Read Online One Last Night by Melanie Milburne - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Melanie Milburne
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it properly confirmed for a start,' he said. 'We will have to trust the doctor's confidentiality on that but I am sure that won't be a problem. You will need to rest as much as possible. Are you feeling well in yourself?'
She bit into her bottom lip again, reminding him once more of a small child abandoned by what it held most secure. 'I'm a bit nauseous but not overly so. I am tired on and off, and I have a bit of a backache, but I think that is more to do with overdoing it, as I said, at yoga.'
'I think you should stop all formal exercise until you have clearance from the doctor,' he said.
'You have to take it easy, Maya. This is the most important event in your life. We've been given a second chance. Don't do anything to compromise it.'
Her grey eyes moved out of the range of his. 'Don't fuss over me, Giorgio. It won't change anything. If I lose this baby…' she gulped as if the words had hurt as she said them '…I don't want to get my hopes up too soon…'
Giorgio came over and enveloped her in his arms. It felt so good to hold her close. She fitted into his frame like a key going into a complicated lock. He buried his head into the blond silk of her hair, breathing in the scent of gardenia and the delicate feminine fragrance that was hers alone.
He could never forget it. It had lived on his skin for months.
Six months.
'Try not to worry, cara,' he said, already doing the worrying for her. 'What will be will be. We have no control over this. All we can do is take the necessary precautions to ensure this pregnancy gets the best chance possible to survive.'
She raised her pain-filled eyes to his. 'And if it doesn't?'
How could he answer? He wanted what she wanted. He wanted an heir, a child of his own, with his blood flowing through its veins. He had never doubted he would get what he wanted until they had encountered all those hurdles. Like so many people, he had readily, naively assumed he would do the deed and get the results he wanted.
Life, with its twists and turns, had a way of making you re-evaluate that assumption. He took very little for granted these days. He lived from moment to moment, wondering if he would achieve the things he most wanted in life. His work fulfilled him, it challenged him enough to satisfy him, but it wasn't enough. It wasn't nearly enough. He wanted what Luca had. Luca hadn't had it easy; there was no way Giorgio could say any different. Luca had suffered, but he had come through. He had a beautiful loving wife and a gorgeous little daughter and another child on the way. What more could any man want?
It was what Giorgio wanted but, if he couldn't have it, surely that was in the lap of the gods, out of his control. That didn't sit well with him, however. He liked control. He was used to control.
He controlled everything that needed controlling. He did the numbers, he aligned the figures, he knew what had to be done and he did it.
But sometimes it just wasn't enough.
'Maya,' he said, struggling to find the right words, 'if this doesn't work out, if you still want a divorce at the end, we will discuss it then and only then. We are only together now for my grandfather. The pregnancy is a bonus, a surprise package that we can only hope will eventuate into a…' again he hunted awkwardly for the right words '…a live child.'
Giorgio saw the flicker of pain pass over her features. She was measuring herself in terms of whether she could deliver the goods. He wished then that he had thought of a better way to put it.
'I need to go to bed,' she said, as if that was the end of the discussion-for her. Her chin had gone up defensively, her slim shoulders were aligned tightly and there was a fiery light in her grey eyes that warned him not to push any further.
He reached down to anchor Gonzo's collar. 'I will take this boy out for a block or two while you settle into bed. If you need me during the night, just call me.'
She gave him a very determined look. 'I don't need you, Giorgio,'
She bit into her bottom lip again, reminding him once more of a small child abandoned by what it held most secure. 'I'm a bit nauseous but not overly so. I am tired on and off, and I have a bit of a backache, but I think that is more to do with overdoing it, as I said, at yoga.'
'I think you should stop all formal exercise until you have clearance from the doctor,' he said.
'You have to take it easy, Maya. This is the most important event in your life. We've been given a second chance. Don't do anything to compromise it.'
Her grey eyes moved out of the range of his. 'Don't fuss over me, Giorgio. It won't change anything. If I lose this baby…' she gulped as if the words had hurt as she said them '…I don't want to get my hopes up too soon…'
Giorgio came over and enveloped her in his arms. It felt so good to hold her close. She fitted into his frame like a key going into a complicated lock. He buried his head into the blond silk of her hair, breathing in the scent of gardenia and the delicate feminine fragrance that was hers alone.
He could never forget it. It had lived on his skin for months.
Six months.
'Try not to worry, cara,' he said, already doing the worrying for her. 'What will be will be. We have no control over this. All we can do is take the necessary precautions to ensure this pregnancy gets the best chance possible to survive.'
She raised her pain-filled eyes to his. 'And if it doesn't?'
How could he answer? He wanted what she wanted. He wanted an heir, a child of his own, with his blood flowing through its veins. He had never doubted he would get what he wanted until they had encountered all those hurdles. Like so many people, he had readily, naively assumed he would do the deed and get the results he wanted.
Life, with its twists and turns, had a way of making you re-evaluate that assumption. He took very little for granted these days. He lived from moment to moment, wondering if he would achieve the things he most wanted in life. His work fulfilled him, it challenged him enough to satisfy him, but it wasn't enough. It wasn't nearly enough. He wanted what Luca had. Luca hadn't had it easy; there was no way Giorgio could say any different. Luca had suffered, but he had come through. He had a beautiful loving wife and a gorgeous little daughter and another child on the way. What more could any man want?
It was what Giorgio wanted but, if he couldn't have it, surely that was in the lap of the gods, out of his control. That didn't sit well with him, however. He liked control. He was used to control.
He controlled everything that needed controlling. He did the numbers, he aligned the figures, he knew what had to be done and he did it.
But sometimes it just wasn't enough.
'Maya,' he said, struggling to find the right words, 'if this doesn't work out, if you still want a divorce at the end, we will discuss it then and only then. We are only together now for my grandfather. The pregnancy is a bonus, a surprise package that we can only hope will eventuate into a…' again he hunted awkwardly for the right words '…a live child.'
Giorgio saw the flicker of pain pass over her features. She was measuring herself in terms of whether she could deliver the goods. He wished then that he had thought of a better way to put it.
'I need to go to bed,' she said, as if that was the end of the discussion-for her. Her chin had gone up defensively, her slim shoulders were aligned tightly and there was a fiery light in her grey eyes that warned him not to push any further.
He reached down to anchor Gonzo's collar. 'I will take this boy out for a block or two while you settle into bed. If you need me during the night, just call me.'
She gave him a very determined look. 'I don't need you, Giorgio,'
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