Tears blurred her vision. Still stinging from his confession that the past month had only been about seeking revenge, she was too emotionally distraught to even consider broaching the subject of Daniella. Dante already despised her for leaving him, how could she face him now with the news he had a daughter when she knew it would only make him hate her even more? She wasn’t equipped to handle it right now, though Paige knew she couldn’t put it off much longer.
“There is more,” she admitted, “but I need time to think…to find the right words so you’ll understand why I felt I had no choice.”
“There is always a choice,” his voice was acidic. “Whatever decisions you made, they were done without consideration for me or how it would affect my life.”
“I did what I thought was best for everyone. Dante, please,” she pleaded, “I can’t talk about this right now. You’re too angry and I’m so twisted up inside I can’t think straight.”
“One hour,” he released his grip on her shoulders, “that is all the time my patience will allow.”
Paige nodded slowly though she had no hope of being able to untangle the jumbled thoughts in her head in such a short time. She waited until he’d gone to trudge back up the stairs and let herself in. Dropping the suitcase and her purse just inside the door, she called out for Chantel who never seemed short on advice where Dante was concerned.
A worried frown formed on her face when there was no answer. A quick search of the house and backyard told her Chantel must have taken Daniella on an outing which only served to heighten her anxiety. Dante would be back in an hour and she needed Daniella here when he arrived.
Paige returned to the foyer and dug the cell phone out of her purse, muttering a few oaths when she realized she’d left it on all weekend without recharging it. It bleeped once when she tried to retrieve her messages then went completely dead. Frustrated and angry with herself for being so stupid, she opened her suitcase and dumped the contents onto the floor. In a matter of seconds she found the charger and had it plugged into an electrical outlet. Paige turned the phone on and had just started tossing everything back into the suitcase when it rang.
“Thank God I finally got hold of you,” Chantel said breathlessly.
Fear instantly clawed at her chest. “Daniella…”
“She’s fine,” Chantel rushed to assure her. “They have her resting now and…”
Panic welled up inside her. “Resting! Who has her resting?”
“I’ll tell you everything but you have to promise to stay calm.”
“I’m not promising anything,” Paige shrieked. “Damn it, Chantel, tell me what’s happened to Daniella!”
“She woke up with a low grade fever yesterday morning and was complaining that her tummy hurt. I wasn’t too concerned about it. You know how susceptible to fever kids her age are, so I just put on the cartoon channel and sat with her, checking her temperature now and then.”
“But the fever got worse, right?” Paige coaxed because Chantel seemed to be taking her sweet time getting the story out.
“Yes…she woke in the night crying about her tummy again and the fever was worse. I didn’t want to overreact,” Chantel said apologetically, “but the fever was climbing, and then when she starting throwing up, I decided it was better to be safe than sorry so I brought her to St. Luke’s Hospital.”
“You did the right thing. I should have been there for her,” Paige reproached herself. “My daughter needed me and I was selfishly indulging in a weekend of hot sex.”
“No you weren’t,” Chantel said. “I mean…yes, I’m sure you had hot sex but that wasn’t the real reason you were with Dante and we both know it. Anyway, it doesn’t matter now so there’s no use beating yourself up over it.”
“I guess you’re right,” Paige sighed. “So tell me how Daniella is. Does she still have a fever, is that why they’re keeping her there?”
There was a short pause before Chantel answered. “Well, you see…the thing is...the doctor ran some tests; a white blood count and urinalysis. He, um…he’s got her on intravenous fluids and antibiotics.”
Nausea washed over Paige in waves. “Why did you wait so long to tell me? Oh God…how sick is she?”
“Paige, she has appendicitis. The doctor is just waiting until all the food is out of her system before they take her into the operating room.”
Tears sprang to her eyes as guilt and fear battled for dominance. “I’m on my way,” she managed to choke out, already grabbing up her purse. “I’ll be there in…”
“No, wait,” Chantel interrupted before Paige could hang up. “You shouldn’t drive when you’re so upset. Oh, I know you’re going to kill me for this, but the reason I stalled so long is because Marc is on his over to pick you up. He couldn’t be more than a few minutes away so just sit tight until he gets there.”
“Daniella…she’s going to be okay, isn’t she?” Paige started to cry softly. “Please tell me that my baby’s not in any danger right now. I couldn’t take it if anything happened to her, I just couldn’t…”
“Paige, listen to me,” Chantel said firmly. “Nothing’s going to happen to Daniella. Yes, it’s unusual for someone her age to have appendicitis but we caught it very early on and the doctor has assured me the danger is minimal at this point.”
“You’re sure?” She sniffed.
“Positive. I swear on my life I won’t let anything happen to her. Now dry your tears so your eyes aren’t all puffy when you get here.”
“You’re right, I…I don’t want to upset Daniella. I’m going wait for Marc on the porch so I’ll have to hang up. If I hadn’t been so irresponsible and remembered to charge my phone, you could have reached me earlier.”
“I know you feel bad for not being there when she first starting feeling sick, but honestly there wasn’t anything you could have done that I didn’t do.”
“I’m sorry, Chantel. I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful for what you’ve done. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” She tilted her head, certain she’d heard a car door slam. “I think that’s Marc now.”
“See you soon, and Paige…don’t worry, she’s going to be fine.”
****
“Madre di Dio, what was I thinking?”
Dante hadn’t even made it halfway home before he realized what a huge mistake it was to give Paige time to concoct a story about why she’d run out on him. He should have refused to leave until she spit it out because he’d come to the conclusion that what had eaten at him the most over the past four years was not knowing the reason why.
He conceded that part of it may have been because she thought she’d be holding him back. After all, he hadn’t exactly been honest with her about his financial status, but he’d had a gut feeling it went much deeper than that which was why Dante had pushed her into admitting it.
He whipped his car around the first chance he got and headed back to Paige’s house. He brushed aside the fleeting surge of happiness and chalked up the flutter in his chest to the lack of sleep he’d gotten the night before. Why was he even doing this? What did it matter? It was over, he’d gotten his revenge and now he could put the past where it belonged and move on with his life. There was just one little problem; Dante still wanted her.
He cursed himself all the way there. Cursed his weakness, cursed his inability to drive her from his mind, from his heart. He was tired of waking up to women whose names he didn’t remember or cared to know, and he was tired of closing his eyes when he had sex with them so he could pretend they were Paige. He was sick to death of feeling hollow inside, and if that meant swallowing a little bit of pride then he’d do it because this past month with Paige had shown him how empty his life was without her.
Dante turned down the road leading to Paige’s house, a dark scowl forming on his face when he saw a familiar car pull into her driveway. Marc Bernese, the man she’d insisted was like a brother to her. Dante parked far enough down the street he wouldn’t readily be seen but could still maintain a
visual on the house. He didn’t have to wait long, and what he witnessed made his blood boil. Paige came rushing out of the house as if she couldn’t wait to see him, and Bernese…he welcomed her with open arms.
Dante ground his teeth together when the warm embrace ended and Bernese whisked her into his car. So that was Paige’s plan. Tell him she needed time to think then call her future lover to pick her up before Dante could return. Grim determination lined his face as he fired up the engine and waited until they were half a block away before following at a safe distance. She’d made a fool of him, not once but twice, and that was something he refused to tolerate.
Once they reached their destination he was going to confront Paige and expose her in front of Marc Bernese. Oh yes, he imagined it was going to come as quite a surprise to good ole Marc when Dante enlightened him as to how Paige had been spending her nights for the last month.
Chapter 9
Dante was more than a little shocked when the sporty black car Marc Bernese was driving pulled into the hospital parking lot. He felt a little guilty for assuming Paige was sneaking off with the man but not guilty enough to drive off without finding out why they were here. Something must have happened to Chantel, and for that he was genuinely sorry. He’d only met Paige’s best friend a couple of times but she seemed nice and there was no doubting her loyalty to Paige.
Even knowing Marc was probably only lending what comfort he could to Paige, Dante couldn’t stop the jealousy from rising hard and sharp when the man put his arm around her as they walked into the hospital. They were obviously in a hurry, which was the only reason she didn’t notice him because if Paige had glanced backwards even once there was no place a man his size could hide in a hurry.
It was also fortunate they were the only two getting onto the elevator because it gave him the opportunity to see which floor they got off on. Dante watched the numbers on the panel light up one by one until it stopped for a few minutes on the fifth floor. He glanced around for the staircase and hurried through the door, taking the steps two at a time until he reached the landing on the fifth floor.
Dante opened the door, cautiously peering around before slipping through and making his way to the main corridor. Paige and Marc were about halfway down the hall to his right when they turned and entered one of the rooms. He took a few halting steps in the same direction then stopped because he didn’t have a clue why he was still following them.
“Can I help you?”
Dante smiled at the matronly nurse. “A friend of mine was admitted recently and I am afraid I was in such a hurry to get here I forgot to ask what room she was in.”
“I understand,” she smiled back. “I think emotions tend to run a lot higher when a child is involved and we all lose our heads a little. If you’d like to step over to the nurse’s station, I’d be glad to look up her room number.”
Dante cleared his throat. “I…uh…think I made a mistake. I am looking for a woman, not a child. Her name is Chantel Bernese.”
“I see,” she beamed at him. “You’re here for moral support then. Chantel’s actually been dealing with it quite nicely but the poor little girl’s mother looked like she was going to shatter into a million pieces.”
“The girl’s mother?”
“Yes, she just got here.” The nurse circled around the counter and glanced at the computer screen. “I wasn’t sure which room she was in because they moved her earlier today. Here it is. Daniella Vittorio, room 515.”
Blood rushed to Dante’s head. “Did…did you say Vittorio?”
“Yes…oh, the name must have confused you because Chantel isn’t really her aunt.”
He glanced around for a moment then looked back at the nurse. “This is the pediatric ward,” he said unevenly.
The nurse’s smile faded, a look of suspicion taking its place. “I’m sorry sir, what did you say your name was?”
“How old is she?”
“Excuse me?”
“Daniella, how old is she?”
The nurse visibly bristled. “I’m afraid I can’t give out any information unless you’re a blood relative.”
Dante didn’t bother to point out Chantel wasn’t a blood relative. He pulled out his wallet and handed it to her so she could inspect his driver’s license. She scrutinized it for several minutes before handing it back to him.
“Now that I have established we are related, could you please answer my question?”
She riffled through the files in front of her and pulled one out, casting a furtive glance at Dante before she opened it. “According to Daniella’s chart she just turned three on May eighteenth.”
The blood that had rushed to his head only moments ago slowly drained, leaving his face decidedly ashen. “Thank you,” he said woodenly, then turned in a daze and headed down the hall.
Dante’s legs felt as if they were made of rubber. Paige had been two months pregnant when she’d left him, pregnant with his child. That’s what she meant about being afraid he’d resent her for holding him back. Dio, if only he’d told her the truth about his family and the massive wealth he possessed, things would have turned out so differently for them.
He would have married her in a heartbeat, not just because of the baby but because he’d loved her. He stopped right outside Daniella’s room and sagged against the wall. Admit it, you loved her then and you love her still. Always. Always. Dante drew in a sharp breath when he heard voices coming from inside the room. A soft smile curved his lips as he inched closer to the doorway and listened in.
“Mama, can we go home now?”
“No, angel, the doctor needs to make you better first.”
“But my tummy doesn’t hurt no more.”
“Anymore," Paige gently corrected, " and that’s because the medicine made it go away.”
“We can take the medcin home with us.”
Dante’s chest swelled with pride. “Clever girl,” he murmured.
“I’ll tell you what,” Paige said. “After the doctor fixes your tummy, Mama will stay home with you for a whole week. Would you like that?”
“Can we watch cartoons and eat Coco Crunchies?”
Paige laughed. “Yes, darling, anything you want. But right now, you need to take a nap.”
“I don’t want to take a nap,” Daniella replied with a hint of defiance.
Dante smiled to himself when Paige’s soft voice crooned, “Okay, angel, you don’t have to take a nap if you don’t want to. Just rest your eyes for a few minutes so they’re not too tired to watch cartoons later, can you do that?”
“Yes, Mama,” Daniella replied sleepily.
He was still standing there listening to Paige hum a lullaby when the doctor arrived. The silver haired gentleman glanced up from the chart he’d been reading while he walked and looked surprised to find Dante hovering outside the doorway. Then hearing Paige’s lilting voice as she lulled her daughter back to sleep, the doctor smiled and offered his hand.
“You must be Daniella’s father. I’m glad you could get here before we took her in. Chantel didn’t seem very confident you’d make it back from your trip in time.”
Dante’s lip twitched as he shook the doctor’s hand. “It seems Chantel has made quite a passel of friends here.”
“She has,” he agreed, “but then so has Daniella. You have an enchanting little girl, Mr. Vittorio. I’m sure you’ve been told this before but she looks just like you.”
Pain stabbed at his heart. He had no idea whether his daughter resembled him or not. “How is she doing? I have only just arrived and have not had a chance to talk to her mother.”
“Well young man, I guess that makes us about even because I haven’t had a chance to talk to her yet either. Chantel said you’d both been vacationing on an island so she wasn’t able to reach your wife until a few hours ago. But enough small talk, I’m sure you’re anxious to hear about the test results and Daniella’s surgery.”
“Surgery,” Dante said in alarm. “But she is only three�
�”
“I understand your concern, but I’m afraid it’s necessary. Why don’t we go inside so I can explain the procedure to you and your wife together?”
Dante’s eyes flickered at the open doorway. He could only imagine Paige’s reaction to seeing him here, and though it would have served her right after she’d kept his daughter a secret from him for all these years, he couldn’t chance upsetting Daniella. His mind frantically searched for a plausible reason he shouldn't go in there, but what would the doctor think about a father who didn’t seem concerned about the operation his little girl was about to have? Mio Dio, he didn’t even know what was wrong with her or why the procedure was necessary. The dilemma quickly resolved itself a few seconds later when Chantel emerged from the room.
Her eyes widened in surprise but she recovered almost immediately. “I thought I heard voices.” She offered Dante a tentative smile. “I’m glad you’re here, Dante. Paige is frantic with worry and could really use your support.” She turned her attention to the doctor. “Daniella’s just dropped off to sleep. Maybe it would be better if I sent Paige out so you can talk without disturbing Daniella.”
VITTORIO'S MISTRESS Page 11