The CEO's Unexpected Child

by Andrea Laurence

  Finally, Stuart shook his head. “I’m sorry, but this offer is unacceptable. My client wants more.”

  * * *

  Claire watched Luca’s expression crumble at her lawyer’s declaration. She knew it was a risk, but it was one she had to take. Yes, the offer was everything she could’ve hoped for when they first started this process, but now everything had changed. It was missing once crucial element—Luca.

  With what he was offering, she could easily raise the two children on her own. She could hire Daisy as a live-in nanny and even give her a bigger raise than she could ever afford on her own. They could attend the best schools in New York and have everything they ever wanted. Everything but a father.

  “What do you want, Claire? Do you want me to open up a vein and bleed for you? Because I will.”

  It was the first time he’d spoken since he’d asked how she was. There was a pleading in his eyes that made her chest ache. It felt so awkward to have these legal mouthpieces between them. Everything felt so stiff and official with Edmund and Stuart doing all their talking for them. She wished she could just make the lawyers go away for ten minutes so they could talk—really talk—without all the legal protections in the way.

  With them here, all she could do was lay her heart on the line and see if he bit. Luca had acknowledged this baby was his. This updated offer was as close to an apology as he probably knew how to offer. But she wanted more. He’d spent weeks telling her she was worth more than what Jeff had given her. She’d finally decided to believe him, and she was going to demand it.

  “This isn’t nearly enough. Your money doesn’t mean a damn thing to me. I want you to apologize for all the terrible, hurtful things you said to me. I want you to say you’re sorry for accusing me of sleeping with someone else and threatening to have security throw me out of the building. And then, when I’m satisfied, I want you, Luca.”

  His sharp gaze met hers for a moment. He swallowed hard, then adjusted his posture in his seat. “Gentlemen, may we have a moment alone?”

  “Luca, I don’t advise you to—”

  “Alone,” he reiterated in a firm voice that left no question of his demand.

  Claire squeezed Stuart’s hand reassuringly, and both men got up from the table. They made their way out, shutting the door behind them.

  There were a few quiet, strained moments before Luca spoke. “I’m sorry, Claire.”

  She wanted to respond, but she held herself back. With the lawyers gone, she wanted to know what he had to say.

  “I’m not saying any of this because you’re demanding it. I’m saying it because it needs to be said. You’re totally right. I’m sorry I doubted you. I’m sorry I said all those horrible things. I just never believed that I...” His voice trailed off as he shook his head and looked down at the table. “For so long, I’ve felt incomplete. Having cancer robbed me of so much. Not just my childhood and my youthful sense of immortality, but my self-worth. My sense of safety.”

  Claire watched as he pushed up from the glass conference-room table and walked over to the window. “Everything you said that day was right. I was scared. I’d put off knowing the truth for so long because it left me a glimmer of hope. Once I knew for certain, it was done. But I went to the doctor after our fight.”

  He turned away from the view and looked at Claire. “I can have children. I never dreamed a doctor would tell me that, but he did. In that moment, I wasn’t happy, though. I felt terrible because I knew that you didn’t deserve any of the things I said to you that day.”

  Crossing the room in four long strides, he stopped in front of Claire. “Did you really mean what you said before? That you still want me after everything I’ve said and done?” Luca dropped onto one knee in front of her and scooped her hands into his own.

  Claire felt her chest tighten with each word he said. “I meant every word. I don’t want your money, Luca. I never have. And I do appreciate your offer of giving me full custody of the children. I know that’s a huge gesture for you. But it’s just not enough. I want my children to have a father. I want them to have you in their lives.”

  Luca’s posture relaxed, and his dark gaze fell to their intertwined fingers. “And what about you? Do you want me in your life, too, Claire?”

  At that, Claire sighed. She’d gone over this a thousand times in her mind. Should she be happy to have a child and some good memories from her time with Luca? Did she dare ask for more? Was more even possible? “I don’t know. A lot of that depends on you. A very smart man once told me that a woman is a gift to be cherished. I’ve spent far too long being treated as less than enough. I’ll want you in our children’s lives no matter what, but to be in mine, I want it all. I’m not going to settle this time, or ever again.”

  Luca nodded slowly. “I don’t want you to settle. I’ve never wanted a woman to settle for me, and I don’t want you to have anything less than you deserve. Selfishly, I’ll tell you that I love you, Claire. The time we’ve spent apart has been agonizing. I absolutely want our children to play a part in my life, but I’ll be honest when I say it will kill me to see you every time we pass the children from one household to the other. It’s not at all what I want. I want us to be a family, together, but I’m worried.”

  “About what?”

  “I’m worried that I’m going to get sick again. I know I shouldn’t let it affect my decisions and how I live my life, but I need you to know that it’s a real possibility. If you can accept that and want us to be a family, okay. If losing you is the price I pay for my sins, I accept that, too.”

  “Sins?” Claire’s eyes were overflowing with tears as she listened to him speak. He was already punishing himself far more harshly than she ever would have. “You haven’t committed any sins, Luca. You’ve just been hurt. We’ve both been hurt. We let that disappointment get between us. We can’t let that happen again.”

  A spark of hope glimmered in Luca’s eyes as he looked up at her. “Does that mean there’s a chance of us being a ‘we’ again?”

  Claire nodded through her tears. “I love you too much to just walk away.”

  A wide grin broke out across Luca’s face, making her chest ache. She couldn’t help returning the smile. “You love me?”

  “I do.”

  Luca looked up at her with a suddenly serious expression. “We’re in love, you’re having my baby and I’m already down on one knee. I guess there’s just one thing left to do, Claire.”

  She stiffened in her seat at his words. Did he mean what she thought he meant? Was he actually...?

  “Claire Marianne Lawson,” Luca began, “you came into my life in the most unexpected of ways and you gave me the greatest gift I could ever imagine—our beautiful little Eva. Being with you has been some of the happiest times of my life. Every day I want to get out of bed and find a way to make you smile. I want to do that for the rest of my life. Will you allow me to do that by giving me the honor of becoming my wife?”

  Before she could respond, Luca reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, velvet box. He lifted the lid, and Claire found a beautiful oval diamond solitaire inside. On one side was a round, dark blue sapphire. On the other was a lighter blue stone.

  “The sapphire is for Eva, since she was born in September,” he explained. “The blue topaz is for the new baby. By my calculations, he or she should arrive in late December. If I’m wrong and the baby doesn’t show up until January, we’ll change it to a garnet.”

  Claire’s eyes blurred with tears to the point that she couldn’t make out the details anymore. It didn’t matter. It was the most perfect ring he ever could’ve given her. She didn’t care how many carats it was or how much money he’d paid. It represented not only their commitment to each other, but their children. That made it the most precious piece of jewelry she could ever wear.

  “Yes,” she said at last, r
ealizing she hadn’t yet answered his very important question. “Yes, I will marry you.”

  Luca took the ring from the box and slipped it onto her finger. She glanced at it for only a moment before reaching out and pulling Luca’s face to hers. Their lips met, giving her the thrill she craved more than a ring.

  He didn’t disappoint. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he stood up, pulling Claire out of the chair with him. She laced her fingers at his nape and pulled him closer to her. She couldn’t get enough of him. She’d come far too close to losing his touch forever.

  Finally, Luca pulled away, still holding her tight in his arms. “We’d better stop. I don’t think Edmund would be too pleased with me making love to my fiancée on his conference-room table.”

  Claire beamed at his use of her new title. “Well,” she argued, “considering how much my fiancé has paid for his services, we should be able to do whatever we’d like.”

  “Soon,” he promised, planting another, shorter kiss on her lips. “We’ve just got to call off the dogs and I’ll whisk you home and make love to you all afternoon.”

  “Before we go, I just have one question. How did you know my maiden name?” Claire asked as she looked up at him.

  Luca gave her a sly smile. “You ran a background check on me, so I ran one on you. It’s only fair, right?”

  She smiled wide. “Absolutely. Did you find out anything interesting while you were nosing around?”

  “Just that you got a D in freshman chemistry, and your favorite food is listed on Facebook as Thai. Thai? Really?”

  “I may need to update that,” Claire admitted with a smile. “I’m pretty partial to Italian lately.”

  “You’d better be. So,” he continued with a heavy sigh. “Are we ready to let the sharks know the good news?”

  Claire nodded. “Let’s get it over with so I can get you home and out of this suit.”

  “Edmund!” Luca shouted toward the conference-room door.

  A moment later the door burst open with both lawyers standing anxiously in the doorway. They looked curiously at Luca and Claire, wrapped in each other’s arms.

  “Yes?”

  “Withdraw the custody motion. We don’t need to go to court.” Luca kept his dark hazel eyes focused only on Claire as he spoke. Her heart fluttered in her chest when he looked at her that way.

  “We don’t?”

  “No,” Claire said with a sly smile. “We’re headed to the wedding chapel instead.”

  Epilogue

  July 4th

  Martha’s Vineyard

  “It’s not going to zip.” Claire was in full-blown panic mode. The wedding started in less than a half hour and her blossoming belly and swelling bosom were causing a major issue with her dress.

  “It’s going to zip,” Daisy assured her. “You did the final alteration a week ago. You haven’t gotten that much bigger in the last week.”

  Claire held her breath as she felt Daisy tug and groan slightly, then the rush of the zipper as it raced to the top. “Thank goodness,” she said with a sigh of relief.

  Her first wedding dress had been a princess extravaganza that made it impossible for her to use the restroom alone. This time, she’d opted for something more appropriate for the beach. It was strapless with a sweetheart neckline and a beaded bodice. The flowing organza gathered under the bust and draped to the floor. It was light and ethereal, yet sparkly enough to feel special. She loved it.

  “Oh, Claire.” Antonia Moretti came into the master bedroom of the cottage that was doubling as the bridal suite. “You look so beautiful. Luca will be beside himself when he sees you.”

  She hoped so. They had put together this wedding plan quickly, which made her nervous, but she didn’t want to be eight months pregnant and huge in all their wedding pictures. Thankfully, most of it had come together easily. Gavin had offered the beach house at Martha’s Vineyard as the wedding location. It was the perfect choice, since they’d fallen in love here. The wedding and reception was taking place on the beach with a roaring bonfire, a local band playing and a stellar fireworks show to wrap up the night. The seafood shack up the road was catering a traditional New England boil on the beach with loads of fresh clams, mussels, shrimp, spicy sausage, corn and potatoes.

  That wasn’t what Claire was looking forward to the most. She was anxious for the cake. Well, the cheesecake. They’d opted out of the traditional cake and brought in a dozen different cheesecakes from their nearest restaurant in Newport. Food hadn’t been very kind to Claire’s stomach for the first few months of her pregnancy, but she was finally getting her appetite back. She couldn’t wait for Luca to feed her a bite of creamy cheesecake with fresh strawberries on top.

  A soft tap sounded at the door. She almost didn’t hear it over the chatter of Luca’s sisters as they did their hair and makeup. Daisy opened the door and to Claire’s surprise her mother was standing there with Eva in her arms.

  “Mom?”

  Her mother smiled and stepped into the room, looking so familiar, yet so different than she remembered. “Hello, Claire. Just look at you. You’re even prettier than I ever dreamed.”

  Claire rushed over to hug the mother she hadn’t seen since right after her marriage to Jeff. “I can’t believe you made it.”

  “Living across the country, I might be horribly neglectful in many ways, but I’m not going to miss my only child’s wedding. It’s bad enough that this is the first time I’ve seen Eva.” She placed a kiss on the baby’s fat cheek. Eva was wearing a little white dress with a tulle tutu as the honorary flower girl. “That’s all going to change, though. Your stepfather and I are moving to Connecticut next month. Plan on seeing me a lot more often,” she added with a smile.

  Claire could hardly believe it. She’d been content in gaining Luca’s large, loud family as her own, but to have her mother close again made tears start to pool in her eyes. She looked up and breathed through her nose. If she messed up her eye makeup, Carla would get onto her.

  “I hate to break up the family reunion,” Daisy said, “but it’s time to get this wedding going.”

  The Moretti sisters scrambled to gather their things and slip out of the room. Daisy was carrying Eva down the aisle, so she took her from her grandmother’s arms. “Follow me and I’ll have the ushers seat you.”

  Then, just as quickly, Claire found herself alone. She gave herself one quick glance in the mirror and picked up her bouquet. Her stomach was fluttering, but for the first time in weeks, it was just nerves, not nausea. She took a deep breath and the anxiety faded. There was no reason to be worried about this wedding. She’d never been more sure of anything in her life as she was about marrying Luca.

  Glancing out the window, she saw all the parents seated and Daisy followed. It was time to go.

  Stepping carefully downstairs, she stopped at the deck to await her music. There, she could see several rows of white chairs lining the sandy path to the archway, filled with faces of friends and family, eager and happy to witness this moment. Beneath the archway of white flowers stood the officiant, Daisy, Eva and Luca.

  His gaze was glued to her as she came outside. For once, it was his jaw that dropped open with amazement and his eyes that shone glassy with tears. He was wearing a white linen suit without a tie, keeping the look casual. Even then, he was still the most handsome man she’d ever seen in person. It was hard to believe this man—the father of her children—was about to be her husband. It was more than she ever could’ve hoped for.

  The music started and everyone stood and turned to look in her direction. Claire stepped barefooted into the soft golden sand and headed down the path to her happily-ever-after.

  * * * * *

  If you liked this novel, pick up the MILLIONAIRES OF MANHATTAN series from Andrea Laurence

  WHAT LIES BENEATH
r />   MORE THAN HE EXPECTED

  HIS LOVER’S LITTLE SECRET

  Available now from Harlequin Desire!

  ***

  And don’t miss the next BILLIONAIRES AND BABIES story

  HIS BABY AGENDA

  by USA TODAY bestselling author Katherine Garbera

  Available April 2016!

  ***

  If you’re on Twitter, tell us what you think of Harlequin Desire! #harlequindesire

  Keep reading for an excerpt from A FORBIDDEN TEMPTATION by Anne Mather.

  Get rewarded every time you buy a Harlequin ebook!

  Click here to Join Harlequin My Rewards

  http://www.harlequin.com/myrewards.html?mt=loyalty&cmpid=EBOOBPBPA201602010003

  Get rewarded every time you buy a Harlequin ebook!

  Do you want to earn Free Books and More?

  Join Harlequin My Rewards points program and earn points every time you shop.

  You can redeem your points to get more of what you love:

  Free books

  Exclusive gifts and contests

  Book recommendations tailored to your reading preferences

  Earn 2000 points instantly when you join—getting you closer to redeeming your first free book.

  Don’t miss out. Reward the book lover in you!

  Click here to sign up

  Or visit us online to sign up at

  http://www.harlequin.com/myrewards.html?mt=loyalty&cmpid=EBOOBPBPA201602010001