to make me feel important.
“When he told me how much he needed me and started kissing me, I succumbed even though it went against the morals of my upbringing. But after being with him one time, I couldn’t do it again and told him I hadn’t felt right about it. Not without marriage.
“He told me he never planned to marry. With that remark I knew I’d made a huge mistake. We parted company and I never planned to see him again. So no one could have been more shocked than I to learn I was pregnant even though he’d used protection. I notified him immediately. Not because I was hoping for a proposal, but to let him know he was going to be a father.
“Matteo told me a baby was the last thing he wanted and hoped I didn’t expect anything from him. He thought I’d understood that from the beginning.” She took a deep breath. “So unless he suddenly discovers he has a paternal instinct, I’ll never hear from him again.”
His jet-black eyes looked at her between black lashes. “What if he changes his mind and comes back wanting to start over and help you raise your son?”
“It’s way too late for that. His utter selfishness killed any ounce of feeling I once had for him. If he were to show up demanding to see our son, I couldn’t stop him from having visitation, but I can tell you right now he’ll never come back. He’s too in love with himself. It’s an ugly story that happens far too often in society.
“One day I’ll have to tell Vito the truth about his birth father. He’ll think less of me of course, but hopefully the knowledge won’t ruin his life.”
This man was so easy to talk to it shocked her that she’d confided in him to this degree. It was time to change the subject. “What if your ex-wife decides she wants to be a part of Ric’s life?”
By this time he’d picked up Vito and held him to his chest. “She won’t. I’m the reason our marriage didn’t work. I didn’t love her the way she deserved to be loved, and I take full responsibility. When our divorce became final, she signed away all rights to the baby.”
Her eyes widened. “Even though she was pregnant?”
“Yes. She conceived during a brief period of reconciliation, but we both knew our marriage wasn’t going to make it. She moved back to her parents’.”
“Where do they live?”
“Here in Positano. Two months after the divorce she called to tell me she was going to have a baby. Though she’d been on birth control, we discovered there’d been an antibiotic interference. The news couldn’t have come at a worse moment, but I was overjoyed to think I was going to be a father.”
She moaned. “How hard for both of you. So for seven months you haven’t been together?”
He shook his head. “We’ve only been in touch through our attorneys. I was at my office in Naples when her mother called to tell me she’d gone to the hospital. Tatania doesn’t want to hear my voice.”
“How could that be?”
“She’s angry with me for not being the man she thought she was marrying.”
“I suppose it’s human nature to want to change the things you don’t like. I’ve never married, so I can’t speak from experience. Did that make you angry?”
“Not angry, only frustrated with myself for getting married when I knew my deepest feelings weren’t involved.”
She shook her head. “Then why did you propose to her?”
He sucked in his breath. “That’s a long story for another day. Right now I want to concentrate on our babies.”
Valentina didn’t dare press for more answers. “To think your ex-wife and I were both involved in that accident and gave birth on the spot is absolutely uncanny. Carlo told me the police gave the ambulance driver the citation for not taking more precautions no matter the emergency. But my brother is still upset and wishes he’d flown me to the hospital in the helicopter.”
“It’s water under the bridge now,” he murmured. “We can thank providence there were no injuries.”
Valentina nodded and reached in the diaper bag for a bottle to feed Ric. He made a lot of noise when he drank and wouldn’t stop unless she pulled the bottle away to burp him. The second she put him to her shoulder, Vito let out the loudest burp she’d heard him make. His father burst in deep rich male laughter she felt coil inside her.
When she kissed his cheek before feeding him the rest of his formula, he felt cooler. There was nothing wrong with him that being with her again couldn’t fix. He was so precious she didn’t know how she could ever say goodbye to him. In her heart she knew Giovanni Laurito had those same feelings.
“Perhaps in time your ex-wife will come to you, desperate to see her son. If she did, I don’t see you as the kind of man who would turn a deaf ear.”
His brows met in a frown. “You don’t even know me.” He’d reached in his bag for a bottle and started to feed Vito.
“That’s true, but I’ve seen you with your son. The way you love him tells me what kind of a person you are. You love him so much, you came to find him when you heard him crying. The hospital rules meant nothing to you. I’m sure you’d fight to the death for him. It’s just something I know inside of me.”
“Then we’ve met our match,” he said in a low husky tone, “because you were willing to forget protocol, too. Otherwise you wouldn’t have agreed to come to the park with me today when I know your brother would have forbidden it.”
She blinked. “What does my brother have to do with my decision?”
“Possibly more than you think.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve been putting two and two together. Your brother’s name is Rinieri. Correct?”
“Yes.” She averted her eyes. “But—”
“He and I have been undeclared business enemies for over a year. There was a time when I had a certain advertising agency in my sights that was in financial difficulty. I made an offer to buy out the owner because I like their work. But I found out he did work for your brother’s company. I decided to make the man an offer to come to work for our company exclusively, and he said he was considering it.
“But your brother dangled a counteroffer in front of him, and now negotiations are at a standstill. Because of this, I do know your brother will never agree to the suggestion I proposed to you at the hospital about our spending time together with the boys.”
Valentina felt a chill run down her spine. “When Signor Conti introduced us, I realized who you were. The Laurito logo is everywhere.” She’d just put Ric down because he’d fallen asleep. “The one with the laurel wreath like the emperors wore.”
His half smile quickened her pulse.
“I thought, ‘You’re that Laurito!’”
“I’m one of them. Our earliest ancestors came from Laurito near Salerno. In the early eighteen hundreds, one of my ancestors who was head of obstetrics in Naples came up with a stethoscope to hear the fetal heartbeat. Thus began the manufacture of medical instruments. It developed into major hospital
equipment.
“Today that includes all types of machines to carry out research in medical and scientific laboratories. I’ve worked for some time on creating new advertising strategies for our company.”
“How incredible.”
“The advertising part is where your brother comes in to the conversation.”
“I love and respect my brother, but he doesn’t interfere with my making my own decisions.”
“So if I asked you to come home with me today and stay as my guest for a few days while the four of us get acquainted, you wouldn’t be worried how your brother will react? I wouldn’t want to be the person to create friction between the two of you.”
There was nothing she’d love more than to go with him. But at this moment she didn’t know what to do, let alone what to say. While she sat there in a daze, he got to his feet. Vito had finished his bottle and slept against Giovanni’s shoulder.
“At least this meeting has quieted the babies for now,” he murmured. “I’ve found out there’s nothing wrong with Ric except that he misses you. While they’re both asleep, I’ll run you back to your brother’s villa. If Vito is inconsolable later and you decide you want to try the experiment we’ve talked about, then give me a call. If I don’t hear from you, then I’ll know you’ve decided that getting together isn’t a good idea, after all. I’ll respect whatever you decide.”
He was such a good man, Valentina marveled. The thought of not seeing him again was unthinkable.
She eventually stood up and carried Ric to the car. Giovanni brought Vito along with the diaper bags and blankets. In a minute both babies were strapped in so they could leave the park.
He drove her home in silence and retrieved the carry-cot from the trunk.
She put Vito in it. Luckily he was still in a sound sleep. The knowledge that Ric was in the car was killing her, but what could she do?
“Our meeting did settle them down. Maybe it was all they needed and they won’t be as upset from now on. Thank you for making it possible,” she whispered and started toward the house. “I’ve enjoyed this morning.”
“So have I. More than you know.” His voice sounded husky.
The last thing she’d wanted to do was leave. Her attraction to Ric’s father was so strong, it frightened her how much she could care for him after just two meetings with him. What was wrong with her?
* * *
Giovanni watched the lovely woman with the creamy blond hair and beautiful figure disappear behind the door. The double irony here was that he feared Ric wasn’t the only male in the Laurito household who was going to miss her.
What were the odds of a baby switch that had thrown a Montanari and a Laurito together? She would have to be strong in her own right to go up against her brother, especially when he’d learned the name of Ric’s birth father.
Giovanni could imagine their conversation. He’d tell her to forget another meeting. The baby would soon adapt. In truth, if Giovanni had a sister who’d been put in the same circumstance, he would tell her the same thing.
But Giovanni was the one embroiled in this cruel twist of fate. He loved both children and could hardly tear himself away from the villa when he knew Vito was inside. Since he’d told Valentina she would have to be the one to contact him, he had no choice but to drive back to Ravello without her.
He had hopes that if Ric woke up on the way home, he’d like the ride enough not to cry. The more he thought about it, the more he worried that he might have seen the last of his other son and the mother who’d given birth to him. He felt a sense of loss that was acute.
To his surprise Ric was awake by the time he reached his villa. When Giovanni removed him from the car, he didn’t cry. Grazie a Dio.
“Oh—” When Stanzie saw them in the foyer she rushed over to kiss the baby’s cheek. “His temperature is gone.”
“We spent a few hours at the park. I think he liked it.”
“Of course he did. He’s much happier now.”
“I’m going to change his diaper and put him in his baby swing on the terrace.”
“Shall I prepare another bottle?”
“Thank you, but he probably won’t want it for a while.” Giovanni needed to call his assistant and tell him he wouldn’t be in the office for a few days. Ric needed him even if his little son didn’t want him yet. He wanted the mother who’d taken him home from the hospital. So did Giovanni.
Their lives had been turned upside down. He couldn’t help but wonder what Valentina Montanari was going through right now. If Vito was being as difficult as Ric had been to this point, she was in for another sleepless night, too.
* * *
At 11 o’clock Rini entered the nursery while Valentina was giving Vito his last bottle. He’d been inconsolable all day. But for the moment he was so worn out from crying, he’d stopped fighting her and began drinking.
“How’s he doing?” he whispered. “I had business in Genoa that made me late.”
Vito heard his voice and his eyes opened before he stopped drinking. Then he started crying again. She put the bottle down and hugged him to her shoulder to quiet him.
“Sorry,” Rini mouthed the word. “Why don’t I hold him for a while so you can go to bed?”
“It won’t work, Rini. He thought you were his daddy, whom he adores. He’s still looking for him. If you’d seen them together today, you’d realize how difficult this is.”
“Which is why you shouldn’t have gotten together with him.” Lines darkened her brother’s face. “How can you expect Vito to forget?”
“I can’t.” She shifted Vito to her other shoulder in an effort to calm him down. “I need to talk to you about this, but it will take a while.”
Rini pulled up a chair and sat down. “I’m listening.”
“As you know, he’s raising the baby himself because his ex-wife gave up her parental rights. She’s never seen her birth son and doesn’t want to.”
Rini rubbed the back of his neck. “That’s tragic.”
“I agree. He called me this morning because Ric had been crying so much he was running a temperature. His plan was to take him back to the hospital to see if something else was wrong. We talked briefly and decided to meet because I haven’t been able to comfort Vito, either. He came by the villa and drove us to the park near the hospital.”
Her brother got up from the chair and stood there with his hands on his hips. All the while Vito kept whimpering. “He should never have called you.”
“We exchanged phone numbers at the hospital in case of an emergency. It was a horrible moment. Vito was in one room, Ric in another. Both children cried hysterically after the exchange. I was frantic and opened the door to discover an equally frantic father standing there holding a red-faced Ric. We reached for our children and held them until they settled down.”
Rini shook his head. “Whatever happened to rules?”
“I knew that was what you would say. As Signor Laurito stated, the children didn’t recognize rules. Nothing about this situation has been normal. His ex-wife and I both gave birth before our ambulances reached the hospital where the switch took place. He loves Vito as much as I love Ric, and we find the situation impossible. I think his plan for us to spend a few days together will work.”
“You think?” he blurted with uncustomary harshness. “You do realize who he is—”
“Yes. He’s a brilliant CEO of his own company, just like you.” In fact they were a lot alike. That was probably what was wrong. Within a few minutes she’d told him details about how Giovanni’s company had gotten started. “I explained that I couldn’t do this here at the villa, so he has invited me to stay at his villa with Vito for a few days, no more.”
Her brother paced the floor for a moment, then stopped. “Despite the fact that I think the idea is a mistake, why did
you rule out my villa?”
“Because this isn’t my home. You’ve been wonderful to me, but I would never ask that of you. Especially when he told me the two of you are on opposite sides of a business transaction.”
Rini looked surprised. “He told you that?”
“Yes. He’s forthright and honest, exactly like you. I trust him. If Vito hasn’t settled down by tomorrow, I’m considering doing it. I know I don’t need your approval, but I want it more than anything.”
A bleak expression crossed over his face.
“I want my baby to be happy. Vito didn’t ask for this. Neither did Ric. His father is in agony just like I am. If we can give our children a better start by getting them to trust both of us, then we can separate them and it won’t be such a horrible shock. What would be the harm in doing this?”
His head went back and he closed his eyes. “I don’t have an answer for that. It sounds like your mind is made up. I love you, Valentina, and I’ll support your decision, but I can’t answer for the rest of the family.”
“The rest of the family hasn’t been here for me every day and night since you moved me here. I’m blessed to have a brother like you.”
Vito was crying hard again. She got up from the rocking chair and walked around the room with him. Rini’s gaze met hers.
“I’ll leave so you can get him to sleep. I’ve an early-morning meeting at the office. Phone me when you know your plans.”
Her eyes smarted. “I promise.” She watched her brother’s retreating back. There was so much he could have said, but he’d kept silent. Because he was wise and had so much integrity, that’s why he was the head of Montanari.
A half hour passed and Vito finally fell asleep. Valentina went to her room and slept until she heard him crying around four. After that there was no comforting him. At eight in the morning she reached for her phone and called the one person who could end this nightmare.
“Valentina?” Giovanni answered on the second ring. “I trust your night was as bad as mine.” His voice sounded an octave lower than usual, telling its own tale of another sleepless night.
The Billionaire's Baby Swap Page 5