The Count's Christmas Baby by Rebecca Winters

Author:Rebecca Winters
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2012-09-19T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIX

“HELLO?” Sami called softly to announce her entrance.

At the sound of her voice, Ric’s black eyes shot to hers and he sprang to his feet. The way he was looking at her underlined what Daimon had said about him being worried. She hadn’t meant to alarm him.

Her gaze strayed to Eliana whose head had turned in her direction. Large amber eyes gave Sami a wintry stare of condemnation. Otherwise her classically Italian features were devoid of animation.

Little did Eliana know she didn’t have anything to fear from Sami. But the baby was another matter, because Ric had claimed him. He loved their baby to the depth of his being and intended to be a hands-on father whenever possible.

At the moment his remote countenance was more pronounced than it had been when he’d told her the reason he’d gotten rid of his title. She groaned inwardly for him.

“Christine Argyle, please meet my fiancée, Princess Eliana Fortulezza.”

Sami had known he was marrying nobility, but hearing his fiancée’s title and seeing her in person at last still took some getting used to. “How do you do, Princess Fortulezza?”

Eliana rose to her feet. “Signorina Argyle,” she said and they shook hands.

Ric’s fiancée studied Sami without revealing any visible emotion. Though Ric had been honest about his reasons for marrying Eliana, no one could know what was in his fiancée’s heart. She’d been trained to maintain her dignity, but now that this ghastly moment was upon them, Sami thought the other woman was awesome.

“Come on,” Ric said. “We’ll go into the dining room where we can sit around the table to talk.” Sami followed them, noting Eliana’s tall, slender figure and the three dazzling diamonds of her engagement ring.

The carrycot was still perched on the table. Ric put the baby down in it, then pulled out chairs for her and Eliana. Since her little boy seemed content, Sami sat down without kissing him. She didn’t want to get him all worked up and create a fuss.

Mara came in to serve coffee and biscotti. Ric thanked her before she left them alone. His dark, solemn eyes slid to Sami. “I’ve told Eliana everything that happened last January.”

Having said that much, the onus was now on Sami. She cleared her throat and eyed Eliana. “Then you realize that when I went to the police station two days ago, I was expecting, or at least hoping, to meet Ric’s father.”

“Yes.”

This was so painful for Sami, she could only imagine how shocked and hurt Eliana had to be. “I can’t tell you how sorry I am to have caused you this kind of grief. I had no idea the elder Mr. Degenoli had died, or that Ric had survived the avalanche.” Her voice faltered. “When he lost consciousness, I thought he was dead. Neither of us dreamed we would ever leave our tomb alive.”

“So Enrico explained. Did he tell you to call him Ric?” she asked in heavily accented English.

Out of all the questions she might have asked, that was the last one Sami would have expected.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.