Peyton was crying in the photograph, clearly distressed as she gazed at Daisy. Like she’d give anything in that moment to bring her daughter back. Trade places even. The look said,Don’t go, I haven’t had the chance to get to know you yet.
‘She was just too little,’ Peyton whispered.
‘She fought the good fight,’ he murmured, feeling utterly inadequate. What could he say to make any of this better without sounding trite?
‘She did. She fought for so long.’
Valentino heard the sob catch in her throat and put his arm around her, tucking her head against his shoulder. Closing thealbum, he let her cry until her tears ran out. Until she went quiet and there was silence in the house once again.
He passed her a tissue from a nearby box which she took as she lifted her head from his shoulder. She dabbed at her eyes and scrunched it in a ball in her palm.
‘This is why I can’t go through another pregnancy,’ she murmured, her voice husky but firm. ‘I can’t bear the thought of losing another child.’
Valentino knew he had to tread carefully here. That just because Peyton’s fears weren’t necessarily rational, it didn’t mean they weren’t real to her. He turned slightly in the chair so he could see her face. ‘I understand why you don’t want to be emotionally vulnerable again. You’ve been through a lot in the last few years.’
She nodded. ‘Exactly. So if there’s no baby then there’s no chance of what happened to the twins, to Daisy, happening again.’
Valentino took her hand. ‘But thereisa baby, Peyton. Do you think terminating a pregnancy doesn’t count as losing a child?’
‘It’s… it’s different,’ she said defensively.
‘Not to me.’
She looked at him sharply. ‘Is this a religious thing?’
Valentino’s brow crinkled. ‘This has nothing to do with religion. It’s my child, Peyton.My. Child. I have rights too and if you think I’m going to allow you to terminate this pregnancy, you’reverywrong.’
Even as he said the words, Valentino regretted them. Damn it, he hadn’t meant to blurt that out but he felt so helpless and that wasn’t who he was. He was strong and decisive. He was solution focused. He was the guy in charge.
‘Why?’ she demanded, her frame stiffening at his careless vehemence. ‘Why do you care so much? Being a father is sucha long-term commitment. I’d have thought you’d be running a mile.’
‘You thought wrong.’
Valentino knew her assessment was justified but it stung anyway. Frustrated, he stood and strode to the glass doors that overlooked the deck, shoving his hands in his pockets. His heart pounded like surf in his head as he considered that maybe it was time to open up. Peyton had just shared a part of her life that was intensely private; maybe it was time to share his?
‘There was a woman.’ His voice was husky and he cleared it. ‘A long time ago.’
‘Okay. Tell me.’
Her voice seemed to come from faraway, and Valentino turned to check she was still there. She was, watching him expectantly, her eyes still red from the tears she had shed but her spine straight, her expression grimly determined.
But… where did he even start?
‘We were in love. Or at least I thought we were. I was first year out, an intern, back home. She was a fashion design student. She was… beautiful.’
Stunning, actually. Twenty-one, curvy, gorgeous brunette hair that almost reached her ass. He had fallen hook, line and sinker.
‘And I was completely besotted. I proposed within two months and she leapt at it. I bought her this magnificent rock I couldn’t afford because she just had to have it. We went to lots of fashion parties, made the society pages. She bragged about marrying a doctor to all her friends and revelled in the kudos.’
He paused for breath and Peyton spoke for the first time. ‘What was her name?’
Fighting his way back from the grip of the past, Peyton slowly came into focus.
‘Daniella.’
Once even the mention of the name would set his heart thumping, but he was surprised at how unaffected he felt. Standing here today looking at Peyton, the absolute antithesis of his ex, he wondered what on earth he’d ever seen in Daniella. Had he been that blinded by her looks? Had he been that superficial?
Like Daniella. Who’d only ever cared about clothes and shoes and the trendy new bars in town and had struggled to converse about anything else.
