The CEO's Unexpected Child(25)

Luca wanted to believe her. God, he wanted to. Claire had never given  him any reason not to believe what she said before. But this story was  just too far-fetched. She did a good job seeming sincere, though. "That  all sounds good, Claire. You must've practiced before you came over."

She flinched as though his sharp words were a slap across the face. "Practiced? Do you really think I'm making all this up?"

He wanted to say no, that he believed her and was happy, but he  couldn't let himself do it. The anger he'd suppressed over the past  decade bubbled inside him. There was no one he could blame for the  cancer or the treatments. He couldn't direct that emotion at anyone.  Jessica disappeared when the paternity results came back negative, so he  never got to say what he wanted to say to her, either. But in that  moment, Claire was a convenient target for the disappointments of his  life.

"No," he replied coolly. "Just the part where I'm the father. What I  can't seem to figure out was where you got the time to sleep with  someone else."

Luca watched Claire's face turn red and the vein in her forehead start  to pulse. "I didn't need any time!" she shouted. "I didn't sleep with  anyone but you. How could you accuse me of something like that after  what happened with Jeff? I would never ever..." Claire's voice drifted  off as though she couldn't even finish the sentence.

Luca knew that accusing her of having an affair was the lowest of low  blows, but what other option was there? This wasn't a star in the east.

"You know, I'm not Jessica. I understand all that must've been awful  for you, but don't take what she did out on me. This is totally  different."

"Is it?" Luca asked. He wanted it to be different, but he wouldn't  allow himself to entertain such a wild fantasy. He and Claire were  through. It pained him, but there was no going back now. He needed to  make a clean break and send her on her way before things got even uglier  than they already were.

"Maybe you're right," he agreed with bitterness leeching into his  voice. "Jessica was happy with just having one of my children. You're  pushing for two. Wasn't having one of my kids enough? You had to get  more out of me?"

Claire tried not to physically react to his insult. Now she wasn't just  a slut, she was a greedy one? Where had this dark side of Luca hidden  over the past few weeks? She thought he was holding back, but she never  dreamed that this was what he'd kept from her. "More what? Money? I  don't need your money, Luca."

His jaw tightened as he looked her over. "Then what's behind it? Afraid  I might leave you once we got home? Did you think having a second  miracle child would convince me to marry you so we could have a  happily-ever-after?" He crossed his arms over his chest, challenging her  to say otherwise.

She wasn't quite sure how to respond. This whole conversation had gone  off the rails and there was no way to recover it. "I will admit that I'd  hoped we could have a happily-ever-after with our two children, but  there's no scheming involved. It simply is what it is."                       
       
           



       

"Claire, the only thing this is, is over. I knew it was a bad idea to  seduce you, but you and your sad eyes and luscious lips convinced me  otherwise. I don't know why I thought that us being together was the  best resolution to our situation. Well, no more. You and I are through."

A sharp pain struck Claire's chest like Thor's hammer, radiating  outward. She was certain it was the feeling of her heart breaking. How  could she have loved a man who could be so cruel? She didn't really know  him at all. All his smooth words and charming smiles had completely  disarmed her.

"I thought we really had something special between us, Luca. But if  you-" Her voice cracked with emotion as she fought to hold back tears.  She didn't want him to see her cry. "If you are willing to accuse me of  something that terrible and then cast me aside so easily, then I was  wrong. About everything."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you."

His arrogant, ambivalent tone made her angry. It was one thing for him  to be so convinced that he didn't believe her without proof. It was  another to be downright cruel. She wasn't going to let another man treat  her like less than she deserved. Luca was the one who taught her that,  ironically enough.

Claire gathered up all her nerve, straightening her spine and looking  him hard in the eyes like she had that first day at his lawyer's office.  "You're only disappointing yourself, Luca, because you're a coward."

"A coward?" He nearly roared the words at her, but she refused to take a single step back.

Instead, she moved closer. "Yes, a coward. You're too scared to go to  the doctor and find out the truth about your sterility. You'd rather  throw away everything we have, accuse me of being a whore and a liar  than face the reality of your condition."

"Why would I be scared to do that? The worst they can tell me is what I already know."

"No, it's not. The worst thing they can tell you is that you've been  wrong all this time. Because then you'd have to come to terms with the  fact that you've been living half a life for all these years for no  reason. You'd know for certain that you wasted over a decade where you  could've found someone to love and started a family instead of being Mr.  Busy CEO all the time. You've been hiding behind your desk instead of  living your life."

Luca raised his arm, pointing toward the front door. "You take your  venomous lies and get out of here before I call security and have you  thrown out."

"You couldn't force me to stay one minute longer." Claire turned on her  heel and marched back to the entryway where she scooped up her coat.  "Since you're so certain this child isn't yours, I'm going to presume  that you won't be dragging me to family court to get custody of this  one."

"Nope," he snapped. "Not interested."

Claire tried not to react to his indifference. Not because of herself,  but because of her child. She already felt a sense of protectiveness for  it. The last thing she wanted was for the baby to feel as if the father  didn't love it from the day they found out he or she existed.

"Fine. Then do me a favor and try not to be interested in Eva, either.  If you don't want both your children, we don't want or need you in our  lives at all," Claire said.

She flung open the front door and marched out, slamming it behind her  with all the Mama Bear fury she could muster. It wasn't until she'd  gotten on the elevator and the doors had safely shut that the anger  subsided. With it gone, a rush of tears she couldn't stop flowed free.

How could she have gotten exactly what she wanted and lost everything she needed at the same time?

* * *

A beam of sunlight came through the window and shone across Luca's  face. It roused him from his uncomfortable position on the leather couch  in his living room. After a furious battle with a bottle of Scotch,  he'd passed out there the night before.

He pushed himself up to a seated position and winced as the movement  sent a sharp pain through his head. Bending over, he clutched his  forehead and groaned. It was like a vise was clamped down on his skull,  turning tighter with every movement and sound.                       
       
           



       

As pieces of the night before came back to him, he realized that even  the agony of his head was miniscule in comparison to the ache of loss  and disappointment that had settled in his chest.

Their angry words echoed in his head. The positive pregnancy test, the  hopeful, the devastated, then the angry expressions on Claire's face,  and then the slamming door flipping through his mind like a broken slide  projector.

When he finally looked up, he spied the shattered remains of his cell  phone. After Claire left, he'd reached for the closest thing he could  lay his hands on and chucked it at the closed door of his apartment.  He'd felt little satisfaction as his cell phone collided with the door  and splintered across the marble entryway floor. Today, on top of  everything else, he'd need to contact his assistant and have her order  him a new phone.

With a curse, he leaned back against the couch and stared up at the  ceiling. He'd lost it last night. That was very unlike him. He was  always so in control, but Claire's betrayal had pushed him over the  edge. After she left, all he could hear was his blood rushing through  his veins; all he could see was tainted with the red hue of his  emotions.

His child! She claimed to be pregnant with his child. Luca could hardly  believe it when the words came out of her mouth. Not even the pregnancy  test could convince him. How could he trust Claire's declaration that  it was his baby? He couldn't. Not when he knew that it was impossible.