‘I haven’t noticed you complaining. What’s your point, Cassandra?’
‘That I’m in a holding pattern here until the baby’s born.’
‘Like every other woman who’s expecting a baby,’ he pointed out.
‘Every other pregnant woman can make plans for when her baby’s born, but I can’t,’ she explained. ‘This isn’t real life and I’m not living in a real home. I’m living in someone else’s home—your home, your penthouse, which is more like a luxury hotel.’ She glanced around. ‘You keep nothing personal here. There’s no clutter, no mess. What happens when I bring the baby home? Where will you hold your grand receptions then?’
‘That should be the least of your worries.’
She wasn’t listening. ‘Or will I come back here at all?’ she said frowning. ‘Where will I go when I’ve had the baby?’ Her troubled gaze met his. ‘What’s going to happen, Marco? If I don’t take control I’ll never know. We haven’t even talked about it. You’ve just blanked out the future, as if it will never come.’
‘Stop,’ he murmured, drawing her into his arms. ‘You’re upsetting yourself and the baby...’
‘Yes. You’re right,’ she agreed, moving out of his embrace. ‘I should rest—for the baby, not for you.’
* * *
Swinging out of bed the next morning, Cass threw back the curtains on another glorious Roman day...the day when she finally came to her senses. However much she wanted to be with Marco, it was time to face the truth: their affair was going nowhere. The light bulb hadn’t just gone on in her head, it had dazzled her. There was no more time left to waste on daydreams. She had to make firm plans. If Marco didn’t want to be part of them, so be it. If she wanted change, she had to change things. If Marco wouldn’t make time to talk to her about the future when they were together at the penthouse, then she would just have to chase him down and make him have that face-to-face talk.
Picking up the phone, she called him at the office. Predictably, he was in a meeting. She left a message, asking for him to call her back, but when she heard nothing in the next hour she firmed up her plans to make her next move.
It wasn’t easy to make this decision. She had never pretended to be the bravest person on earth, but Marco had to listen to her.
Dressing discreetly, she called Paolo to ask him for a lift to Marco’s office. She wasn’t setting out to deliberately embarrass Marco in front of his staff, but as their affair was hardly a secret, her appearance surely wouldn’t cause much of a stir.
She lost a little bit of her confidence when the car drew up and she gazed at Marco’s gleaming white office building. Her mouth dried when she saw the discreet sign for Fivizzano Industries. It didn’t have to be a big sign when Marco’s impressive building took up half the block.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
HE COULDN’T HAVE been more surprised when his secretary told him who was waiting to see him in the outer office. Cursing softly beneath his breath, he wondered what the hell Cassandra thought she was doing. What was so urgent she couldn’t have spoken to him at home?
He stood as she entered the room.
Marco looked so menacing, framed against the window with the light behind him.
She refused to be intimidated, though his svelte, blonde secretary had made a point of reminding him that he had another appointment in ten minutes. Was that the usual drill for females who turned up unexpectedly, or was she getting special treatment for being pregnant?
‘Cassandra.’
‘Marco.’
‘Why are you here?’
‘May I sit down?’
‘Of course.’
Immediately, he was thrown, she noticed, but his good manners came into play. She could only pray they would last.
They didn’t.
‘What do you want?’ he asked sharply, all the veneer of the gracious Italian lover gone now he was over the shock of seeing her there.
‘It’s important that I speak to you, Marco.’
‘You had to come to the office to speak to me?’ he demanded with no warmth in his voice at all. ‘We live in the same apartment,’ he pointed out in the same cold tone.
‘Where you avoid speaking to me every chance you get.’
‘I spend more time with you than anyone else.’
Yes. In bed. Her cheeks flamed red as Marco’s impassive stare levelled on her face.