Carlo went to the pharmacy and bought the pregnancy test, leaving it in Annette's room before going in search of her. He found her returning with a bundled-up Jo-Jo from their walk.
Pamina stepped forward and offered to remove Jo-Jo's outer clothes for Annette.
Her cheeks rosy from the cold and her hair windswept, Annette nodded. "If you don't mind, bring her down to the kitchen and I'll feed her before her bath."
Despite everything, Carlo's body reacted like it always did to Annette's presence. Desire coursed through him as she undid her own outer layers in a thoroughly unsexy striptease that nevertheless resulted in him having to adjust his stance, so his arousal wasn't too noticeable.
Annette noticed anyway. Her eyes widened. "What's that about?" She nodded toward his erection. "Developed a fetish for the outdoorsy vibe?"
"I want you in all your vibes. I thought we'd established that."
"Are you saying you haven't been with anyone else?"
He was not sure how she drew that conclusion from his words, but it was true. "Not in a long time, no."
"What? You've got gorgeous women on your arm at every social function."
"Not every date ends in bed."
"Ours always did."
"That should tell you something."
"That we're sexually compatible." She waved with her hand. "That's chemistry. It doesn't mean much."
"It meant a lot to me five years ago."
"But not now. You're the one who said he wanted to get over me so you could go looking for the perfect paragon to marry."
"I never used that term and naturally, if you are pregnant, my plans will change."
"You think so?" she asked enigmatically.
"I do think so." Carlo spoke with all the arrogant confidence at his disposal.
It had always been his policy to begin as he meant to go on. And if she was pregnant, he meant to marry her.
Annette was getting ready for bed when a firm knock sounded on her door. She hurried into her sleep pants and grabbed a cardigan to put on over her sleep tank before opening the door.
Carlo stood on the other side, his gorgeous face cast in expectation. "Well?"
"What?" Then she realized and grabbed his arm, tugging him into her room.
She wasn't having this conversation out in the hall.
Annette shut the door and locked it for good measure. "I'm not taking the test until tomorrow morning. They're most accurate when used first thing in the morning."
She didn't mention that was mostly true for testing early in a pregnancy and if she'd gotten pregnant in Sicily, Annette would now be almost four months along. She'd had a short period that first month and none since, but her periods had been sporadic since taking out the IUD. Her body was still adjusting, or so her doctor assured her.
Annette certainly didn't mind the months she got to skip her monthly.
"Oh. I had not realized."
"Why would you? Unless you'd thought you'd gotten other women pregnant." She looked at him expectantly.
"No. Never." Carlo looked at her attire and smiled. "Interesting pajamas."
Her cardigan was dark orange, her sleep pants were lime green and her sleep tank was grey with a black and white picture of iconic cartoon characters kissing on the front. Under were the words,closet romantic.