Page 137 of Modern Romance Collection February 2025, 1-4

Siena started to walk again. The vistas of the park all around were scenic, but she had no appreciation for them.

Vincenzo fell into pace beside her again. ‘We cannot avoid looking ahead,’ he was saying now, as if he were forcing himself to do so. ‘To beyond the child’s birth and babyhood.’

She felt her mind sheer away. She couldn’t even cope with being pregnant, let alone thinking beyond it to an unimaginable future. One she had never, in all her days, thought she would be landed with.

Depression weighed down on her. All around were people enjoying the park—families, couples, singletons young and old. Yes, maybe they had their own problems, but all she could focus on were her own. Her pace slowed, energy draining from her.

At her side, Vincenzo spoke again, glancing at her. ‘We should find a café, and you should sit down,’ he said.

They made their way to one with outdoor seating which overlooked a small fountain, and Siena was glad to sit down. Her energy levels fluctuated these days—her mental energy levels too. She knew it was not good for her to be so agitated—but what else could she be in the circumstances?

Vincenzo got coffee for them both, and she sipped her decaf without enthusiasm. As he sat opposite her at the small table she was acutely conscious of his physical closeness, the strength of his body, and she caught the scent of masculine aftershave. Memory assailed her, of that night she’d succumbed to his seduction.

I went along with it willingly—oh, so willingly! And now...

‘Do you have to drink decaf all the time?’ There was a frown on Vincenzo’s face as he put the question to her.

‘Standard recommendation when pregnant,’ she said flatly, resenting the note of criticism. ‘Like no alcohol and no smoking.’

‘Is it so very bad for you?’ Vincenzo pursued, stirring his own coffee. ‘Pregnant women have drunk caffeinated tea and coffee for generations and no harm seems to have been done. The rules seem very strict these days. Banning all alcohol too...’

She gave a shrug, not wanting to debate it. She hadn’t issued the damn guidelines, so why should he be challenging her? It set her teeth on edge.

‘We are supposed to do nothing that risks the baby,’ she said. ‘Even though—’

She broke off.

Some risks have nothing to do with the mother’s lifestyle...

No, she must not think of that—it was too upsetting. And it served no purpose but to weigh her down yet more. She knew she should—she must—be thankful, but the thought oppressed her all the same, however stringently she sought to repress the memories that assailed her. It made her feel guilty that she was resenting a pregnancy that was seemingly healthy when—

Vincenzo was speaking again, bringing her thoughts back to her predicament. Once again Siena got the impression he was choosing his words carefully,

‘Stress is also bad. Stressful emotions.’

She eyeballed him, feeling on edge again. ‘What are you getting at?’

He looked directly at her. ‘Anger, hostility, resentment—these are all negative emotions. They cannot be doing you any good. Nor the baby.’

‘Are youcriticisingme?’ Siena’s anger shot to the fore. ‘Don’t you damn well preach at me!’

He held up a hand. ‘Do you deny that you are seething with anger at me?’ he returned implacably. ‘That that is your dominant reaction to me ever since your friend Megan took matters into her own hands to bring me here?’

Her eyes flashed with the very anger he was accusing her of. ‘How should it be otherwise?’ she threw at him witheringly. ‘After that delightful scene in your office!’

A dismissive expression filled his face. ‘What were you expecting?’ he retorted scathingly, his expression hardening. ‘You turn up, out of the blue, demand to see me, then drop your bombshell on my desk. Were you expecting me to shout with joy and sweep you into my arms and promise undying love?’

‘I was expectingcivility,’ she ground out tightly—as tightly as she was gripping her coffee cup.

He made a rough sound in his throat, as dismissive as his expression. ‘I dealt with the situation as required. Rationally. Until paternity was established, there was no point in any further conversation at that time.’ He sat back, took a mouthful of his coffee. ‘But now that it is established we can move forward—as we must.’

His gaze levelled on her.

‘Tell me, have you thought through what I put to you the other evening? That one option appropriate to the situation would be that we marry.’

Siena stared at him. ‘Even as a joke, that is not humorous. As a serious suggestion—and I cannot believe it to be as such—it is, as I’ve told you already,totallyinsane!’

She saw his face darken. He hadn’t liked her answer, and it was obvious why. Presumably she should be melting all over him and planning a hideously expensive wedding as an excuse to start spending all his money on herself.

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