Page 18 of Hidden Heir, Italian Wife

“She’s definitely mine? What about that other man you were with before you went to Italy? What about the rest of your trip? Was I really the only man you brought back to your room?”

She was so insulted by that, her jaw locked.

He turned. “I’m not judging.”

“You are so judging,” she choked. “And that’s rich from a man who picks up tourists and uses cheap condoms.”

His cheek ticked.

“No, Kabir is not her father,” she said astringently. “We weren’t having sex before he left. Remember? And since you’re the only other man I’ve slept with besides him—”

“Ever?”

He was so taken aback, she deduced he’d had scores of lovers before her and since. That didn’t surprise her, given how smoothly he operated. It was none of her business anyway so she had no right to feel scorned.

But she did.

“Strangely enough, I haven’t had time for all these men you think I’ve been entertaining. I was pregnant and constructing a life around being a working mother. If I get an evening with a book and a bath, I consider myself lucky.” She rose and gathered her purse. “I don’t actually care if you believe you’re her father. Get a paternity test if you want one or walk away and pretend this never happened. I just told you I don’t want anything from you so there’s no reason for me to lie. I was hoping we could be civil, but apparently not. I’ll say goodbye.”

“I don’t need a paternity test,” he ground out, then ran his hand over his jaw. “She looks just like Lili.

“Who?”

“Eve. Evelina. We called her Lili when she was little.”

A small snort of amusement escaped her. “After I met Eve, I joked to my mother that I should get a maternity test, since Sofia looked so much like her.”

“Yourmotherknows I’m her father?” He was back to sounding livid.

Bree grasped the strap on her purse. “Mom was with me when I saw your photo.”

“How exactly did this go, Bree? You realized who I was, then went to work for mysister? Does Eve know I’m Sofia’s father? Does Nico?”

“No.”She dropped her purse again, agitated enough to pace. “Eve offered me this role four weeks ago. From a career standpoint, I had to take it. I have a daughter to support.” She paused to let that sink in. “Frankly, it was nice to be recognized for my potential. This isn’t nepotism. I earned my place on her team. And yes, it gave me access to your family. I won’t apologize for wanting to get to know more about you before deciding whether to tell you.”

“Such as?”

“Whether you were married. Or involved with someone.” Definitely asking for Sofia’s sake, not her own.

“You asked Eve if I was married?”

“Not outright.” She picked at a rough edge on her nail. “When she mentioned her party this weekend, I asked if there were any other family weddings on the horizon. It was friendly conversation.”

He shook his head, seeming astounded by all of this. She couldn’t blame him.

“I knew you were coming to town this week and that this would be a chance to tell you, but I didn’t expect to see you today.” She let her hands fall to her sides. “And I didn’t know whether to tell you because I didn’t know how you would react.”

“Shock,” he provided with heavy irony, then pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t like having things hidden from me, especially something as important as a person I created.”

“What didyoudo to make her except break a condom? I did all the work.”

“You didn’t give me an opportunity to do anything else, did you?” he shot back. “You had options, Bree. You didn’t even try.”

He wasn’t wrong. She could have made up any story and passed a message through Alphonso, but in her experience men—fathers—weren’t very reliable. She hadn’t relished the humiliation of begging a stranger in Italy for the number of a man who might have told her she was on her own anyway. She absolutely refused to set her daughter up for the apathy she’d suffered, so she had let Jax remain a stranger she couldn’t find. She had proceeded as though it would be just her and Sofia because it was less agonizing than hoping for Jax to enter their lives and wind up disappointed.

“You’re telling me the truth?” The intensity of his stare squeezed her lungs.

“I can’t tell if you want it to be true or not,” she said with a pang of disappointment. In her perfect world, he was over the moon to learn he had a daughter. Instead, he seemed to be holding both of them off. “A paternity test would show if I was lying.”

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