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“That is a great honor for me.”
“The honor’s mine, Father. I’ve brought the signed document giving you permission to waive the banns so we can be married in a private ceremony on Thursday.”
His eyes smiled. “You are in a great hurry, then.”
“You could say that,” Vincenzo responded in his deep voice.
Heat rose from Irena’s neck to her cheeks.
“It’s about time, my son.”
“I had to wait for the right one, Father.”
“And how does Dino feel about it?”
“When we left him a short time ago, he said he couldn’t wait. Do you think you’ll be able to fit us into your busy schedule?”
The priest’s expression grew more serious. “For you, nothing is impossible.”
Again Irena received the strong impression Vincenzo was someone of importance.
“Thank you, Father.”
“Have you been baptized, Signorina Spiros?”
Irena nodded. “In Athens.”
“Bene. Would one o’clock suit the two of you?”
Vincenzo glanced at Irena for her input. She nodded. “That will be the perfect time.”
“Come ten minutes early to sign the documents.”
“We’ll be here, Father.” The way Vincenzo was looking at her just then caused her legs to go weak. He cupped her elbow and ushered her out of the church. After the darker interior, the sunlight almost blinded her.
They walked across the street to the crowded trattoria. Tourists were lined up to get inside. But she was with Vincenzo. When he appeared, suddenly they were welcomed on through and shown to a table on the terrace where the waiter hovered to grant them their every wish.
“You’ve made a conquest of him,” Vincenzo murmured as the younger man hurried off with their order.
“You think?” she teased.
“I know. Have you forgotten I looked at you the same way when you swept into my office that day?”
Irena had to admit it had been an electrifying moment. At the time she’d tried to ignore what she was feeling, but apparently not hard enough as witnessed by the fact that she was seated next to Vincenzo and had just spoken to the priest who would be marrying them.
“Much as I like flattery as well as the next woman, I’m afraid the waiter’s attention has everything to do with you. Who are you, Vincenzo? I’d like to know the man who’s about to become my husband.”
One of his brows quirked. “You know who I am better than anyone. If you recall, I told you my family disowned me. But so it won’t surprise you when we sign the marriage certificate, you should know my legal last name is Valsecchi.”
She thought she’d heard it somewhere, but she couldn’t quite place the name.
“Thank you for telling me.”
He smiled the smile that had seduced her on her first trip here. “Di niente. I can’t have my pregnant bride suffer from an attack of the vapors on our wedding day.”
“I’m not the type.”
“Grazie a dio.” He drank the last of his coffee. “I think you’ve toyed with your salad long enough. Your cheeks look a little flushed from the heat. Let’s get you back to the apartment. While you nap, I need to run over to the plant for a brief meeting with the staff.”
A nap sounded good. He escorted her through the restaurant to the street. Once again they walked the short distance hand in hand, this time uphill. Vincenzo was a demonstrative, physical man who touched her often.
Irena discovered that with each contact, she felt more and more alive. When he saw her inside the apartment and told her he’d be back later, she suddenly didn’t want him to leave.
After he’d gone she decided to lie down for a few minutes. It surprised her that when she heard her phone ring and reached for it, an hour had gone by. The pills the doctor had given her seemed to have kicked in. They’d taken her nausea away, but she found she was sleepier.
“Deline?”
“I just put the twins down for their afternoon nap so we could talk. Tell me what’s happening.”
Getting up from the bed, Irena walked through the apartment to the terrace laden with potted flowers of every color. She leaned against the railing, feasting her eyes on the breathtaking view. “There’s so much to tell you I hardly know where to begin, but in a word, Vincenzo and I are being married on Thursday.”
The palpable silence coming from the other end wasn’t surprising. “You’re really planning to go through with this?”
“Yes. I just came from meeting the local priest who’ll be officiating.”
“You’re having a church wedding?”
“It’s what Dino wants.”
“Who’s Dino?”
She bit so hard on her lower lip, it drew blood. “Vincenzo’s adorable six-year-old son.”
“What?”
“I know this is a lot to absorb. For me, too. Let me start from the beginning.” For the next little while Irena told her everything.
“Oh, Irena…I don’t envy you for having to deal with an ex-wife.”
“I’m not thrilled about it myself.”
“Yet you still want to go through this. Obviously you’re crazy in love with this man, right?”
“Love? I don’t know about that yet, Deline. I thought I loved Andreas. I know one thing—he’s bigger than life to me, Deline. Every minute we’re together I find him more amazing.”
“Maybe too amazing?”
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Have you asked yourself why he’s willing to rush into marriage with you?”
“Deline—” she cried in exasperation. “I was the one who approached him, remember?”
“I know. I guess I don’t know what I mean.”
“He wants this baby and believes it’s his.”
“But it might not be his, Irena. If only you could find out before you go through with this marriage.”
Irena sank down in one of the wrought-iron chairs. Her eyes closed tightly. “The last doctor I talked to said that only a DNA test could give me definitive proof of paternity.”
“Then for all your sakes, I’d go get it done.”
“I’ve been considering it.”
“To tell you the truth, I’m surprised Vincenzo hasn’t demanded it, especially as he is making such willing huge sacrifice as quickly as possible to keep you. He must be nuts about you!”
Irena jumped up from the chair. “I know exactly why he’s marrying me, Deline. I figured it out the second I saw him with his son. That was no idle proposal he made two months ago. The fact is, he’s bound to a strict visitation order. He wants his boy to be able to live with him and be with him as much as possible. For that to happen he needs a wife, but she has to be someone Dino can accept.”
“Which means you’ve already won him over. There isn’t a child in the world who wouldn’t love you, Irena.”
Tears pricked her eyelids. “You’re a better friend than I deserve.”
“Who helped me through the blackest period of my life?” she said almost angrily. “I’m glad if I can do anything for you.”
“You already have by listening to me. In talking to you, I’ve come to a decision. No matter how painful it’s going to be on everyone concerned, I’ll never have a good night’s sleep again until I know the truth about this baby’s father.”
Deline groaned. “Now you’ve got me worried.”
“In truth it’s all I have done since I found out about this baby, but for the first time my mind is clear. I know what I have to do. When I look back, I realize Gabi went to Andreas armed with the DNA results on the twins. Before he ever approached your husband, he immediately had them checked against Leon’s DNA for a match. If I tell Andreas I’m having his baby, he’ll want DNA proof, so that’s the first thing that needs to be done.”
All of sudden Irena heard Vincenzo calling to her. “Deline?” she whispered. “I have to go.”
“Understood. Stay in touch.”
This was the second time Vincenzo had walked in on Irena and found her on the phone acting furtive. She broke out in a smile. It didn’t deceive him. “How did things go at your office?”
“Everything’s been taken care of for the time we’ll be away on our honeymoon.”
Her smile cracked. “Vincenzo—”
“I was hoping some rest would have done you good, but you seem agitated. What’s wrong?”
“There’s something you need to know. We can’t get married yet.”
He was used to his gut taking hits, but this one penetrated. “If you’re worried about a dress…”
She tossed her head back so hard, her hair came unfurled and the heavy weight swished against her shoulders. Much as he liked her gleaming black mane swept up, he preferred it undone. “You know I’m not.”
Irena didn’t have a vain bone in her fabulous body. “You said yet. What does that mean exactly?”
He could see her body trembling. “Once we’re married I want to be a good stepmother to Dino, but first I need to consult another doctor and get a DNA test done. It’s for all our sakes—” she cried as if he’d already protested. “I know I told you I wanted to keep it a secret from Andreas, but that was hysterical talk on my part. Of course he has to know the truth if the baby is his. I want answers as soon as possible.”
Vincenzo thought he wanted to know right away, too, but already he’d been living in a fantasy where the baby was his. The pulse throbbed at his temples. “When did you decide this?”
Her eyes, those mirrors of the soul, glistened with unshed tears. “While I was talking to Deline. If I get a test done, it will remove all uncertainty. I’m afraid at this point I can’t live without positive proof. Once I know the truth, we’ll go from there.”
As long as she wasn’t refusing to marry him, Vincenzo could live with it, although he dreaded seeing the evidence that Simonides was the father. “Then we’ll take care of it now.”
She looked at him with pleading. “You don’t hate me for this?”
“Irena—your pregnancy could be in jeopardy if you don’t have peace of mind. Are you ready to go?”
“Yes.”
They passed through the kitchen. She picked up her purse and followed him out the door to his car. For once her thoughts were so heavy, she stared blindly out the window as they made their way down the dizzying cliff to the Via Colombo.
“We’ll take the litoranea road to La Spezia. If you recall from the last time you were here, it’s only a twenty-minute drive.”
“The way you drive,” she teased unexpectedly.
His lips twitched, relieved for the moment she didn’t seem as tense. As she rested her head against the window, he turned on the AC and took advantage of the quiet to phone ahead to the hospital’s E.R. Hopefully an OB would be available to cut down the wait.
Soon the traffic grew heavier. When they reached the sprawling city proper, he wound around to the hospital and parked. The lots were so crowded, Vincenzo was glad he’d called ahead to arrange for a consultation. After guiding her inside the E.R., they only had a tenminute wait before an attendant called for Signorina Spiros.
They walked down a hall to a small office. The fortyish female OB greeted them in good English. “I’m Dr. Santi. What can I do for you?”
This was Irena’s arena. Vincenzo remained silent while she launched in with her request. While she gave the background that prompted her to come in, the doctor sat back in her chair, eyeing the two of them with compassion.
“I understand how anxious you must be to solve your dilemma. However, that kind of procedure called Chorionic Villi Sampling can only be performed between ten and thirteen weeks.”
“But that’s another month away!”
“Yes. And there is some minimal risk.”
Vincenzo reached for Irena’s hand. “Explain, please.”
“The test is invasive because cells have to be collected and this can cause certain risks for the fetus. Besides that, about one in two hundred women suffer a miscarriage because of this test. You need to weigh that against your need-to-know information. For example, you should consider whether not knowing the results will cause anxiety and whether knowing will be reassuring.”
“We’ve already determined we have to know,” Irena insisted.
Vincenzo had his own thoughts on the subject. Whether the baby was his or not he wasn’t happy about her having the test. He couldn’t wait to be a father again and didn’t like the idea that this could hurt the baby in any way. Worse, Irena could lose it, putting her own life in jeopardy in the process. To lose her was anathema to him.
He stared at Dr. Santi. “Do you perform this test?”
“I’ll oversee it. We have a perinatologist who does the actual procedure.”
He glanced at Irena. “I think we need to talk about this more.”
