The CEO's Unexpected Child(5)

After he got sick, his mother had homeschooled him from the hospital to  help him keep up with his studies while he received his treatment. When  he graduated from high school in remission, Luca went to Harvard to get  his business degree and started working at the corporate offices with  his father. His MBA earned him the title of vice president, and his  father's retirement two years ago had turned the reins over to him  entirely.

Luca had put his own stamp on the empire by diversifying their  restaurants. Not everyone had the time for a long, sit-down Italian  feast. He started a fast-food Italian chain called Antonia's, after his  mother. That had exploded, becoming one of the fastest growing chains in  that market.

Overseeing this monster took all the time he had. And he liked it that  way. When his life was so full, he didn't miss the family he was  lacking.

And now, suddenly, he found he had a family he never expected-one that  had been confirmed as actually being his. Thankfully the apartment could  accommodate Eva, in terms of size and space. There would need to be  some childproofing and redecorating, but that was the least of his  worries. The harder part would be seeing to it that the rest of his life  could accommodate his newfound daughter, as well.

That started with this trip. The first thing he needed to do was to  call his old friend Gavin Brooks. He and Gavin had met at Harvard and  hit it off immediately. Like Luca, Gavin was the heir to a family empire  of his own-Brooks Express Shipping. They both understood what it was  like to have that kind of pressure on their shoulders. The difference  was that Gavin had managed to run BXS and have a family. He and his new  wife, Sabine, had two small children, including a baby girl named Beth,  who was only a few months older than Eva.

Perhaps Gavin could offer Luca more than just a vacation house. He could use some advice, as well.

Reaching for his phone, he dialed Gavin's number.

"This can't really be Luca Moretti calling me," Gavin answered  abruptly. "I mean, that's what my phone says, but my friend Luca never  calls me."

Luca sighed. "That's because your friend Luca works too much and is never sure when he can call without waking up your kids."

Gavin laughed. "It's a crapshoot. Jared is an early bird and Beth is a  night owl. We pretty much never sleep around here. How are you, Luca?"

"To tell you the truth, I'm overwhelmed." It was nice to be able to  talk to someone who truly understood what his days were like. He and  Gavin were members of an elite club of young, successful businessmen in  Manhattan.

"The restaurant business giving you trouble?"

"No. Work is fine. I called because I need your help for a more...personal matter."

"I thought you didn't have personal matters."

"So did I, then it got dropped in my lap." Oddly enough, this was  another situation that Gavin could sympathize with. He didn't learn  about his son, Jared, until the boy was almost two years old. "I need  your help, Gavin."

"Sure, anything. What is it?"

"Okay. If I tell you something, will you promise not to tell anyone?"  At this point, Luca couldn't risk the news of Eva's existence getting  out. He'd worked hard to keep the lawsuit under wraps so far.                       
       
           



       

"Sounds serious," Gavin said. "I'll keep it to myself."

"Thanks. I'm trying to ensure this whole situation stays quiet for the  next few weeks, primarily because of my family. You know how they are. I  need to deal with all of this without their interference."

"Your cancer has come back," Gavin said in a grave tone.

"No, thankfully. I've actually found out that I'm a father."

"A father? For real this time?"

In retrospect, Luca had wished he'd kept the situation with Jessica  quiet until he knew for certain. He'd never expected her to lie about  it. He should've known when he saw the look on her face after Edmund  demanded a paternity test. As though he'd just take her word for it.  "Yes, this time it is tested and established to be my child. I have a  daughter named Eva."

"But wait," Gavin argued. "I thought you couldn't..."

"I can't," Luca confirmed. "But I had some sperm frozen before my  treatment. There was a mix-up at the clinic and a woman ended up  pregnant with my child instead of her husband's."

"Holy hell. What are you going to do?"

"Well, first I sued the crap out of the clinic. Now I'm trying to  negotiate custody terms with the mother. I can assure you it hasn't been  easy. She's not happy about all this."

"I can imagine her husband isn't that happy, either."

"I'm not sure if it makes all this easier or more complicated, but her  husband is actually deceased. Apparently he was in a car accident when  she was pregnant."

"I thought my situation with Sabine was complicated, but you take the cake, Luca."

"Thanks. This brings me to the favor. I've proposed that all three of  us spend some time away to get to know each other. She's not very  confident in my ability to take care of a baby and I've got to convince  her everything is going to be all right."

"Why don't you just tell her that you helped raise your younger  siblings and have spent time with a dozen nieces and nephews? The last  time you came over, you handled Jared like a pro."

That was a good question. "I doubt she would believe me. She's a feisty  woman, and to tell you the truth, it's more fun to aggravate her."

"It sounds like this vacation might prove a little dangerous. Where are you going?" Gavin asked.

"That's where you come in. I was hoping that we could stay at your beach house for a couple weeks. A month, actually."

Gavin only hesitated a second before he answered. "Sure thing. We're  not going back up there until after Memorial Day. But why wouldn't you  stay at your family's place in the Hamptons?"

That had occurred to him. They had a huge place in Sag Harbor where the  family liked to gather. But it was too big. And at this point, he  didn't want to run the risk of crossing paths with his family. "To do  that, my mother would find out. As it is, I've got to feed my brother an  excuse to run the business while I disappear for a month. I will tell  them, and soon, but I need to spend time with Claire and Eva without  Mama circling like a shark around her granddaughter."

Gavin laughed. "Fair enough. When are you going up? I'll have the place cleaned and the pantry stocked before you arrive."

"I'm not exactly sure. We both have to make arrangements with work, but I'm hoping in the next week."

"So, four weeks in a beach house with the woman you accidentally  impregnated and the child you've never met? And the woman doesn't like  you, at that."

Luca sighed. "That pretty much sums it up."

"Well, good luck to you, man," Gavin said. "I'll have a bicycle  messenger bring you the key tomorrow. And just in case, I'll have the  cleaning company hide anything breakable."





Three

Claire paced nervously around the living room of her Brooklyn  brownstone. After her meeting with Luca Moretti and his lawyer, things  had moved faster than she'd expected. Her supervisor at the museum had  been understanding about her situation. The exhibit she'd been working  on the past few months had opened the week before and everything was  going smoothly. It was actually the perfect time for her to take a  vacation, so he'd practically shoved her out the door. With no excuses,  she'd called Luca and told him that she could leave as soon as Saturday.                       
       
           



       

Then her conscience got the best of her. Despite their battles over the  past few weeks, Luca had yet to meet Eva. She doubted that the ideal  place for their first meeting was the back of a hired car on their way  to Martha's Vineyard. She could hear the voice of her lawyer in her  head, telling her to play nice. Before she could stop herself, she'd  invited Luca over Thursday night.

He should be there any minute.

At the moment, Claire was practically buzzing with nervous energy.  Since she'd gotten home, she'd barely held still. She'd already cleaned  downstairs, fed and bathed Eva and put her in her footie jammies so  she'd be ready for bed when the time came. Eva was currently lying on  her jungle gym mat, babbling at the brightly colored lion and monkey  toys dangling overhead. She could lie there for hours, contently  slobbering on a plastic ring striped like a zebra.

The sound of the doorbell nearly sent Claire leaping out of her skin.  She didn't know why she was so anxious about having him over. It wasn't  just the idea of a billionaire in her home, although that was  intimidating enough. It was a billionaire with an influence on how she  raised her child. Would he think their home wasn't good enough? Would he  argue her neighborhood was unsafe? That she wasn't providing well  enough for Eva? Any of those things could tip the scales in court to  Luca's favor.