the party had been held every night with the hopes that he might be driving around there as well.
She shouldn’t have left that morning. She shouldn’t have been so scared that she’d had to run away. But in her defense, what she’d felt back then was scary! She’d had boyfriends before, but she’d never allowed them to go beyond kissing after a date. So finding herself in a man’s bed was a shocking and humiliating reality.
Despite her reservations, she knew what she had to do. Her parents had raised her to be honest and fair. Granted, the rest of the world didn’t always reciprocate, but that didn’t mean she should lower her own morals.
With shaking fingers, she dialed the number on the card. He answered almost immediately and she shivered when she heard his “Si?” as he answered her call.
The Italian, coming across the line only adding to his appeal, made her stammer more than she’d like. “Damien, it’s me. Jemma.”
“So soon?” he laughed. “You’ve changed your mind about dinner,” he said with satisfaction. “I’m glad.” That Italian accent was stronger now as his voice deepened. “I’ll have a driver pick you up.”
Jemma shook her head, her hand sliding through her hair, messing up what used to be a neat pony tail. “No. I need to talk to you. But I can’t get a babysitter. Can you come back? I know this is an imposition. And it sounds very strange since you just left but I…”
“I’ll be back in five minutes,” he told her and ended the call.
Jemma sighed, tossing the phone back onto the counter, wondering how she was going to break this to him. How could she tell a man that had just bought a puppy for his niece that he also had a son? “Surprise!” she said sarcastically to the air. Her house felt stuffy with all of her worries floating through the small rooms. She almost ran outside but came to a skidding stop when that long, elegant limousine turned the corner onto her driveway. Had it really been five minutes? She wasn’t ready! She needed more time! She couldn’t believe what was happening and turned her back, pacing along the gravel at the top of her driveway.
She had no idea how to tell the man that Dylan was his son. It was strange, crazy. She couldn’t believe that she was in this position. When she hadn’t been able to find Damien so many years ago, she’d accepted that Dylan was her son, that she would raise him alone. And she’d been perfectly fine with that! She’d turned her parents’ vegetable farm into a horse farm and she’d done well enough to support herself and Dylan. So why was she worried now?
She was afraid Damien would take Dylan away from her.
When the back door to the limousine opened and Damien stepped out, she could barely breathe. She wanted to scream at him to go away, to just leave them both alone, but she couldn’t. It wasn’t right. She should have been honest with him as soon as he’d seen Dylan. She’d been afraid Damien would recognize his son but now, needing to tell him the truth, she felt like she was going to throw up.
Damien looked like he was going to take her into his arms but she stepped back, her terrified eyes looking up at him. “Dylan is your son,” she blurted out. Then waited.
She watched the reaction in his eyes, wondering when the anger would explode. But the eyes didn’t change much. “My son?” he asked, amusement lacing his reaction. “How nice.”
Jemma blinked. “That’s it? That’s all you have to say?”
Damien shook his head. “What would you like me to say?”
Jemma stood up straighter. Her shoulders relaxed and her face broke out with a smile. “You’re not angry?” She looked at him distrustfully. “Why aren’t you angry? You just discovered that you have a son that you’ve never met.” With that statement, she tensed again. “I tried to find you. I drove around for hours every night after I got off from work trying to find you.” Her hands were fists by her side and she braced herself once again for his anger. “I shouldn’t have left you that morning. Goodness, there shouldn’t have even been a morning! Or a night! I should never have left with you that night! It wasn’t like me to do that.” She looked up at him, blushing since she remembered when he’d discovered that she’d been a virgin.