‘When I was arrested four years ago, I lost everything I owned while I was in custody,’ Kathy admitted tightly. ‘Family photos, keepsakes, clothes, everything. I don’t want it to happen again and it could so easily.’
Sergio frowned. ‘How did that happen?’
‘There was nobody to take responsibility for my things while I was in prison, so what I owned was either dumped or sold. Gareth promised that he would store my stuff for me, but then he let his mother ditch me and I never heard from him again—’
‘His mother?’ Sergio studied her in astonishment.
‘She visited me in prison to tell me that her son was finished with me. I wrote to him and my landlady, but neither of them bothered to reply.’
‘I’ll have your possessions collected for you the moment you say the word. Believe me, you won’t lose a single item.’ Lean brown fingers curling to the footboard on the bed, Sergio surveyed her with disturbingly intent dark eyes. ‘We share a mutual distrust of our fellow man. How can I prove to you that although I have my faults you can trust my word?’
‘You can’t.’ Kathy was tense because she was experiencing a tightening sensation that she was afraid might be the forerunner of the contractions that had faded away some hours earlier.
‘Even if I ask you to marry me?’
Her heart gave a slow, heavy thud and she stared at him fixedly. ‘Are you asking?’
‘Yes, bellezza mia.’ Sergio met her startled appraisal with rock-solid calm. ‘You’re having my baby. It’s the most rational solution.’
‘But people don’t get married just because—’
‘In my family they do,’ Sergio cut in.
Kathy contemplated the armchair he had vacated. She didn’t want to snatch at his offer and give his ego an unnecessary boost. If she considered his proposal purely in terms of security and common sense, however, it answered her every practical need, for she would no longer need to worry about how she would manage as a mother. Indeed if she married Sergio the luxury of choice would enter her world again and her little girl would never have to make the sacrifices her mother had. Her adoptive parents had instilled enough of their principles to ensure that marriage had much more appeal for Kathy than the worry of having to go it alone with her child. If he was willing to commit to that extent to their daughter’s future, she reckoned that he was much more responsible and reliable than she had given him credit for.
Kathy tried not to grimace as the sensation in her abdomen became definite enough to warn her that she was going into labour again. It was a very vulnerable moment and she fully recognised the fact. He didn’t love her, but he was willing to be there for her as the father of her child. Just then that mattered to her as much as the knowledge that if she said yes, he would stay with her.
‘Okay…I’ll marry you,’ she muttered jerkily.
‘I’ll organise it.’ His lean dark features serious, Sergio’s smooth response bore the infuriating hallmarks of a male who had not expected any other reply. ‘We’ll organise the ceremony before the baby’s born—’
‘I don’t th-think so,’ Kathy gasped as another pain rippled in a wave across her lower body, returning stronger and faster than she had expected. ‘My contractions have started again. Our baby’s going to get here first.’
Momentarily, Sergio dealt her a look of consternation, but then he unfroze and wasted no time in summoning assistance. Events moved fast from that point. Both of them were filled with dismay when the surgeon decided that a Caesarean section would be the safest, speediest option for the delivery. Kathy was frightened for her child and Sergio made an enormous effort to keep her calm. His strength and assurance helped her a great deal. Clad in green theatre scrubs, he held her hand throughout the procedure and talked her through every step. He looked very pale but the delivery went without a hitch. Only in the instant after Sergio first saw their daughter did Kathy fully appreciate how much of a front he could put up, and that his anxiety had been equal to her own, for his stunning dark deep-set eyes were lustrous with tears.
Their newborn infant was checked over with great care. She had slight breathing problems, so was immediately placed in an incubator and whisked away.
Kathy was returned to her room. ‘I’d like to call our daughter Ella after my mother,’ she said tautly, keen to personalise their child with a name, so that even if she couldn’t hold the tiny girl at that moment she could feel closer to her.
‘Ella Battista…after mine,’ Sergio suggested.