Claire’s frown started to fade the more he spoke. “Do you mean like playdates? I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but it’s going to take a long time for me to be comfortable if we’re just spending an hour or two together every Saturday afternoon. How much can I learn about you during the occasional walk through the park?”
Luca shook his head. “Actually, no, that’s not what I mean. You’re right. It’s going to take more time than that.”
“What are you suggesting, Mr. Moretti?” her lawyer asked.
“I’m suggesting we both take a little time away from our jobs and spend it together.”
“Tiptoeing around your penthouse apartment?” Claire asked.
He shrugged. He hadn’t given much thought to where or how. “Why not?”
“I would prefer more neutral territory, Mr. Moretti. I won’t be comfortable in your home, and I doubt you’ll enjoy the mess a baby and all her things can make in your fancy apartment. You’re not going to be happy coming to Brooklyn, either.”
“Okay. What do you think about us taking a vacation together? Renting a beach house or something?”
“Luca, I’m not sure that’s such a good—”
“I’m listening,” she said, interrupting Edmund’s complaint. Claire’s delicate brows then drew together in confusion. “It sounds nice, but how long of a vacation are we talking about, here?”
If they were going to do this, and make it work, they couldn’t skimp. She was right; a few hours here and there wouldn’t get them anywhere. He needed to get to know the mother of his child, to bond with his daughter and to make Claire at ease with him and his ability to care for Eva. That would take time.
“I think a month ought to do it.”
Two
“A month?” Claire was stunned. “Mr. Moretti—”
“Please, call me Luca,” he said with a smile that made her pulse quicken in her throat.
That was a dangerous smile. It was charming. Disarming. Combined with his movie star good looks, it was enough to make her forget that he was the enemy, not a potential paramour. She almost preferred that he return to his cold, businessman expression.
“Luca, I have a job. I’m a curator at the Museum of European Arts. I can’t just leave for a month, especially on short notice.”
“Do you think it will be easy for me to simply turn over the reins of my family company for a month? It will be a hardship for both of us, but it has become very clear that it is a necessity to make this work. We need time away, just the three of us, to get comfortable with one another. Don’t you think Eva’s welfare is worth the sacrifice?”
Nice. Now Luca was the good guy and Claire was the one being unreasonable because she wouldn’t do whatever it took for her daughter. “Of course she’s worth the sacrifice. My daughter is my whole life.”
“Then what’s the problem? The way I see it, our court date with the judge is in six weeks. After spending four of those weeks together, perhaps we can come up with an arrangement that makes both of us happy and can present that to the judge.”
Claire felt Stuart squeeze her knee beneath the table. She didn’t have to look at her lawyer to know that he liked this idea. No one wanted to go up against Edmund Harding in court if they could avoid it. Going to see the judge with both parties on the same page would make things easier on everyone. Including Eva.
That was the thought that won her over. Her boss wouldn’t be happy, but he would understand. He knew what she had been going through the past two years. He’d be the first to tell her she deserved a vacation. Maternity leave was hardly a break. That was just a six-week introduction to the hard life of a single mother.
“Okay. If you agree to take the emergency visitation filing off the table, I’ll agree to your proposal.”
Luca nodded slowly and gestured to his lawyer. “Okay. I’ll make the arrangements for a location.”
“I’d prefer it not be too far away,” Claire said. “Long trips with a baby are difficult, and I’m not sure I’m ready to take her on a plane.”
“I have an old friend from college who has a place on Martha’s Vineyard. Would that suit you?”
Claire tried not to react. Martha’s Vineyard was the summer playground of the rich. Until recently, she’d been solidly middle class, and a vacation locale like that had always seemed out of her reach. The sudden increase in her checking account balance hadn’t changed her mind-set along with her tax bracket. “That would be suitable,” she said, coolly.