Maggie pressed a soft kiss to her baby’s head.

“Your daddy wanted to spend Christmas with me here, so I could show him this place. I know he can’t be here, but having you is like having a little part of him here. And I’m so glad you’re here.” Her eyes filled with unshed tears. “Even though I really wish he were here.”

She sighed and shifted her daughter as the baby wriggled.

“Okay, sweetheart. I know. Let’s get you home.”

Maggie’s forehead scrunched up as she thought she heard someone call her name. No, that was definitely someone calling “Maggie!” She turned around to see a tall, dark-haired man dashing through the crowd toward the carousel.

Maggie didn’t believe it at first. She saw him, and heard his voice, but her mind was almost certainly playing tricks on her. Raffaele couldn’t be here.

She stood frozen as he ran toward her, and then she saw his eyes widen in shock as he saw the baby. She saw the realization and the question. By the time he reached her, all Maggie could do was throw her free arm around him, holding him tightly.

“Maggie,” he murmured, half joyful prayer, half question.

“I wasn’t sure I’d ever see you again,” Maggie said, her voice choking on tears. “She’s yours, Raffaele. We have a daughter!”

They clung together, careful of the baby, until finally Maggie pulled back so she could see his face. He stared in wonder at her and softly cradled Maggie’s face with one hand while he reached one finger on the other hand out to touch the baby’s cheek.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” Maggie whispered, like if she talked too loud, he would disappear.

“I looked everywhere for you. I drove past the restaurant. I expected to see a line out the door.”

Maggie shook her head. “BienVille closed six months ago, Raffaele.”

Raffaele pulled back from her in shock. “But why? That restaurant is your heart and soul.”

She shrugged. “I didn’t have a choice. I had a baby; it was impossible to keep restaurant hours and take care of her. Plus, our rent went up and it was getting harder to keep up with food prices. Something had to give, and it was the restaurant.”

Maggie saw Raffaele’s confused and troubled look.

“I’m still working as a chef, just for someone else right now. Maybe, one day, I’ll have my own place again.”

Raffaele shook his head like he couldn’t believe it. “I didn’t know.” He looked at her, brow furrowed. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Maggie’s eyebrows shot up. “So you could have done what?”

“Not about the restaurant. Why didn’t you tell me you were going to have a baby—our baby?”

“How? I didn’t know where you were.”

“But you could have done something. Called the palace or something. I could have done something.”

Maggie took a big step back, putting some space between them.

“Are you kidding me? I tried everything I could! I called everyone I could think of, and they all ignored me. I must have sounded like some crazy groupie. But I tried.”

“You told them who you were?” Raffaele was insistent, and Maggie was frustrated that he couldn’t seem to understand.

“The chef you brought over? Yes, I did. And it meant nothing to them.”

Maggie ran a hand over her eyes.

“I was still a random American, and they said it was national security and they couldn’t tell me for your safety. I even told them I was pregnant and they didn’t listen.”

Raffaele’s expression grew dark and Maggie shook her head.

“There’s no way they could have known I wasn’t a tabloid-driven attention seeker.”

Raffaele shook his head. “Did you try to call my parents?”

Maggie took a deep breath, trying to stay calm.

“I did everything I could. At some point, I had to give up and focus on taking care of myself and the baby.”

“But if I’d known…”

Maggie closed her eyes for a moment, not wanting to spoil the moment with an argument.

“Raffaele, I understand what happened, but you were the one who disappeared for almost two years.”

“You could have brought the baby to Spiaggi. My family would have seen you then.”

“You mean show up on your parents’ doorstep so they could turn me away? Run the risk of dragging you and your family through some terrible tabloid drama if the paparazzi saw me? Or would you prefer I had taken the risk of me and my family being dragged through that?”

Maggie’s voice rose and she had to take another physical step back to keep herself together.

“No. I won’t apologize for doing the right thing for me, for my family, and for this baby.”

Maggie could see that Raffaele didn’t understand, and she wasn’t prepared to have this discussion. Their daughter picked up on her mother’s distress and started to cry. Maggie bounced the baby gently and faced Raffaele.

“I need to get her home.”

“But I just found you.”

“It’s not about you, Raffaele. She needs to go home now, and so do I.”

Maggie balanced the baby in one arm, and reached in her bag with the other hand. She pulled out a small business card with her phone number and gave it to Raffaele.

“I’ve got to work tomorrow and the next day. Can we meet up after that?”

Raffaele took the card and was silent for a long moment. Maggie wasn’t sure that he was going to respond.

Finally, he said, “I’d like see you again, and get to know my daughter.” His voice almost broke on the word daughter. “I’ll be here as long as you need me to be.”

Maggie nodded. “Thank you. I’ll see you in a few days, then.”

She held herself together long enough to walk out of the park and get their child safely in her car seat, but before she could pull onto the road, Maggie broke down in tears.

She cried both for the joy of knowing he was safe and the fear of not knowing if they could find their way back to each other.