Happy Mother's Day! - By Sharon Kendrick Page 0,44

thought of Claudio.’ He studied her reaction. ‘It was my father’s name—it’s strong and I like it. Do you?’

‘Claudio.’ She tried the name. Closed her eyes and pictured the image of her son—already burned there for the rest of her lifetime. Yes, it suited him. It suited him very well. She opened them again, to find Gianluca watching her—a wary expression on his face, as if he were expecting something unpredictable. So start being yourself again, she reasoned. Stop being this shaky bag of post-partum insecurities. Bring back the woman who can cope with anything life throws at her. ‘Yes. I like that.’

‘Good.’ He poured them both coffee and handed her one and as she moved forward he noticed the swollen heaviness of her breasts and felt the unexpected beat of desire. A sudden yearning to go over there and kiss her.

Did men usually want their women this quickly after birth? he wondered—aware that this was completely new territory to him. Mercilessly, he swamped the feeling—because desire could cloud judgement and he needed his to be crystal-clear right now. ‘But this was about more than just a name—we also need to make some pretty big decisions.’

Her senses prickled. ‘Such as?’

‘Oh, come on, Aisling. There is Claudio’s future at stake here. Just out of interest—how do you see that future?’

It was strange to hear him say their son’s name. As if the baby had suddenly become a real person. And she would have been a fool if she had not anticipated this particular question either. ‘I’ve thought about it a lot and I think we can come to some sort of perfectly amiable agreement.’

He raised his dark brows. How calm she sounded. How utterly in control. ‘Really?’

‘Yes. I can do bits of work from home for the time being—and then I can go in part-time.’

Gianluca’s eyes narrowed in disbelief. ‘Aren’t you forgetting something in this cosy little scenario?’

Aisling stared at him. ‘Such as?’

‘Where does my son’s welfare come into all this?’ he demanded. ‘And where do I fit in?’

She heard the fiercely possessive note in his voice when he said ‘my son’ like that and her heart sank. None of this was happening as it was supposed to and Aisling wanted to reassure him—to tell him that she wasn’t going to deny him his child, but she wasn’t going to crowd him with unrealistic demands, either. She certainly wasn’t going to become one of those troublesome ex-girlfriends who was always looming into his life like a spectre, with a baby in tow.

‘You know you can see the baby whenever you like!’ she protested.

‘How very generous of you, mia cara,’ he replied, with soft sarcasm. ‘But aren’t you forgetting simple geography?’

Aisling nodded because she had been anticipating this, too. ‘Okay—so you live in Italy and I live in London—but the world has shrunk, Gianluca. You know it has. You can see Claudio …’ But her words trailed away as he leaned forward, eyes blazing black fire.

‘When? A weekend a month? A holiday in the summer? My boy growing up unable to speak Italian? You expect me to tolerate such a situation?’ He looked around and made an arrogantly sweeping gesture with his arm. ‘And you expect me to stand back and allow you to bring him up somewhere like this?’

‘What’s the matter with it?’ she questioned, stung—for she was very proud of her little home. ‘There’s nothing wrong with where I live!’

‘I’m not saying there is—it’s fine for a working woman, but not one who has a young child. There’s only one bedroom, for a start! Where’s he going to crawl when he’s able to? Out in that minuscolo—tiny little garden? Or straight into the traffic outside?’

‘Loads of people bring up children in London!’

‘Not my child,’ he said flatly. ‘Unless you’re expecting me to buy you a house? Is that what you are angling for?’

She stared at him, recoiling from the suggestion. ‘I won’t take your money—not for a house!’ she said proudly. ‘You can contribute towards his upkeep, if you insist.’

Upkeep. It was such a soulless little word and one which crystallised the idea which had been forming in the back of his mind since she had first told him that she was pregnant. Knowing that it was the only way to guarantee that he would not be pushed to the sidelines, according to her mood or whim.

‘I’m going to insist on a lot more than that, cara,’ he vowed softly.

Aisling sank back against the chair and eyed him warily. ‘You