Eight
This was nice.
With his nose buried in Claire’s neck, the scent of cinnamon and vanilla filled Luca’s lungs. His arm curled around her, holding her warm, soft body against his. He didn’t want to move. He could just lie like this for hours.
It had been a long time since Luca had woken up with a beautiful woman in his arms. His plan to woo Claire had worked even better than he’d expected. If every time was as good as last night, he’d happily propose to her right now. Not even the condom debacle could ruin his good mood.
Then a sound stopped him cold. At first, he thought he was imagining things. The echo of his mother’s voice was so completely out of context that it couldn’t possibly be what he heard. Just when he’d convinced himself it was his imagination, Luca caught the unmistakable sound of his mother’s laughter.
No. It couldn’t be.
Luca heard Eva squeal with amusement and the chorus of cooing voices that could only be members of his family. He groaned and pulled away from Claire, sitting up in bed. She stirred beside him, looking over her shoulder with squinted eyes.
“What’s the matter?” she asked in a low, sleepy voice.
Luca wasn’t quite sure how to break the news, so he just spit it out. “I think...my family is here.”
Claire rolled onto her back and sat up, clutching the sheets to her bare chest. She looked so messy and vulnerable, so unlike the put together woman who stomped into his lawyer’s office. He loved knowing both sides of this complex woman. Had he woken under any other circumstances, he would cover her body with his own and make love to her again. Instead he had to explain to her how his family had just crashed their beach vacation.
“You mean your sister?” she asked.
Luca swallowed hard and shook his head. “No, more than that.”
The sound of his mother’s laughter reached his ears again. When he turned to look at Claire, her sleepy expression was replaced with one of sheer panic. “Are you kidding me?”
“I wish I were. I think our secret is out. And that means Mia is in a lot of trouble.”
Flinging back the blankets, Luca reached for his pants and tugged them on. He needed to go out there and figure out exactly what the hell was going on. He opened the door, completely dumbfounded by what he saw. In the center of the living room, his mother was holding up Eva as if she’d gotten her hands on the Holy Grail. His father was standing behind her, making faces at the baby until she squealed with delight. That was bad enough. Then, just beyond them, he saw Mia talking to his other sister, Carla. No fewer than five children were running around the living room, seeking excitement and hell-bent on destruction. He could already tell that he would have to write Gavin a fat check for everything they broke.
Luca turned just in time to see his youngest brothers, Giovanni and Angelo, come up the stairs with their wives. They were all carrying suitcases. That was a bad sign. This wasn’t an afternoon visit. They were staying. What the hell was going on?
“Luca! You’re awake!” his mother exclaimed.
“Do you really think I could sleep through all this?” He didn’t even bother to mask his irritation. “What are you all doing here?” he asked with a pointed glance at Mia. His sister slunk behind Carla with a sheepish expression on her face. “And why, in God’s name, do you have luggage?”
“You with all the questions,” his mother snapped. She curled Eva to her chest and narrowed her gaze at him. “I’ve got a question for you, young man! How long were you going to keep our new grandchild from us?”
“A little longer than this,” his muttered under his breath. “How did you find out?”
“It’s my fault,” Mia admitted, as though there were another choice. “Well, actually, it was Eva’s fault.”
“You’re blaming the baby?” Luca asked with incredulity in his voice.
“Yes and no. Carla called me last night while you and Claire were at dinner. I shouldn’t have answered the phone, but I did. While we were on the phone, Eva started to cry. What was I supposed to tell her?” Mia asked. “I couldn’t think of a good lie fast enough, so I told her the truth and then swore her to secrecy.”
“So naturally, when I got off the phone I immediately called Mama,” Carla said, confirming his logic on not telling her in the first place. “This wasn’t the kind of secret you keep, sorry.”
“She was right,” his mother, Antonia, chimed in. “How could you keep this beautiful little girl from us? Especially after everything you went through with Jessica.”
“Because I’ve just found out about her myself,” Luca said, scooping up the child from his mother and clutching Eva protectively to his chest. “And after what did happen with Jessica, I wanted to be sure before I told anyone. Once I got the test results, I selfishly chose to get to know Eva and her mother before all this happened.”
His mother’s hand came up to her mouth. “You don’t even know the mother? At least with Jessica you two seemed to really be building toward a future together. I thought I taught you better than that, Luca. You’re supposed to be a gentleman.”
Luca sighed and rolled his eyes. “It wasn’t like that. Mama, you know I can’t...” He couldn’t even say it aloud. He didn’t need to. His whole family knew the truth, anyway.
“It was an accident at the fertility clinic,” a woman’s voice said from behind him.
Luca turned to see Claire standing in the doorway of the bedroom. In a matter of minutes, she’d dressed and transformed back into the prim and put together Claire he knew. Her dark blond hair was twisted into a bun, and her lips and cheeks were pink with a touch of makeup. She was wearing another sundress that looked amazing on her figure.
“Mama, Dad, everyone...this is Claire Douglas, Eva’s mother.”
“Oh, Luca.” Antonia made a beeline for Claire, pulling her into a huge embrace. “Lei è bella.”
Claire flinched slightly at the unexpected physical contact, but Luca could tell she was trying to play it off. She’d better get used to it. His whole family was very physically affectionate.
“Hello,” she managed with a soft smile as his mother finally pulled away.
“It’s so good to meet you, Claire. I’m sure we would’ve met sooner if I’d known you and Eva existed.” There was a biting tone at the end of his mother’s words directed at Luca. He didn’t care.
“Claire, this is my family. That’s my mother, Antonia. This is my father, Mario.” He went around the room as fast as he could. She likely wouldn’t remember all the names anyway. “You know Mia, then my sister Carla. My brother Giovanni and his wife, Nicole. My other brother Angelo and his wife, Tonia. My nephews Tony, Giovanni Jr., Matteo, Paolo and my niece Valentina.”
Luca watched Claire’s eyes get wider with every name he listed. “Is that everyone?” she asked.
“No,” he had to admit. “My brother Marcello and his family apparently couldn’t come, but they have a new baby. And it looks like Carla’s husband stayed home with the kids.” Luca turned his back to his family and silently mouthed the words to Claire, “I’m so sorry.”
She just shook her head and pasted on a smile. “So glad all of you could come. Please, set down your things and relax. Can I get anyone something to drink? I was just about to make some breakfast. Have you eaten?”
The resounding roar of voices startled Claire for a moment, but Luca felt a touch of pride as she recovered. At the mention of food or drink, half the family headed toward the kitchen. No one bothered to tell her what they’d like; they simply took over like they would at home. She watched them for a moment in confusion.
Luca handed Eva to her and leaned over to whisper in her ear. “Just go with it. This is how they are.” He leaned in to plant a kiss under her earlobe, but she shied away, heading toward the kitchen to help the others. He tried not to frown at her rejection.
Instead, he approached Giovanni as he sat in one of the overstuffed chairs. “Really?” he asked.
Giovanni just shrugged him off. “You know how they are. I got a phone call at ten last night telling me that you had a daughter and I was to be packed, ready and at the airport by six a.m. to go see her.”
Luca slipped into the chair beside him. “You all took the corporate jet?”
His brother nodded. “Did you really think you could keep this a secret?”
“It worked for a few months.”
“Months?” Giovanni looked stunned.
“Yes. I found out about this mistake at the clinic, and then I wanted to wait to get the results of the paternity test. You remember what happened with Jessica. I wanted to keep it under wraps until I knew for certain Eva was truly mine. After that were a few weeks of battling back and forth with her lawyer before I could see Eva. We came here to break the ice and figure out how to work together. It didn’t seem like the right time to bring all of you into the picture.”
“It seems understandable, but I doubt Mama will accept your excuse. Expect a tongue-lashing later.”
Luca chuckled. “You mean that wasn’t it just now?”
“Oh, no. You were saved by your pretty girlfriend and talk of cooking. That distracted her. You’ll hear more about it when she’s done pumping Claire for details and we’ve all been fed.”
“She’s not really my girlfriend,” Luca argued. The way she pulled away from him a moment ago made that very clear. Last night was what it was, but she obviously didn’t want his family to read into anything. “I mean, we’re just...”
“You two came out of the same bedroom, Luca. And you’re not wearing a shirt.”
Luca looked down and realized he needed to fetch his shirt from the bedroom floor. “Yeah, but that was the first time. I’m not sure it will happen again, especially with you all showing up and breaking the romantic spell I’d so carefully crafted.”
“Are you trying to woo her?” Giovanni asked.
“Not at first, but then I realized Claire and Eva might be my one shot at a real family. I’d be stupid to let this chance slip through my fingers.”
“You don’t know that for sure, Luca. Have the doctors—”
“No,” Luca interrupted. “But I know. This is my chance. It could be worse. Claire is...” He found it hard to find the words in the moment. “A very special woman. And a great mother.”
The two brothers turned to look into the kitchen. Their parents, Mia, Carla, Nicole and Angelo were talking all at once, bumping elbows and carrying around ingredients for the breakfast of champions. Tonia was unsuccessfully trying to corral a toddler. Claire stood on the fringe with Eva, not quite brave enough to jump in. She watched the group with fascination, like a circus performance.
Periodically, their mother would stop what she was doing to pat Claire’s arm and pinch at Eva’s cheeks. She’d mutter something in Italian that they couldn’t make out, then she’d return to what she was doing.
“Well, dating or not, Mama seems to like Claire,” Giovanni noted. “That’s a huge hurdle to get over.”
Their mother was notoriously picky about the women her sons dated. It was a pretty big deal to get the Antonia Stamp of Approval. Luca had never brought a woman home before Jessica, and that was only because of the baby. Even without Eva, Luca got the feeling that his mama would take to Claire. It was hard not to like her, even as different as she was.
“Does she know about your illness?” Giovanni asked.
Luca stiffened in his seat and shook his head. “No. And I don’t want anyone telling her, either.”
“It’s not a big deal, Luca. You had cancer. That’s nothing to be ashamed of. You survived. You should be shouting it from the rooftops.”
Luca knew his brother was right, but he’d never felt like shouting. He only ever felt as if he’d lost something. A woman like Claire deserved a whole man who could give her everything she wanted.
Maybe, just maybe, he could fake it and be enough for her.
* * *
Overwhelmed wasn’t quite the word Claire would use to describe the past three days, but it was close. She knew now what Luca was talking about when he said his family was loud, boisterous and fun-loving. They were all of those things and more. The sisters and sisters-in-law had taken Claire into their fold. She was worried they would be cold to her when they found out about the custody battle she and Luca had been fighting, but that wasn’t the case. They’d taken the children to the beach and the ice-cream stand. They’d sat out on the deck together drinking wine and talking about children and men. It was surprising how quickly the sense of camaraderie had set in with these women who were virtual strangers.
Claire had barely even seen Eva since they arrived. Someone was always holding her. The only time they’d had together was when she would insist on giving Eva a bath and putting her to bed. Her room was her only sanctuary. There were Morettis everywhere else. The three couples took over the downstairs bedrooms with the kids sleeping on the floor in blanket forts. Mia and Carla shared the sofa bed.
Truthfully, there was a Moretti in her room, too, but it wasn’t quite the same. She had let Luca return to her room while they were there, but only because there wasn’t anywhere else to sleep. She felt guilty taking up a king-size bed while he tried to get rest on the recliner. She’d set a few rules, however. No hanky-panky. There were too many people around to hear every creak in the wood floors.
Besides that, she wasn’t sure it was something that should be repeated, as much as she might like to. Luca was a complex man, and she got the feeling it would take a long time to peel back all his layers. Sex was just a distraction. If she was going to fully give herself to anyone, there had to be a level of trust and honesty between them. She didn’t feel as if she and Luca had that yet. And maybe they never would. This trip wasn’t supposed to be about romance anyway. It was supposed to be about family, and now, it certainly was.
On the third afternoon of his family’s visit, the men had all gone out in search of fresh lobster to bring home for dinner. Mia and Carla had gone to the grocery store to replenish the pantry they’d depleted. Nicole and Tonia went to the beach with the kids, but Claire passed. She was exhausted from all the activity.
Suddenly, the house felt very quiet. Too quiet. After a while, she started to wonder where Eva was. Although she rarely had her, she did like to keep tabs on where she was. Claire meandered through the house, finally spying her out on the deck with Antonia. She slipped through the French doors and approached the deck chairs.
“May I join you?” she asked.
“Of course. My new grandbaby and I were just enjoying this beautiful day. I’m going to hate to leave tomorrow. I have so much more sugar to give these little cheeks.”
Claire sat down and watched as Eva’s face lit up at her grandmother’s sweet baby voice and kisses. She was really blossoming with all this attention. Perhaps not putting her in day care where she could be around a lot of different people was a bad idea. She was alone with Daisy all day, but Eva really seemed to like people. Perhaps she was more Moretti than Douglas.
“Claire, since everyone is gone at the moment, I wanted to talk to you about something. Being alone is a luxury in my family, so I’ve learned to take full advantage of it when it comes.”
Claire bit her bottom lip to hide her frown. That sounded ominous. Was this the part where she threatened Claire not to hurt her son or keep his daughter from him? Told her to call off her lawyer? “Sure.”
“I’m not sure what it is you and Luca have going. I know that whatever it is, it’s early, so it’s hard to say whether or not what you two have will turn into something serious, but I hope it does. I have never seen Luca as happy as he is here with you and Eva. Not even with Jessica was he like this. With her, he always seemed to be waiting for the other shoe to fall, and of course in the end he was right.”
Claire wanted to push Antonia for more information, but she held her tongue, deciding not to interrupt.
“It broke my heart to see him like that. Finding out he had a child was such a startling revelation, but then he really warmed up to the idea. He was excited and nervous, but as he always does, Luca held back. We never expected to find out that the baby wasn’t his.”
Claire tried to hide her surprise at this revelation about Luca. He’d never once mentioned this other child or its mother. Even if it wasn’t his in the end, that was an important event in his life he’d kept from her. She closed her eyes as all the pieces started to fall into place. That explained why he was so adamant about claiming Eva as his own. This time, he was certain the baby was his and he wasn’t going to miss his chance to be a father, no matter what the circumstances.
“But this child,” Antonia continued with a smile, “is the miracle that will bring him back to life. Whether or not he thought it would happen, he finally has a family.”
“He has a daughter, yes,” Claire clarified. She wasn’t quite ready to commit to more than that. “And I’m going to make sure he has Eva in his life as much as he wants her to be.”
Antonia’s golden hazel eyes, so much like Luca’s that it made her a little uneasy, fixed on Claire. “Dear, you and I both know that he’s got a little more than just a daughter out of this situation.”
Claire bit at her bottom lip as she considered her answer. “I don’t really know. Sometimes things are going well, and I think maybe something is happening between us. Then he pulls away. Knowing about the other child explains a lot, but not everything. I still feel like he’s keeping things from me, and that’s a deal breaker for me. I’m not going to let myself get invested in a man I can’t trust.”
“Luca is as good a man as they come. He’s just afraid to let himself fall for a good woman. Personally, I think you two are meant to be together. I don’t believe in accidents or coincidences. Fate stepped in and scrambled those numbers on the labels so two strangers could share a child, and eventually, a life together.”
That was a nice thought, but Claire wasn’t quite so superstitious. Accidents happened. That didn’t mean it was fate. It was just rotten luck. Or even good luck. It might not be what she planned, but at least Eva had a father and a family now. But as for him and her? She doubted this little vacation romance would last all the way back to Manhattan if he continued keeping secrets.
Luca’s mother thought he was a peach, of course, but mothers loved their children blindly. He had given Claire his body, but he was holding back everything else. Unless that changed, she couldn’t trust him with her heart. She’d already made the mistake of giving that away too freely in the past.
Something would go wrong. The dull ache in her gut was evidence of that. The only question was how badly it would hurt her when it happened.