Her car was gone.That was the first thing I noticed on arrival.She must’ve gotten an Uber back here.My heart hammered against my ribs as I ran into the house, taking the stairs two at a time and running for her room.We shared my bed, but she still kept her things at the other end of the second floor.Had she taken everything?That would be impossible.There wasn’t enough time.I was losing my shit, but what other choice did I have?She was gone.
Her toiletries were missing from the shower and the vanity in her bathroom.I glanced around the room, grunting in frustration and dissatisfaction before heading back toward the door.
Until I saw something in the wastebasket that stopped me in my tracks.
I’d only ever seen them in stores, on the rare occasion I was shopping for myself rather than having someone do it for me.I moved like I was in a dream.Holding out a hand, I pulled the pregnancy test box out of the basket, then found what she had left under it—the test itself.
A test with two lines in the little window.Nobody had to tell me what that meant.Still, I checked the back of the box just in case I was wrong.
I wasn’t.The test was positive, and unless someone had broken in here and used Mira’s bathroom, it belonged to her.She was supposed to be on the pill.Hell, I had been in the room while she took it on more than one occasion while we were away.Yet the test was glaringly positive.
I almost fell against the sink when reality hit me.I was going to be a father.
And now everything made sense.She didn’t want to drink.At dinner last week, she’d wanted to talk about all the things Alessandro told her about family and falling in love despite how things had started out between him and his wife.I blamed her train of thought on him pressuring her, but now I understood she was trying to feel me out, to see how I would react to the idea of us being real.It was all in front of me, and I didn’t see it.
A baby.My child,ourchild.No matter how I looked at it, it was no less terrifying…
… and incredible.
No, this was not something I had ever imagined for myself, but I had never pictured being married either.I had never imagined requiring a person’s presence in my life.I never imagined looking forward to seeing the same woman at the end of every day.Standing beside her, desperate to provide comfort in her lowest moments.Tonight, when I finished that speech and looked for her, it was because I wanted to make sure everyone in that room knew how much we all owed her.Even the people who had never worked for her until now were beginning to learn how special she was.
She had been carrying our baby, probably convinced I wouldn’t want to have anything to do with a family after everything I’d said.
But she told Matteo she wanted to make it work, so why the hell had she left?Someone must’ve said something.Maybe it was me.Maybe I had said or done the wrong thing that set her off.I had to believe she meant what she said to him.I needed to.
Slowly, the fog of shock wore away, leaving behind it a clarity I hadn’t possessed.I turned toward the mirror, setting the test down on the counter, staring at myself.There had never been a challenge placed in my way that I hadn’t crushed, and this wouldn’t be an exception.Not when my wife and my child were at stake.I would find her.
Something told me I knew exactly where to look.
The trick would be winning her back.I couldn’t storm in like some stunted caveman.That wouldn’t work, not on her.I had to find another way.
And when it hit me.
I wondered why I hadn’t thought of it before.
20
MIRA
“Ipromise I’m fine.I just needed a week to rest.”I turned away from the window overlooking the grounds of our Santa Barbara resort, pacing the suite as I talked to Papa on the phone.Watching so many happy, playful couples and families out there only made my heart ache.“You’ve been running me ragged, you know.I’ll head back home soon.”
“You sound tired.Maybe you need more time off.Another day or two at the very least,” he insisted when I clicked my tongue.“It might be wise to dispense with the twice daily visits too.”
“What?Jeez, you really know how to make a girl feel valued,” I joked.
“Cara Mia, I love you, and I know you care, but I won’t have you sacrificing your health.”I could imagine him sitting up in his hospital bed, watching his financial news reports, scowling at me from a hundred miles away.
“All right,” I relented with a sigh.“We can compromise on that.As for being tired, there’s nothing more important on my schedule than going for a swim.”My suit was already on the bed, silently beckoning me.
“You do that, and you make sure everyone over there knows they are not to interfere with you while you’re on vacation,” he warned.“Or they’ll have to answer to me.”
I loved the fierceness in his voice, even if he didn’t really have a say in what went on around here anymore.
It didn’t matter so long as he believed I was on vacation.I had been licking my wounds since early Saturday morning, with it being past midnight when I arrived.I was so upset that I never thought to call ahead and let them know I was on the way.There was a suite available, though, and I took it once I had a promise from the front desk staff that they wouldn’t tell anybody I was here.I tried to make it sound like a game like I was hiding out and didn’t want to be bothered.They couldn’t know how serious it was.
If only I were able to figure out what the hell to do next.Clay called me several times a day throughout the week, like clockwork, but I didn’t have it in me to talk things out yet.I had settled for letting him know I was alive and well, that I only needed time to think things over.It was a surprise when he accepted that without throwing a fit.
I knew better than to overthink my good luck.Granted, for all I knew, he had packed up my things and sent everything back to my apartment.There was a time when I wanted to stay there, overjoyed at getting my life back.
