Читать книгу Passionately Ever After - Metsy Hingle - Страница 11

For a moment, Maria couldn’t speak. In the time she’d known Steven, she’d discovered a man with many layers. The smart, ambitious businessman who’d made his first million before he’d turned twenty-five. The kind and caring man who loved his family as fiercely as she loved her own. The passionate and tender lover to whom she’d given her virginity and her heart. But never once, not even when she’d refused to take their relationship public or to discuss his offer of marriage, had she seen Steven like this—in a white-hot fury made all the more chilling because he kept it so tightly leashed.

Anger emanated from every pore of his being. It was there in the tight lines around his mouth, in the ticking of the muscle in his right cheek, in the hard set of his jaw. Despite her sweater and the heat of the fire, Maria shivered beneath his icy blue glare. Not because she feared Steven would harm her physically. She didn’t. She knew he would sooner cut off his arm than hurt any woman. But the contempt she read in his eyes struck her like a blow.

“It’s a simple question, Maria. I’d appreciate an answer.”

Maria’s head swam. Squeezing her eyes shut, she wrapped her arms around herself and fought to steady herself, searched for the right words to explain.

“Look at me, Maria,” he commanded in a voice so soft she had to strain to hear it. “Were you even planning to tell me about the baby? Or did you think I didn’t deserve to know I was going to be a father?”

She snapped her eyes open and forced herself to meet his gaze. “Of course you deserved to know,” she told him. “And I was going to tell you.”

“When?” he demanded. “After the baby was born? What were you going to do? Send me a birth announcement and tack on a note saying ‘By the way, congratulations, you’re a daddy’?”

Maria wanted to cringe beneath the contempt in his voice, but she forced herself to face his anger. After all, she reasoned, he was entitled to be furious with her. She’d had months to get used to the idea of becoming a parent while Steven…Steven had been blindsided by the news because she’d kept silent. “No. I was going to tell you before the baby was born. I swear I was,” she said, hoping he believed her. “I never intended to keep it from you, Steven. I’ve been wanting to tell you for months now—almost from the moment I found out that I was pregnant.”

“Then why didn’t you?” he asked, anguish in his voice, in his eyes. “Dammit, Maria! How could you lay in my arms, make love with me and tell me that you love me, and then keep something like this a secret?”

Maria ached for him. She ached for herself and for all the pain they had both suffered during the past few months. Lifting her hand, she touched his cheek. “I didn’t want to keep it a secret. I wanted to tell you. I just didn’t know how.”

Some of the fierceness in his expression eased at her words. He turned his mouth into her palm and kissed it. At the gentle touch of his lips, Maria’s heart swelled with love for him. Oh, how she loved him, she thought. She stared at his handsome face—the sharp angles of his jaw, the proud chin, the sweep of dark lashes that covered his too-serious blue eyes. In the firelight, his black hair gleamed like polished onyx and she had to quell the urge to brush back that errant strand that always fell across his forehead. Instead she somehow found her voice and said, “I’m sorry. I never meant for you to find out about the baby this way. I had hoped…I had planned—”

“Shh. It doesn’t matter now,” he said and reached for her other hand. His eyes never left hers as he brought her fingers to his lips and kissed them again. “All that matters is that we’re together now, and that we’re going to have a baby. A baby,” he repeated, his voice filled with awe. “I still can’t believe it. We’re actually going to have a baby.”

“Steven—”

He silenced her with a kiss. “Do you have any idea what I’ve been going through these past months? All the things that went through my head when you left that note and disappeared. I was so angry with your family. I was sure that they had found out about us and forced you to go away.”

“No, they didn’t,” she began. “It wasn’t them. It was me. It was all my idea.”

“Yeah. I figured that out after talking to Karen last week. But there was a part of me that didn’t want to believe you could do that—just up and leave me the way you did, not after what we’d shared.”

Guilt tugged at her. “It wasn’t easy. I…I didn’t know what else to do. I thought if I could get away, that if I had some time alone to think…”

“That’s what Karen said. But it didn’t stop me from worrying that maybe you’d had second thoughts about us, that you’d begun to believe the things your family had been saying about the Contis sabotaging Baronessa Gelati. I thought…I was afraid that you hated me. That you’d regretted what we’d shared.” He swallowed and continued, “I was afraid that you’d regretted loving me.”

“No,” she told him honestly, and unable to stop herself, she brought her palm to his cheek. When he once again turned his face and kissed her palm, she didn’t withdraw. Regret loving him? No, she thought. It would have been easier for her to not take her next breath than to ever regret falling in love with him. Growing up with both her grandparents and parents as examples of what real love was all about, she knew what she felt for Steven was real. In fact, she doubted that she’d even had a choice when it came to loving him. She simply did—had almost from the moment they’d first met. And while she regretted the problems and the heartache their love would cause their families, she couldn’t ever regret the love they’d found with each other. How could she when the child growing inside was a result of that love? Their baby was a beautiful miracle, a gift she would always cherish, just as she would always cherish having been loved by Steven. “I’ve never regretted loving you. Never. Not even for a minute.”

“Thank God,” he said, and as though her reply had opened some floodgate of emotion inside him, he pulled her into his arms.

After so many months without him, Maria reveled in the feel of Steven’s arms around her again. This time when he lowered his head to kiss her, she made no attempt to deny him or herself.

His mouth closed over her own. Steven kissed her—tenderly, passionately, hungrily. When his tongue tested the seam of her lips, Maria didn’t hesitate. She opened to him. Tongues explored, danced, mated. He kissed her and kissed her, each thrust of his tongue fueling the need for more. By the time he tore his mouth free and groaned, Maria felt dazed. Awash in emotion and sensations, she clutched at his shoulders, fearful her knees would buckle at any moment. Then his clever, oh-so-clever mouth began to kiss the shell of her ear. Tiny, nibbling kisses that made her heart race and her blood heat. When he nipped the lobe of her ear, Maria sucked in a breath.

It was a mistake, she realized as she breathed in his familiar scent. Suddenly her senses were flooded with the smell of him. He smelled of soap and fresh snow and the forest. And Maria couldn’t help but think of how many times during the past few months those scents had triggered memories of him, had made her ache to be in his arms again like this.

When Steven began planting a string of kisses along her jawline, Maria knew she was playing a dangerous game. She wanted Steven desperately, loved him just as fiercely. Yet there could be no future for them. She knew it, had known it almost from the start. Not even the baby growing inside her could change the impossibility of them sharing a life together. To allow Steven to continue would only make him believe otherwise. And to do so would be wrong, she reasoned. “Steven,” she began, knowing she had to tell him to stop.

But then he kissed her neck and the protest died on her lips. Tipping her head back, she gave him the access he sought. As he kissed her throat, the hint of whiskers along his jaw felt like fine sandpaper brushing against her softer skin. The sensation was erotic, seductive. When Steven flicked his tongue across her sensitized flesh, Maria nearly whimpered. She curled her fingers into his sweater, marveled at the feel of hard muscle and sinew beneath the soft cashmere.

“So sweet, so incredibly sweet,” he murmured, his breath a warm rush against her fevered skin. Her heart pounded so wildly in her chest, Maria feared it would burst at any second.

When Steven nudged aside the V-neckline of her sweater and shirt to kiss her collarbone, her breath hitched. Sliding her fingers through his hair, she pulled his head up and brought his mouth back to her own.

This time when their lips met, it was Maria who groaned as he nipped at her lower lip and took control of the kiss. Maria’s head swam beneath the onslaught of his mouth and tongue, the feel of his hands sliding down her back, over her hips. When he cupped her bottom and lifted her, pressed her against his arousal, Maria trembled.

“God, Maria, I’ve missed you so much,” he said as he continued to pepper her face with kisses.

“And I’ve missed you,” she admitted, lost in the feel of his mouth and hands on her after so long without him. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the baby…that I ran away like I did….”

“I told you, it doesn’t matter,” he said, cutting off her apology with another earth-shattering kiss.

When he lifted his head, Maria could have sworn the world had tilted beneath her feet. In an effort to steady herself, she looped her arms around his neck and only then did she realize that Steven was carrying her toward the couch.

Gently he placed her atop the cushions and sat beside her. She’d barely had time to register what had happened when he cupped her face in his hands. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and said, “The only thing that matters is that we’re together now. I swear, I won’t let anything ever keep us apart again.”

His words were like a dash of cold water, instantly sobering Maria. “Steven,” she began.

“I swear to you, Maria, I’m going to be the very best husband and father,” he continued.

“Steven, don’t,” she said and struggled to sit up.

“What is it? Is it the baby? Did I hurt you or the baby?”

“No. No, the baby’s fine. I’m fine,” she assured him.

“Then what is it? What’s wrong?”

“We need to slow down. Everything is happening too fast,” Maria told him.

Steven’s gaze slid from her face to her belly. “Sweetheart, from where I’m sitting, I think we need to move fast,” he said, a note of humor in his voice. “When’s the baby due?”

“In February,” Maria said. “On Valentine’s Day, February fourteenth.” She waited several heartbeats for him to acknowledge the ominous date.

He didn’t. Instead, he said, “Then we don’t have much time to plan the wedding. I’ll be honest, I’d just as soon we elope right now with just Magdalene and Louis as our witnesses.”

“Steven, please.”

“But if you’ve got your heart set on a big wedding, I understand,” he said, ignoring her protest. “I have only one condition, that we get married before Christmas. I want us to start the New Year as husband and wife.”

“Stop it!”

He jerked back as though she’d slapped him, and narrowed his eyes. “Stop what, Maria?”

“Stop trying to railroad me into marrying you.”

Steven stood, but continued to stare down at her with accusing eyes. “Is that what I’m doing? Railroading you into a marriage you don’t want?” He didn’t give her a chance to answer. Instead, he continued, “I love you, and I thought you loved me.”

“I do love you,” she told him, feeling frustrated and confused. It was the truth. She did love Steven with all of her heart.

He knelt down beside her and captured her hands in his. “Then marry me, make a life with me and our baby.”

She tugged her hands free and looked away. “You know it’s not that simple.”

“I know it’s not that difficult either. Most people who love each other and are expecting a baby get married.”

“We’re not most people,” she reminded him. “I’m a Barone and you’re a Conti.”

“And our baby will be both,” Steven pointed out as he stood once more.

“I know that. It’s just—”

“We can make this work, Maria,” he insisted. “I know we can. We’ll get married and you can move into my apartment. Or we can buy a house and—”

“Don’t,” Maria cried out, unable to bear having Steven describe a life for the two of them that she knew in her heart wasn’t possible. Tears stung her eyes. And she immediately blamed those threatening tears on her body’s hormones—hormones that had been out of whack since she’d become pregnant. Because she was afraid if she admitted the truth—that she wanted the life with him that Steven had described—she would weaken. And she couldn’t afford to weaken now. Not when there was so much at stake. Deciding she needed distance in order to clear her senses and think rationally, Maria said, “I think it would be best if you were to leave now.”

“Forget it. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Then you’ll have to excuse me,” she said primly.

But Steven didn’t move a muscle. He simply stood there, looking tall and daunting as he stared down at her.

“Please get out of my way,” she said firmly, coolly.

His expression hardened and for a moment she thought he would refuse. Then he stepped aside and offered her his hand. Maria hesitated, then admitting that her added bulk from the baby made getting up more difficult, she accepted his help. But once on her feet, she quickly pulled away and hurried past Steven. She walked over to the fireplace. As she stared into the flames, she searched for the right words to make him understand that she couldn’t marry him. A marriage between the two of them would never work. How could it when their union would rip apart both of their families? Worse, she feared they would only end up hating each other.

“If you think giving me that ice-princess routine is going to make me give up, then you don’t know me as well as I thought you did. I’m not leaving here until I get the answer I want, Maria.”

And she wanted to give him the answer he wanted. Because it was what she wanted, too. Only she couldn’t do that. Not with the threat of the curse hanging over her and their unborn child. The idea of something happening to her own baby sent a surge of panic through her, and before she could stop herself, a sob escaped her lips.

“Damn,” Steven muttered. He could just kick himself for causing Maria to cry. And although he couldn’t see her face, he’d bet his last dollar that Maria was already regretting that outburst of tears. He knew her well enough to know that she would consider those tears a show of weakness. But then, Maria had always been her own harshest critic, he thought. Probably the result of having a family that expected far too much of her.

It simply wasn’t fair. Why did she have to be the one designated to carry on Angelica Barone’s legacy? Why couldn’t someone else run the popular Baronessa Gelateria in Boston’s North End? Why did it have to be Maria? There certainly were enough Barones to share the load. But no, for some reason, they all dumped it on Maria’s shoulders. And as far as he was concerned, the entire lot of them had taken advantage of her for far too long. It simply had to stop.

He stared at Maria’s slender shoulders, could only imagine the enormous weight of responsibility they carried. Not only had she been burdened with the problems of running the gelateria and trying to live up to everyone’s expectations of her, but she’d also had to face the pregnancy alone. He should have realized what was wrong long before now, he told himself as his own guilt escalated. But instead of helping her and relieving some of that stress she was under, he’d only managed to add to it. The realization made him feel ten times worse.

Regretful for having upset her, Steven moved behind Maria and placed his hands on her shoulders. “I’m sorry,” he said softly. “You know I’d sooner cut off my arm than hurt you. I hate knowing that I’ve made you cry.”

“You didn’t. Make me cry, I mean. I’m not crying,” she fibbed even as she swiped at her eyes.

“Well, that’s a relief.” Hoping to lighten the mood, he quipped, “Because when a fellow tells a girl he loves her and asks her to marry him, tears aren’t exactly the reaction he’s hoping for.”

“Oh, Steven, I’m sorry,” she said, tears once again in her voice.

Steven sighed. Since his attempt at levity hadn’t worked, he tried honesty instead. “Is the idea of marrying me so awful?”

“No,” she said and he didn’t miss the hand swiping at her eyes again.

“Then why the tears?”

“I’ve got something in my eye. Probably just an eyelash,” she offered in explanation.

“Want me to take a look?” he asked, hoping to get her to turn around and look at him.

“Thanks, but it’s out now. I…I’m all right.”

“You don’t sound all right. You sound sad, and I don’t ever remember you being sad—not even when things were a mess.” Even amidst the disaster of the new flavor launch in February when she’d had plenty of reason to cry, she hadn’t shed a single tear. Nor had she given any indication of feeling defeated—not like she was doing now.

She let out an audible breath. “It’s my hormones. The pregnancy has them all messed up.”

“I think we both know it’s more than just hormones at work here.” When she didn’t respond, Steven squeezed her shoulders. “Talk to me, Maria. Whatever it is, I promise we’ll work it out.”

“We can’t work it out.”

“How do you know if you won’t at least talk to me?” he asked. When she still remained silent, he pleaded, “I love you. Please, don’t shut me out.”

“I’m not shutting you out.”

“Aren’t you? What do you call running away from Boston the way you did?”

“I didn’t run away.” She straightened her spine and stepped away from his touch. Picking up the fire poker, she prodded at the logs in the grate. “I told you, I needed to get away. I wanted some time to think, to figure out what I should do about the baby.”

Steven froze at her remark. Stunned he took a moment to find his voice. “You can’t mean that you considered…that you even thought for a minute about getting rid of…”

“No!” She whipped her gaze from the fire over to him. “How could you even think such a thing?”

“You’re right. I’m sorry. It’s just that for a minute I thought…” Steven rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know what I thought. I obviously wasn’t thinking straight.”

“You obviously weren’t thinking at all. If you had, you’d know that I would never do anything to harm my baby.”

“Our baby,” he corrected.

She didn’t comment, simply turned her attention back to the fire. “Anyway, I left Boston because I needed some time by myself so I could figure out how I’m going to handle things.”

“You mean how we’re going to handle things, don’t you?” Steven asked because he fully intended to be a part of her and their baby’s future.

When his question was met with silence, Steven took the poker from Maria’s fingers and set it aside. Then he turned her around so that she was forced to look at him. But one look at her face and he realized she was under even more strain than he’d first thought. Tear streaks stained her pale cheeks and there was a sadness in those big brown eyes that ripped at him. He wanted to take her in his arms, kiss her and tell her not to worry. That he would handle everything. That he would take care of her and their baby.

Yeah right, Conti.

Considering that mile-wide independent streak of hers, he’d be damned lucky to even get the words out before she tore a strip off of him. And then she’d be even more determined to deal with everything on her own. Well, Maria wasn’t the only one with a stubborn streak. He had one, too. And he had no intention of letting her call all the shots. Besides, he reasoned, Maria was under way too much stress—which couldn’t be good for her or for the baby. Somehow he had to convince the lady to marry him if not for their sakes, then for the baby’s sake. “I think it’s pretty obvious what we need to do first.”

“You mean we should get married.”

Ignoring the fact that she’d made the idea sound as about appealing as having a tooth pulled, he said, “That’s right. And I think the sooner we do, the better.”

“I knew that’s what you’d say,” she accused and pulled away from him. “It’s the reason I didn’t tell you about the baby in the first place. Because I knew the moment you found out you’d start pressuring me to marry you.”

“I didn’t realize that you’d find the idea of marrying me to be a fate worse than death,” he countered, his ego smarting.

“You know that’s not what I meant.”

“Then why don’t you explain what you did mean?”

She sat down on the hearth in front of the fireplace and clasped her hands together. After a moment, she looked up at him. “I can’t imagine anything more wonderful than being married to you. And I think the woman who’s your wife will be a lucky lady.”

Feeling somewhat mollified and also relieved, Steven stooped down before her and captured her hands. “I’m the lucky one,” he told her and smiled. “Not only am I getting you for a wife, but a baby, too.”

Maria pulled her fingers free and stood. She moved to the other end of the hearth. “I wasn’t talking about me, Steven.”

“I was,” he informed her. He shoved up to his feet and followed her to the opposite end of the hearth. This time, he moved in, crowded her space. “There’s only one woman I plan on marrying, Maria Barone, and that’s you.”

She shook her head. “We can’t. Think of what it will do to our families, of the problems it will create.”

“We’ll deal with our families. And we’ll handle any problems that come up,” he insisted. “The important thing is that we’ll be together. I love you. I don’t want to sneak around to see you and keep our relationship a secret. I never did.”

“I know.”

“Then you should also know that I want to be able to wake up with you in the morning and go to sleep with you in my arms every night. I want to make a dozen more babies with you. I want to grow old and gray with you, Maria Barone. Marry me,” he pleaded.

“Steven, don’t,” she cried and started to move away.

He blocked her path. Capturing her hands in his own, he looked down into those big doe eyes. “Marry me. Say you’ll be my wife.”

“Oh, Steven,” she sobbed and pulled her hands free. “Why won’t you listen? Why won’t you even try to understand? A marriage between us would never work.”

“How do you know it won’t work unless we try?” he demanded, exasperation making his voice harsher than he intended.

“Because I know. Marriage isn’t the answer.”

“As far as I’m concerned, marriage is the only answer,” he spit out the words.

“Don’t be obtuse.”

How in the devil could someone so small be so stubborn, he wondered. Maybe the cavemen had had the right idea, he fumed. Because right now he was sorely tempted to toss Maria over his shoulder, drag her off somewhere and make love to her until she agreed to marry him. Surprised by the primal feelings she aroused in him, he swiped a hand down his face. Right, Conti. You go ahead and try that stunt and Maria will cut you off at the knees.

“You know very well what I’m talking about. Our families hate each other.”

“That’s their problem. Not ours.”

Maria stared at him as though he’d grown two heads. “Are you going to stand there and tell me that the bitter history between the Barones and Contis doesn’t matter?”

“It doesn’t matter. Not to me and you. The feud between our families has nothing to do with us.”

“How can you say that—especially with everything that’s going on right now?”

“Easily,” Steven said, although he knew it was much more complicated than he cared to admit at the moment. “If our families want to keep the feud going, let them. We don’t have to be a part of it.”

“No? What about the fact that your family suspects my cousin Derrick of kidnapping your sister?” And before he could respond, she continued. “What if they’re right? What if Derrick is the one responsible? Can you honestly say that it doesn’t affect us?”

Steven clenched his hands into fists at his sides. Acid churned in his stomach at the reminder of his sister Bianca’s abduction. Unlike Maria, who had a large brood of siblings, he had only his younger sister. When he’d first received word that both she and Derrick Barone had been kidnapped, he’d alternated between panic and fury. He’d turned over every stone and then some in his effort to locate them. And once private detective Ethan Mallory had zeroed in on Derrick Barone as a suspect in the kidnapping instead of a victim, Steven had vowed to find the bastard and slit his throat if he had harmed a single hair on Bianca’s head. Not even the FBI’s threat to charge him with obstruction had made him ease up on his search to find his sister. But when Ethan, too, had insisted he was getting in the way and hurting the investigation instead of helping, he had finally admitted that he needed to back off. It hadn’t been easy—not when he was going crazy with worry over his missing sister. Finally, he had done as Ethan requested. He’d backed off and let the detective and the FBI do their jobs. Unable to do anything more to help Bianca, he had resumed his search for Maria, which he’d abandoned upon news of the kidnapping. But even locating Maria and being here with her now hadn’t eased his worries about his sister. Nothing would until he knew that Bianca was safe.

“It’s obvious from your expression that you know I’m right.”

“What I know is that if Derrick is the one responsible for Bianca’s kidnapping and he’s harmed her in any way, he’ll have to answer to me.”

“You see?” Maria pointed out, her voice filled with despair. “It’s started already. What possible chance would we have together when there’s so much hate between our families?”

Cursing his own temper, Steven struggled to rein in his emotions and reminded himself that Mallory would find his sister. Right now, Maria and their baby had to be his primary concern. “We can make it work. I know we can.”

“Be realistic, Steven. There are simply too many things against us. A marriage between us would be a disaster.”

“You’re wrong,” he insisted. “We love each other. We can make this work. I know we can.”

Maria shook her head, and the motion sent his temper spiking again.

“I can’t believe you’re willing to throw away what we have all because of some stupid old feud that has nothing to do with us.”

“It’s not just the feud,” she countered. “Look at everything that’s happened to my family just since we started seeing each other.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about all the things that have gone wrong this past year beginning with that fiasco in February with the launch of the new passionfruit flavor for Baronessa Gelati. And then there was the fire at our plant. Then Derrick and Bianca were kidnapped. And now, now Derrick’s been accused of kidnapping your sister.”

“And your point is?” he asked, not liking at all the direction in which she was heading.

“The point is there’s more bitterness between our families now than ever.”

“Maybe there wouldn’t be if your family hadn’t accused mine of sabotage,” Steven defended. While he had never shared in his family’s dislike of the Barones or bought into what he considered a silly feud, he knew his family well enough to know that they would never resort to something that was both illegal and immoral. And the sabotage and fire at the Barone’s business were both.

“Can you blame them?” Maria countered. “Look at all the tragedies my family has suffered because of the Conti curse.”

Steven swore at the mention of the curse. “There is no curse.”

“Try telling that to your Aunt Lucia since she’s the one responsible for putting the curse on my family in the first place.”

Gritting his teeth, Steven said, “That so-called curse was nothing more than the foolish rantings of a brokenhearted and angry teenage girl nearly seventy years ago. It isn’t real. There is no curse.”

“Why? Because you say it doesn’t exist? Well, I’ve got news for you, Steven Conti. Just because you don’t believe in the curse doesn’t mean it’s not real. It is real. I know it is.”

“Maria, love, listen to yourself,” Steven reasoned. He searched to find the right words to allay her fears. He didn’t believe in the Conti curse, never had, never would. As far as he was concerned the curse was exactly what he’d claimed—the lashing out of a brokenhearted teenager who’d been jilted. Yet over the years the stories about the curse had taken on mythic proportions. Well, he’d be damned if he was going to let some crazy superstition stand in the way of his and Maria’s future. “Think, Maria. Think. You’re one of the smartest women I know. Surely you can see that all this talk about a curse is… It’s absurd.”

“Maybe to you. But not to me. And not to my family. The curse exists, Steven. We Barones have been on the receiving end of it for far too long to pretend otherwise.”

Steven realized that Maria’s heightened emotional state due to her pregnancy might allow her to buy into the idea of the curse more easily now than she might have under other circumstances. But he had enough obstacles to overcome in order to convince Maria to marry him. He simply couldn’t allow that blasted curse to be one of them. “I’m not saying your fears aren’t real. I know they are. But the Maria I know and love would never let fear dictate how she lives her life.”

“It’s not only my life I have to consider now. It’s the baby’s life, too.”

Steven moved closer, stared down into her eyes. “Don’t you know that I’d never let anything or anyone harm you or our baby?”

“I know you wouldn’t. But there are some things that are beyond even your control.”

“So you’re willing to throw away our future and our child’s future on the basis of an old wives’ tale about a curse,” he accused, frustration eating at him.

“I told you. It’s not just the curse that’s the problem. It’s our families. They’re enemies. And with the exception of my cousin Karen, no one has any idea that we’ve been seeing each other, let alone that I’m pregnant. Can you imagine how my family is going to feel when I tell them that you’re the baby’s father?”

They’d be as shocked as his family would be, he admitted in silence. “So, it will come as a surprise. But once they realize how we feel about each other, they’ll come around.”

“They’ll think I betrayed them.”

Her words cut through him like a knife. Worse, he had a sick feeling in his stomach that it wasn’t just her family Maria was talking about. “Is that what you think, too? Do you think you’ve betrayed your family by being with me?”

“That’s not what I said.”

“No, you claimed you won’t marry me because of our families and because of the curse. But maybe the real reason you’re putting up such a fuss is because you’ve had second thoughts about being involved with me. After all, I am a Conti.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked.

“It means that maybe you’re wondering if your family was right about us evil Contis. That maybe you too think we’re behind all the problems your family’s had this year.” Gritting his teeth, he accused, “Maybe you think that I had something to do with the sabotage and the fire.”

“I don’t believe any such thing.”

“Are you sure?” Steven pressed, temper and hurt driving him.

“I’m not even going to dignify that with an answer.”

When she started to move past him, Steven stepped in front of her, blocking her path. “Prove it. Prove you don’t believe I’m the enemy, that you don’t regret what we’ve shared.”

Maria narrowed her eyes. “How?”

“Marry me. Right now,” he said, not wanting to give her any more time to think about all the reasons they shouldn’t be together.

“Now? You expect me to marry you right this minute?”

“Yes.”

“That’s crazy. We couldn’t get married today, even if we wanted to.”

“Sure we could,” he insisted. “All we have to do is find a justice of the peace. I’m sure there’s at least one somewhere in Silver Valley.”

“But what about our families?”

“We’ll go back to Boston and tell them together. After we’re married,” he informed her.

“No. No, we can’t do that,” she said with a shake of her head. “We couldn’t spring this on them like that. I can’t even imagine how they’d react.”

“Hopefully, they’ll offer us their congratulations.”

She shot him a reproachful look. “You know they won’t.”

“They might surprise you, Maria. Your family loves you, and my family loves me. They’ll want us to be happy. Besides, my mother’s been making noises about wanting grandchildren. She’s been on me to get married for years.”

“I doubt she had me in mind.”

“Maybe not. But she’ll get used to the idea,” Steven assured her. “They all will.”

“Including your aunt Lucia?”

“She’ll come around,” Steven told her and hoped he was right.

“She hates anyone named Barone. You can’t honestly believe that she’ll ever accept me as your wife.”

“If she wants to remain a part of my life and our baby’s life, she’ll accept you,” Steven told her. But he knew Maria was probably right. His aunt Lucia wasn’t likely to accept their union. As much as he loved the older woman, he wasn’t blind to her faults—the biggest of which was her all-consuming hatred of the Barones. Unfortunately, Lucia Conti had spent nearly seventy years nurturing that hatred. He’d come to the conclusion long ago that his aunt had chosen to close herself off to any chance of ever loving again and had opted instead to make him and his sister her surrogate children. Sad as it was to admit, he suspected that he and Bianca had filled the void of a husband and children in his aunt’s life. Aside from them and the restaurant, her only passion in life was her hatred of the Barones. As much as he would hate to lose his beloved aunt in his life, he would hate even more to live his life without Maria and their baby.

“Does the same hold true for your parents and sister?” Maria asked. “If they refuse to accept me as your wife, are you going to shut them out of your life, too?”

“If that’s what it takes for us to be together, then yes, I will,” he told her without hesitation. And he meant it. While he hoped it would never come down to having to choose between his family and Maria, he would do so if necessary.

And it would be Maria that he’d choose. Maria and their baby. “So what do you say? Will you marry me?”