The Italian's Secret Baby by Kim Lawrence

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    â€˜Yes, I did meet her,’ he returned abruptly.
    Now he had a name and face…or he should have a face. The woman had fronted a very high-profile publicity campaign just a few years ago. You hadn’t been able to walk down the street, open a magazine or switch on a television without seeing her face.
    So why, when he tried now to visualise those photogenic features, was he only able to see the face of her younger sister?
    Scarlet didn’t register the abruptness of his reply. ‘She was very lovely, wasn’t she?’
    He responded to her wistful appeal with an affirmative nod, not because he remembered, to his shame he didn’t, but because it was obviously what she wanted to hear. ‘Yes, she was.’
    He had spent one night at her flat. He knew the date; it should have been his first wedding anniversary. He had woken up fully dressed on her sofa with a raging headache; she had said she had let him sleep it off.
    â€˜Did you know her well?’
    His silence lasted a long time—a noticeably long time.
    Scarlet drew a sharp breath as she suddenly went icy cold all over, convinced that he was about to admit they had been lovers.
    â€˜No, I didn’t know her well.’
    The sigh of relief that whistled through her clenched teeth was silent. If he had been Abby’s lover, why would it have made a difference…? What was there for it to make a difference to? It wasn’t as if there was, or ever would be, anything between her and Roman.
    â€˜So Sam knows you’re not his real mother?’
    â€˜Of course. You shouldn’t lie to children.’
    â€˜A very sound principle,’ he approved smoothly. ‘And when Sam’s older and he asks about his parents you’ll be able to tell him…?’
    Unwittingly, she thought, he had touched upon a subject that had concerned her for some time. Sam would ask about his father, it was inevitable, but what was she supposed to tell him? The truth? Or was she to invent a hero that a boy could be proud of? It was a minefield.
    â€˜Sam’s very young to understand yet.’
    â€˜It’s surprising how much children understand.’
    â€˜I’ll be able to tell him that his mummy loved him very much.’
    â€˜Has she been gone long?’
    â€˜Abby learnt she had leukaemia when she was first pregnant with Sam,’ Scarlet recalled quietly. ‘The doctors wanted her to have a termination and start treatment straight away. They warned her that not to do so would seriously reduce her chances of survival.’
    Their eyes locked. The shock in his was visible, as was the compassion; the latter made her throat ache, and she swallowed.
    â€˜And they were right?’
    â€˜Yes,’ she admitted softly.
    â€˜She ignored them?’ he probed gently.
    Scarlet nodded.
    He released his breath in a long fractured hiss. ‘What a decision to be forced to make.’ And make alone.
    â€˜I don’t think it actually was that hard for Abby. I don’t think a termination was ever an option for her.’
    â€˜How long after?’
    â€˜Sam was three months old when she died; most of that three months she spent in hospital,’ she imparted quietly.
    Roman caught his breath. ‘My God.’ His brow furrowed. ‘She knew that having her baby would kill her?’
    Anger flared in Scarlet’s dark-fringed hazel eyes. ‘No, leukaemia killed her.’
    She was painfully aware that it was possible for a careless word to plant an idea in a child’s head, and she determined that Sam wouldn’t grow up burdened with the guilt of his mother’s death.
    â€˜And I’d be grateful if you didn’t say that again— ever .’
    He inclined his head towards her. ‘Of course, I’m sorry.’
    Rather taken aback by his apparent sincerity, she accepted it with a grudging but wary nod.
    â€˜And you have brought her baby up?’ She gave a tiny nod