Page 27 of The Venetian One-Night Baby

‘I asked you first.’

‘I’m not a great one for surprises, as you probably know,’ Max said. ‘But I’ll go with what you decide. It’s your call.’

Her teeth did that lip-chewing thing that never failed to make him want to kiss away the teeth marks on her pillow-soft lips. ‘I kind of want to know but I kind of don’t. Does that make sense?’

He smiled and brought her hand up to his lips, kissing her bent knuckles. ‘It makes perfect sense. At least you’ve got a bit of time to make up your mind.’

She nodded and gave a fleeting smile. ‘It’s a little scary now that I’ve seen the baby... I mean, it makes it so...so real, doesn’t it?’

Max kept her hand in his. ‘You don’t have to be afraid, sweetie. I’ll be with you every step of the way.’

She looked at the printed photo of their baby that the sonographer had given them. ‘I wonder who it will take after? You or me? Or maybe a bit of both of us.’

‘As long as it’s healthy, that’s all that matters,’ Max said. And even then things could happen. Bad things. Tragic things. His gut churned at the thought and his heart started tripping and hammering again. Boom. Trip. Boom. Trip. Boom. Trip. Boom.

Sabrina must have sensed his disquiet and placed her other hand over their joined ones. ‘You’ll be a wonderful father, Max. I know you will.’

He tried to smile but it didn’t quite work. ‘Come on. Let’s get you home so you can rest.’

* * *

Sabrina wasn’t tired when they got home but she was concerned about Max. He had seemed preoccupied at the appointment and he’d kept looking at the photo of the baby since then with a frown pulling at his brow. Was he thinking of all the things that could go wrong even after a healthy baby was born? There were no words to settle his fears because no one could guarantee that nothing would happen to their baby. Even after gestation and infancy, there was still the treacherous landscape of childhood and adolescence. But worrying about it wouldn’t change what fate had decided—or so she kept telling herself.

Max came into the bedroom where she was resting a short time later, carrying two shopping bags. He sat on the edge of the bed and passed them to her. ‘For the baby, whatever sex it is.’

Sabrina opened the first bag to find a handmade teddy bear wearing a blue ribbon. ‘So you think it’s a boy?’

He gave a one-shoulder shrug. ‘I’m hedging my bets. Open the other bag.’

She opened the bag and pulled out another teddy bear but this one was wearing a pink tutu. It touched her that Max had already gone shopping for their baby. It made her wonder if his growing feelings for the baby would somehow, one day, include her. ‘They’re so cute, Max. That was so thoughtful of you.’

He picked up the blue-ribboned teddy bear and balanced it on his knee, his finger absently flicking the ribbon around its neck. ‘Both Daniel and I had one of these. Our grandparents gave them to us.’ Something drifted over his features like a shadow across the sky. ‘Daniel’s was buried with him; it sat on the top of his coffin during the service. I’m not sure if Mum kept mine or not. I think she found it hard to look at it once Daniel had died.’

Her heart ached at what Max must have felt at his baby brother’s funeral. And she felt deeply moved that he had shared with her a little more about his childhood and the sadness he still carried. Sabrina took the bear out of Max’s hands and set it beside the pink-tutu-dressed one by her side. She took his hand in hers and stroked the strong tendons running over the back of his hand. ‘I have a feeling this baby is going to bring a lot of joy to both our families, but especially to yours. You’ll be a fabulous dad. I just know it.’

He gave a ghost of a smile and lifted her hand up to his mouth, pressing a soft kiss to the backs of her knuckles. ‘I wish I had your confidence.’ He lowered her hand to his lap and circled one of her knuckles with his thumb, a frown settling between his eyebrows. ‘I’ll do my best to protect you and the baby. But what if I fail?’

Sabrina grasped his hand, squeezing it. ‘You won’t fail. Don’t even think like that, Max. Everyone feels a bit daunted by the prospect of parenthood. It’s normal.’

He gave another fleeting smile but a shadow remained in his gaze. ‘That reminds me...’ He let go of her hand and pulled a small velvet box out of his trouser pocket. ‘I have something else for you.’ He handed the box to her. ‘Open it. If you don’t like it we can change it for something else.’

Sabrina took the box and prised open the lid. Inside was an exquisite diamond ring that glinted as the light caught all its facets. Being in the business she was in, she saw lots of engagement rings but none had been as gorgeous as this one. ‘Oh, Max, it’s beautiful...’ She glanced up at him. ‘But it looks frightfully expensive.’

‘And why wouldn’t I buy you an expensive ring?’

Because you don’t love me.

She didn’t have to say it out loud. It was loud enough in her conscience to deafen her. She looked back at the ring and carefully took it out of its velvet home.

Max suddenly took the ring from her and lifted her hand and slipped it over her ring finger. ‘There. What about that? A perfect fit.’

‘How did you guess my size? Or is that another thing my parents have told you over the years?’

He gave a twisted smile. ‘They might well have. But, no, this time I guessed.’

Sabrina looked down at the ring winking on her finger. She tried not to think about how different this moment might have been if they were like any other normal couple. A couple who had met and fallen in love the old-fashioned way. ‘It’s a gorgeous ring, Max. Truly gorgeous.’

A frown appeared on his forehead. ‘Would you have preferred to choose one yourself?’

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