But in the beginning, Carla had insisted she took care of birth control. He’d believed her. Had he been too quick to believe her? Was it possible she’d lied to him? For what purpose? Was she that anxious to have a family that she’d do it at any cost?
With every outlandish thought that came to mind, his heart beat faster. His blood pressure had to be creeping into the red zone.
Desperate for a moment alone with Carla, he turned to her assistant. “Rosa, could you cover for us for a moment?”
“Um...sure.” Worry reflected in her eyes. “You aren’t leaving, are you?”
“No,” Carla said firmly. “There’s not a chance we’d miss out on this big night.”
“Something came up and I need to discuss it with Carla. No big deal.”
Rosa nodded in understanding. “I’ll see to things.”
“We’ll just be in the hallway.” Carla pointed to where they’d be.
And then Franco slipped his arm around his wife’s slim waist as they made their way toward the doorway that led to the back entrance to the building. He hoped it would give them the privacy they needed. Because he needed to hear Carla say that she wasn’t pregnant. She just couldn’t be pregnant.
What were the chances of that happening? The odds have to be minuscule. Right?
Once in the vacant hallway with the door closed behind them, Carla turned on him. “What are you doing?”
“What am I doing? What are you doing telling a reporter that we might have children?”
Her face was devoid of color. “That’s not what I said. I said—”
“I know what you said. What you didn’t say was that we aren’t having children, not now, not ever.” He paused, waiting for her to agree. Instead an ominous silence filled the void. “Carla?”
Her gaze was cast downward. “We should get back to the party.”
“Not before we clear this up.” His gut knotted as bile inched up his throat. “Carla, what did you try to tell me earlier today?”
“It can wait.”
“No, I don’t think it can.” It seemed as though she couldn’t work up the courage to say it, so he would have to do it for her. “Carla, are you pregnant?”
Her gaze met his. There was a whole host of emotions reflected in her eyes, from fear to anger. She didn’t say a word. She didn’t have to. It was written all over her pale face.
And then she wordlessly nodded.
His heart fell. His head started to spin. This can’t be happening. This was never supposed to happen. And yet it had happened, and he had no idea what to do about it.
No wonder she hadn’t wanted to tell him. She knew he never wanted a family. But with Carla, it seemed like one thing always led to another. They’d started out as in-laws, which led to chemistry on the dance floor at his brother’s wedding. That had led to a business dinner. From there she’d proposed a deal that he just couldn’t turn down. A fake marriage had led to a very real wedding night. That night had led to him seeing her not as one of those Falcos—the ones that had lied—no, instead he found her to be a caring, loving and generous woman. And now he didn’t know what to think about any of this. He couldn’t even formulate any words—
The door burst open. Rosa rushed up to Carla. “Carla, you have to come quick.”
“What is it?” Carla’s voice echoed her concern.
“It’s your father—” and then Rosa looked at him “—and your grandfather. They’ve gotten into a very loud and contentious argument in the middle of the party. It’s a disaster.”
“Oh no!” Carla turned an accusing stare at him. “You promised your grandfather wouldn’t be here.”
She didn’t wait for him to explain as she rushed in the door. He’d meant to tell her about his grandparents’ unexpected appearance, but when he’d grown worried about her unexplained absence, it’d slipped his mind.
Franco was right behind her. This night was supposed to be so perfect, so amazing, but it was turning into a disaster.
The sound of angry male voices boomed through the room. It was the first time the two men had confronted each other since the cheating episode. It appeared that time had not lessened their anger toward the other.
Carla worked her way through the thickening crowd as a number of people pulled out their phones to film the devolving event. Franco’s own personal nightmare was going to have to be put on hold until they separated the men.
“Liar!”
“Cheat!”
At last, Carla stepped inside the circle. “Papa, stop.”
“I...” Carlo Falco stopped speaking. “I...” Then he clutched his chest before collapsing to the floor.
A horrified cry erupted from Carla’s throat. She knelt by her father’s side. Franco grabbed his phone and called for an ambulance. It seemed like forever until he’d answered all the operator’s questions. Yes, Carlo was still breathing. No, he wasn’t conscious.
Franco knelt next to Carla. Time moved slowly. He’d never felt so helpless in his life. Carla held her father’s hand as she pleaded with him to hold on. The desperation rang out in her voice.
And when Carla finally turned her big brown eyes to Franco as the unleashed tears streamed down her cheeks, he felt as though his heart had been torn in half. He would do anything to fix this for her, but he didn’t know how.
“He’s going to be okay.” Franco didn’t know that, but he certainly wanted to believe it.
Before Carla could say anything, the crowd parted and the paramedics rolled a gurney into the room. They stepped back, giving them room to work. It took a few minutes to take his vitals and hook him up to oxygen.
Franco reached out to wrap his arm around Carla’s waist, giving her his shoulder to lean on, but she wordlessly pushed his arm away. He didn’t like it, but he understood that she needed to focus all her thoughts and energy on her father.
When they lifted the stretcher with her father, Franco said, “I’ll get my car and drive you to the hospital.”
“No.” Carla turned to him with more anger than he’d even known she was capable of feeling, and it was all aimed at him. “You stay here. You aren’t welcome at the hospital. This is all your fault. You and me, we’re over. My attorney will send over the papers.”
Each of her words were like arrows slamming into his chest. His fault? What? How?
By the time he was able to translate his thoughts into words, she was gone. And he’d never felt more alone in his entire life.
How had things been so right, so promising one moment and then so wrong the next? Now what was he going to do? His wife didn’t want him in her life, and they had a baby on the way. It felt as though he was reliving his parents’ nightmare.
They’d both married for the wrong reasons, and then they’d both complicated matters with an unexpected pregnancy. He raked his fingers through his hair. What was he supposed to do now?
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
SHE’D NEVER BEEN so scared.
Carla couldn’t remember exactly what had happened between her admitting to Franco that she was pregnant until she watched her father being loaded into the back of an ambulance. She vaguely recalled being furious with Franco but not her exact words.
She paced back and forth in the hospital waiting area. What was taking the doctors so long? She’d begged them to let her stay, but they’d insisted it was protocol for her to stay in the waiting area until they’d done their initial workup.
Please let him be okay. Please let him be okay.
She kept repeating the silent prayer over and over in her mind. With her head down, she kept moving. She couldn’t sit still. She was filled with pent-up anxiety.
A hand touched her shoulder.
She came to an abrupt stop and turned. She expected to find the doctor in his white coat, but instead it was her cousin. Gianna’s face reflected her own worry.
They wordlessly hugged each other. Part of her wished that it was Franco holding her, but she had too many conflicting emotions where he was concerned. And she couldn’t deal with him right now. It was just too much.
When they pulled apart, Carla swiped at her eyes. Gianna guided her over to one of the orange chairs. “Sit down. You look exhausted.”
“I’m fine.” She didn’t feel fine. She felt as though her life was being pulled apart at the seams.
“Have you heard anything?”
Carla shook her head. “They threw me out and told me to wait here.”
Gianna reached for her phone. “Do you want me to call Franco?”
“No.”
Gianna slipped the phone back in her purse. “Okay. What’s going on?”
“This whole thing is my fault. I know I blamed Franco, but I shouldn’t have. This whole marriage and business venture was my idea. I knew about the bad blood between my father and Franco’s grandfather, but did that stop me? No. I’m the one who should be blamed. If anything happens to my father, it’s all on me.”
“Whoa. Slow down. Start at the beginning.”
And so Carla did exactly that. Her father’s matchmaking, her plan to take care of him and then the marriage contract—it all came tumbling out. She even briefly mentioned their wedding night and now its complications.
“You’re pregnant?” Gianna’s excited voice came out loudly.
“Shh...” Carla glanced around to make sure there was no one around to overhear. “Yes, but it’s the very last thing Franco wants.”
“You told him?”
Carla nodded. “Right before my father collapsed.”
“And he said that he didn’t want the baby?”
“No. But he’d previously told me about his childhood and how he never planned to marry or have a family. He doesn’t want to repeat his parents’ mistakes.”
“When did he tell you this?”
“A while ago.”
“Maybe things have changed since then. He said he didn’t want to marry, but he sure looks happy these days. Even Dario mentioned that he’d never seen his brother happier.”
This was all news to Carla. “I don’t know. He’s probably just happy about our business venture coming together.”
“No. I’ve seen the way he looks at you. It isn’t the way a platonic business associate looks at the other. He looks at you like you’re a double chocolate cupcake that he can’t wait to devour.”
Heat filled Carla’s cheeks. “He does not.”
“Oh, but he does. And I’ve seen the way you look at him when you think no one notices. You are crazy for him. It’s the reason I never questioned your quickie wedding. I figured it was love at first sight. Or maybe second sight.”
Was that true? Did he love her? And if he did, did it change things between them? Would he still love her even if she was carrying the baby he never wanted?
* * *
That evening couldn’t have gone any worse.
Franco took one look at his grandfather’s pale, drawn face and knew he was in no condition to drive. Franco and his brother had helped their grandparents into their car. His grandmother never did like to drive, so he drove them home. Dario followed them in his car.
As he drove out of the city, he just couldn’t help but think about how things had looked so promising one moment and then in the next his world had come crashing in around him.
A baby.
He was going to be a father.
In that moment, he promised himself that he wouldn’t be like his father, who was constantly avoiding his responsibilities. If it wasn’t for his grandfather, he might not know what it was to have a father—how to be a father. Franco was going to be there for his child in every way possible. No one would drive him away.
When holidays and birthdays rolled around, he’d be there with an armful of gifts and a big smile. He would let his child know how much they meant to him.
He would do for his child everything that he’d wanted his parents to do for him, but instead they’d been too wrapped up in their own world—in their own problems—to see that their two little boys had been utterly and totally forgotten.
“Franco.” His grandmother’s concerned voice interrupted his thoughts. “Franco, you missed the turn.”
He blinked. His gaze took in his surroundings, and he realized his grandmother was right. “I’ll just circle back around. No big deal.”
“Something is on your mind. It’s your grandfather, isn’t it?”
His grandfather was sitting quietly in the back seat for the first time since Franco had known him. A glance in the rearview mirror showed his grandfather with his arms crossed over his chest as he stared out the window. Franco thought for sure he’d have a few disparaging words to say about Franco missing the turn, but he continued to be mute.
Returning his gaze to the road, Franco thought about his grandmother’s question. “Actually, I was thinking about my father.”
“Oh.” She didn’t like to talk about her son. The pain was always evident in her eyes when his name was brought up, and so Franco had learned to avoid the subject all together.
But today was different. All the skeletons in the closet and the ghosts that had been swept under the rug were going to be aired out—the light shined on them. Maybe that was the problem with their family. Maybe they avoided the tough subjects too often. Instead of the silence helping, it was hurting them.
Now that both he and Dario were about to be fathers, they didn’t have the luxury of ignoring the past. They had to learn from it if they hoped to do better by their children.
He eased the car into the drive and parked in front of the massive villa. This subject could wait until they were inside.
He jumped out and opened both car doors for his grandparents. As they got to their feet, he noticed that they both looked as though they’d aged considerably since the confrontation at the party.
Once inside, Dario joined them. “Well, that’s certainly going to be in the news tomorrow. I’m guessing that’s not the headline you were hoping for.”
Franco paced back and forth, raking his fingers through his hair. Then he stopped and faced his grandfather. “Why did you have to pick today of all days to change your mind and show up?”
“It’s my company.” His voice boomed in the large foyer.
“It was your company,” Franco corrected him. “Remember, you’re retiring.”
“He’s right,” Nonna agreed. “You can’t keep running the company forever. It’s time you let Franco take over.”
His grandfather’s lips pressed into a firm line as a muscle in his cheek spasmed.
“I know that you never thought I lived up to this image you had of me.” Franco’s voice shook with frustration. “I’ve tried and tried to make you proud of me, but I’m done. I just can’t do it anymore. You can keep the company. I quit.”
“What...what?” For the first time ever, his grandfather looked to be at a loss for words. “But you can’t.”
“Oh, I can and I am.” As he swung around to walk out the door, he caught the grin on his brother’s face.
It seemed like not so long ago that Dario had had a similar conversation with their grandfather—then, Franco hadn’t been able to understand how he could just walk away from his legacy. It’d taken a bit, but now he finally understood.
“Wait,” Nonna called out. When he turned to his grandmother, she said, “Don’t go.” Then she turned to his grandfather. “I’ve been quiet for too long. I thought you knew what you were doing where the boys were concerned, but you’ve gone too far now. Don’t let him walk away. Not like this.”
Nonno shook his head. “Let him go.”
“No.” His grandmother’s voice brooked no argument. “Fix this. I won’t lose yet another member of this family. I
let you drive away our son.”
“He wasn’t strong,” Nonno said. “He wouldn’t stand up for himself. He always wanted to take the easy way out of everything.”
“Maybe if you hadn’t pushed him so hard, he’d have figured it all out.”
“You blame me for him leaving?”
“I do. And I won’t stand for it. Not again. Franco belongs at the helm of the company. He has earned the right to continue running it the way he sees fit.” Nonna glared at his grandfather. “And if you don’t step aside, don’t bother coming to bed tonight or any other night.” She turned and stormed away.
His grandmother had stolen all of Franco’s thunder. She’d left him utterly speechless. He’d never seen her so angry. When he gathered himself to lift his sagging jaw, he glanced over at his grandfather, who appeared to have lost his ability to speak as well.
Franco had always taken his grandmother’s silence to mean that she agreed with everything his grandfather said and did. It appeared that wasn’t the case. He was relieved that she’d finally spoken up, but he couldn’t help but wish that she’d done it much sooner.
Franco hesitated, waiting to see if his grandfather would say anything. The silence stretched on. It went on too long. Franco continued toward the door.
“Wait,” Dario said.
Franco didn’t want to wait. Turning his back on his grandfather wasn’t easy. Even if the man wasn’t the easiest person to care about, he still loved him. But he couldn’t just walk out on his brother, who’d always had his back. Through everything, they’d been there for each other.
Franco smothered a frustrated sigh and turned back. “It’s not going to work,” he said to his brother. “He’s too stubborn to listen to anyone—”
“That’s not true.” Nonno’s voice wavered, as though he wasn’t quite certain.
Both brothers turned to their grandfather. His shoulders were slightly slumped as worry lines bracketed his face. It was though he’d aged right before him. Franco had never seen his grandfather anything but strong and assured. He didn’t look like either of those things right now.
Falling for Her Convenient Groom Page 15