Baby Mine - Tressie Lockwood Page 0,3

forever connected to you. What we need to discuss now is your moving here.”

“Whoa. What?” She shook her head. “I’m not moving here, Renzo. I realize you have a lot going on…” She glanced around to the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and the expensive furniture that occupied his office. “But I have a life back in Charlotte. I’m not going to up and leave it just because you want involvement in my baby’s life, and like I said, you should worry more about how you’ll tell your wife!”

His slow grin made her grit her teeth. “I do not have a wife, Jada.”

“Well—”

“Nicoletta is a family friend, nothing more.”

Jada didn’t bother informing him Nicoletta had designs on him, since she’d thought she was his wife when she first saw the woman. If she had her way, she would be more than a family friend by tomorrow. Jada tried not to care one way or the other. She chose another tactic. “Listen, for a while it got hot and heavy in Venice. We couldn’t keep our hands off each other, and that one night we didn’t use protection. I’ve decided I can handle things. I don’t want you to feel obligated. With my job, I even have great health benefits.”

“So in other words, you will suffer the consequences of our actions, but I get off free.”

She glared at him. “I don’t consider it suffering. I’m happy about the baby.”

“Then so am I. Stay. We have much to discuss.”

“Renzo—”

A knock sounded on the door, and then it opened. An older man with deep wrinkles around his eyes, furrows in his forehead and salt and pepper hair stepped into the room. Jada recognized only a slight resemblance to Renzo, but it could be just that he was dark with an olive skin tone.

“Uncle Gianni, I didn’t know you were back.” Renzo stood, and the two men hugged, patting each other’s backs.

“Yes, I just got in. With my flight so late, I thought it might disturb dinner if I called for a pickup. I know how your mother hates disruptions to mealtime.”

“Then I could have arranged for a car,” Renzo insisted.

“Never mind.” His uncle waved a large hand. “I heard we have an unexpected visitor. Ettore said you were particularly excited about seeing this young woman.” Dark eyes swung in her direction, and Jada caught the open assessment. Something told her Gianni had already jumped to conclusions about why she’d shown up. Apparently, the way he waited for an explanation, he expected he had a right to get into Renzo’s affairs. She resisted the urge to tell him to mind his business.

“Forgive me.” Renzo reached out a hand and grasped Jada’s wrist in a light but firm touch to draw her closer to his side. “This is Jada Thompson, and she is having my baby.”

Jada didn’t have to run through a range of possible reactions from Gianni. She had his number from the second he walked through the door. Red tinged his face, and his eyebrows crashed low over his eyes. The sneer he directed at her would have cowed a lesser woman. She had never allowed any man to bully her, and she didn’t intend to start with this one.

“How do you know it’s yours?” he demanded of Renzo. “For that matter, how do you know she’s really pregnant? We’ve been through this scenario a hundred times. Women find out your net worth and see their ticket out of poverty.”

“Uncle, you’re insulting! You owe Jada an apology.”

Jada held up a finger. “No, don’t worry about it, Renzo. He’s a pompous asshole who thinks the world is like him. If you need to see the doctor report that shows my positive results, I’ll be happy to show you. In fact, if you want to hold the stick I peed on at home, you can have that too!”

She faced off with Gianni and almost laughed when his color rose from his neckline to his forehead. Something told her he wasn’t used to women getting in his face, and she was happy to be the first one.

“It’s not necessary to be so—”

“Get out of my business,” she snapped and turned on her heel to stomp from the room. As she pulled the door closed behind her, she caught Renzo’s words as he laid into his uncle. She had to give him credit. At least he believed her. A few steps from the office door, she stopped. Did he believe her? Renzo had stood up for her, but was it