Phantom Marriage

‘After which he was happy not to use a condom, like any man.’

‘Yes,’ she said again, but this time with a deep sigh.

‘Oh, dear…’

‘You think I’m pregnant, don’t you?’

‘Not necessarily. But it’s well known that a girl is always extra vulnerable to a man at the time she ovulates. It’s Mother Nature.’

Veronica began to feel sick.

/> ‘Look, that might not be the reason you lost your head over this man. You did say he was pretty irresistible.’

‘He is.’

‘You’d have to be very unlucky to be pregnant. Look, why don’t you buy a pregnancy testing kit and find out one way or another?’

‘I can’t do that. Not here on Capri. Everyone knows everyone on this island. It would soon get around and Leonardo’s parents might hear.’ She shuddered at the thought. ‘Anyway, it’s way too early to get a reliable result.’

‘Not necessarily. I saw a show on TV that said those tests can tell pretty early these days.’

‘I suppose I could catch a ferry over to the mainland and buy one there.’

‘Buy two. That way, you can take a test a few days apart and be sure.’

‘That’s a good idea. Thanks a lot, Mum. You always know what to do.’

‘Not always. But at least it would put your mind at rest. Now, are you still coming home early, or has that idea gone by the board?’

‘I’m not sure now. I haven’t changed the flight yet.’

‘Let me know what you decide. And what the results of the test are. What do you think you’ll do if you are pregnant?’

‘Come straight home.’

‘And do what?’

‘I don’t know yet. I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.’

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

NEGATIVE. IT WAS NEGATIVE!

Veronica stared at the testing stick for a long time before dropping it on the bathroom floor then burying her face in her hands. Oh, thank God, thank God.

After a few sobs of relief, Veronica dropped her hands from her face, picked up the stick and threw it into the small bin under the vanity.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want a baby. Just not Leonardo’s. At least, not right now. If by some miracle he was genuinely in love with her and wanted a future with her then, yes, having his baby would be the best thing in the world. She’d always wanted children, but only after she was married. No way did she want to go down the single mother road, like her own mother.

Not that she could be absolutely sure yet that she wasn’t pregnant, she thought as she stripped off and stepped into the shower. It was still early days. But the girl in the chemist yesterday—it was called a farmacia in Italy—had assured Veronica that this particular test was the latest and best and could detect a pregnancy as early as a week. Given it was now Sunday morning, nine days after she and Leonardo had first had sex, then the test should be accurate. But she would take the test again in a few days, having followed her mother’s advice to buy two kits.

But she wouldn’t worry about that today. Today, she could at least go to lunch with the Fabrizzi family without having to pretend that everything was fine. But first she would text her mother with the good news.

* * *

‘Veronica,’ Elena whispered to her during dessert. They were sitting next to each other in the middle of the long table under the pergola, with children on either side.

‘What?’ Veronica whispered back, immediately tensing up at the urgency in Elena’s voice.