It would be the same now. All he had to was go after her….
“Damn it!”
He swung away, marched into the kitchen and grabbed the kettle. She had fainted. She was ill. What kind of animal was he to think of sex now?
Besides, he wasn’t interested in getting involved with Aimee Black. As beautiful as she was, as much as he might want to make love to her, he’d never fully trust her.
No matter what she claimed, he would always see James Black’s hand in all that had—
The telephone rang.
Nicolo glanced toward the bathroom. The door was still closed; he could hear the sound of water running.
The phone rang again. Should he take the call? No. Surely she had voice mail….
Click.
Hi. You’ve reached 555-6145. Please leave a message after the tone.
A short metallic ring. Then a voice.
Hi, Ms. Black, this is Sarah from Dr. Glassman’s office.
Nicolo put down the kettle. He knew he shouldn’t listen to a private message but what was he supposed to do? Put his hands over his ears? Besides, this was from a physician.
Now, perhaps, he’d know why Aimee had fainted.
…vitamins. And iron. I meant to tell you that when we spoke earlier. Also, the doctor thought you might want a recommendation for an OB-GYN…
An OB-GYN? What in hell was that?
…absolutely fine, but it’s always a good idea to start with an obstetrician early in your pregnancy and, of course, you’re already in your third month….
The floor tilted under Nicolo’s feet. Pregnant? Three months pregnant? What did it mean? What in hell did it mean that a woman he’d had sex with three months ago was—
Aimee flew past him and slapped the machine to silence. Her face had gone from white to red.
“Get out,” she said. Her voice trembled as she pointed her finger at the door. “Damn it, Barbieri, do you hear me? Get out! Get out! Get—”
And with cold, relentless clarity, Nicolo knew. He knew exactly what it meant.
He had put a child in Aimee Black
’s belly.
CHAPTER SEVEN
AIMEE TRIED to tell herself this was all a bad dream.
Any second, she’d wake up, safe and in bed.
No phone messages from a receptionist who didn’t understand the meaning of privacy. No Nicolo Barbieri staring at her like a man who’d just seen his life flash before his eyes.
Most of all, God, most of all, no baby growing inside her belly.
But it wasn’t a dream.
Everything that was happening was hideously real, from the red light blinking with impersonal determination on her answering machine to the man standing in her tiny kitchen, dwarfing it with his size.