And then he became unnaturally still in the thrill of the moment. She expected him to collapse or roll away, but he seemed to just freeze in place.
"What's the matter?"
He swallowed hard, his throat the only set of muscles he allowed to move. "I think the condom has broken." Luca reached over to the nightstand and picked up the wrapper. "You've got to be kidding me," he shouted, tossing it to the floor in anger. "This expired over a year ago."
In a rush, Luca pulled away and before she could stop him, he disappeared into the bathroom and shut the door. Claire sat awkwardly on the bed, not quite sure what to do. Her first foray into a renewed sex life had suddenly gone off track without warning. She clutched the sheets protectively to her chest, ignoring the pleasurable pangs that still echoed through her body.
Luca came out a few minutes later with a tortured expression pinching his face. "It did break. I'm sorry, Claire. I should've looked at the expiration date. I was just so desperate to have you that I didn't even think to look."
Claire was pretty sure there'd never been a man so desperate for her that he would forget something like that. She wasn't about to beat him up over it. There wasn't much they could do now, anyway. "Don't worry about it. I mean, I doubt I'll end up pregnant, if that's what you're concerned about. It took me years and a medical intervention the last time. And I'm clean. They did all sorts of testing at the clinic and I haven't been with anyone since then."
"I'm not insinuating that you weren't clean or even worried you'd get pregnant. That would take a miracle." Luca slipped into the bed beside her and pulled her into his arms. "I've just never had one break before, so I'm a little rattled. It's always been a hard and fast rule of mine to wear one. I've never been with a woman without it. I'm sorry."
Claire nestled into his chest, feeling a little better now that he hadn't fled the room like the scene of a crime. "You didn't know it would break. Everything will be fine, I'm sure of it."
Luca brushed her damp hair from her face and held her close. "You're probably right. Let's just put it out of our minds and get some rest. Tomorrow, I'll go to the store."
"The store?" Claire questioned.
"To buy a box of new ones. I've only just begun to worship this body, tesorina."
Eight
This was nice.
With his nose buried in Claire's neck, the scent of cinnamon and vanilla filled Luca's lungs. His arm curled around her, holding her warm, soft body against his. He didn't want to move. He could just lie like this for hours.
It had been a long time since Luca had woken up with a beautiful woman in his arms. His plan to woo Claire had worked even better than he'd expected. If every time was as good as last night, he'd happily propose to her right now. Not even the condom debacle could ruin his good mood.
Then a sound stopped him cold. At first, he thought he was imagining things. The echo of his mother's voice was so completely out of context that it couldn't possibly be what he heard. Just when he'd convinced himself it was his imagination, Luca caught the unmistakable sound of his mother's laughter.
No. It couldn't be.
Luca heard Eva squeal with amusement and the chorus of cooing voices that could only be members of his family. He groaned and pulled away from Claire, sitting up in bed. She stirred beside him, looking over her shoulder with squinted eyes.
"What's the matter?" she asked in a low, sleepy voice.
Luca wasn't quite sure how to break the news, so he just spit it out. "I think...my family is here."
Claire rolled onto her back and sat up, clutching the sheets to her bare chest. She looked so messy and vulnerable, so unlike the put together woman who stomped into his lawyer's office. He loved knowing both sides of this complex woman. Had he woken under any other circumstances, he would cover her body with his own and make love to her again. Instead he had to explain to her how his family had just crashed their beach vacation.
"You mean your sister?" she asked.
Luca swallowed hard and shook his head. "No, more than that."
The sound of his mother's laughter reached his ears again. When he turned to look at Claire, her sleepy expression was replaced with one of sheer panic. "Are you kidding me?"
"I wish I were. I think our secret is out. And that means Mia is in a lot of trouble."
Flinging back the blankets, Luca reached for his pants and tugged them on. He needed to go out there and figure out exactly what the hell was going on. He opened the door, completely dumbfounded by what he saw. In the center of the living room, his mother was holding up Eva as if she'd gotten her hands on the Holy Grail. His father was standing behind her, making faces at the baby until she squealed with delight. That was bad enough. Then, just beyond them, he saw Mia talking to his other sister, Carla. No fewer than five children were running around the living room, seeking excitement and hell-bent on destruction. He could already tell that he would have to write Gavin a fat check for everything they broke.
Luca turned just in time to see his youngest brothers, Giovanni and Angelo, come up the stairs with their wives. They were all carrying suitcases. That was a bad sign. This wasn't an afternoon visit. They were staying. What the hell was going on?
"Luca! You're awake!" his mother exclaimed.
"Do you really think I could sleep through all this?" He didn't even bother to mask his irritation. "What are you all doing here?" he asked with a pointed glance at Mia. His sister slunk behind Carla with a sheepish expression on her face. "And why, in God's name, do you have luggage?"
"You with all the questions," his mother snapped. She curled Eva to her chest and narrowed her gaze at him. "I've got a question for you, young man! How long were you going to keep our new grandchild from us?"
"A little longer than this," his muttered under his breath. "How did you find out?"
"It's my fault," Mia admitted, as though there were another choice. "Well, actually, it was Eva's fault."
"You're blaming the baby?" Luca asked with incredulity in his voice.
"Yes and no. Carla called me last night while you and Claire were at dinner. I shouldn't have answered the phone, but I did. While we were on the phone, Eva started to cry. What was I supposed to tell her?" Mia asked. "I couldn't think of a good lie fast enough, so I told her the truth and then swore her to secrecy."
"So naturally, when I got off the phone I immediately called Mama," Carla said, confirming his logic on not telling her in the first place. "This wasn't the kind of secret you keep, sorry."
"She was right," his mother, Antonia, chimed in. "How could you keep this beautiful little girl from us? Especially after everything you went through with Jessica."
"Because I've just found out about her myself," Luca said, scooping up the child from his mother and clutching Eva protectively to his chest. "And after what did happen with Jessica, I wanted to be sure before I told anyone. Once I got the test results, I selfishly chose to get to know Eva and her mother before all this happened."
His mother's hand came up to her mouth. "You don't even know the mother? At least with Jessica you two seemed to really be building toward a future together. I thought I taught you better than that, Luca. You're supposed to be a gentleman."
Luca sighed and rolled his eyes. "It wasn't like that. Mama, you know I can't..." He couldn't even say it aloud. He didn't need to. His whole family knew the truth, anyway.
"It was an accident at the fertility clinic," a woman's voice said from behind him.
Luca turned to see Claire standing in the doorway of the bedroom. In a matter of minutes, she'd dressed and transformed back into the prim and put together Claire he knew. Her dark blond hair was twisted into a bun, and her lips and cheeks were pink with a touch of makeup. She was wearing another sundress that looked amazing on her figure.
"Mama, Dad, everyone...this is Claire Douglas, Eva's mother."
"Oh, Luca." Antonia made a beeline for Claire, pulling her into a huge embrace. "Lei è bella."
Claire flinched slightly at the unexpected physical contact, but Luca could tell she was trying to play it off. She'd better get used to it. His whole family was very physically affectionate.
"Hello," she managed with a soft smile as his mother finally pulled away.