The Forbidden Ferrara

It was a pregnancy test.

Laurel’s mouth was dry.

Why would a woman who couldn’t possibly get pregnant need to take a pregnancy test?

‘I don’t need this. I can’t be pregnant.’

‘That’s what I thought,’ Dani said happily. ‘Turned out I was wrong. Look, do you want to—’

‘I have to go and lie down.’ Her head spinning, Laurel walked away from her friend, bumped into a chair and stumbled down the steps to the beach.

She couldn’t be pregnant.

Ten minutes later she was sitting in the empty villa, staring at a positive pregnancy test and swallowing down the bitter taste of fear.

It was happening all over again, except this time she’d skipped the moments of anticipatory joy and jumped straight into deep, dark terror.

Hand shaking, she rummaged in her bag for her phone and punched in his number.

When it went straight to voicemail she felt a rush of panic because she’d so badly wanted him to answer. ‘Cristiano?’ She tried hard to keep her voice steady but somehow it came out as a desperate whisper. Oh, God, she was going to sound needy and pathetic. And then she remembered that his phone was off because he was finalising the Sardinian deal. How could she have forgotten that? He didn’t have time to nursemaid her. It wasn’t fair of her to put him in this position. The urge to beg him to come home was almost desperate but she tightened her grip on the phone and forced the words through the panic. ‘I just called to wish you luck in your meeting.’

Cristiano was about to go into the most important meeting of his life when his phone rang.

It was Santo, calling with a final set of figures for him.

Armed with everything he needed to close the deal, Cristiano ended the call and then noticed that he had a message waiting.

‘Cristiano?’ Carlo looked at him expectantly and Cristiano nodded, checking his voicemail as he walked through to the meeting room.

He stopped dead as he heard Laurel’s voice.

‘Cristiano? I just called to wish you luck in your meeting. ‘

She must have called in those same few minutes he’d been talking to Santo.

He frowned, oblivious to the men around the table, all waiting for him to start the meeting. Why would she be calling to wish him luck? He’d seen her that morning and she’d wished him luck in person.

‘Cristiano?’ Carlo’s voice was more urgent this time but Cristiano lifted a hand to silence him.

‘I need to make a call. Excuse me.’ Leaving Carlo to keep the conversation going, Cristiano stepped out of the room and dialled Laurel’s number but there was no reply.

Cursing under his breath, he checked his watch. She was supposed to be sitting by the pool gossiping with his sister.

Frowning, he played the message again and this time he heard the change in her tone. The long pause between saying his name and wishing him luck.

He played it again.

‘Cristiano?’

Something was wrong.

He called his sister but, predictably, her phone was engaged.

‘Cristiano?’ Carlo was standing in the doorway. ‘What the hell is going on? They’re waiting for you. It’s taken five years to get to this point.’

Cristiano tried Laurel’s number one more time but her phone was switched off.

Laurel never phoned him when he was working.