The CEO's Unexpected Child(28)

Claire listened with a slow nod, but she wasn't convinced that Luca  would realize he was wrong. Luca was stubborn, and that same  stubbornness might keep him from finding out the truth and admitting he  was wrong. It might take a court mandated paternity test after the baby  was born to convince him of the truth. At that point, he could apologize  until he was blue in the face and it wouldn't make a difference. She  didn't know if she could forgive him for how he'd treated her.

"The worst part is that I let myself fall in love with him, Daisy. It  was so stupid of me. He just seemed to know how to get past every  barrier I had. It had been so long since I felt like a man really cared  for me. I must've been desperate for affection. Look where it got  me...pregnant and alone."

"You are not alone, Claire." Daisy clasped Claire's chin and turned her  so she was forced to look at her. "You've got me. You've got Eva.  You've got this new baby. We're going to make this work, with or without  this deadbeat billionaire."

"How?" It seemed like a ridiculous question to ask, but she felt so  bogged down in all of this, she could hardly come up with an answer.

"I'm going to move in," Daisy declared. "I'm going to be your live-in  nanny to help take care of both the children. We are two strong, smart,  capable women. We will be just fine without a man. Frankly, we only need  them to start the baby process, after that they're kinda useless."

Claire chuckled, wiping away the last of her tears. "You're right. We  will be just fine. No matter what happened between Luca and me, I'm  coming out of this with another beautiful baby. I never dreamed I could  ever have another, so I need to start thinking about this as the  blessing that it truly is."

"That's the spirit," Daisy said with an encouraging tone. "Now, there's  a roast chicken and vegetables in the oven for your dinner. Eva has  already eaten her dinner and had her bath, so you two can take it easy  tonight. Eat, relax and try not to beat yourself up too much about all  this. I'll see you in the morning, okay?"

Claire nodded. "Thank you for the pep talk, Daisy. You deserve a raise."

Daisy laughed as she got up off the couch. "I'll remind you of that  when you write my next paycheck." She walked over to the front door,  slipping on her coat and waving good-night.                       
       
           



       

When the door clicked shut, Claire took a deep breath and tried to do  what Daisy had told her to do. She scooped up Eva off the floor and  carried her into the kitchen. She placed her in her swing and set it to a  soothing rhythm the baby liked best. That kept her daughter occupied  long enough for Claire to remove supper from the oven and make herself a  plate.

Pulling up a stool at the breakfast bar, she took a few bites of  chicken and started sorting idly through the stack of mail Daisy had  left there for her. Bill, junk, bill... She stopped when she noticed the  notepad that Daisy used to leave messages about phone calls.

Stuart, her attorney, had called. She'd had a missed call on her cell  phone while she was at her doctor's appointment, but it had come at a  critical time and then she'd forgotten to check it later. Searching  through her purse, she found her phone and she was right. Her screen  declared she'd missed a call from Stuart Ewing. She pressed the button  to listen to the voicemail message.

"Claire, this is Stuart. I really need you to call me back tonight. It doesn't matter what time. There's been a development."

He left his personal number for her to call him. Claire's hand was  shaking as she copied the number onto Daisy's notepad. She wished he  hadn't been so vague in his message. "A development" could be anything.  It could be that Luca decided to backpedal on their agreement and sue  for full custody. She didn't think a judge would go along with that, but  she couldn't be sure. The last time she saw Luca he'd been angry enough  to do almost anything. Would he try to take Eva knowing she was the  only thing Claire had? Just to spite her?

She had to stop speculating and just call Stuart back. She was going to make herself crazy if she didn't.

"Claire," Stuart said as he answered the phone. "Thanks for calling me  back. We've received a request to meet with Luca and his lawyer tomorrow  morning."

"Do we know if it's good or bad news?"

"I have no idea. I wasn't really expecting to hear from them when I  did. Do you have any thoughts? How did the trip with Mr. Moretti go? I  haven't spoken with you since you got back from Martha's Vineyard."

That was a loaded question. "It was a nice trip. I think we had  everything worked out between us, so maybe it's just a finalization of  our agreement to submit to the judge."

Stuart hesitated on the line. "What aren't you telling me, Claire?  There's something about your tone that tells me you're leaving something  out."

"Well, that's because I am. Things have gotten a little complicated  since we left Martha's Vineyard, so I can't be certain that Luca will  stick with the agreement we made." Claire could hear Stuart sigh heavily  on the line.

"What happened when you got back?"

"I found out that I'm pregnant with Luca's child." She spit out the words as quickly as she could and waited for the fallout.

"Pregnant? I should've known you two going away together for a month  would lead to trouble. Are you two an item, now? I hate to say it, but  that would probably help the cause if you were."

"Not anymore," Claire admitted, dashing her lawyer's hopes. "He didn't  take the news about the baby very well. He stated pretty bluntly that he  didn't think it was his and got quite angry about the whole thing. So  like I said, I don't have any clue what we'll face tomorrow."

"You know, I've been thinking over the past year about retiring. You may be the client that puts me over the edge."

At that, Claire had to laugh. She knew Stuart would work until he  dropped dead in the courtroom, but he was a curmudgeon about it anyway.  "Look at it this way, Stuart-you just have to represent me in court.  This is my life."

"You're right," he agreed. "I'll meet you at Edmund Harding's office at 8:45 a.m. tomorrow."





Twelve

"Are you sure you want to do this, Luca? You only have a few minutes left to change your mind."

Luca turned away from the window overlooking Central Park to gaze at his lawyer. "Yes. I have to do it."                       
       
           



       

"Actually, you don't," Edmund argued. He'd been irritated with Luca  since he came in and started changing the arrangements they'd worked so  hard to put together. "There's nothing that says giving up custody is  the punishment for being mean to the mother."

"I'm not giving up custody," Luca argued. "I'm just setting the terms  that will make her happiest. It's the least I can do after everything  else."

"And what about you? What will make you happy? These are your children  we're talking about. The children you never thought you'd have, I might  add."

"Seeing Claire happy will make me happy," he answered without  hesitation. It was true. As hard as this was on him, he needed to see  Claire smile more than anything. That look of hurt and devastation on  her face from that night at his apartment had haunted him for days. He  was willing to do whatever it took to fix that, even giving up most of  his rights to his children. He didn't want to do it, but it was the  punishment he deserved after rejecting the baby as his own.

A soft knock came at the door and the receptionist stuck her head  inside. "Mr. Harding, Mrs. Douglas and Mr. Ewing are here for your nine  o'clock."

Edmund nodded sadly and looked at Luca. "Last chance."

Luca just waved away his concerns. He knew what he had to do, and he didn't care if his lawyer liked it or not.

"Send them in."

Luca took a seat at the table beside Edmund. For the first time in a  long time, he felt nervous. He wasn't quite sure where to look as the  door opened. He didn't know what he would see in Claire's eyes. Taking a  breath, he looked up to see her as she slipped into the office behind  her lawyer. Her gaze met his, and he knew that he was making the right  decision. There wasn't the slightest hint of animosity there. She was  anxious, exhausted, sad, but not angry. He had been the angry one, the  one to lash out. She was just here to see what kind of punishment he was  about to hand down because he thought she was lying to him.

They took their seats, and Luca squirmed slightly in his chair. Edmund  eyed him suspiciously, but Luca ignored him. His focus was entirely on  Claire. She didn't look good. He thought pregnant women were supposed to  be radiant, but perhaps that was later on. Now she just looked  run-down, like she had when he'd first taken her to Martha's Vineyard. A  month of good food, sun and loving had changed her, but now it was like  they'd never gone.