‘You don’t need to doubt my commitment to him,’ he said quietly. ‘I will be a devoted father to Nico.’ He hesitated. ‘I promise I will do nothing to make you regret that we met again, Kristen.’
Sergio’s serious tone touched a chord inside Kristen and she blinked to dispel the tears that filled her eyes. ‘I hope you’re right,’ she said gruffly. But as she followed him into the villa she wondered how they were going to resolve the issue of sharing custody of Nico when they lived in different countries—and different worlds—she thought with a rueful glance around the luxurious villa. Sergio had said that Casa Camelia was Nico’s home, but it wasn’t hers. She would only ever be a visitor here, her presence tolerated by Sergio because she was the mother of his son. The prospect seemed unbearable and she avoided his gaze, desperate to hide the fact that she was falling apart.
‘Are you going to come swimming with us?’ Sergio asked Kristen as he swung Nico into his arms and the little boy laughed delightedly. ‘I’ll take him to get changed and meet you by the pool in five minutes.’
‘Actually, I won’t come. I’ve got a headache and sitting out in the sun probably won’t help it.’ The excuse was not completely untrue. Kristen had a slight headache, but what hurt more was Nico’s utter fascination with Sergio and the fact that he didn’t seem to need her any more.
Sergio gave her a searching look. ‘Well, if you change your mind you know where to find us. I’m sure Nico will want you to watch his first swimming lesson. I appreciate that you are finding it hard to share him with me,’ he said heavily. ‘But you have memories of him from the moment he was born, while I was deprived of being part of his life and I have to build my relationship with him starting from now. I don’t want us to fight over him. For his sake we must find a way to put the past behind us and move forward.’
He was right, of course, and his words left Kristen feeling ashamed. She reminded herself that she had only kept Nico a secret because she had believed that Sergio was married, but the real truth was she had been devastated that he had not chased after her when she had left him four years ago.
Had she kept his son from him to hurt him as he had hurt her? The thought made her feel uncomfortable but she forced herself to be honest. Had she denied him his child because he hadn’t loved her? He had every right to be angry, she acknowledged. But in fact Sergio had shown remarkable restraint and, rather than playing the blame game, he was more concerned with working out how they could both be parents to Nico.
She could not blame Sergio if he thought she was behaving like a spoilt child, Kristen decided fifteen minutes later as she walked across the patio on her way to the pool. Nico’s high-pitched voice and Sergio’s deeper tones drifted over the screen of tall shrubs that gave the pool area privacy from the rest of the garden. The sweet scent of jasmine and honeysuckle hung thick in the air and the sun warmed Kristen’s skin so that the prospect of a swim was inviting.
‘Mummy...’ Nico was sitting on the steps at the shallow end of the pool and when he saw Kristen he jumped up and hurtled towards her, a wide smile on his face. ‘I want you to come swimming with me and Papà, Mummy.’
Kristen caught his wriggling, damp body close and laughed a little unsteadily as she felt a familiar ache of love for her little boy. ‘Okay, I will. Have you been having fun with Papà?’ When Nico nodded fervently, she smiled and looked over at Sergio. ‘Good,’ she said softly, ‘I’m glad.’
His answering smile lifted her heart. She felt her pulse race at the sight of him wearing a pair of black swim shorts. Droplets of water glistened on his broad, tanned shoulders and as she watched he ducked beneath the surface of the pool and came up again, pushing his wet hair back from his brow.