“I guess I was tired.” She rubbed her hand over her eyes. “I slept so hard that I almost thought you’d drugged me so you could steal the baby. Funny, right?”#p#分页标题#e#
His voice was cold. “Hilarious.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t mean to accuse you of …” Her throat constricted.
He turned to face her, but he definitely wasn’t looking at her breasts. “Of stealing the baby?”
She swallowed. “Yes.”
His eyes glimmered in the dim light. “Don’t worry about it.”
He was being nice, which made her feel even worse. For months, she’d hated Eduardo, calling him a coldhearted jerk to her parents and friends, telling them stories about his worst flaws, telling herself he didn’t deserve to be a father.
But she was the coldhearted jerk. Her lips parted. If not for Sami’s meddling, she would have done the dreadful thing she’d just accused him of: she’d have stolen their baby. He never would have even known he had a daughter.
How could Eduardo stand to look at her?
“I was wrong not to tell you.” It took all her courage to meet his eyes. “I’m so sorry. Can you ever forgive me?”
“Forget it,” he said harshly. He folded his arms. “We both made mistakes. It’s in the past. Our marriage is a fresh start.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, feeling like she didn’t deserve his generosity. Awkwardly she looked around them. The nursery was straight out of a celebrity magazine, with soft yellow walls, stuffed animals, and the sleek comfort of an expensive designer crib and bassinet. “This is nice.”
“I had my staff redecorate the study while we were at the hospital.”
“Your staff?”
“Mrs. McAuliffe.”
“I’ve always known I liked her,” Callie said with a smile, trying to lighten the mood. “So next door is the guest room?”
He shook his head. “It’s the master bedroom.”
Her heart plummeted. “I … I was sleeping in your bed?”
“Sí.”
“Oh.” She swallowed and tried to pretend it was no big deal that she’d slept sprawled across the same bed where Eduardo Cruz slept naked every night, when he wasn’t entertaining lingerie models. Feeling self-conscious, she moved her baby to the other breast, quickly covering up any flash of skin with her cotton shirt. Cheeks flaming, she glanced up at Eduardo, but thank heaven, he was carefully looking away. “Well, thanks,” she said with forced cheerfulness. “I’ll move to the guest room later.”
“You will stay in the master bedroom,” he said evenly, “close to our baby.”
“Then where would you sleep?” A sudden dreadful thought struck her. “You surely can’t think you and I will—”
He cut her off. “I will take the guest room.”
“I don’t want to inconvenience you.”
“You won’t.” Coming forward, he touched the infant’s soft, downy head. “I want you to be here. Both of you.”
Looking up at him, she breathed, “You—you do?”
“Of course I do.” Eduardo looked at her, and his dark eyes cut straight through her heart. “I’ve dreamed of having a family like this. Of keeping them safe and warm. Protecting them.” He squared his shoulders. “And I will.”
The cold, ruthless edges of his expression had melted away, changing to something warm, something fiercely tender. He looked like another man, she thought in wonder. The man he might have been if his childhood had been less of a tragedy.
Compassion mixed with longing and the echoes of her love, rising in her heart. But she couldn’t let it win. She wouldn’t. She took a deep breath. “Thanks for taking such good care of me.” With a trembling smile, she looked down at the baby falling asleep in her arms. “And Soleil.”#p#分页标题#e#
“Marisol,” he said abruptly.
She blinked. “What?”
“Marisol. It’s a classic Spanish name. A blend of your favorite name—Soleil—and my aunt’s name. María.”
Callie licked her lips. “Marisol,” she tried. She didn’t hate it. She tried again, “Marisol … Cruz.”
“Marisol Samantha Cruz,” he said softly.
She looked up, her eyes wide with shock. “After my sister?”
“She brought our family together.”
“Sami betrayed me!”
“She’s family. You will forgive her.” He looked down at her. “We both know you will.”
Callie stared at him in consternation. No. No way! She’d never forgive her sister for going behind her back and telling Eduardo about the baby—never!