Secrets and Seduction Las Vegas (Sexy Italian Imports Book 1) (36 page)

“Your home fits your personality.”

“Thanks, I think it does. My parents freaked out when I told them I was having it built child-safe. They thought I was pregnant.”

He laughed. “I can imagine they would.” He took her hand in his. “And your love life?”

“My unwillingness to get close to men. Not wanting to have relationships.”

“Until me. I still can’t believe I’m the man you chose to fall in love with.”

“I had no fear of a relationship with you.” She made a sour face. “Except the day of the anxiety attack, but—”

“But that was your mother, wasn’t it?”

She waved a hand through the air. “I don’t blame anyone for my faults, but it was the same old pattern. I felt unsure, and my mother tried to convince me to do what she thought was best for me. Combined with my fear of commitment, a minor incident brought on a raging panic attack.” She relived the pain of losing control and the fear of losing Antonio, and she swallowed the urge to cry. “It’s…” She had to start twice to get words out of a voice choked with emotion. “It’s so easy for me to see in my patients, but it’s difficult to correct it in myself.”

“Valerie.” He bent closer to her. “I promise to let you propose to me when you’re ready to get married.” His smile was charming. “And I’ll just sit back and wait patiently.”

She laughed, her mood instantly brighter. “I might just take you up on that.” She tilted her head. “Do I buy you an engagement ring?”

“Yes.” He sat back and raised an eyebrow. “And I want a big shiny diamond to show all my friends.”

They laughed, and he handed her the glass of port. He lifted his Scotch. “To exorcizing our demons.”

She touched her glass to his. His turn to tell her about his demons. But when she smelled the port, she felt suddenly ill. Nauseated. She set the glass down and breathed through her mouth, trying to overcome the feeling.

“Sweet, your face is green. What’s wrong?”

“I felt nauseated for just a minute. Oh.” She was going to be sick. She put her hand over her mouth, looked at him with warning in her eyes, and quickly slid out of the booth.

Antonio jumped up and took her hand.

She was grateful he was there when she unexpectedly felt the room spin. He put his hand on her arm to steady her and walked her quickly to the restroom. “I’ll be right here,” he told her, holding open the women’s room door for her.

She ran to the first stall and lost her dessert, dinner, and even the martini and olive she drank at Paris. What a lovely way to end the evening. Food poisoning. What did they eat in common? They really only shared the dessert.

When she stepped out of the bathroom, he was still there, holding her purse. “They’re pulling the car up for us. Unless you’d rather sit a few minutes?”

She loved his concern. “No, I’d like to go.” He offered her his arm. When they got in the elevator, a wave of dizziness whirled around her again. “Hold me?”

He wrapped his arm around her, kept her tight against him as they walked through the casino, and held her upright until he got her seated in the car.

He jumped behind the wheel and drove cautiously.

She smiled. “I promise not to be sick all over your baby.”

“I don’t care about the car. Are you doing okay?”

“Better. Still a little dizzy. But the nausea’s not as bad.”

“Everything go?”

“Yup, cocktails to dessert. All gone.”

“New diet?”

“Not funny.”

“Sorry. Just trying to take your mind off it.”

She turned to him. “Are you feeling okay?”

“Yeah, so far. Do you think it was the shrimp?”

“Eeeewwww.” She remembered their reappearance. “Could be.”

He pulled into her driveway, opened the car door for her, and picked her up in his arms.

“Antonio, you don’t have to do this.”

“I don’t want you falling, baby.”

She snuggled into his chest. He managed to open the door, disable the alarm, and turn on the lights without jostling her. He took her upstairs and set her on the bed. “Nightgown?”

“I’m fine, Antonio. I can get myself to bed.”

“Do you want tea and crackers?”

“Actually, that sounds good. Do you mind?”

“Not at all. I’ll be back in a few minutes. Holler if you need help.”

“You’re my hero.”

“Hm.” He ran his thumb along her jaw. “I just bought you food poisoning. What a hero.” He took off his jacket, hung it on a doorknob, and walked out of the room.

She laughed. “You’re too good to me.” She started to stand, then thought of her responsibilities. “Oh.”

He hurried back to her side. “What is it?”

“Would you please bring my purse up? I should find a replacement for my shift at the shelter tomorrow.”

“Of course. I’ll be right back.”

She changed, brushed her teeth, took off her makeup, and found him with a tray of tea and crackers at her bedside. He propped her up in bed with pillows and handed her purse to her.

She set it on the bed. “I bet you haven’t carried a purse around this much in a long while.”

“First time.”

“You’re so macho.”

“Keep telling me that. It helps my ego.”

As she dialed her phone, she smirked at hm. “Like you have ego problems.” She connected with another psychologist, who agreed to fill in for her. While she was giving her details, Valerie glanced at Antonio.

He stared at himself in the full-length mirror and started flexing his muscles then posing in exaggerated body-building positions.

She held back a giggle, thanked her associate, and hung up then started laughing. “What are you doing?”

“Building my ego.”

“You’re nuts.” She still felt queasy, but his heavy-duty muscles popping under that sexy black sweater made her quiver low down in her belly, made her wet where she wanted his sex.

“I am.” He sat in one of her overstuffed chairs. “I’m too damn serious. I need to have more fun. Like you and your girlfriends and that bachelorette thing.”

“You want to come with us?”

“Riiiiight, thanks for the invitation. But I was thinking more of my buddies. It’s time for a poker night.”

“That does sound like fun.”

“And maybe you and I should have a party. Get my friends and yours together. I haven’t met Jules yet. I’d like to.”

“I’d really enjoy that. Let’s talk about it again after your book deadline.”

He nodded, working his jaw as she gazed off into space for a few moments. “How are you feeling?”

She sipped the tea and tried a corner of a cracker. “I’m fine. Just tired. Are you coming to bed?”

“I think you might sleep better alone.”

“I usually don’t.”

“You like sleeping with me?” He smiled, deliciously sexy.

“Ego maniac.”

“You love it.”

“I love you. Thank you again for the earrings. I’ve never received such a meaningful gift. I will treasure them.” She yawned and blinked a couple times.

“You’re welcome, love.” He got up and turned off the light on her bedside table. He took the teacup from her hand, resettled her in bed, and kissed her forehead. “Good night,
amore mio
.”

She murmured, “Love” before she fell asleep.

****

Valerie woke late the next morning. Opening her eyes, she expected to see Antonio, but the other side of the bed was empty. She stretched and sat up then saw him sleeping in one of the bedroom chairs, his feet up on the other one. She tiptoed over. He looked so sexy in his black sweater and tailored gray pants. She kissed his forehead and went into the bathroom.

He was awake when she climbed back into bed. “Feeling better?”

“Much. Come to bed.” She pulled down the covers. She wanted to feel him beside her. Or better yet, inside her.

“How about I get you something to eat first then, if you’re still doing okay, we can talk about getting it on.”

She smiled at his old-school phrase. “Okay, thanks.” She tossed back the covers and swung her legs over the edge.

“No.” He jumped up and lifted her feet back onto the bed, covering her with the blanket. “You stay right there. I’ll bring you breakfast. Any requests?”

“Toast, fruit, and cottage cheese?” He shivered slightly. He was all about meat. “For you, Antonio, there’s bacon and eggs.”

He smiled and returned in minutes with tea for her, coffee for him, and their separate breakfasts. Oddly, the smell of bacon made her stomach turn, but she covered it well and choked down her dry toast.

He took her dishes from her and gazed at her. “You really don’t look well. You should sleep.”

“I’m sorry, Antonio. I think you’re right.”

“Don’t apologize. But I…” He checked his watch. “Have to be somewhere at noon. I’m going to leave, but call me if you need anything?”

“I will.”

“Do you want me to call your mom or sister to come and stay with you?”

“Heavens no. It’s just a slight case of food poisoning. I’m feeling better every minute.”

“Okay, but call me and let me know how you’re doing.”

“I will. Thanks for everything.”

He kissed her forehead. “
Ciao
.”

The minute she heard the front door close, she ran to the bathroom and lost her tea and toast. Back in bed again, she called her doctor’s office and made an appointment for the next day. She could always cancel if she miraculously felt better in the morning.

But she didn’t.

****

“You’re about three weeks pregnant.”

Valerie stared at her doctor. “Me?”

“There are two of us in this room, Valerie Kane, and I wasn’t talking to myself.”

“I can’t be pregnant. I’m on the pill.” Valerie sat on the examination table in a paper gown, blanking out what the doctor said.

Who makes these paper gowns, anyway?

Dr. Kelly put her reading glasses on and opened Valerie’s file. “I put you on a low dose. It could have been too low. Some women’s bodies are very fertile. If you don’t take the pill at the exact same time every day, it can become ineffective.” She looked at Valerie. “Did you miss taking any pills?”

Valerie still wasn’t tracking. “Me?”

Dr. Kelly slid her glasses on top of her head. “Lie down, Valerie.” She pulled out the table’s leg extension and pressed the intercom button for her nurse. “Would you please bring in a bottle of water with a straw?”

Valerie stared at the ceiling. She was dizzy and nauseated yesterday and again this morning. A half hour ago, when the nurse called her in from the waiting room and asked for a urine sample, she didn’t think anything of it. “Duh.”

The doctor smiled. “That’s all you have to say?”

She’d known Dr. Kelly for years. Summer vacations, she had her annual physical with her. A few months ago, when she came in for a prescription for birth control, the doctor gave her a lecture on safe sex and pregnancy. Valerie totally ignored her. Duh.

“Your guy—how is he going to react to this?” The bottle of water appeared, and Valerie took a sip.

“He loves me. He bought me earrings.”

“Great.” The doctor leaned over her, looking at her eyes. She probably thought she was in shock.

“I don’t know what he’ll say. We just talked about a permanent commitment a few days ago. He didn’t seem too adverse to it.”

“What does he do?”

“He’s a writer. Crime novels.”

“Oh. So, you’d support him?”

Valerie laughed at the stereotype of the poor, struggling writer. “He does all right.”

“You sound like you’ll keep the baby.”

She sat up. “Absolutely.”

“Good. I can’t imagine any one of my patients being as good a mother as you’ll be.”

“Thank you. I didn’t realize how ready I was to have a child until I met Antonio. I hope he’s as ready as I am.”

“If not…” Dr. Kelly patted her leg. “He’d better get ready, because you’re going to be parents soon.”

The doctor gave her a sample of prenatal vitamins and told her, with a laugh, she could stop taking the birth control pill. She gave her a booklet on pregnancy and childbirth. Valerie stared at the book. She knew so very little about either subject.

They set up another appointment for two months, and Valerie left the office in a daze. She walked through the building and out to the parking lot, holding the
So, You’re Having a Baby
booklet to her chest, earning smiles from people who passed her.

She sat in her car for a few minutes. How would she tell Antonio? She wouldn’t see him until Sunday evening. Starting her car, she drove home. She’d need the weekend to think about it.

****

Sunday, things fell apart. Antonio called and said he couldn’t see her because he was behind on his publisher’s deadline. They made plans for Monday night. Monday afternoon, Valerie’s father was injured on a jobsite. He fractured his leg and required surgery.

Antonio met Valerie at the hospital and stayed with the family into the night. He left to get back to his writing, and she didn’t see him again until Thursday morning at the hospital. Her father was doing well and would be discharged the next week. He’d be on crutches for a few months but had suffered no permanent damage.

Before she could find a moment alone to talk to him, Antonio kissed her goodbye and left for his Thursday noon meeting. It could wait, but she felt guilty keeping it from him. She’d tell him Sunday.

On Thursday, she spent hours researching pregnancy online. She knew, on paper, exactly what she was doing. The nausea was under control, the dizziness dissipated. How soon could she start wearing maternity clothes? She’d stopped at a book store one day, bought a baby name book, and ordered one with Italian names.

At home, she stuffed a pillow under her shirt and looked at her profile in the bedroom mirror. She’d love a black-haired boy with Antonio’s beautiful brown eyes. Or a tiny girl with her blue eyes or her dad’s green eyes. Oh, crap—her family. She needed to tell them. The weekend after this was Monica and Joe’s engagement party. Best to wait and tell them after. And this weekend was the bachelorette party. How would she explain why she wasn’t drinking?

****

Friday morning, Valerie concocted non-alcoholic drinks for herself that looked like real drinks. Tonic with a twist of lime, margarita mix with no tequila, water instead of a martini. Yuck. Water tasted horrible with an olive in it.