by Andie Brock
His decision to come to Scotland had been made on the spur of the moment. He’d been in a board meeting at his New York office, staring out at the city skyline when he should have been concentrating on the latest capital investment accounts, when the idea had come into his head. Picking up the phone, he had instructed his jet to be put on standby, telling his driver to take him to the airport there and then, before logic and common sense had the chance to change his mind. As the board members had been hastily shepherded out of the room they had exchanged nervous glances. What was Romano playing at? What the hell had come over him these past few weeks?
The fact was, Vieri didn’t know what had come over him. Only that he had been back in New York for two months now and that time had done absolutely nothing to erase Harper from his mind. Being halfway across the other side of the world had done nothing to free him from the power of her spell. Even throwing himself into work, where he normally felt his most comfortable, had failed spectacularly. Instead of finding any relief there he had ended up making questionable judgements, bad decisions.
Which meant only one thing—he had to see Harper. As soon as possible. Right away. He was done trying to forget about her; he was sick of hearing his own damned voice telling him that he had to get over her. This was the only way.
As the ferry finally docked on the other side Vieri started the car engine, gritting his teeth at the casual way Jim was sauntering over to open the gates. Now that he was so close he could almost sense Harper’s presence, almost feel her in his arms.
Mio Dio, how he had missed her. From the toss of that auburn-coloured hair, to the pout of her pink lips, the way she wrinkled her nose when she was annoyed, bit down on her lip as she thought. Her bright intelligence, her sexy body, her slow smile, he missed them all. With a passion that was burning him up inside.
One thing was for sure, if he didn’t get off this ferry and reach his destination very soon, there was a good chance that he might indeed be fair set to bust.
* * *
Harper eased herself up against the pillows, checking how she was feeling. The cramps had definitely stopped. It had to be, what, at least a couple of hours now since the last one? She allowed herself a sigh of relief, the hope in her chest starting to bloom. Maybe, just maybe, it was going to be all right.
The first muscle spasm had woken her early that morning. Low in her abdomen, it hadn’t been painful, but enough to see her fumbling for the bedside light and lying very, very still. Then the second one had come, followed by a third until a cold rush of fear had swept over her that something was wrong. Levering herself gently out of bed, she had stood in the cold first light, hoping against hope that being upright might help, that each spasm might be the last, but still they had come.
Clutching her stomach, she had tried to swallow down the panic. It was only two weeks since she had done the pregnancy test but already the thought of losing this baby was too terrible to contemplate. Already she knew that the child inside her was more important, more precious than anything in the world. No matter what obstacles lay ahead, no matter that being tied to Vieri would break her heart a thousand times, she would fight with everything she had to keep it safe. Starting now.
Pulling on her clothes, she had crept downstairs, trying not to wake Leah, surprised to find her already in the kitchen, nursing a mug of tea. Apparently she had got up to make their father his breakfast and seen him off to work. And of course one look at Harper’s face had been enough for her to know that something was wrong. Refusing to take no for an answer, she had leapt into action, bundling her into the Land Rover and delivering her to the local doctors’ surgery just as they were opening their doors.
And the doctor had been reassuring. After taking down the details, her professionalism slipping only very slightly at the news that Harper McDonald, who she had known since she was a baby, was pregnant by some unknown man, she had given her a quick check over and made an appointment for her to have an ultrasound scan.
‘And try not to worry.’ She had patted Harper’s hand, now devoid of both the engagement ring and the wedding band that Harper had tugged off her finger and hurled onto the dresser before fleeing from the castello. ‘It’s early days and we can’t completely rule out that there may be a problem but sometimes these cramps are just the baby bedding in. I suggest you go home and have twenty-four hours of bed rest. Let your sister look after you.’
Bedding in. It had been such a cosy, comforting expression. Leah, who had insisted on coming in with her, had turned to give her a smile full of hope, reassuring the doctor that she would wait on Harper hand and foot for the whole nine months if necessary.
Which was why Harper now found herself in the unfamiliar position of lying in bed with absolutely nothing to do. And that meant too much thinking and all thoughts inevitably led to Vieri. She rearranged the pillows and sat back, staring out of the window at the dark shape of the mountains against the thundery grey sky. She was in love with him. It was as simple and as complicated as that. And there was absolutely nothing she could do about it. But he still didn’t even know she was pregnant. Closing her eyes, she let herself drift off to sleep, promising that she would find the courage to tell him as soon as she knew for sure that everything was all right.
* * *
Vieri pulled the car up in front of the cottage. So this was where Harper lived. It was smaller than he’d imagined; a long, low, white building with dormer windows set into a slate roof. But he could see the logic in building low to the ground in this rugged landscape. It was beautiful but it was also tough and wild, the climate unpredictable. Attributes that might describe Harper herself.
Pulling up the collar of his cashmere coat against the fat drops of rain that were starting to fall, he rapped hard on the knocker of the weather-beaten door. His heart, he suddenly realised, was beating over-fast. From inside he heard a dog bark and a female voice telling him to shush. There was a rustle as she came closer, the skittering sound of the dog’s claws against a hard floor. Vieri took in a breath, pulled back his shoulders.
But it wasn’t Harper. As the door opened, Leah appeared, holding the straining dog by its collar. She stared at him in open-mouthed shock.
‘What are you doing here?’ Her question was straight to the point, but Vieri could hear the panic in her voice.
‘I have come to see Harper.’
‘Well, I’m sorry, it’s not convenient.’ She made an attempt to bar the door.
‘Then I will wait until it is.’ Firmly planting his feet and towering over her, Vieri made it quite clear that he was going nowhere.
‘Look, the thing is...’ Leah went for a different approach. ‘Harper’s in bed. She’s not well.’
‘What sort of not well?’ A thrum of alarm moved through him and he took a step forward, leaving Leah no option but to move aside to let him in. Ignoring the growl of the dog, he ducked his head and stepped inside until the three of them were squashed in the small hallway. Leah squeezed past him, dragging the dog behind her. Vieri followed them into the kitchen, where the dog was finally persuaded to go and lie down in his basket next to the Aga. Leah turned to face him.
‘Can I get you a drink of anything?’ Vieri could see her struggling to hold her composure. ‘Tea or coffee, I mean—we don’t have alcohol in the house.’
‘No, nothing.’ The more he looked at Leah, the more convinced he was that there was something seriously wrong. ‘Tell me now, Leah, what’s the matter with Harper? Is she ill?’
‘Umm, not...not really.’ Leah turned to fill the kettle but Vieri was behind her in a couple of strides, his hand on her shoulder, turning her to face him.
‘And what exactly does that mean?’
‘It means that she’s not ill in the conventional use of the word.’
‘For God’s sake, Leah.’ Irritation and alarm thrummed through him. ‘I refuse to stand here listening to your riddles. Either you tell me what is wrong with your sister right now, or I climb those stairs and f
ind out for myself.’
‘No!’ Leah clutched at his elbow. ‘Don’t do that. She needs quiet. She mustn’t have any stress.’
‘Then tell me what’s going on.’
‘I can’t!’ Shrugging from under his grip, Leah moved into the room, backing towards the wall. ‘Harper made me promise I wouldn’t say anything to you.’
‘About what?’ The blood was beginning to roar in his ears. ‘You have precisely three seconds, Leah.’
‘About the baby!’ She blurted out the words with a cry of anguish. ‘Oh, God...’ She looked at him with beseeching eyes. ‘Harper is going to kill me.’
But Vieri wasn’t listening any more. The roaring in his ears had intensified to the point where he couldn’t hear anything anyway. A red mist had descended, clenching his fists, making his whole body tremble with a flood of thundering rage that had all but engulfed him.
The baby. Leah’s words ricocheted inside his head. So Harper was pregnant? Or at least she had been pregnant. He screwed his eyes closed against the violent realisation that the deed must have already been done. Why else would Harper be in bed? Why else would Leah look so damned shifty? Guilty.
A thousand splintered thoughts shattered in his brain. When had it happened? If he had got here yesterday could he have stopped it? Or even earlier today, if the journey hadn’t taken so long, if that infernal ferry hadn’t been so slow? Why had he let his pride keep him away for so long? Why had he ever let Harper out of his sight?
But most of all was the hideous sense of history repeating itself. He had done it again. Let down his guard, let someone in. First Donatella and then Harper. And once again he had been betrayed.
Anger surged inside him, hot and febrile. He forced himself to drag in a breath, dimly aware that Leah was speaking. No doubt she was complicit in this; she had probably arranged the whole thing. Vieri couldn’t bring himself to look at her. She was irrelevant. But Harper...oh, Dio... His beautiful, seductive, tormenting Harper. Was it possible that she could really have done this? He lifted his head, squaring his shoulders. There was only one way to find out.
He moved through the kitchen, Leah leaping ahead of him, trying to bar his way, holding her hands up against his chest.
‘No, Vieri, you mustn’t go up there.’
‘Get out of my way, Leah.’
‘No, really, the doctor said she needed rest.’
‘I said get out of my way.’
The dog had joined in now, growling loudly. Stepping past them both, Vieri headed for the stairs, Leah following him before turning to shut the dog in the kitchen.
‘Please, Vieri, I’m begging you.’ She called up from the bottom of the stairs. ‘Don’t go upsetting her. I know I shouldn’t have told you but now it’s done...’
Now it’s done. With his thumb on the iron latch of a bedroom door, Vieri turned to look down at Harper’s twin. So there was his proof. Giving Leah one last glance of utter revulsion, he clicked the latch down.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
THE LOUD RAP on the front door, followed by Timmy’s barking, woke Harper from her doze. She heard Leah going to answer the door, but the next sound froze her with shock. A male voice, deep and impatient. Vieri! No, it couldn’t be. Clutching at the bedclothes, she told herself she must have made a mistake. Her sleep-fuddled state, her anxiety over the pregnancy, had obviously conjured him up from the shadowy recesses of her mind, where she had tried so hard to banish him. But then she had heard it again, his voice raised now as they went into the kitchen. There was no mistake. Vieri was here, in this house, under this roof.
Oh, God. Harper tried to rationalise her thoughts over the frantic thudding of her heart. What was he doing here? And why did it suddenly feel as if all the oxygen had been sucked from the room? She forced herself to calm down, for the sake of the baby, if nothing else. But still her mind madly darted in all directions as she tried to figure out how she was going to face him, what she was going to say. She just hoped Leah would be able to distract him long enough for her to pull her defences in place.
I am pregnant, Vieri, she tried the words in her head. But I intend to raise the child myself. No, that sounded too contentious. I feel that any decisions regarding the child’s future should be left to me. As if he would accept that. But before her poor frazzled brain could come up with anything remotely workable she heard the commotion going on downstairs. Timmy was growling, Leah pleading and Vieri... He sounded so angry. So filled with rage. A rage that was coming closer and closer with his every thunderous step. And then, with a click of metal and a creak of the hinges, the door flew open.
* * *
Vieri stared at her. Propped up in bed by pillows, she was clutching the duvet under her chin, as if it could somehow protect her. Well, there was no chance of that. There was nothing in the world that would be able to protect her from the storm that raged inside him now.
He advanced towards her, trying to ignore the way his heart flipped at the sight of her, the fact that, somewhere at the calm centre of that storm, the sight of her was still managing to affect him in a way that had nothing to do with rage or retribution. He exhaled sharply.
‘Vieri!’ She backed further into the pillows.
‘I’m sorry, Harper, I couldn’t stop him.’ Leah was in the doorway behind him.
‘That’s okay, Leah. You can go.’
‘I’m not going to leave you.’
‘Please, Leah.’
‘You heard what she said.’ Speaking over his shoulder, Vieri’s chilling tone could not be disobeyed. As Leah shut the door he jammed his hands into his coat pockets and for a long moment he and Harper stared at one another. Vieri could feel the muscle twitching along his jaw.
‘So...’ Finally Harper broke the silence. ‘What are you doing here, Vieri?’
‘You can cut the pretence.’ Vieri advanced towards the bed. ‘Leah has told me.’
‘Ah.’
‘Si, ah.’
‘Look, Vieri, I know I should have said something before but...’
‘But what, Harper?’
‘But I needed to sort things out in my head first.’
‘So that’s what you call it, is it? Sorting things out?’
Harper stared back at him. She had expected shock, anger maybe, but not directed at her, and not like this. His whole body was taut with cold fury, as if his rage had solidified the very bones of him.
Pulling back the covers, she got out of bed and, in a futile attempt to stand up to him, placed herself squarely before him. So close now, she could feel the heat of his temper, almost smell it on his skin. Never had she seen him like this before.
‘Look.’ She reached out to touch his arm but he recoiled in horror. ‘This has obviously come as a shock to you, but maybe if we could just sit down calmly and talk it through...?’
‘It’s a little late for that, Harper.’ His voice leeched scorn. ‘I’m sure you think you have fixed this problem, the way you fix everyone and everything else in your life. But believe me, Harper, there is no fixing me.’
‘I’m sorry you feel like that, Vieri.’ She pushed the hair away from her face, still trying to inject some calm, soothe his rabid temper. ‘But if it makes you feel better, I am prepared to take full responsibility.’
‘Better?’ He cursed violently in Sicilian, reaching towards her with a hand that shook with emotion before changing his mind and shoving it back into his pocket, as if he couldn’t bring himself to touch her. ‘You think your taking full responsibility is going to make me feel better? Are you mad, woman?’
Harper stared at him aghast. If she was to question anyone’s sanity, it would be his. His rage had turned him from the cool, controlled man that she thought she’d known into some sort of raving beast. She wouldn’t have been surprised to see him foam at the mouth. Never had she seen this side of him before, never had she expected him to react like this, as if it were all her fault. And yet still she knew she loved him. Still her heart melted at the sight of him.<
br />
‘Why are you behaving like this?’ She wanted to reach out to touch him so badly, but instead she folded her arms across her chest.
‘And tell me, Harper, how exactly am I supposed to behave? How should a man appear on learning that his...his wife has made a unilateral decision to end her pregnancy?’
‘What?’ She stared at him, shock and confusion knotting her brow, dulling her brain.
‘You heard.’
‘You...you think that I have had an abortion?’
‘Don’t insult my intelligence by trying to deny it. Leah has told me the truth.’
‘No, Vieri, she hasn’t.’ Now she reached for his shoulders, her hands shaking with raw emotion. ‘Or at least, whatever she has told you, you have misunderstood.’
Vieri felt Harper’s slim hands on his coat, fluttering like a trapped bird. And this time he didn’t try and shrug them off. Standing there in her sensible pyjamas, her tawny eyes wide, imploring, she looked so adorable, so vulnerable. He rapidly searched her face for clues. He saw confusion and hurt, but not guilt. Had he got this wrong? Instantly another terrible thought flashed through his mind. What if she had lost the baby, suffered a miscarriage?
‘Harper?’ He cupped her face in his hands, staring deep into her eyes. ‘Tell me now. What have I misunderstood?’
‘I haven’t got rid of our baby, Vieri.’ Her eyes held his. ‘I would never do such a thing.’
Our baby. Vieri briefly closed his eyes against the painful wonder of that word.
‘So, what, then? You have had a miscarriage?’ The words felt like boulders in his throat.
‘No.’ Harper shook her head beneath his grasp, her hands leaving his shoulders to rest on her stomach. ‘I thought that was what was happening when I woke up this morning with stomach pains but I went to see the doctor and she said—’
‘You are still pregnant?’ With a leap of hope, Vieri tilted her face so he would finally see the truth. And what he saw melted his heart.
‘Yes.’ Fat tears leaked from her eyes. ‘Yes, I am.’
‘Grazie Dio!’ He pulled her against him, crushing her in his arms. Relief flooded through him, hot and heady, stirring up other emotions in its wake. Joy, hope, love.