“I wish I were. I think our secret is out. And that means Mia is in a lot of trouble.”
Flinging back the blankets, Luca reached for his pants and tugged them on. He needed to go out there and figure out exactly what the hell was going on. He opened the door, completely dumbfounded by what he saw. In the center of the living room, his mother was holding up Eva as if she’d gotten her hands on the Holy Grail. His father was standing behind her, making faces at the baby until she squealed with delight. That was bad enough. Then, just beyond them, he saw Mia talking to his other sister, Carla. No fewer than five children were running around the living room, seeking excitement and hell-bent on destruction. He could already tell that he would have to write Gavin a fat check for everything they broke.
Luca turned just in time to see his youngest brothers, Giovanni and Angelo, come up the stairs with their wives. They were all carrying suitcases. That was a bad sign. This wasn’t an afternoon visit. They were staying. What the hell was going on?
“Luca! You’re awake!” his mother exclaimed.
“Do you really think I could sleep through all this?” He didn’t even bother to mask his irritation. “What are you all doing here?” he asked with a pointed glance at Mia. His sister slunk behind Carla with a sheepish expression on her face. “And why, in God’s name, do you have luggage?”
“You with all the questions,” his mother snapped. She curled Eva to her chest and narrowed her gaze at him. “I’ve got a question for you, young man! How long were you going to keep our new grandchild from us?”
“A little longer than this,” his muttered under his breath. “How did you find out?”
“It’s my fault,” Mia admitted, as though there were another choice. “Well, actually, it was Eva’s fault.”
“You’re blaming the baby?” Luca asked with incredulity in his voice.
“Yes and no. Carla called me last night while you and Claire were at dinner. I shouldn’t have answered the phone, but I did. While we were on the phone, Eva started to cry. What was I supposed to tell her?” Mia asked. “I couldn’t think of a good lie fast enough, so I told her the truth and then swore her to secrecy.”
“So naturally, when I got off the phone I immediately called Mama,” Carla said, confirming his logic on not telling her in the first place. “This wasn’t the kind of secret you keep, sorry.”
“She was right,” his mother, Antonia, chimed in. “How could you keep this beautiful little girl from us? Especially after everything you went through with Jessica.”
“Because I’ve just found out about her myself,” Luca said, scooping up the child from his mother and clutching Eva protectively to his chest. “And after what did happen with Jessica, I wanted to be sure before I told anyone. Once I got the test results, I selfishly chose to get to know Eva and her mother before all this happened.”
His mother’s hand came up to her mouth. “You don’t even know the mother? At least with Jessica you two seemed to really be building toward a future together. I thought I taught you better than that, Luca. You’re supposed to be a gentleman.”
Luca sighed and rolled his eyes. “It wasn’t like that. Mama, you know I can’t...” He couldn’t even say it aloud. He didn’t need to. His whole family knew the truth, anyway.
“It was an accident at the fertility clinic,” a woman’s voice said from behind him.
Luca turned to see Claire standing in the doorway of the bedroom. In a matter of minutes, she’d dressed and transformed back into the prim and put together Claire he knew. Her dark blond hair was twisted into a bun, and her lips and cheeks were pink with a touch of makeup. She was wearing another sundress that looked amazing on her figure.
“Mama, Dad, everyone...this is Claire Douglas, Eva’s mother.”
“Oh, Luca.” Antonia made a beeline for Claire, pulling her into a huge embrace. “Lei è bella.”
Claire flinched slightly at the unexpected physical contact, but Luca could tell she was trying to play it off. She’d better get used to it. His whole family was very physically affectionate.
“Hello,” she managed with a soft smile as his mother finally pulled away.
“It’s so good to meet you, Claire. I’m sure we would’ve met sooner if I’d known you and Eva existed.” There was a biting tone at the end of his mother’s words directed at Luca. He didn’t care.