Read Online Breathe by Donna Alward - Free Book Online Page A

Syrah on the bed. A fire crackling in the corner. A table with a pair of crystal glasses to the side.
    She swallowed. It was so very wrong to picture herself here. With Jace. Yet here she was daydreaming, as if he hadn’t already broken her heart once. She’d be foolish to let herself get sentimental over him. Maybe this had been a big mistake. She should have known seeing him like this would resurrect old longings and regrets. She should have gone somewhere else. Anywhere.
    She closed her eyes against the pain that swept through her. The only thing was, she didn’t want to go anywhere else. She wanted Jace. It wasn’t rational and they had too much history for it not to be complicated, but deep down in her gut, she kept coming back to him. Despite the evidence, despite what she knew to be true, she also knew in her heart that Jace would provide the haven she needed right now. There was no one else she’d trust besides her brother. And Alex’s words had been so cutting after Stefano’s funeral that she couldn’t ask him for anything.
    It was just her terrible luck that she’d never quite forgotten how things had been with Jace. It was clear he was over it.
    A piercing wail broke her musings and her heart jumped. Louder, more shrill and with a fine edge of panic, the screams increased and Anna ran for the stairs. Oh God. She shouldn’t have left them alone in the yard while she stood here daydreaming. What had she done?
    She nearly slipped on the bottom stair and grasped the railing to keep upright, only to see Jace coming through the screen door, a flailing Aurelia in his arms and a sobbing Matteo at his heels. She stopped in her tracks, completely frozen with the shock of the scene. Jace was in control yet looking quite harassed as the baby flailed and screamed.
    â€œWhat happened?” She fired the question at him in Italian.
    â€œA bee.” The muscles in his arm bulged as he kept a firm grip on Aurelia, using the other one to wet a cloth he found in a drawer. He pressed the cold cloth against the baby’s arm. Anna rushed forward to examine the spot. It was red and swelling.
    â€œI got the stinger out.”
    Anna took Aurelia into her arms, but the baby didn’t seem to care who was holding her. Her cries continued.
    â€œI should have been with her.” She felt the weight of it heavy upon her. Why was it she seemed to fail at everything these days?
    â€œIt probably would have happened anyway. Don’t be too hard on yourself.”
    Anna looked down at Aurelia’s arm. It was beginning to swell. Jace looked too. “Does she have allergies?”
    Anna’s gaze darted to him in alarm. “I have no idea. Should we have her checked?”
    Ever so calmly, Jace examined the tiny arm. “I don’t think so. The only swelling is at the site. Of course a pharmacist would know better.”
    Matteo’s voice sounded particularly small, devoid of the bravado he’d been demonstrating of late.
    â€œI’m sorry, Mama. The bee came and she slapped at it.”
    â€œIt’s not your fault, Matteo.”
    Two fat tears sat on the boy’s cheeks. Jace sighed. “I can run to the pharmacy if you like.”
    Anna looked up at him over the whimpers of the child in her arms. His talk of allergic reactions struck more fear in her than she was prepared for. She didn’t know what she’d do here alone if anything happened. And she hated feeling dependent on him. Why couldn’t things just be simple for a while?
    â€œWe could…come with you.”
    A muscle ticked in his jaw as he took the cloth and re-wet it. He folded it carefully and placed it over the spot once more.
    â€œWe’ll have to take your car, then.”
    She stared at him stupidly. “We will?”
    â€œThe Porsche won’t handle baby seats.”
    She blushed. Of course. Nothing stated bachelorhood any stronger than a two-seater rocket with three