LITMIR.BIZ

       CHAPTER TWO

      TESS HAD IMAGINED so many times the moment she’d finally tell Stefano about their precious baby.

      She’d pictured him crying out with joy and kissing her passionately, then taking Esme proudly in his arms. She’d dreamed of him falling to his knees to plead for her forgiveness for neglecting her so long—unavoidable as he was trapped on the desert island—and then begging her to be his bride.

      She’d never imagined this.

      “No.” Stefano’s black eyes were wide as he took a single step back on the sidewalk, his sleek jacket and trousers blending into the dark shadows. He looked down at the sleeping baby. “It can’t be true.”

      Her heart twisted. She whispered, “It’s true.”

      “How can you be sure?”

      She hid the pang she felt at his careless insult. “You’re the only man I’ve ever been with, Stefano. Ever, in my whole life.”

      “But we were careful. We used protection.”

      Stefano’s hard, handsome face looked so shocked Tess almost felt bad for him. She almost wanted to comfort him, to tell him everything would be all right.

      But even Tess’s tender heart couldn’t quite manage that. Not when the man she’d waited for all this time, the man in whom she’d placed her hope and faith, was making his rejection so clear—not just of Tess, but of Esme, too. She lifted her chin.

      “I was surprised, too,” she said evenly. “But it turns out condoms aren’t always one hundred percent effective.”

      “Why didn’t you tell me?” he demanded.

      Her jaw dropped.

      “How could I? I didn’t know your last name or where you lived.” She lifted her chin. “You always knew where to find me. You just didn’t want to. I waited for over a year, believing you’d return.” She hated the tears rising behind her eyes. “Everyone mocked me and teased me for it. I was in love with you, having your baby, and I didn’t even know your last name!”

      Tess was relieved for the distraction when her baby started to whimper. Blinking rapidly, she picked up the stuffed giraffe Esme had dropped on the sidewalk, then placed it tenderly in the baby’s arms.

      “It’s Zacco,” Stefano said abruptly. “My last name.”

      She looked up. “Zacco? Like the fashion brand?”

      Even Tess had heard of the legendary luxury brand, famous for its haute couture and iconic handbags printed with flamboyant interlocking Zs.

      “Yes,” he said, then shook his head. “My great-great-grandfather started it. I will buy it back soon.”

      “You don’t own it anymore? How could you lose rights to a company named after your own family?”

      His jaw tightened, and he looked at their baby. “How could you get pregnant?”

      The coldness in his voice pierced her heart. It was one thing for Stefano to treat Tess badly; another to be scornful of their baby.

      Sweet five-month-old Esme, so plump and adorable and always happy, at least when she wasn’t tired or hungry or teething, was already the person Tess loved most on this planet. Esme was her whole reason for living.

      “I’ve just told you that you have a daughter.” Tess felt a wave of dizziness that nearly brought her to her knees. She reached wildly for the stroller handle, gripping it tight so she didn’t fall. “And that’s all you have to say?”

      His eyes narrowed. “How do I know she’s mine?”

      “Stop asking that! I told you!”

      “I need more proof than just your word.”

      A white-haired couple holding theater playbills walked past, hand in hand. Seeing the way the couple smiled at each other, Tess’s heart ached. That was what she’d wanted for herself. A lifetime love.

      She’d wanted it so badly she’d been desperate to believe Stefano was the one, in spite of all evidence to the contrary. She’d be regretting it the rest of her life.

      “Forget it.” Her throat ached as she turned away. “We don’t need you.”

      Stefano ground out, “I’m sorry if I hurt you—”

      “Sorry?” Her voice trembled. “You’re not sorry!”

      “You’re wrong,” he said harshly. “I’m sorry I didn’t realize you were a virgin until too late. Sorry you imagined yourself in love with me when you didn’t even know me. Sorry you’re now trying to claim your baby is mine!”

      “Claim?” Tess’s tears blurred his image as colorful flashing lights from the billboards of Times Square moved over his hard, handsome face. “You’re right,” she whispered. “I don’t know you.”

      She couldn’t believe she’d been so horribly wrong about everything. Even now, Stefano still looked like a handsome dream—tall and powerful in his sleek suit. Even his scent, like Italian oranges and hot summer nights, made her heart twist with longing and grief for what she could not have, what had never truly existed.

      Reaching out, he gripped her shoulders. His dark eyes burned through her. “I never promised a future.”

      As she felt the weight of his hands on her shoulders, electricity pulsed through her, leaving her breathless.

      Her gaze fell to his cruel, sensual lips as she whispered, “I know.”

      She heard his intake of breath. His grip on her shoulders tightened. “Stop it.”

      “What?”

      “You know what.”

      His eyes were dark pools of hunger. As their eyes locked, sensual awareness coursed through her, sending sparks up and down her body, causing tension to coil low and deep inside her. Unthinkingly, she licked the corners of her lips. First one side, then the other.

      With a low growl, he pulled her hard against his body and savagely lowered his mouth to hers.

      She was lost in a rush of ecstasy as desire and anguished longing roared through her blood. She surrendered to the pleasure, to his power, his strength, relishing the feel of his arms wrapped around her.

      Then, as if from a distance, she heard a choked moan rising from her own throat, wistful and broken, and she remembered how he’d just crushed her heart to a million pieces.

      No. No!

      Ripping away, she stared up at him in horror, her lips still tingling with pleasure, her heart bruised by that brief fiery joy.

      “Don’t you dare kiss me!”

      His expression

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