“No one did. To be honest, I don’t even know if Tony liked her all that much. Or she him.”
What? “Why would they get married if they didn’t like each other?”
“That’s what everyone has been trying to figure out. We all assumed that she was pregnant.”
Lucy’s breath caught in her throat, and her stomach did a violent flip-flop. It had never occurred to her that Alice could be pregnant, too. It would explain the rushed marriage. But what were the odds that he would knock up two different women accidentally within months of each other? And would Tony let Alice go back to New York knowing she was carrying his child?
“Could she be?” Lucy asked, terrified that Sarah might actually say yes.
“When I saw the way she was slamming back champagne yesterday before the service, I came right out and asked her. She is not.”
Thank God.
“I was relieved as well. She never struck me as the maternal type,” Sarah said. “Children seemed to make her uncomfortable.”
“Not everyone is cut out to be a parent,” Lucy told her. “Some people are too selfish.”
“Some are indeed,” Sarah agreed. “But not you. I can tell.”
Lucy laid a hand on her tummy and a content smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “This baby means everything to me.”
“Do you know if it’s a boy or girl?”
She shook her head. “It feels like a boy, though.”
“When I was pregnant with Tony, I knew he was a boy. Will you find out the sex of the baby beforehand?”
“At first I wanted to know, but I’ve been thinking about it and I kind of want to be surprised. I’ve waited this long. What’s another three months?”
“I like surprises,” Sarah said. “Most of the time.”
Lucy wondered if this was one of those times. “I’m a little confused about something.”
“What?”
“You have every reason not to like me, or at the very least to be suspicious of me.”
“You’re absolutely right. I do.”
“Then why are you being so nice to me?”
The question seemed to amuse Sarah. “Did Tony ever tell you that I was three months pregnant with him when I married my husband?”
Lucy shook her head. That would certainly explain Sarah’s willingness to accept her.
“My in-laws came to Chicago straight off the boat and had very strict, traditional moral beliefs,” Sarah said. “Suffice it to say that when I turned up pregnant, they were not happy with me. In fact, they were so furious they not only refused to pay for a penny of the wedding, but my husband had to beg them to attend.”
“Did they?”
“Yes, but in retrospect, I almost wished they hadn’t. They made no secret of how they felt about me in front of my entire family and all of my friends. It was awkward. Not to mention heartbreaking. That first year, what should have been the happiest time in my life, was miserable and lonely.”
That was so sad. “But things got better?”
“It took several years before I felt truly comfortable with them, like a part of the family. Eventually Angelica and I even became friends. It turns out we had a lot in common. We both love to cook. We were both born in Italy, although my family originated from the north.”
Which explained the blond hair and fair complexion. And meant that Tony was one hundred percent pure-blooded Italian. “It’s too bad it had to be that way.”
“To this day I still find it terribly sad that we wasted so many years at odds. Being accepted by her from the start would have meant the world to me. I always swore that if I ever found myself in a similar situation with one of my children, I would give the person in question the benefit of the doubt, get to know him or her before I pass judgment. That’s what I’m doing.”
“Thank you.” Lucy had never been much of a crier—what if she started, then wasn’t able to stop?—but tears burned her eyes. It was good to know that she had an ally. Even if Sarah was only one ally among many enemies. Maybe if she accepted Lucy, the rest of the family would fall in line. Or at least be a little less judgmental.
“Now that we have that settled...” Sarah nudged Lucy’s plate closer. “Eat your breakfast! You’re skinny as a rail.”
“I know I’m too thin,” Lucy said, her cheeks burning with shame. She’d been trying to eat healthy, for the baby. Unfortunately food—especially the healthy kind—had been in short supply at her mom’s place, and with Lucy having no job, so was money. She did the best she could on what little she had.
“Don’t worry, I intend to fatten you up,” Sarah said. “As only a true Italian mama can.”
It would be nice to have someone take care of her for a change. And she wished she and Sarah could be friends, but that would mean telling her things about herself, things no one in Tony’s family could ever know. Not if there was any hope of them truly accepting her. Even worse, they might not accept the baby. She couldn’t let that happen. She wanted her child to have a big, loving, supportive family. Just like Lucy had always wanted. Prayed for even, for all the good it had done.
It may not have been an option for her anymore, but her baby would have it. She would see to that.
At any cost.
* * *
Around two that afternoon, of what was turning into the longest day in Tony’s life, he was in his car and heading home when he was summoned by Nonno. Everyone in the family knew that when Nonno requested an audience, it was wise to cooperate. Which is how Tony found himself sitting in his grandfather’s study, waiting for what he assumed would be a firm lecture. Though about what, he wasn’t sure. It could be any number of things.
Nonno sat in his wingback leather chair beside the picture window overlooking the park across the street, his gnarled, bony hands folded in his lap. To the casual observer, Nonno looked harmless. A gentle old man with a twinkle in his eye. Tony knew better. Despite his frail physical condition he was still sharp as a tack, and ran the family with an iron fist. Tony’s dad and his brothers liked to believe that they were the ones in control, but it was only an illusion. Nonno was always there pulling the strings. At times Tony wondered how his father had managed not to lose his sanity for all these years of being under the old man’s thumb. To live someone else’s dream and never make his own mark. How could he stand it?
“So, this girl who broke up your wedding,” Nonno said, getting right to the point. “It’s your baby she’s carrying?”
“Yes.”
“You’re positive?”
“I trust Lucy. She’s a good friend.”
Nonno winked. “More than that, it would seem.”
“I know it might seem that way....”
“Is the child a boy?”
“We don’t know for sure yet, but Lucy seems to think so.”
Nonno nodded thoughtfully. “If she’s right, you could be a very wealthy man.”
If only. “There’s just one little problem.”
“Or not so little, I’m thinking, by your troubled expression.”
“Lucy refuses to marry me.”
The news seemed to amuse him. “Did she tell you why she wouldn’t marry you?”
“She doesn’t want the family to think that she got pregnant on purpose to trap me.”
“Did she?”
The question threw him. “No. Hell no. She’s not like that.”
“We’ll just make sure everyone else in the family knows the truth, and that should solve the problem. Yes?”
“I don’t think so.”
“This woman, she loves you?”
Technically, Nonno had never said Tony had to be in love with the mother of the child, or she him, to inherit the money. He only said they had to be married. “Lucy and I don’t really have t
hat kind of relationship. We’re friends.”
Nonno’s brows rose again. “Are you suggesting that it was an immaculate conception?”
“Of course not. We were just...” Just what? Fooling around?
Oh, good God, was he actually discussing his sex life with his ninety-two-year-old grandfather? Just when he thought he couldn’t sink any lower, if he wasn’t careful, they were going to revoke his Man Card. “Are you familiar with the term friends with benefits?”
“I’m not that old,” Nonno said, looking amused. “But in my day we called it something different.”
“Well, that’s me and Lucy. Friends with benefits.”
“So she’s good enough to sleep with, and to carry your child, but not to marry?”
Had Nonno not heard a thing he’d said? “I want to marry her. I’ve asked her to marry me. I can’t force her.”
“You told her you love her?”
What part of friends with benefits did he not understand? “I told her that I thought it was what’s best for the baby.”
“And still she said no?”
“I don’t know what else to do,” Tony said. Maybe Nonno would be willing to compromise if Tony promised him the baby would have the Caroselli name. “You know, even if I didn’t marry her, the baby would take my last name. He would still be a Caroselli.”
Though it took effort, Nonno leaned forward in his chair, head cocked a notch to the left. “Are you asking me to amend our agreement?”
“You would still get the heir you were hoping for.”
“That is true....” He trailed off, looking thoughtful, and Tony had real hope that he would agree, but then he shook his head and said, “No, I can’t do that.”
He could do it, but he wouldn’t.
“It wouldn’t be right. If you want the trust, you’ll marry her.” Nonno’s tone said the matter was closed.
“How? She dug in her heels and she won’t budge.”
“You’ll think of something. I have faith in you.”
That faith may have been misplaced. Lucy was almost as bullheaded as Nonno.
“Bring her to me,” Nonno said. “I’ll talk to her.”
Tony couldn’t imagine a worse idea. “I don’t think—”
“I do,” Nonno said firmly, any further discussion unnecessary. He liked things done a certain way. His way. “Bring her to me tomorrow, here in my study. At three p.m.”
This had the potential to be a really bad idea. “I’ll bring her. Just...promise me you’ll go easy on her. I know you have a strict set of moral standards, but just remember what year it is. Don’t do to her what you did to my mom.”
Nonno’s brows rose. “You know about that?”
“Of course I do. I may have been little, but I wasn’t stupid. I knew that you and Nonna didn’t approve of her. I didn’t understand why. Which I think is both good and bad. I still don’t know why you were so harsh on her. What did she do that was so terrible?”
Nonno looked away, out the window. “There are some things that we don’t discuss. For the good of the family.”
For the good of the family, or his own selfish reasons? Either way, Lucy had done nothing to warrant his wrath. “Lucy is confused and scared and I don’t want to make her feel any worse than she already does. I will not abide by anyone trying to intimidate her. That includes you.”
Tony had never dared raise his voice when speaking to his grandfather, or issued an outright order. And though he braced for the fallout, Nonno looked more intrigued than angry.
“Is that so?” he said, almost as if he were taunting Tony, daring him to defy the head of the family. Tony refused to be intimidated. He never understood why his dad allowed his parents to treat their daughter-in-law so poorly, but Tony wouldn’t abide by it. It was his duty, as the father of Lucy’s child, to protect her, not throw her under the bus. She’d been through enough.
“The last thing I want is to disrespect you, but Lucy is my responsibility now.”
“Even when she refuses to marry you?”
“No matter what.”
Nonno actually smiled. “In that case, I promise that I will treat her with respect and kindness.”
Wow, that was almost too easy. What was the catch? “We’ll come by at three tomorrow.”
“I’ll speak to Lucy alone,” Nonno said.
And there it was. “Nonno—”
“Drop her off, and come back an hour later to fetch her. Now leave me. I need to rest.”
Tony didn’t like the idea of leaving Lucy alone with Nonno, but once he dismissed a guest, the conversation was over. He just had to trust that his grandfather would honor his promise and treat Lucy well. After so many years of loyal service to the company, at the expense of his own aspirations, not only did Tony deserve it. He had earned it.
* * *
As he parallel parked in a spot on the street about a block from his building, Tony swore that his next apartment would have tenant parking. Some conveniences were worth the extra expense. Especially on those snowy Chicago nights when he came home late from the office. With the baby coming they would need more space anyway. Maybe he should think about apartment hunting sooner rather than later.
As he crossed the street, Tony noticed a familiar white Mercedes parked down the block.
Oh, no. She wouldn’t have.
Picking up speed, he jogged the rest of the way, and rather than wait for the elevator, took the stairwell up to his floor. He didn’t see her immediately when he stepped inside, but he knew that perfume anywhere.
Exasperated, he shouted, “Mother!”
She stepped out of the kitchen drying her hands on a dish towel, looking casually sophisticated in beige wool slacks and a rose cable-knit sweater, with her mostly white hair pulled back from a face still youthful even though she’d just celebrated her sixty-third birthday. “Hello, dear.”
Hello, dear, my foot.
“Really, Mom?” He shrugged out of his jacket and tossed it over the back of the couch. “You couldn’t have waited a couple days like I asked?”
With a sigh, she picked his jacket up and hung it in the closet, telling him, “And you couldn’t have stayed home from the office for a day? When your father called to tell me that you had come into work, all I could think was that you left that poor girl all alone. With no transportation and, as I guessed, no food.”
She made it sound as if Lucy would have starved to death had she not intervened. “Where is she?”
“Taking a shower. I made her a healthy breakfast.”
Breakfast? He looked at his watch. “Mom, it’s almost four in the afternoon. How long have you been here?”
“What difference does that make? You can’t just abandon a pregnant woman in an apartment with nothing but sour milk, shriveled carrots, moldy cheese and Dijon mustard. She needs a balanced diet. It’s a good thing your father called me, and a good thing I still have your spare key.”
He put a clamp down on his anger. “Did you at least try knocking first?”
“Of course. No one answered.”
So she just let herself in. In her world, that probably made perfect sense. She had an issue with boundaries. The issue being that she had none. “That typically means that either no one is home, or whoever is home would rather not be disturbed.”
“Well, lucky for both of us she was still asleep. She didn’t have to wake up to an empty home with an equally empty refrigerator. You’re welcome.”
She meant well, he knew she did, but she still drove him nuts. Although in retrospect, she had a valid point. He should have made sure Lucy had everything she needed before he left. He wasn’t used to being responsible for anyone but himself.
He relented and told his mom, “I appreciate you coming by, but I’ve got it from here.�
��
“This was a novelty for me,” she said. “It’s not often I get to meet your girlfriends.”
“She’s not—” He shook his head. “Never mind.”
“Tony, sweetheart.” She laid a hand on his chest and patted affectionately, regarding him as if he were still a clueless kid. “Promise me you’ll be patient with her. It’s a very confusing time. She’s going to need all the support she can get.”
A couple of hours with Lucy and she thought she knew her? He’d known Lucy for over a year, and he still had no idea what went on in her head. She was one of the most self-sufficient women he knew, and one of the most insecure. “I appreciate the advice. And I know you mean well, but you don’t even know her.”
“Oh, sweetheart,” his mom said, her smile sad. “I was her. I know exactly what she’s going through.”
Come to think of it, she probably did. And it would be in his best interest to listen to her. “So what do I do?”
“Be there for her. Protect her. And just give her time. She needs you, even if she’s afraid to show it. And for heaven’s sake, take her shopping. She showed up empty-handed. There must be a million things she needs.”
“Like...?”
“Shampoo, deodorant...a hairbrush. And some decent-fitting clothes.”
These were things he should have realized himself. What the hell was wrong with him? Had seeing her again and learning about the baby really zapped him so hard? He was acting like a selfish ass. This was why he avoided serious relationships. He was no good at it. Perhaps because the longest relationship of any kind that he’d had with a woman was with Lucy. It was so...easy. She had her life and he had his and every so often those two worlds would collide. It was a pretty cool arrangement. One that he’d thought was working for the both of them.
His mom to the rescue again.
He lifted her hand off his chest and kissed the back of it. “I will, Mom. I promise. And thank you.”
She smiled and patted his cheek, making him feel six years old. “My good boy.”
That was him, always the obedient son. But maybe it wasn’t so bad this time. She may have driven him nuts from time to time, but her intentions were good. She did it out of love. It was easy to forget that.
Caroselli's Accidental Heir Page 5