The Count's Christmas Baby

by Rebecca Winters

  She forced herself to concentrate on the sights out the window. Tourists from all over the world—lovers, old couples, teenagers—meandered in and out of the colorful shops beautifully decorated for Christmas. The holiday excitement was contagious. Cooking aromas drifted from the restaurants lining the curving seawall. The area was made all the more romantic by the sight of Paphos Castle lit up for Christmas against a dark blue sky.

  Ric pulled to a stop on a rise away from the other cars so she could get a good view. “This used to be a Byzantine fort that was rebuilt by the Lusignians, then redone by the Venetians and finally restored by the Ottomans. What you’re looking at is one of two towers built in 1222. Sadly, the other was destroyed by an earthquake.”

  “Being on Cyprus is like living in an ancient open-air archaeological museum. I’m in awe. Thank you for bringing me here, Ric.” She clasped her hands in her lap. “I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank you for everything you’ve done for me the last few days, the excursions in the boat—I appreciate how much you’ve gone out of your way to make this an enchanting time.”

  “I’ve enjoyed it, too. More than you know. It’s given me time to think about the future. That’s what I want to talk to you about. Our lives are going to be connected from here on out. We might as well start laying the groundwork.”

  Suddenly her pulse sped up. She swung her blond head toward him. “How can you plan anything when you don’t know if you’re getting married or not?”

  “The one doesn’t have anything to do with the other. No matter what happens between Eliana and me, Ric is a part of my life now. I want to talk about how you and I can share our son with the least amount of difficulty.”

  “There’s no such animal, Ric, not when we live on separate continents.”

  “Then maybe we can change that.”

  Her heart pounded outrageously. “How?”

  He stared at her over his strong arm stretched across the top of the steering wheel. “If you moved to Cyprus.”

  Sami’s eyelids squeezed shut. “You can’t be serious.”

  “Just hear me out. You and Ric would live at the villa. There’s a department of computer engineering at the university in Limassol. It’s a ten-minute helicopter ride from my house to the campus. With Mara and Daimon here to help, you could get your master’s degree and be with our son the same as you would in Reno.”

  “I don’t know Greek!”

  “With your brain, you’ll pick it up fast and I’ll help you.”

  “Ric—you don’t really mean what you’re saying.”

  “Why not? If I’m married, I’ll fly down from Genoa every Friday evening after work and fly back Monday morning. You’d have that time to get away, study, travel. Anything. It’s a workable solution to our problem so our son sees both of us on a regular basis. We’d bring your sister and family over to visit often. Neither Claudia nor Vito’s wife, Donata, would be able to stay away. Donata wants a baby. When Vito sees himself in Ric, he’ll want one, too.”

  “And of course Eliana would be all right with that—” She was so shaken, her voice was virtually unrecognizable.

  “If we’re married, then she could either come with me or stay in Genoa. The choice is hers.”

  “She’d never stand for it.”

  “Eliana would have to. It would be part of our marriage agreement.”

  “The idea is ludicrous.”

  Something flickered in the dark recesses of his eyes. “Can you think of a better one?”

  Her thoughts were reeling. “I couldn’t just move here—”

  “Not even for Ric’s sake? How much are you willing to sacrifice to give him a stable home with his own mother and father?”

  “That’s not fair.”

  He moved his arm and rested it on the back of the seat. His fingers were within inches of her hair. “I can make it fairer by providing for you and Ric so you don’t have to worry about money and paying back student loans.”

  “You’re not my husband!”

  “I’m Ric’s father,” he shot back calmly. “My son means everything to me.”

  She trembled. “He’s my raison d’être!”

  “Precisely. That’s why we need each other to make this work so everyone’s happy. I want to give you and Ric everything. You went through the whole pregnancy alone and have been raising him without help. Now that you’ve found I’m alive, I’m prepared to do whatever it takes. It’s my turn and my right as Ric’s father.”

  “I’m overwhelmed by your generosity, but what you’re asking is impossible.”

  “Not impossible—practical. Flying down here once a week to see Ric makes more sense than for me to fly to Reno on a weekly basis to see him. But I’ll arrange it if I have to.”

  “You couldn’t do that—” she exclaimed, alarmed for him. “Your life wouldn’t be worth living. You wouldn’t have a company to go back to, and your wife wouldn’t be able to handle it!”

  “Nevertheless it’s what I’ll do if you can’t see yourself moving here. I’ll give Vito more responsibility. Claudia’s observations about him have given me food for thought.”

  “But Ric—”

  “No buts, Sami. After being trapped together and given a second chance at life, how can we not give our son as much joy as possible? If you can’t bring yourself to move, I’ll buy a home on Lake Tahoe to be near you. The high elevation makes a perfect setting.”

  “When were you there?”

  “Right before I started college, I traveled to the States with some friends. It’s one of the most beautiful lakes I’ve ever seen. I’ll buy a boat for Ric and me to enjoy. But as I said, you have a ready-made home right here on the Mediterranean. Ric will grow up being trilingual, which will be a great advantage to him.”

  As usual, he had a way of getting to her. She couldn’t argue with his logic. He had the financial means to make anything he wanted happen, but he refused to consider the elephant in the room. “Until you know what Eliana has decided, then there’s no more point to this discussion.”

  “I agree. I’ve told you what I intend to do one way or the other. You have until Christmas Eve to decide what plan sounds best to you,” he said on a satisfied note.

  He started the car and they headed back to the villa. In the process, he had to remove his arm which brushed her shoulder. The slightest touch sent little fingers of delight through her body. She grasped at any topic to cover her reaction. “Maybe Claudia will be able to make Eliana see reason.”

  In the darkness of the interior, his expression looked almost savage, sending a different shiver down her spine. “If by that time my fiancée hasn’t come to terms with everything on her own, then she’s not the person I thought she was.”

  He sounded so distant, she couldn’t pick up on anything else.

  “Maybe she doesn’t have the capacity to love without qualification. Some people don’t. But if growing up as a princess with money and power means so much to her that she can’t accept your situation, then that’s something else.”

  Sami had to give Matt credit. Even though the news about her pregnancy had been brutally painful for him, he’d still insisted he wanted to marry her and would love the baby. But that was before she’d discovered Ric was alive and wanted his son.

  If she decided to marry Matt now and live in Oakland with him, Ric would buy himself a home there in order to be with the baby. There was no way out. By coming to Genoa, she’d changed destiny.

  “In a few days I’ll have my answer, Sami.”

  She bowed her head. “I’m beginning to understand why you did away with your title. More than ever I’m thankful you abolished it. I want our son to grow up having a normal life, never thinking he’s better than anyone else.”

  He exhaled a heavy sigh. “That’s the whole idea.”

  If Eliana didn’t love Ric enough to let go of her pride and accept his child, then she didn’t deserve him. Having said that to herself, Sami had to admit she’d fallen in love with him. Craz
ily in love so she could scarcely breathe whenever she heard his voice or saw him enter a room.

  “Ric? Tell me something honestly.”

  “I’ll do my best,” he said in a slight drawl.

  “Was there another woman in your past before Eliana? Someone you wanted to marry?”

  His bark of laughter wounded her. “You think my heart’s desire spurned me years ago, putting me off women for the rest of my life?”

  Her cheeks grew warm. She shouldn’t have said anything.

  “Don’t try to figure me out. You won’t succeed. The truth is, I thought I was in love with every woman I got close to. But to my parents’ regret, I could never see myself married to any of them.” He shifted in the seat. “What about you? Why weren’t you married long before now?”

  His question brought her up short. “I never met the right one.”

  “The right one... I wonder if there is such a thing.”

  “Did your father press you to marry Eliana?”

  “He had his hopes, but no.” His answer was unequivocal. “I decided to marry her of my own free will, for my own reasons and no one else’s.”

  She hadn’t been expecting that revelation. It hit her with the force of the avalanche. His comment put a different slant on everything. After finally deciding to spend the rest of his life with Eliana, she had disappointed him by wanting the title and not being willing to accept his baby. The hurt had gone straight to his heart and meant he was suffering, but he’d never let it show. Sami wished she could shield him from that pain.

  “Did your parents have a good marriage?” she asked quietly.

  “For an arranged one, it worked remarkably well. Father had his affairs and Mother overlooked them.”

  That would explain his cynicism.

  “I don’t know about my siblings’ marriages at this stage,” he went on speaking. “They were both in love, but these are early days with more difficult times to come. What else would you like to know?” They’d arrived at the villa. He parked the car in the drive and shut off the engine.

  “I’m sorry if I’ve offended you with my questions.”

  “Offended—” He turned to her. The moonlight pouring through the windshield reflected in his black eyes. “I find it totally refreshing. Nothing’s changed since we were caught in the avalanche. I found you totally refreshing then, too. For the first time in my life, I was with a woman who knew nothing about me, who couldn’t have identified me.

  “We took each other as we found each other, Sami. No preconceptions. Whatever came out of you was genuine and honest. I believe that foundation put into motion what happened between us. After spending time with you, it’s not a mystery to me any longer.”

  It wasn’t for her either. But she feared that if she stayed in the car another minute, she’d blurt out her love for him. “We’d better go in and check on Ric, just in case he awakened and found us both gone.”

  “Don’t leave yet,” he suggested. “Mara would have called me if there was a problem. I thought with this full moon we’d take a walk on the beach. The light brings the dollar fish to the surface. You’d enjoy the sight. I brought a jacket for you.”

  Heaven help her but she didn’t want to go in yet. At least walking would keep her body in motion. Sitting out here in the dark with him amounted to an open invitation to forget rules and beg him to kiss her. But if he did what she wanted, it would be her fault. She wished he weren’t so honorable, but of course she didn’t really mean it.

  “As long we’re only gone a short while.”

  “We’ll come back whenever you say.”

  If there were no Eliana, he’d have a long wait.

  He reached in back for the black leather bomber jacket and handed it to her. After thanking him, she got out of the car and put it on before he could come around. It was too big, the sleeves too long, but it smelled of him and she loved the feeling of being wrapped in it.

  They made their way past the marina, their bodies close together, but not touching. No one else was out walking along the shore. The moonlight made a pale gold path across the water, following their progress. Lights from a cruiser far out from the coast twinkled in the darkness. Sometimes perfection was too perfect. This was one of those times, deepening her ache for Ric.

  Keep moving.

  “Come look over here, Sami.”

  She’d been so deep in her thoughts about him, she hadn’t realized he’d stopped. When she turned, she saw he was hunkered down close to the water. She walked over.

  “Oh—they look exactly like silver dollars!”

  “These fish like to come up to the surface at night and moon-bathe.”

  “How adorable. They look like they don’t have a worry in the world. I’d like to do that myself. Where are their babies?”

  He chuckled. “I’ve never thought about it. In summer we’ll swim here at night and find out.”

  He was sounding as though her move to Cyprus was already a fait accompli. “They don’t sting?”

  “No. Like our son, they’re harmless, but not helpless. If they sense danger, they disappear like those heavenly bodies you once compared us to. Amazing how our separate orbits collided again.” He stared up at her. “Only this time I can see your hair. Its glow rivals the moonlight. I’m surprised it didn’t illuminate our heavenly prison. Once we’d reconciled ourselves to our fate, that time with you was heavenly, Sami. Wondrous.”

  Tears stung her eyelids. “I’ll never forget it. Every time I look at Ric, I remember.”

  “That’s why he’s perfect, because it was so perfect for us. You thrilled me, Sami.”

  She was dying inside. “Please don’t say things like that and make this harder than it already is,” she begged him. “Let’s go back and promise not to talk about it again.”

  He rose to his full height. Ric possessed a virility she had no immunity against. “I promised not to do anything you didn’t want me to, but you can’t make me promise that. You became a part of me. We became parts of each other and it produced our baby. From now on we’ll be wrestling with that reality. It’s pointless to pretend otherwise.”

  Sami bit her lip. “So you think talking about it is going to help?”

  A grimace marred his hardened features. “No.”

  Not waiting for anything else he might have said, she started running and didn’t stop until she entered the villa. No one was around as she dashed up the stairs to her bedroom and walked over to the crib. Their baby slept soundly. While she looked down at him, examining every precious part, Sami felt Ric’s hands slide to her shoulders from behind. She hadn’t heard him enter the room. The contact made her feel light-headed.

  “I’ve made a decision.” When he spoke, his lips brushed her temple. “We’re going to fly back to Genoa with Claudia in the morning. I need to talk to Eliana in person. She should have made up her mind by now. The fact that she hasn’t phoned yet seems to prove she doesn’t want the marriage. I refuse to play games and wait until the twenty-fourth. Be ready by six to drive to the airport.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  AFTER squeezing her shoulders gently, Ric let her go and vanished from the room. Sami stood there for a long time afterward before she started packing. Even when she’d finally put on her cotton pajamas and climbed under the covers to go to bed, she could still feel the imprint of his hands. Talking about the past reminded her how much pleasure he’d given her. If she was going to be haunted by those memories for the rest of her life, she’d go mad.

  Sami didn’t know when she fell asleep, but it was only ten to three when the baby’s crying brought her wide-awake. She turned on the lamp and flew out of bed to pick him up. Since coming to Cyprus, this was the first time she’d gotten up with him in the night. Ric had claimed that job from the beginning.

  Though she tried to settle him down, he cried harder. Afraid he was sick, she put him on her bed to change him, but saw nothing wrong. She felt his face and forehead, but he wasn’t running a temperature. While
she put a clean diaper on him, a disheveled Ric, wearing a brown robe, swept into the room barefooted.

  “What do you think’s wrong?” He sounded anxious. “Our piccolo has never awakened this early in the night.”

  “He probably had a gas pain.”

  The second the baby looked at his father, he cried harder than ever. On a burst of inspiration, Sami snapped up his stretchy suit and handed him to Ric. The moment he cuddled him against his shoulder and spoke Italian to him in an incredibly tender tone, the baby quieted down. Every so often a little half sob escaped, shaking his body.

  She smiled. “It’s obvious there’s nothing wrong that his papa can’t fix.”

  “Sami...”

  “It’s true. He’s feels safe with you. Every son wants a father like you, but not all sons are that lucky.” She walked over to the dresser for another bottle of formula. “Here. While you feed him, I’ll go to sleep for what’s left of the night.”

  She turned off the light and went back to bed, assuming he’d sit in the chair as he always did. Instead, he walked around the other side of the bed and lay down on top of the covers, putting the baby between them. “I think he’ll be happier if he’s here with both of us.”

  No, Ric—

  “He’s hungry!”

  Sami could tell. The baby made noises while he was wolfing down his formula, provoking laughter from Ric that shook the bed. “After watching you eat, I’ve decided he must take after you.”

  “So you’ve noticed.”

  Heat spread through her body. She noticed every single detail about him. “It was hard not to when you ordered a third helping of those mezes at the seaside restaurant.”

  “I confess I’m a fish lover.”

  “They were delicious.”

  “If Ric grows up here, he’ll become addicted. Do you have anything like them in Reno?”

  “Not even remotely and you know it! It’ll be hamburgers and pizza.” The idea of living on Cyprus hadn’t left her mind, but she could never do it. It wouldn’t be fair to Eliana or their marriage.