Page 52 of The Italian's Pregnant Enemy (A Diamond in the Rough)

A sliver of uncertainty worked its way beneath her skin.

The thing was, he had said it, and she hadn’t fully understood it. He hadn’t really tailored himself to her either way. He wasn’t really thinking of her. She had taken that to mean that he wasn’t being manipulative, at least in the moment. Now it felt like maybe she was incidental, and it left her wounded. Breathless.

Finally, they pulled up to her father’s palatial estate. The lights were on, and she knew that he was still awake. He had always been the sort of man who ran on very little sleep. He liked to work. And he liked to research things.

No wonder he and Dario got along so well. There was an intensity to both of them that just seemed a natural part of who they were. Her own father had never been hungry. Not in the way that Dario was, and yet it had been a natural thing for him to build and build and build his empire.

As natural as breathing.

And Dario... He had that spark that her father had, and yet he had been keen. Not just to survive, but to thrive. He had made a difference, not only in his own life, but in the lives of so many other people.

It really was no wonder that her father esteemed Dario so highly. Above anyone else on earth. She was just such a disaster. She’d been so confident there for a bit. And now life was...unrecognizable.

“Did you warn him that we were coming?”

“I did. I told him that we would see him tonight.”

“Did you give him any indicator...”

“That I got you pregnant? No.”

“How is it we are going to do this? Are we going to do both in the same breath? I’ll be going to lead with the marriage...”

“The engagement, obviously. The news about the grandchild will come after that.”

“For someone who doesn’t have a lot of family, you have some decent insight into how to manage them.”

That, she realized, landed a little bit more roughly than she had intended to.

“I didn’t mean...”

“It’s fine,” he said. “I am aware that I am a functional orphan. I’m at peace with it.”

They got out of the car and went to the front door.

Her father unlocked it without waiting for them to knock.

And there he was, waiting in the entry. She felt the need to hide her hands behind her back, because the ring suddenly felt so conspicuous it seemed like he would know before they ever even announced it.

Not that it was a bad thing, it was just... She was so near nervous. It was entirely unfathomable to her that only two months ago she would’ve said Dario was the most annoying man on earth, and now she was marrying him.

She still felt like he was the most annoying man on earth, but the marriage part was a real shift.

Her father would no doubt be shocked. He would probably figure out that they were getting married because of the baby. Would he be disappointed in her? Disappointed that she had lost her head and let her hormones prevail?

They had been responsible. Well. They hadn’t really been irresponsible. She was on birth control, and it should’ve worked. It was just that it hadn’t. And... And.

She felt a little bit faint.

“To what do I owe the visit?” her father asked.

In his early sixties, Nathan Anderson was still handsome and filled with energy.

“We have something to tell you,” said Dario, plying her left hand out from behind her back. “Lyssia and I are engaged.”

Her father looked stunned. The whole ten seconds, he didn’t move.

“Well,” he said. And then he took a step forward and gripped her by the shoulders. “That is the most wonderful news.” He pulled her in and hugged her, and suddenly, Lyssia felt the urge to see if it was possible to break the moment. She didn’t want to settle into this. Into her father’s joy if it was only going to be compromised.

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