Page 21 of Valentino's Love-Child

“I do not consider us broken up.”

“Don’t be arrogant.”

“I cannot force you to stay with me, but surely circumstances dictate a certain level of leniency on your part?”

The admission shocked her. She’d always gotten the impression that Tino thought he could make anything happen if he worked at it hard enough. She supposed his words indicated a necessary level of respect for her. But she did not get where he expected tolerance from her.

If he knew she was pregnant, that would be one thing, but there was no way he could know. She didn’t show any physical signs and she hadn’t told anyone but her doctor. Even if by some weird stroke of coincidence, Tino and her doctor were friends, the older man was hardly likely to chat about his patients.

No, there was no way Tino could know, but he was acting very strangely.

“Uh, Tino, you’re being really odd tonight.”

“You think so?” he asked.

“Yes, but, uh…that’s okay. No need to explain.”

“You think not?”

“No, really. We all have our moments.”

“Funny, I have never been accused of having mine before.”

“You’re serious?”

“Definitely.”

“You need to get out more.”

“Lately I have had little excuse for getting out.”

“You mean you haven’t started shopping for that new wife yet?” The words came rolling off her tongue, a ball of bitterness landing between them.

“I do not need to shop.”

“You already know her?” Who was it? Faith tried to think of the women Agata had mentioned, but no one came forth as a potential candidate for Tino’s new wife.

“Intimately.”

“You bastard.” Her hand shot out in an involuntary arc that ended in a crack against his cheek. Shocked at her own actions, she nevertheless cried, “We promised each other exclusivity!”

He grabbed her hand—and examined it for damage. “Did you hurt yourself? You should not get so worked up. You are going to be sick again.”

“And whose fault is that?” She meant to sound accusing, but the words came out sounding weak. Bewildered.

Because that was what she felt.

Why wasn’t he furious with her?

She’d slapped him. A lump lodged in her throat, and she did her best to swallow it down without giving vent to the emotions roiling through her. She wasn’t a violent person. He knew that, but she’d broken her own personal code without thought. She would have imagined he would be spitting nails in anger right now, but he was looking at her with a peculiar expression of indulgence.

“Do you know my doctor?” she asked suspiciously.

“Not that I am aware of, no.”

“You don’t have psychic tendencies I don’t know about?”

“Definitely not.”

Okay, so he couldn’t possibly know about the baby. “You just admitted to cheating on me,” she said, her words laced with pain she couldn’t begin to suppress in her current state.

His expression zoomed to total affront in less than a second and was tempered by concern only a half a second later. “I did no such thing. I am no liar. I do not cheat.”

“You lied to your mom, about us being friends.” She tugged her hand out of his grip.

“I have come to realize I know too little about you to call you a true friend. I will be rectifying this in the future, however. I have already taken some steps to do so.”

“You expect me to be your friend when you marry another woman?” None of this was making any sense. He could not be so cruel.

“You are being irrational. This is to be expected, but please remember what kind of man I am before you start flinging such offensive accusations.”

She stared at him, totally at a loss as to what to say.

“I did not say I was going to marry another woman.”

“Yes, you did.” Did he think she would ever have made something so painful up in her own mind?

“I did not.”

“I’m nauseous, not nuts. I know what I heard you say.” And it had hurt.

“I said I planned to marry.”

“Exactly.”

“I did not say I planned to marry someone else.”

He could not mean it. She shook her head. “You don’t…You won’t…I’m not…”

It was his turn to roll his eyes. “I do. I will. You are.”

“Are you asking me to marry you?” In what she might describe as the least-romantic proposal ever. Getting her so upset she had been sick was not the way to a woman’s heart.

He flinched, just slightly, but she saw it. “More informing you that I am willing to meet your terms.”

Terms. A sinking feeling drained the energy from her and she fell back against the pillows. “You want me in your bed so much you are willing to marry me?”

He didn’t answer.

“No. I don’t believe that.”

“Does it matter what my reasons are?”

“Yes.”

“You need me. I need you. We need to marry.” He shrugged. “My family loves you already.”

She ignored the bit about his family. He hadn’t been so quiescent about their affection for her before. “You need my body, not me.”

“Stop overanalyzing this.”

“Then tell me why. The truth.”

; He sighed, looking away. “You did not ask me how my mother is.”

“I spoke to her on the phone tonight. I know how she is.”

“You noticed her upset?”

“She’s upset?” No, Faith hadn’t noticed. Had she gotten so wrapped up in her own challenges, she ignored a friend in need?

“Very. She feels she betrayed you.”

What? Could this night get any more unreal? “How?”

“She came by to see you today at lunch.”

“I know. I wasn’t home.”

“She has a key to your apartment.”

“Yes.” She’d given it to Agata in case of an emergency. It had made Faith feel like she had someone in the world who cared enough to check on her.

“She used it.”

“So?”

“Her curiosity got the better of her.”

Understanding washed over Faith in a wave of despair. He did know she was pregnant. Everything he had done and said in the last hour now made complete and total sense. Even that bit of tenderness she’d thought she’d seen in his eyes. It had been for the flicker of life within her womb.

“You know.” Her voice came out a whisper, but it was the best she could do as those pesky tears she’d been fighting since his arrival redoubled their efforts to expose her weakness.

“I do.” He laid his hand on her stomach, leaving no doubt about exactly what they were discussing.

“She guessed.”

“Yes.”

“I knew she would if she saw the statues.”

“She saw only one, but it was enough.”

“And she told you?”

“When Mama is upset, she vents. My father was swimming with Giosue.”

“So, she vented to you.”

“Si.”

“And you assumed you were the father.”

“As you said, we promised exclusivity.”

“You had no doubts about my integrity.”

“No.”

“And now you want to marry me.”

“I have no choice.” He took Faith’s hand between both of his much larger ones. “We have no choice.”

She shook her head.

“Be reasonable, Faith. It is the only way.”

“No. It…We…There are other options.”

Acute horror darkened his eyes to near black. “You would not abort our child.”