Interview with a Playboy (22 page)

‘You really love me?’ She stared at him, still too stunned to take it in.

‘Yes. I was just too…stupid to realise it. Too scared of making another mistake.’ He squeezed her hand ‘I want this baby, Izzy…but I want you too. I’ve just been too wary of mucking up your life to tell you. Because I’ve mucked up before…I’m not a safe bet. And you look at me with such vulnerability in your eyes sometimes that I ache to take it away…to make everything OK… But I’m just so wary of making promises.’

‘Marco, I told you I don’t need promises,’ she told him huskily. ‘But I
do
need you to tell me you love me again.’

‘I love you with all of my heart, darling Izzy…’

‘And if there is something wrong with the baby?’ The question tore through her fearfully.

‘We’ll deal with it together.’

He sounded so sure. Was she going to wake up and find this was all some kind of strange dream? she wondered suddenly.

The door opened and the sonographer came back into the room with a doctor. ‘I just need a second opinion on something,’ she murmured.

Once more the roller was placed on Isobel’s stomach, and everyone was looking at the screen.

‘Ah, yes…’ The doctor nodded and pointed at the screen. ‘You’re expecting twins, Ms Keyes,’ he said with a smile. ‘And everything is looking good.’

Isobel felt dazed as they made their way out of the hospital and across to where Marco had parked the car.

‘Did they just say that I’m expecting twins?’ she murmured, and Marco laughed.

‘Unless we are both suffering from the same defective hearing…yes—twins!’

They got into the car and just sat there for a few moments.
‘Twins,’ Isobel said again as she looked across at him, a look of wonderment in her eyes. ‘And did you just say that you loved me?’

Marco smiled. ‘Yes—all true.’

‘So it’s not some extraordinary dream?’

He shook his head.

‘And you are not still in love with your ex-wife?’

‘Oh, Izzy, no—most definitely no. We both let go of those feelings a long time ago. Lucy is very happy these days, and so am I—because for the first time ever I believe in second chances…’

Their eyes held.

‘I love you, Isobel Keyes.’ He said the words softly. ‘You will give me that second chance, won’t you? You will let me break down those wary barriers of yours and prove that I can be trusted…that I am good husband material?’

‘Husband material?’ She looked at him with wide eyes. ‘I thought you couldn’t do that again?’

He reached and stroked her hair back from her face. ‘Back in that hospital, when I thought for a moment that we might have lost the baby, I suddenly woke up to the fact that I could lose you too…that you might just walk away. And suddenly taking a risk with love again was nothing…
nothing
compared to the agony of not having you in my life.’

‘Are you
sure
this isn’t a dream?’ she asked shakily.

He shook his head. ‘So how about it, Izzy? Will you let me take care of you, protect you…love you for all time?’

She started to cry.

‘
Cara
…don’t cry. I know you have trust issues, but I promise I won’t let you down.’

‘Oh, God, Marco—I love you so much.’ She went into his arms then, and they kissed, and a kiss had never felt so good… so blissful…like coming home, she thought dreamily.

It wasn’t until they broke apart that they realised the car
was surrounded by paparazzi, frantically capturing every minute of their embrace.

‘Time to take this somewhere more private, I think,’ Marco said as he looked into her eyes. ‘Back to my place?’

‘That sounds good to me.’