Marie Ferrarella – The Baby Bombshell: The Billionaire's Baby Swap / Dating for Two / The Valtieri Baby (страница 18)

“Ready or not, I’m coming aboard!” He swam to the end of the boat. With stunning male dexterity he heaved himself onto the transom. She handed him one of the towels so he could dry himself off. “Before the babies wake up, come and sit by me while we drive on.”

She didn’t need to be urged.

He threw the towel around his shoulders and took his place at the wheel. Valentina handed him his life preserver. “Please put it back on.”

“For you I’ll do it.”

“For Ric. He’s going to want you around forever.”

She couldn’t decipher the look in his incredible black eyes that held hers before he turned on the engine. All she knew was that once he’d raised the anchor and they’d taken off across a calm sea, a thrill of exhilaration swept through her just to be sitting next to him.

The sight of the lemon-grove terraces of the cliffs combined with the delicious scent gave her a feeling of euphoria. When she moved to an apartment in Naples, she would always remember this time with a man who was bigger than life to her. His ex-wife could roam the earth and never meet another man like Giovanni.

“What’s on your mind, Valentina? Talk to me.”

“I guess I’m trying to understand the other reasons why your marriage didn’t work. What else caused the strife? Ric is so dear. If your ex-wife saw him, her heart would melt.”

To her surprise he brought the boat to a stop and turned to face her. “Where to start? My parents wanted me to marry her. Tatania’s father, Salvatore, was in business with mine. They’re both on the board of the company. Because some of my family board members wanted to champion a second cousin of mine to take over the reins, my father didn’t want that to happen.

“My mother came to me in private and told me that Tatania’s father wanted our marriage. He worked hard on my father to talk to me. A marriage would bring the needed votes in my favor to put me in as head instead of my cousin. Mother begged me to do this because my father was intimidated by Salvatore and always had been.

“I realized my father had always lacked a certain confidence. He looked to me to help fight all the internal battles. That bit of knowledge about his insecurity finally persuaded me to follow through.”

“Are you saying she married you because of her father’s pressure?”

“To some degree, yes. I’d had various girlfriends throughout my life, but nothing serious. Because of my parents’ urgings, I started spending time with her and we got on well enough. Knowing my father was pinning all his hopes on my asking Tatania to marry me, I could see that if I didn’t, it could break his spirit.

“But once we were married, she complained about the hours I was working. I questioned how she could be upset since she knew what my life was like. She claimed that she’d loved me from the first time she’d met me, but she didn’t know what it meant to be married to a CEO.

“It’s true I worked harder than I’d ever done. Both my father and hers had big expectations where I was concerned.”

“How old are you?”

“Thirty-two.”

“That’s young to have so much responsibility.”

He nodded. “I worried I would let my father down if I didn’t do the lion’s share. I told Tatania that if I did the hard work now, then I could slow down after a couple of years. But our home life did suffer. It got to the point that she said she didn’t want to start a family if I didn’t spend more time at home. I felt trapped.”

“Did she have a job?”

“No. She led an active social life, but the day came when she said she was going to stay at her parents for a while. After two months’ separation, we talked and decided to try again. I promised to stay home more. That worked for two weeks, but then there were new problems out of the country I had to see about. She refused to travel with me.”

“Why?”

“Because it would mean her sitting in a hotel room all day long while I was working.”

“She didn’t like exploring new places?”

“Not alone.”

“How sad.”

“Tatania couldn’t take any more of my being absent and filed for divorce. It’s true that I was a willing pawn at the time of our marriage, but I’d intended to be a good husband. Unfortunately I didn’t marry Tatania for the right reason. Without being in love with her, our marriage couldn’t make it. You know the rest.”

“But after she was pregnant—”

“That’s the mystifying part. She said she didn’t want the baby even if we stayed married because then she’d be stuck raising her baby by herself because I wouldn’t be around. She had every reason to believe that was true. Tatania was also convinced that another man wouldn’t look at her if she had a baby in tow. As you can see, I did damage to our marriage and she became embittered.”

“I’m sorry I brought up something that’s so painful for you.”

“Not painful anymore. Just sad. I’ve been thinking about Vito’s father, who hasn’t stayed in touch with you if only to know he had a son.”

“A baby would ruin his lifestyle. He wants his pleasures without any of the responsibility. The man never grew up.” She stared at him. “The past is behind us, Giovanni. We’re the lucky ones to be the parents of our wonderful babies. And guess what? I think I can hear one of them fussing. I’ll go down and bring them up.”

“We’ll feed them and put them in the playpen.”

She stood up. “I’ll need to get pictures with my phone.” Valentina wanted some of Giovanni to keep forever.

“I want to take pictures, too,” he asserted.

Did he want one of her? Fool that she was, she hoped he did.

“See you in a minute.” She could hear both of them crying now. “I’m coming!”

With the babies propped in the playpen, Valentina stretched out on her back on one of the side banquettes to get a little sun and let Giovanni drive them farther along the coast. Such a gorgeous day with only a light breeze made their outing idyllic.

He turned on some music from the iPod. Suddenly the air was filled with the sound of Pavarotti singing Italian love songs. She’d grown up on classical music and adored opera. Learning that he enjoyed it, too, added another fascinating dimension to this remarkable man.

Valentina sat up. “These love songs make me cry.”

Giovanni turned off the engine and looked back at her with a satisfied expression. “I remember my mother crying over opera. It’s in our Neapolitan genes, Valentina. Our family had arguments at our house over who was, or is, the better tenor—Caruso, Pavarotti or Bocelli.”

She laughed. “I could add another great to that list. Mario Lanza from the American films. When I heard him sing ‘Ave Maria’ in the cathedral with the choir, it was so beautiful, it hurt. And after I heard Pavarotti sing ‘Celeste Aida,’ I felt I was listening to an angel.”

Giovanni nodded. “When this is over, shall I put on the flower song he sang in Carmen?”

“Oh, yes! It’s another aria that tears your heart apart.” They looked at each other, but with him wearing sunglasses, she couldn’t see what was going on in his mind. “My mother’s love of classical music infected me at an early age. Her favorite opera was Madame Butterfly. I wasn’t as enamored after I read the short story of the naval officer who used Butterfly for amusement before abandoning her.”

Giovanni removed his glasses to reveal eyes filled with compassion. “You see yourself as Butterfly?”

“I didn’t know I did until just now. I’ve lost some confidence, Giovanni.”

He sat forward. “You’re not alone. Tatania lost so much faith in me, she didn’t want to mother our child. I was anything but the supportive husband. Over the months during her pregnancy I’d begun to doubt my ability to be a good husband, let alone a good father.”

“But you’re wonderful! Can’t you feel it?” she cried softly.

“Meeting you is helping me find my center, Valentina. I intend to keep working on getting better at it, but you have to know my gratitude to you knows no bounds.”

His confession sank deep in her heart.

He started the engine, and once more they cruised through the calm water. The late afternoon sun shone down, reminding her to turn over. She laid her head on her arms and kept an eye on the babies while she absorbed the music like a sponge.

For the next half hour she lay there entranced. When the tape ended, she got to her feet and was surprised to find they’d come to a tiny stretch of pebbled beach along the coast. He’d pulled into a dock and shut off the engine. She had to look way up to see the top of the verdant mountains. They had a magnificence that kept her in awe.

“What’s this place?”

“Laurito Beach. Few people know about it. When I was young, my friends and I would come here in the summer and build a fort in the trees. This small cove was the starting point for the pirates who used to raid the commercial boats passing by. We pretended to be pirates. The little village of Laurito I was telling you about is higher up the mountain.”

Giovanni got out and tied up the boat. “The Ristorante Da Adoni a few yards off caters to anyone, a come-as-you-are spot. I’m hungry for dinner.”

She was, too. They picked up the carry-cots and walked the short distance where they could eat and enjoy the view of the water. Giovanni ordered them zuppa di cozze, a soup of mussels freshly caught, followed by coniglio all’Ischitana, an exotic rabbit dish with garlic, chilli, tomato, herbs and white wine. Divine, divine.