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‘The pregnancy. Were there any complications?’

‘None.’ She shook her head.

‘How are you?’

‘I’m fine.’

‘The birth?’

It had been the loneliest hours of her life, and she had no one to blame but herself, but she closed her eyes for a brief second as she thought back. Then she opened her eyes to him. ‘I tried to tell you I was pregnant.’

‘Clearly not hard enough.’

‘I didn’t know how to contact you in Milan…’ She knew how weak her excuse sounded. ‘I wrote to you, I asked Donatella…’ She gave a little gasp, thinking of what he had said just this evening. ‘She could see I was pregnant, she must have known it was yours.’

‘Of course she did. I told you that Donatella’s been doing her best to keep us apart since I arrived here. Why would you trust her with that?’ He sighed, because she was more trusting and it was hard to be angry at that. ‘She has it in her head that she should be Contessa.’

‘Why, were you lovers?’

‘No.’

‘So why…’

‘No, no, no,’ he interrupted, ‘I’m asking the questions. So, when did you give her this letter?’

‘A month before she was born.’

‘So there wasn’t much effort made.’

She swallowed.

‘Would you ever have told me?’

‘I was about to this morning.’ She could see his eyes narrow, perhaps wondering if he hadn’t flown in today might he never have known. ‘I knew, as soon as she was born, that I had to let you know.’

‘So, what did this letter say?’

‘That I was pregnant, and that I didn’t expect anything, I just thought you should know.’

He was angry, yes, she knew, but he was also calm and the Gabe she’d first known, for he was direct with his questions but not unkind.

‘That night in London, you were adamant you didn’t want children, you didn’t want anyone.’

He hadn’t.

Absolutely, he had not wanted another person to enter his life, yet the memories of their time together hadn’t faded, and here he was with the hope that they might see each other.

Take things slowly…

It would take a long time to thaw his frozen heart, Gabe knew.

And now this.

‘What did you name her?’ he asked, and she thought she saw the ghost of a smile. ‘I’d better like it.’

‘Sophia.’

She had finished feeding and, uncovering herself, she sat Sophia up in her lap, holding her face with one hand and rubbing her back.