by Kate Hewitt
The doctor’s office was upscale and comfortable, with a staff member fluttering around them making sure they had everything they needed, including fresh juice and coffee.
Halina’s nerves started to jangle as she stepped into the examining room with Rico right behind her. The doctor smiled at her and introduced herself.
‘My name is Maria Loretto. Signor Falcone has engaged me to be your obstetrician.’
Halina nodded and shook her hand. ‘Thank you.’
‘So the first thing we need to do is ascertain how far along you are.’ Maria gestured for her to sit on the examining table, and nervously Halina perched on its end. ‘If you know the date of your last period...’
‘We know the date of conception,’ Rico interjected flatly. Halina closed her eyes. Did he have to control this too?
Maria glanced up. ‘If you’re sure of it...’
‘I’m sure. It was June twenty-fifth.’
Colour scorched Halina’s cheeks and she stayed silent while Maria calculated her due date. ‘So you are just over ten weeks along,’ she said cheerfully. ‘And your due date is March nineteenth.’
Halina let out a shaky laugh and instinctively pressed one hand against her still-flat middle. Somehow just those words made it feel so much more real. For the last two months she’d been merely existing, feeling wretched and uncertain and afraid, barely able to contemplate what was ahead of her. But now the reality, the good reality, of her situation hit her with encouraging force. A baby. A child.
‘Now we can check the heartbeat,’ Maria continued. ‘You’re just far enough along perhaps to hear it with a Doppler. Would you mind lying down?’
Halina lay back on the examining table, feeling weirdly vulnerable as Maria lifted her top. She switched on the Doppler and then pressed the wand onto Halina’s stomach, hard enough to make her flinch.
‘You’re hurting her.’ The words seemed to burst out of Rico; he looked tense, almost angry, his jaw clenched. Unfazed, the doctor gave him a reassuring smile.
‘Halina is fine, Signor Falcone, and babies are remarkably resilient.’
Rico still looked unhappy about it and Halina reached out one hand, almost but not quite touching him. ‘I’m fine, Rico.’
He nodded once and then they heard it, the most amazing sound Halina had ever listened to. It sounded like a cross between the whooshing of waves and the galloping of a horse. Their baby’s heartbeat.
‘There it is,’ Maria said with satisfaction. ‘Nice and strong.’
‘That’s amazing.’ Halina felt near to tears, but when she turned to look at Rico, instinctively wanting to share this moment with him, he’d turned away as if he wasn’t affected at all.
* * *
The sound seemed to fill the room, rushing and strong, the sound of hope. Rico clenched his jaw, forcing the sudden and unexpected rush of emotion back. It was just a sound, yet it filled him with joy and terror in equal measures. Their child. A human being that they had created, that he would be responsible for. That he would love.
He glanced at Halina out of the corner of his eye and saw how moved she looked, her eyes bright with tears. No matter how much he wanted to keep things on a businesslike level between them, this was an emotional business for them both. How could it be otherwise?
‘Halina’s been feeling very nauseous,’ he told the obstetrician, his voice terser than he meant it to be. ‘As you can see, she hasn’t been taking care of herself.’ Halina sucked in a quick breath and belatedly Rico realised how that sounded. But he was worried, damn it, and he didn’t like being worried.
‘I can prescribe something for the nausea,’ Maria said. ‘But first I’d advise fresh air, plenty of rest and lots of good, wholesome food. Have you been able to have all those recently, Halina?’
Was there a knowledgeable glint in the doctor’s eye? Rico hadn’t informed her of their circumstances, and he didn’t like the thought of her knowing.
‘Not exactly,’ Halina murmured.
‘But she will now,’ Rico said firmly. Taking care of Halina would be his priority. Taking care of his unborn child.
‘Then I’d suggest you come back to me in a week or two, Halina,’ Maria said. ‘And we’ll discuss medication then. You do look a bit run down.’
She smiled sympathetically and Halina nodded and rose from the table, pulling down her shirt. ‘All right. Thank you.’ Her head was bowed, her dark hair swinging in front of her face. Rico had no idea what she was thinking. Feeling.
Why did he care?
Because of their baby. For the sake of his child, he needed to care about Halina. About her moods as well as her health. It was all part of the same package. Satisfied with his reasoning, he took her arm as he thanked the doctor and then escorted her out of the building into the waiting limo.
‘What now?’ Halina asked listlessly as she stared out of the window at the city streaming by. Rico wished she didn’t sound so damned downtrodden. When he’d met her, he’d been as intrigued by her humour and spirit as he had been by her lush, curvy body. Now both were gone and he wanted to bring back the Halina he’d only just come to know—bring back the sparkle in her eyes, the impish smile to her mouth and, yes, the curves on the woman whose body had made his palms itch to touch her.
But bringing a smile to her face felt like the most important thing right now.
‘What would you like to do now?’ Rico asked, seeming to surprise them both. She turned to him, her eyes widening, jaw dropping in shock.
‘You’re asking me what I want?’
‘Why shouldn’t I?’
‘Because you’re King of the World, Maker of All Decisions Ever?’
‘That is a slight exaggeration.’ His mouth twitched; he was heartened to see even that little display of spirit. ‘But only slight.’
‘Of course.’
‘Perhaps I should put that on my business card. It’s quite catchy, as a title.’
Her mouth curved just a little. ‘You’re joking with me.’
‘Shouldn’t I?’
‘No, it’s just...’ Her smile faded. ‘I don’t know you, Rico, at all. And yet you’re the father of my child and soon you’re likely to be my husband.’
‘There’s no likely about it,’ Rico couldn’t keep from saying, his voice hardening, that moment of levity vanishing like morning mist.
Halina sighed and turned back to the window. ‘Exactly.’
Frustration boiled within him. Why could he never get this right? He wasn’t used to feeling wrong-footed, unsure, wanting something he couldn’t have. ‘So what is it you’d like to do today?’
She shrugged, her face still to the window. ‘I don’t care.’
He found he hated her apathy. ‘I’m giving you a choice, Halina—’
‘Oh, that’s right.’ She whirled to face him, a sudden and surprising fury lighting her eyes and twisting her features. ‘You’re giving me a choice. I suppose I should trip all over myself to say thank you for that unimaginable kindness.’ He opened his mouth to speak but found he had nothing to say. ‘And tomorrow, perhaps, you won’t give me a choice. Tomorrow I’ll be informed of our plans without any discussion and expected to fall in line immediately or else.’
‘You are talking about something that hasn’t happened yet.’
‘You don’t get it, do you?’ She shook her head in weary despair. ‘You never will. I tried to explain before, but you’re so used to ordering the universe you can’t imagine what it feels like to be the one ordered about. And as privileged as my life has been—and I’m not stupid... I know it has—it’s also always been ordered and arranged by someone else. So if you want to know what I want today, Rico, I’ll tell you. I want my freedom, and that is something you’ll never give me.’ She broke off, breathing heavily, turning back to the window as she struggled to compose herself.
Rico sat back, stunned speechless by her outburst. Yes, he understood her life had been restricted and that she resented that, but he hadn’t realised how bitterly she chafed against it, against him. How she now saw him as her captor, her commander. And he suddenly felt sympathy for her that was both overwhelming and inconvenient.
‘Actually,’ he said after a moment, keeping his voice mild, ‘I do know what that feels like.’
Halina let out a huff of disbelieving laughter, her face still turned firmly towards the window. ‘Yeah, right.’
‘As you said yourself just a few moments ago, you don’t actually know me. So how can you say whether I’ve felt something or not?’
She stayed silent for a long moment and then she turned towards him. Her face was still flushed, but that moment of furious rebellion had left her, and bizarrely Rico found he missed it. ‘Tell me, then.’
But did he actually want to tell her? This was all becoming a bit too...intimate. Rico hesitated, debating the pros and cons of admitting something of his past to her. Then he decided he could tell her. He just wouldn’t get emotional about it.
‘Well?’ Halina lifted her chin, a challenge in her dark gaze. ‘Are you going to tell me or not?’
CHAPTER NINE
HALINA SAW THE indecision flicker in Rico’s silvery eyes and knew he was regretting admitting even as little as he had to her. He didn’t want her to know him. Didn’t want to be known.
‘For all my childhood, I had little control,’ he said at last, his voice toneless. ‘Over anything.’
‘Most children have little control,’ Halina answered with a shrug, determined not to trip all over herself in eager gratitude now that he was sharing something with her. ‘Isn’t that the nature of childhood?’
‘I suppose it is.’ His jaw was tight, his eyes flinty. Perhaps she shouldn’t have been so dismissive simply because she was frustrated and feeling trapped. She did want to know more about the man she was going to marry, and if Rico was willing to open up even a little she wanted and needed to encourage that.
‘How was your childhood different, Rico?’ she asked in a gentler tone. ‘What was it like?’ She really did want to know, and she was sorry for her flippancy.
His lips compressed, his gaze turning distant. ‘As it happens,’ he remarked in a cool, matter-of-fact tone, ‘I never knew my mother. She was a waitress who had a fling with my father. She didn’t want the baby—me—and so she left me with my father when I was two weeks old.’
‘Oh.’ The word was a soft gasp of sorrow. She had assumed, she realised, that Rico was from as great a world of privilege as her own. He certainly acted as if he had always been entitled, had always expected obedience, or even obeisance. She’d had no idea that he’d been born in such lowly, unfortunate circumstances.
‘Yes, oh.’ His mouth twisted with wry grimness. ‘My father worked on the docks, and I don’t think he was best pleased to have a baby foisted on him, even his own.’
‘Oh,’ Halina said again, helplessly. ‘That must have been... What did he do?’
‘He kept me, to his credit.’ Rico flicked his gaze away for a second before he turned resolutely back to face her, his face bland. ‘Raised me himself, with help from some kindly neighbours who looked after me when I was small.’ His lips thinned. ‘It could have been worse.’
‘So you never knew your mother at all? You grew up with your father?’
‘Until I was nine.’ Rico shrugged, as if to dismiss the matter. ‘Then I ended up in an orphanage in Salerno. A convent, run by nuns who didn’t like children very much, as far as I could tell. That’s where I really grew up. I left when I was sixteen and never looked back.’
Sadness clutched at Halina’s heart. It sounded like a truly miserable childhood—not a childhood at all. ‘Oh, Rico, that sounds horrible. So lonely—’
‘I’ve never been lonely.’ He cut across her. ‘I’ve never needed to feel lonely, because long ago I learned to depend only on myself.’ He paused, adding a certain emphasis to the words, making her realise that he wasn’t just talking about his childhood. He was talking about now, about not needing anyone now. Not needing her.
‘But the real reason I told you all this,’ Rico resumed, ‘is to explain that I do know how you feel when you say you’re trapped and want freedom.’
Halina flushed and looked down. It sounded as if Rico’s life had been far more restricted than hers had ever been. She felt ashamed, a spoilt princess whingeing for even more than she already had. ‘I’m sorry for doubting you. I never would have guessed... How did you get to where you are now?’
‘Determination, hard work and a little bit of luck. Perhaps more than a little bit.’ His eyes flashed with fire. ‘I bought my first property when I was nineteen, a rundown warehouse near the docks, and turned it into a gym. I sold it for twenty times what I paid for it when I was twenty-one and then never looked back.’
Halina shook her head slowly. ‘That is truly amazing, Rico. You’re an inspiration.’
He gave a nod of acknowledgement and thanks. ‘So, now I shall ask you again. What would you like to do this afternoon?’
Halina stared at him thoughtfully, wondering what she could suggest that Rico would agree to, that could be fun for them both. Because now that he’d shared something of his life, that surprising insight into a difficult childhood, she realised she wanted to spend time with him. To get to know him, to crack open the door into his mind, if not his heart, and gain another tantalising glimpse.
If they were going to be married, she needed to know this man. Understand him and hopefully even like him.
‘What do you recommend?’ she asked. ‘I spent all my secondary schooling in Italy, but I’ve never actually seen any sights.’
‘That’s tragic.’
‘Have you?’ she challenged and his lips twitched.
‘I’m too busy to sightsee.’
‘Of course you are. But today...?’
He glanced out of the window, his expression as thoughtful as her own. ‘We could see the Colosseum. That’s something I’ve always wanted to visit.’
Halina’s heart leapt with excitement and a strange hope. This was new, doing something together just for fun. Not sex, not squabbling, just simple pleasure, spending time with each other. ‘All right,’ she said. ‘Let’s see that.’
Rico insisted on lunch first, so they ate in the private garden of an elegant bistro only steps from the Colosseum. The food was fresh and delicious, a refreshing breeze ruffling the leaves of the plane trees that offered some much-needed shade.
Halina sat back as they waited for their food, feeling surprisingly happy for the first time in months. Maybe even longer. Her heart was light, anticipation burgeoning inside her.
‘You’re smiling,’ Rico noted as he twirled his wine glass between long, lean fingers.
‘I am, actually,’ she admitted as her smile widened. ‘This is very nice, Rico. Thank you.’
‘You’re welcome.’ He tilted his head, his silvery, heavy-lidded gaze sweeping over her in assessment, considering. ‘You’re quite easily pleased, you know.’
‘Do you really think so?’ Halina took a sip of her sparkling water. ‘I suppose, after the last few months, I am.’
Rico’s eyes narrowed. ‘What does that mean exactly?’
Halina bit her lip and looked away. ‘It doesn’t really matter.’ She didn’t want to drag up all those painful memories, only to have Rico question and doubt her and definitely spoil the fun but fragile mood that had begun to develop between them.
‘And I think it does.’ He leaned forward, as intent as a predator on its prey, and just as lethal. ‘You have never told me about the time between your visits to Rome. Why you didn’t see a doctor. How you ended up in that remote palace.’
‘I thought you believed I’d gone there to escape from you,’ Halina retu
rned. She’d meant to sound light but a note of bitterness crept in. How could he have made so many assumptions? But how could she be surprised that he had?
‘It was the first thought that came to my mind,’ Rico acknowledged. ‘But perhaps that is because of my experience, not yours. Now I’d like to hear in your own words how you came to be at that palace.’ He paused, gazing down into the glinting ruby depths of his wine. ‘How did your family take the news of your pregnancy?’
‘Not well.’ The two words scraped Halina’s throat and she took another sip of water. ‘Not well at all, to be perfectly frank.’
Rico frowned. ‘I thought your father doted on you.’
She laughed, the sound rather grim. ‘Where did you hear that?’
‘I hired a private investigator to find you. He found that the general sense was that your father doted on you, and that you were rather spoiled.’ His gaze, when she dared to meet it, was steady and clear, without judgement or pity. ‘Is that true?’
‘It was true,’ Halina said after a moment, when she trusted her voice to be as steady as his gaze. ‘But it all changed when I ruined myself.’
Rico’s eyebrows drew together in a straight line, his frown turning into a scowl so that he looked quite ferocious. ‘Tell me what happened.’
‘What I should have expected would happen,’ Halina answered with a shrug. Even now she couldn’t believe how stupid, how utterly naive, she’d been, and in so many ways. About Rico, about her father, about life. ‘My parents were beyond furious with me. When the negotiations with Prince Zayed broke down, my father had been hoping to marry me to someone else, someone he deemed suitable, who would afford us another political alliance. My disgrace precluded that.’
‘Surely in this day and age a woman’s virginity is not a prerequisite, even for a royal marriage?’
‘In my country, in my culture, it is. And I knew that.’ She shook her head. ‘All along I knew that, and yet still I acted as if the consequences wouldn’t apply to me.’ She tried for a twisted smile. ‘I suppose you truly did sweep me away, Rico.’