With them here, all she could do was lay her heart on the line and see if he bit. Luca had acknowledged this baby was his. This updated offer was as close to an apology as he probably knew how to offer. But she wanted more. He’d spent weeks telling her she was worth more than what Jeff had given her. She’d finally decided to believe him, and she was going to demand it.
“This isn’t nearly enough. Your money doesn’t mean a damn thing to me. I want you to apologize for all the terrible, hurtful things you said to me. I want you to say you’re sorry for accusing me of sleeping with someone else and threatening to have security throw me out of the building. And then, when I’m satisfied, I want you, Luca.”
His sharp gaze met hers for a moment. He swallowed hard, then adjusted his posture in his seat. “Gentlemen, may we have a moment alone?”
“Luca, I don’t advise you to—”
“Alone,” he reiterated in a firm voice that left no question of his demand.
Claire squeezed Stuart’s hand reassuringly, and both men got up from the table. They made their way out, shutting the door behind them.
There were a few quiet, strained moments before Luca spoke. “I’m sorry, Claire.”
She wanted to respond, but she held herself back. With the lawyers gone, she wanted to know what he had to say.
“I’m not saying any of this because you’re demanding it. I’m saying it because it needs to be said. You’re totally right. I’m sorry I doubted you. I’m sorry I said all those horrible things. I just never believed that I...” His voice trailed off as he shook his head and looked down at the table. “For so long, I’ve felt incomplete. Having cancer robbed me of so much. Not just my childhood and my youthful sense of immortality, but my self-worth. My sense of safety.”
Claire watched as he pushed up from the glass conference-room table and walked over to the window. “Everything you said that day was right. I was scared. I’d put off knowing the truth for so long because it left me a glimmer of hope. Once I knew for certain, it was done. But I went to the doctor after our fight.”
He turned away from the view and looked at Claire. “I can have children. I never dreamed a doctor would tell me that, but he did. In that moment, I wasn’t happy, though. I felt terrible because I knew that you didn’t deserve any of the things I said to you that day.”
Crossing the room in four long strides, he stopped in front of Claire. “Did you really mean what you said before? That you still want me after everything I’ve said and done?” Luca dropped onto one knee in front of her and scooped her hands into his own.
Claire felt her chest tighten with each word he said. “I meant every word. I don’t want your money, Luca. I never have. And I do appreciate your offer of giving me full custody of the children. I know that’s a huge gesture for you. But it’s just not enough. I want my children to have a father. I want them to have you in their lives.”
Luca’s posture relaxed, and his dark gaze fell to their intertwined fingers. “And what about you? Do you want me in your life, too, Claire?”
At that, Claire sighed. She’d gone over this a thousand times in her mind. Should she be happy to have a child and some good memories from her time with Luca? Did she dare ask for more? Was more even possible? “I don’t know. A lot of that depends on you. A very smart man once told me that a woman is a gift to be cherished. I’ve spent far too long being treated as less than enough. I’ll want you in our children’s lives no matter what, but to be in mine, I want it all. I’m not going to settle this time, or ever again.”
Luca nodded slowly. “I don’t want you to settle. I’ve never wanted a woman to settle for me, and I don’t want you to have anything less than you deserve. Selfishly, I’ll tell you that I love you, Claire. The time we’ve spent apart has been agonizing. I absolutely want our children to play a part in my life, but I’ll be honest when I say it will kill me to see you every time we pass the children from one household to the other. It’s not at all what I want. I want us to be a family, together, but I’m worried.”
“About what?”
“I’m worried that I’m going to get sick again. I know I shouldn’t let it affect my decisions and how I live my life, but I need you to know that it’s a real possibility. If you can accept that and want us to be a family, okay. If losing you is the price I pay for my sins, I accept that, too.”