The Gold Collection. Maggie Cox

said huskily. ‘That’s the only reason I want to marry you—not to gain rights over our child, or because it would be convenient.’

      He felt his tears spill from his eyes, but he could not hold them back. He had stifled his emotions for so long and pretended to himself that he did not care if he never found love. But he saw now that he had been lonely for all those years, and he was terrified that this precious, profound love he had found would slip through his fingers.

      ‘I know you’re scared for the baby,’ he said gently. ‘But James believes his chances are good. The scan showed that he’s developing as he should be, and he’s already a good weight. I know our son is a fighter—how could he not be when he has such a strong and determined mother? He’ll have the best care before and after he’s born, and James says there is every reason to believe the surgery to repair his heart will be completely successful.’

      He looked into Rebekah’s eyes and glimpsed something in their depths that gave him hope. ‘Whatever the future holds, I want to share it with you, to celebrate the joyous moments, and comfort and support each other through sad times that are an inevitable part of life. You are my world, the love of my life, and without you—’ his voice cracked with emotion ‘—I have nothing.’

      Stunned and incredibly moved by Dante’s words, Rebekah touched his face and brushed away the trails of moisture from his cheeks. Hearing that her baby’s life was threatened had put other things into perspective. She owed it to Dante and to herself to be honest about her feelings for him.

      ‘I love you too,’ she said softly. ‘I know it sounds silly, but I took one look at you and felt like I’d been shot through the heart by an arrow.’ Faint colour stained her white face and some of the terrible tension left her. She could not help but worry about the baby, but she was comforted by the cardiologist’s assurances. ‘I knew of your playboy reputation and I told myself it would be very stupid to fall in love with you.’ She gave him a tremulous smile. ‘But my heart refused to listen.’

      ‘Tesoro mio cuore—my darling heart.’ Dante’s words were a jumble of Italian and English, but their meaning was the same. ‘Ti amo—for eternity,’ he whispered against her lips, before he claimed her mouth in a tender kiss that brought more tears to her eyes.

      ‘I look like a frog when I cry,’ she muttered, burying her head against his shoulder, knowing that her face must be puffy and her eyes red-rimmed.

      ‘I love frogs,’ he assured her gravely. His heart turned over as he kissed away the tears clinging to her lashes. He wanted to wrap her in cotton wool and protect her from all harm and hurt. ‘Will you marry me, and let me love you for the rest of my life?’ he asked with fierce urgency.

      ‘Yes,’ Rebekah said shakily, ‘on the condition that you’ll let me love you with all my heart.’

      Dante swallowed when he saw the unguarded emotion in her eyes. He also noted the signs of intense weariness and strain. ‘You need to rest, my angel,’ he told her as he stood up and scooped her into his arms.

      ‘You’ll injure your back,’ Rebekah warned him anxiously. ‘I weigh a ton.’

      ‘I’m strong enough to carry both of you,’ he promised, and carried her up two flights of stairs as if she were as light as a feather. When he reached his bedroom he set her down by the bed and undressed her and then himself before pulling back the covers and drawing her into his arms.

      He reacquainted himself with her lush curves and stroked the firm mound of her stomach, his breath catching in his throat when he felt a fluttering sensation beneath his fingers. ‘Was that …’

      ‘Your son is saying hello,’ she told him gently. ‘I’ve just started to feel him kicking. That’s a good sign, isn’t it?’ Her voice trembled. ‘It must mean he’s strong.’

      ‘He needs a name. How about calling our little lion cub Leo?’ Dante suggested.

      ‘That’s perfect.’ Rebekah laid her hand next to Dante’s and their eyes met as they felt their son give another kick.

      He bent his head and kissed her softly, and then made love to her with such exquisite care and told her he loved her in a voice that shook with the intensity of his feelings. This was what had been missing from his life. Rebekah filled a void inside him and he knew his life would be empty without her.

      ‘When did you know you loved me?’ she asked him as she emerged dazedly from the waves of pleasure induced by the most beautiful lovemaking she had ever experienced.

      ‘I don’t know,’ he admitted honestly. ‘I saw you at some business dinner in the City and seized the chance to offer you a job as my chef. I tried to ignore my awareness of you, but I started making excuses to leave the office early because I liked knowing you were waiting at home for me—although I told myself it was because I appreciated your wonderful cooking. But I found myself thinking about you a lot, and after we slept together I was determined to make you my mistress. When we were in Tuscany I couldn’t imagine a time when I wouldn’t want you and when you left and refused to come back to me …’ His voice deepened and he said raggedly, ‘I missed you like hell.’

      ‘I went because I was fathoms deep in love with you, and I was afraid that if I stayed you would break my heart.’ Rebekah gave a contented sigh as she snuggled close to him and felt his lips brush hers.

      ‘I will always love you,’ Dante promised her. ‘I never felt I truly belonged anywhere, but I belong with you, my darling. And you belong with me. For ever.’

EPILOGUE

      MELLOW September sunshine bathed the Casa di Colombe in golden light. In the courtyard Rebekah was collecting herbs to use in the new recipe she was planning to make for dinner. Her first cookery book had been such a success that she had been commissioned to write another one, and this time her recipes were influenced by traditional Tuscan dishes.

      She glanced up at the sound of excited laughter and smiled at the sight of her son, held in his father’s arms, trying to catch the spray from the fountain in his chubby hands.

      ‘Easy, tiger,’ Dante murmured as he held the wriggling baby a little tighter. ‘He’s so strong,’ he said proudly. ‘And so determined to get into the water,’ he added ruefully as he moved away from the ornamental pool and Leo gave a loud yell of protest.

      ‘He likes to have his own way—just like his father,’ Rebekah said drily. She had experienced Dante’s forceful personality ten months ago, when in the space of a week he had arranged their wedding and booked a honeymoon in the Seychelles. They had married in the tiny chapel in Wales close to her parents’ farm. Her father had given her away, and her seven brothers and their families had packed the pews. Rebekah had worn an exquisite white silk and lace dress and carried a bouquet of pink roses, and her five little nieces had acted as bridesmaids.

      She recalled how her heart had leapt when she had walked towards Dante and seen his love for her blazing in his silver-grey eyes. He had looked breathtakingly handsome in a tuxedo. But he looked just as gorgeous now, she thought as she skimmed her gaze over his denim shorts and bare chest. His skin was dark olive after the month they had spent in Tuscany and she could not resist running her fingers through the whorls of black hairs that arrowed down over his flat abdomen.

      ‘If our son would deign to take a nap, I would take you upstairs to bed and make love to you,’ he murmured, his eyes glinting with sensual promise that sent a quiver of longing through Rebekah.

      ‘He doesn’t look very tired,’ she said doubtfully as she lifted Leo into her arms and her heart melted when he gave her a wide smile that revealed his solitary tooth. She hugged the baby tightly and felt a fierce surge of emotion. ‘He’s amazing, isn’t he? It’s hard to believe he had heart surgery three months ago.’

      There had been no complications with Leo’s birth, and he had fed and thrived so well that when he