Page 36 of The Italian's Pregnant Enemy (A Diamond in the Rough)

“Of course. You know you don’t need a business meeting to see me.”

“This is business. I have two important matters to discuss with you. I assume you saw the announcement about Anderson.”

“Yes. I assume that explains your timing.”

She nodded. “Correct. I worked with my father on the press release. I knew exactly when it was going to go out.”

“Very good,” he said. “What triggered all this?”

“Me,” she said. “I asked for what I wanted.”

He did feel proud of her then. Because this was a different side of her. This was the side he always knew was there.

She was bright-eyed and eager. He had seen flashes of this. It was part of that sulky behavior, but this was it channeled. Directed.

“I want for us to work together. I would like for your resorts to consider carrying my line of home goods. We are expanding. Now that I have the contract with Anderson, I can afford to move into larger furnishings. I have several options that I think will suit the aesthetic of your chain. And we are willing to make certain things exclusive to the Rivelli brand.”

“I assume that they are made from recycled materials?”

“You’ll find the information on the carbon footprint in the paperwork. I think that you will be happy with it.”

She shoved one folder at him.

He took it, and began to leaf through it. “I will need some time to...”

“That’s fine. But while you consider that, there is one more thing that I need to speak to you about.”

“And that is?”

“A custody agreement. You see, I’m pregnant, and I know that it’s your baby. So we need to figure out the logistics of that deal as well.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

SHEWASSOproud of herself for not breaking into pieces the moment the words left her mouth. It was a challenge. More than a challenge.

But she had fantastic high heels and a plan.

What could go wrong?

She had rehearsed this in the mirror. She had spent hours putting her outfit together. She had been relatively unstable for the last several days. After her time with Dario had ended, she had gone home and decided to figure out what she was going to do with her business. She had thought a lot about what he said. About her bravery. And about her needing to use her connections. All good. And she had been feeling really confident about it. She had talked to her dad. It had been easier than she’d imagined it might be.

He was hesitant about a few things, but they weren’t unreasonable. She could see he actually did respect her ideas. She’d been afraid he didn’t. Like, very profoundly afraid. And when she’d actually spoken to him and he’d been open to it, it had been like a huge sigh of relief.

And then her period hadn’t come. And that had been a worry.

Because the thing was, she’d never had sex before. So when your normally regular period took a vacation in the weeks following your first intercourse, it was a real concern.

It hadn’t come. And it hadn’t come. So then she took a pregnancy test. And she was pregnant.

She had called her doctor and had some words with her about that birth control pill.

The issue with low-dose pills, her doctor had told her, was that for some women they were less effective.

She had thrown her phone across the room. And thrown her pills in the trash. One by one for special effect.

She had considered all her options.

And then she had...

---