Bound to the Tuscan Billionaire by Susan Stephens Page A

scrutiny, subject to suspicion, and then maybe that child would be discarded... and by him.
    * * *
    He stopped outside the modest door and checked the address. Lifting the serviceable knocker, he rapped sharply three times. He waited and knocked again.
    The door opened and there she stood. His whole body tensed as she stared at him in amazement. ‘Marco?’
    Her voice was faint with surprise, but it was the fact that Cassandra was so diminished in both body and spirit that shocked him. He had expected to be greeted by the robust woman who had taken him on and fought back, but this frail-looking girl seemed incapable of doing anything. She was like a wraith, a mere shadow of her healthy, sun-kissed, capable self. To say he was concerned would be an understatement. ‘May I come in?’
    Wordlessly, she stood back.
    The interior of the small terraced house was as neat as the exterior. It was compact but functional, with a tiny kitchen at the street end of the room. At the other end there was a solid fuel burner with a couple of battered sofas either side of it, and a fireguard already in place.
    The fireguard looked new, as if she was planning ahead and buying things bit by bit. A narrow staircase led up to what he suspected would be a maximum of two small bedrooms and a simple bathroom. Her front door opened directly onto the street, and he guessed there was no garden. There was certainly no display outside the front door to say that this was the home of an avid gardener, though he noticed that the pot plants on her windowsill were drooping. Seeing that almost jolted him more than anything else.
    Emotion got the better of him, and he launched straight in. ‘Why didn’t you tell me you were pregnant as soon as you knew?’
    â€˜I did—I tried to get in touch with you, but you wouldn’t take my calls.’
    â€˜You should have come to Rome.’
    She laughed. ‘That’s easy for you to say with a private jet at your disposal.’
    â€˜You shouldn’t have left Rome in the first place,’ he argued. ‘But you could have texted me, written to me.’
    â€˜How cold do you think I am, Marco? I’m not like you. I had to see you face to face and hear your voice before I could tell you about the baby. I couldn’t just type out the news that we were having a child like an invoice and submit it to you.’
    He ground his jaw, knowing she was right. ‘How are you getting on?’ He could see for himself, but for once he couldn’t find the right words to say.
    She shrugged.
    â€˜You don’t look well. You look exhausted.’ She’d lost far too much weight.
    â€˜I’m pregnant, Marco. Would you like to sit down?’ She remained standing stiffly and as far away from him as she could.
    â€˜Thank you, but I’ll stand. I’ve been sitting down long enough in the jet coming over, and again in the car that brought me from the airport.’
    â€˜I’m sorry if I’ve interrupted your busy schedule.’
    â€˜Stop it,’ he warned softly.
    â€˜Why are you here, Marco? What do you want?’
    â€˜To see you. To see how you are.’
    â€˜You won’t speak to me on the phone and now you’re here?’ She shook her head. ‘What you do never makes any sense to me. How did you find me?’
    â€˜The village you live in isn’t exactly a big place.’
    â€˜And you had me watched,’ she guessed. ‘How dare you?’
    â€˜You walked out without a word. Is that acceptable behaviour?’
    â€˜You paid me off. You only wanted me for sex.’
    â€˜I did not,’ he said quietly. This wasn’t the time to examine his motives, but he had not wanted her just for sex. Cassandra had made him laugh. She had made him relax. She had made him feel young again when he couldn’t ever remember feeling young.
    â€˜What, then?’ she demanded, rallying herself to stand up to him.