MARCO ROLLED AWAY from her and flopped to his pillow, breathing as heavily as a man who’d run a marathon.
Eleanora was right there with him. She couldn’t seem to catch her breath as the energy of release and the boneless feeling of satisfaction took everything she owned.
“Okay. This was a good idea.”
She glanced across the pillows with a smile. “Yes. It was. And kindly remember it was mine.”
He laughed. “I had this idea long before you did. I simply wouldn’t let it fully form in my brain because I didn’t want to offend you. I wouldn’t even let myself try to think a way to make it happen.”
“You mean a good excuse to make it happen.”
“Ms. DeLuca.” He sat up. “Are you saying you used a ruse to get me into bed?”
“No. I meant what I said. We are about to be parents. There’s a closeness to that. I want it.”
He lay back down. “I do too.” He paused for a second before adding, “I want it all.”
“Diapers?”
He sat up and gaped at her. “Stop always jumping to the hard parts. Remember the low-hanging fruit theory?”
She sighed. “Figure out the easy things first so you get a feeling of accomplishment that will boost you into being able to do the more difficult stuff.”
“Exactly.”
“Meaning we’re back to names?”
He lay down again and didn’t answer for a second. When he did speak, it was carefully. “Since we’ve changed our definition of what we want, I think there are new avenues to finding solutions to the other things.”
He confused her so much, this time she sat up and looked down at him. “What?”
He slid his hand to her bottom. “For instance, as long as we’re having a relationship through the pregnancy, traveling to and from Rome for visits might show us some things we need to know about handling visitation.”
“Oh.” His hand on her so intimately distracted her enough that focused thought was difficult. Speaking required real effort. “You’d come to Rome to visit me?”
He nodded. “And as long as you were allowed to travel over the next six months, I’d expect you to come to Manhattan to visit me.”
She thought about that.
“I have a private plane at my disposal. We have a private plane at our disposal. Once you grow accustomed to that convenience, it might help you to understand how our child could easily travel to Manhattan for my scheduled visits.”
“You would put an infant into an empty plane and fly him or her across the Atlantic and then scoop her up when she arrived?”
“No. Either I would fly to Rome to get her, or I’d send the nanny. In fact, I’m thinking sharing a nanny might make this work even easier.”
“Huh.” Her face scrunched as she considered it. “I see what you’re saying.”
“Okay, if you’re able to consider that. Here’s something else I’d like you to consider.” He rolled her to her back and landed on top of her. “Stay with me. Here. Until January first.”
Confusion had her face contorting again. “You want me to stay until after the holidays?”
“Yes. But think it through. You’re already spending Thanksgiving so we can tell your parents, and you promised your mother you would have Christmas dinner with her and your dad. What I’m doing by asking you to stay is saving you who knows how many transatlantic flights.”
She snorted. “You’re so helpful.”
“Yes,” he said seriously. “I am.”
She slapped his shoulder playfully, but when her hand landed on his solid skin, it lingered.
Their eyes met and he smiled at her before he lowered his head and kissed her. Every inch of her body warmed. Every nook and cranny of her heart filled with joy. And she wondered why she was arguing over a couple of trips when staying with him would be absolutely glorious.
She woke the next morning to find Marco staring at her. Her eyebrows rose but she said nothing.
He kissed her. “Good morning.”
“Good morning.” She waited half a second before she said, “What’s up?”
“I was just wondering when we’ll be able to feel the baby move.”
The one consequence to involving Marco in every step of her pregnancy was the barrage of questions. It wasn’t just that his curiosity was insatiable. It was more that he liked knowing absolutely everything about everything.
Luckily, she knew the answer to this. “About four months.”
“And we’re—”
“About three months along.”
“Meaning, we’ll feel the baby move around Christmas?”
She nodded.
He dropped a kiss on her mouth before he got out of bed. “All the more reason for you to stay through the holidays.”
She laughed. “You can stop. I already decided it’s probably a good idea. Though it wouldn’t hurt for me to make an appearance or two in Rome. Maybe I fly there the Monday after Thanksgiving and around the fifteenth of December?”
“And stay a whole week each time?”
She shrugged. “How about only a day or two.”
He said, “Okay,” before he caught her hand, helped her out of bed and headed to the shower.
After making love in the shower and eating doughnuts for breakfast, Marco suggested they move her things from the guest bedroom to the primary suite before going Christmas shopping.
“I don’t have a gift for my dad or my sister.” He helped her carry her suitcase to his room. “Other years, I sent them flowers or candy or something easy like that. This year because we’re getting together again, I think I need actual gifts.”
“Definitely.” She paused before asking, “Where’d you get the chocolates?”
“I had them shipped from Belgium...” He laughed. “You’re hungry for chocolate?”
“You could have gotten chocolate icing on at least one of those doughnuts.”
He brushed a kiss over her lips, then set her suitcase on the small bench where she could either unpack it or have easy access to it. “I’ll remember for next time.”
“I think you should also get a box of the chocolates from Belgium.”
He laughed and she unpacked, using two drawers he emptied for her and a small section where she hung her work clothes.
Skipping lunch, they headed out to Bloomingdale’s then Saks Fifth Avenue. He couldn’t find anything for his dad, but Eleanora helped him select a beautiful cashmere sweater for Chiara. She bought expensive pajamas for her mom but told Marco she’d be ordering tools for her dad.
“Small things so he can do some busywork around the house.”
He thought of all the work that probably needed to be done in the family cabin, where his dad wanted to spend Christmas Eve. But he dismissed the worry. By Christmas his dad would have already done all that work. “Good idea.”
On a whim they walked into a toy store. Marco glanced around in awe.
“We could get a crib with cartoon characters on it.”
She laughed. “A mobile with characters would be smarter.” She looked around too. “Are you going to go nuts buying things for this kid?”
“Maybe. Probably.” He shrugged. “Who knows?”
She laughed at him, and he spent an hour looking at toys that their baby wouldn’t be interested in for years. But she let him have the afternoon to think pleasant thoughts. He recognized it was because she wanted him in a positive frame of mind, so he’d stop researching possible complications. Still, a rest from overthinking was good. Thanksgiving he drove them to her parents’ house in his Range Rover. They arrived at the two-story Colonial house after a leisurely drive. A light dusting of snow had fallen. To be on the safe side, he raced around the SUV’s hood to open her door for her and help her out. He held her hand walking to the front door but when she pushed it open, he dropped her hand.
He wasn’t entirely sure how the sexual side of their parental enjoyment worked, but he did know that it wouldn’t be fair to give her mom and dad the wrong idea. He and Eleanora might be having a child together, but they were both on the same page about long-term relationships. He didn’t believe in them. Hers hadn’t worked out. They knew romantic relationships were temporary. Meaning, it would be wise to keep this one from her family.
“Mom! We’re here!”
Her mom raced out of the kitchen drying her hands on a pumpkin-colored dish towel. Immediately, she hugged Eleanora, then Marco.
“I’m surprised you were free,” she said to Marco as she pulled back from her hug.
“My family doesn’t always do holidays.”
Patty DeLuca gasped. “Then you should come here for more of them.”
He laughed. “Thank you. But you’d get sick of seeing me.”
“Nonsense. James! The kids are here.”
Eleanora rolled her eyes when her mom referred to them as kids, but Marco wasn’t surprised that was how her mother still saw them. From the time he was six and Eleanora was five, they had been as thick as thieves.
Her dad came out of the room to the right. Marco could see the big-screen TV and the football players currently occupying the screen. He hugged Eleanora, then shook Marco’s hand.
“How’s business?”
“Not the same since you retired.”
James DeLuca owned the company that supplied linens for Grand York’s restaurants and eventually the hotel bedrooms. He’d made a small fortune. Which was why he could afford a good-sized house in Connecticut.
“Oh, baloney,” James said. “The people I employed didn’t forget customer service just because I sold the company to somebody else.”
“No,” Marco agreed. “They haven’t. It’s still the best place to get our linens.”
Her dad took their coats. While Eleanora helped her mom in the kitchen, Marco watched some of the game with her dad. A bowl of chips sat on the coffee table beside a bucket filled with bottled beer smothered in ice.
“Help yourself,” James said.
Marco took a beer.
“So, anything new?”
“Having Christmas with my dad at the old cabin.”
James sighed. “We had some good times at that cabin.”
“We did.”
“How is your dad?”
“Good.” At least he was as far as Marco could tell from their phone conversations.
One of the teams scored and a roar erupted from the television. James cursed and his attention zoomed to the game and stayed there until Eleanora’s mom came into the living room to get him to carve the turkey.
From there everything became a blur as Marco helped Eleanora put platters of food on the table, James carved the turkey and Patty supervised.
The turkey was perfect. The gravy tasted like a gift from the gods. The mashed potatoes melted in his mouth and the pie gave new meaning to perfection.
They talked about everything and nothing. Marco kept waiting for Eleanora to deliver the good news, but she didn’t mention her pregnancy.
When Patty rose to begin clearing the table, Marco stopped her. “Eleanora and I have something to tell you.”
Eleanora’s eyebrows rose. Patty sat again. “You do?”
“Yes.”
Eleanora cleared her throat. “Yeah, Mom. Um. Marco and I are going to have a baby.”
Patty clutched her chest. “That’s wonderful!”
James rose to hug Eleanora, then clasp Marco’s hand before enveloping him in a bear hug. “I am going to throw you two the wedding of the year.”
When neither Eleanora nor Marco answered, the dining room fell silent.
Finally, Eleanora cleared her throat. “Marco and I aren’t getting married.”
James’s gaze homed in on Marco. “What?”
“Well, sir, we’re friends who sort of slipped up the night of the grand opening of Eleanora’s hotel. We’re not—” He glanced at Eleanora. “Together.”
“The hell you aren’t!” James pointed at Eleanora’s stomach. “That baby says you are.”
“No. Dad. We’re not. We’re two professional people who love our jobs. Neither one of us has time for a committed relationship.”
Patty frowned. “But you’re going to have time for a baby?” Her disappointed expression intensified. “And you live in two different countries. How is that going to work?”
Marco took a seat, hoping everybody else would return to theirs. Eleanora did. Then her mom sat. But her dad stared at Marco for a good twenty seconds before he reluctantly returned to his chair.
“For one, we’re going to share a nanny,” Marco said. “She’ll take care of the baby when he or she is with Eleanora.” For the first time since he’d thought of it, Marco was totally grateful he and Eleanora had agreed to this. “Then she’ll come with the baby when he is spending time with me.”
Eleanora said, “She’ll be a constant in the baby’s life.”
James snorted. “A nanny, not a parent, will be your baby’s constant?”
The dining room grew quiet again and stayed that way.
After far too long without anyone talking, Patty suddenly took a breath and her face brightened. “You know what? I’m a firm believer that all things happen for a reason.” She laughed shakily as her gaze drifted from Eleanora to Marco. “Something drew you together at that party in Rome. Maybe you should trust that instinct and give a relationship a try.”
“Mom, you already said our biggest problem. I work in Rome. He works in Manhattan.”
“Oh, poppycock,” Patty said. “The man owns the company you work for. If he wanted to shuffle things around, he could.”
“Not really, Patty.” Marco winced. “There would be too much to change for me to work from Rome.”
“And I can’t work from Manhattan. I run the hotel in Rome. That’s my baby.”
“No. Your baby’s in your tummy,” Patty said.
James’s expression turned thunderous. “Your sister has a job and three kids. And a husband.” He caught Marco’s gaze. “Someone who loves your sister enough to marry her so he can help her with their family.”
Marco said nothing. At this point, he knew he wouldn’t change anyone’s mind, and he refused to bend under James’s condemnation. He knew how bad things could become if they tried getting married and it didn’t work. He knew how they’d hurt each other. He would not budge.
“Okay,” Patty said, “I’m going to leave you two to just think about this for a few weeks before I say anything else. But trust me. Babies aren’t easy. You’re going to need each other.”
“And we’ll be there for each other,” Eleanora assured her mom.
“No,” James said. “You’ll be there for him. Like you always are. He won’t be there for you because he’s never had to be. He spent his life giving you orders that you take. Even when you were kids taking the boat out, he’d be the captain and you’d be the first mate scrambling around doing everything he said.” He shook his head. “Trust me. This is going to turn out just like that. With him giving orders and you doing all the heavy lifting.”
Marco’s mouth fell open. Was that how they really saw him?
Eleanora took a breath. “We’ll work it out.”
The room grew silent again. Eleanora rose. “How about if Marco and I do the dishes?”
James tossed his napkin to the table. “That won’t prove he’s going to do his share of the work with your child. It just proves he knows how to suck up.” He stormed off to the living room again and Patty smiled shakily.
Eleanora shook her head. “I don’t understand why you two are angry. You’re getting a grandchild.”
“Oh, we’ll love another grandchild, and your dad will stop being mad. But right now, he and I both see that you’re missing the obvious.”
“Trust me, Mom. We’ll think it through.”
Patty smiled stiffly. “Well, I guess that’s the best we can hope for.”
She stood up and supervised the clearing of the table, packaging of leftovers and washing the dishes. By the time they were done, it was dark enough that Marco suggested they might want to head home.
Patty and James’s hugs to Eleanora were stilted. But neither even attempted to hug Marco.
Weird feelings tumbled through him. The DeLucas were furious with him. But he could handle their criticism. It was Eleanora he was worried about. Did she also think that he was just a guy who gave her orders and she did all the work?
Was that how she saw them raising their child?