Page 90 of Coerced Wife

I push the car into the corner and tackle the smaller box, which is more appropriate for the baby’s age. It holds a big panda bear that plays a soothing nursery rhyme when you push the button on his stomach. I walk to the shelves that are crammed with soft toys representing every animal Noah ever put in his ark and look for space. I push a zebra and a giraffe closer together and put the bear next to the sea lion.

Leaning an elbow on the shelf, I absent-mindedly rub the furry bear ear. It’s soft between my fingers. “Happy first Christmas, Baby.”

“That’s sweet.”

I turn to find Anya standing on the threshold with hershoulder braced on the door frame and a small smile on her lips. She changed into leggings, a loose sweater with a reindeer printed on the front, and fluffy socks.

I shrug, a little awkward at being caught out. “You won’t say that when you see the other gift.”

“The car?” She raises a brow as if to say,really? “Already saw it.”

“You can push him in it. He doesn’t have to actually drive it until he’s three. Even then, I’ll build a track in the garden that’s safe.”

She straightens and walks over slowly. “Have you noticed how you sayhim, and I sayher?”

I smile when she stops in front of me. “It’s going to be a boy. I have a feeling.”

She cranes her neck to meet my eyes. “And I have a feeling it’s going to be a girl.”

“God.” My laugh is nervous. “I hope it’s a boy.”

She tilts her head to the side. “Because only boys can be heirs?”

“No.” I run my gaze over her beautiful face. “Because girls are so damn fragile and perfect. They’re a lot harder to protect. I’ll be terrified every time she leaves the house. I’ll want to commit murder each time a boy turns his head to look at her.”

She places a hand on my chest. “You have to learn to rein in that beast inside you.”

I shake my head. “Not gonna happen, treasure, not with a baby girl.”

“You’re impossible, Saverio De Luca.”

I grin. “So you’ve told me.”

She’s quiet for a moment before saying shyly, “I didn’t get you a gift.”

“I didn’t get you anything either.” Except for a pair of diamond earrings that will go nicely with her weddingdress. But I can pretend it’s a wedding gift. “What would you like?”

Turning her eyes toward the ceiling, she thinks for a moment. “I’d like to redecorate.”

“The nursery?”

“The house.” She wrinkles her nose. “It’s so stuffy and gloomy.” Shrugging, she adds, “As I’m going to live here.”

That grin that still tugs at the corners of my mouth threatens to split my face. “Go for it.”

“Really?” she asks, removing her hand from my chest and curling a lock of hair around her finger.

“Yeah. I’d like that.”

She looks at me from under her eyelashes. “What about you? What would you like?”

The smile vanishes from my face. I turn serious. Just for a moment. “I’d like a shot at being a father.” When her expression drops, I add quickly, “Agoodfather. I’d like to protect your child and take care of him if you’d let me. I’d like to lighten your burden when you’re tired—feed him when you’d like to take a bath or rock him to sleep when you need a nap—and carry the responsibility of raising him.” Cupping her cheek, I continue in an earnest tone. “I’ll love him like my own. I swear that to you. I’ll never let anyone take him away from you. You don’t have to give him my name. You were right. It was wrong of me to insist on adopting him if that isn’t what you want. All I ask is that you let me share his first smile and his first step.” I caress the line of her jaw with my thumb. “His first word and first birthday.”

She leans into my touch, rubbing her cheek against my palm. “Oh, Sav. There was never a question about it. You are going to play a role in his life. We’ll be living with you. I don’t doubt you’ll be a good father.” Just as the frown on my brow smooths out, she says, “But…”

The big fucking but.

“But a child knows when her parents don’t love one another,” she continues. “And I think a child needs a loving environment more than anything else.”

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