The Doctor's Runaway Bride. Sarah Morgan
with a key?’
Luca lifted one broad shoulder dismissively. ‘The sign was still outside and the letting agent was very helpful once I told him who I was. He seemed concerned about you living on your own here. This cottage is extremely isolated and you obviously aroused his protective instincts.’
It took a few moments for his words to sink in.
‘The letting agent gave you a key?’ She looked at him incredulously. ‘Is there anyone you can’t charm, Luca?’
‘Apparently.’ A ghost of a smile touched his firm mouth. ‘Or presumably you wouldn’t have left me standing at the altar two weeks ago,’ he drawled, resting one lean brown hand on his muscular thigh. ‘We have a great deal to talk about, cara mia.’
Her heart rate suddenly increased dramatically. ‘We have nothing to talk about, Luca.’
Certainly not now, after a long day at the hospital. Tia hadn’t been expecting this conversation and she had no idea how she was going to handle it. Was she going to confront him with what she’d discovered? Or was she going to wait for him to tell her the truth about his past, which he should have done right from the start? She needed to be prepared before she spoke to him. She needed to feel strong and in control.
As it was, all she felt was…vulnerable.
‘Nothing to talk about?’ He straightened in a fluid movement and strolled across the kitchen towards her. ‘First you take flight on our wedding day without the slightest explanation, and next you leave the country, go back to your old job and rent a cottage in the middle of nowhere. We could talk for a week and not cover even half of what we have to discuss.’
Tia’s throat was uncomfortably dry. ‘I left you a note.’
‘Ah, yes…’ Thick lashes lowered slightly to shield his stunning dark eyes. ‘The note that Sharon delivered, saying that you had changed your mind about marrying me.’
Her heart gave a little flip. She hadn’t expected him to follow her and she wasn’t prepared for this confrontation.
‘It wouldn’t have worked, Luca.’ Her knees trembled slightly but she forced herself to hold his gaze. ‘We were getting married for the wrong reasons. We—we didn’t know each other properly.’
She hadn’t known that he was involved in a serious, long-term relationship with another woman.
There was a long silence while he studied her face, the expression in his dark eyes unreadable. ‘So, just like that, you leave?’ His tone was even. ‘You decide this by yourself, with no consultation with me? No attempt to discuss whatever problem you think exists? Dio, is that normal behaviour for two people who were planning to marry?’
Tia’s breathing quickened and anger gripped her. He was criticising her? This was the time to confront him about what she’d heard, but she wasn’t ready to do that yet. She didn’t want to say something she’d regret. She needed time to think through the best way of tackling the subject.
Anyway, it was his responsibility to tell her about his past, to open up and tell her the truth.
‘When would we have had this discussion, Luca?’ She took refuge in attack. ‘You were always at the hospital.’
His black brows met in a frown. ‘Is that what this is all about? My working hours? I’m an obstetrician, Tia. You should understand the demands of the job better than most women.’
Suddenly she didn’t feel at all well. She’d woken early that morning, been sick repeatedly and now he was expecting her to dissect their relationship. It was too much.
Her eyes closed briefly and she took a deep breath. ‘Do we have to talk about this now?’
‘Yes.’ His voice was a deep growl and she flinched slightly. She’d always thought that Luca was very controlled, but suddenly he seemed like a stranger.
Which was part of the problem.
They didn’t really know each other. That fact had been brought home to her with shocking clarity on the day of her wedding. She should never have agreed to marry him, but she’d been so swept away by the way he’d made her feel…
‘We can meet up tomorrow or something,’ she suggested, hoping that she wasn’t going to embarrass herself by being sick in front of him. ‘Where are you staying tonight?’
‘Staying?’ One dark eyebrow lifted as if her question was wholly irrelevant. ‘Here, of course.’
‘No way, Luca.’ She shook her head vigorously. ‘This is my cottage.’
Luca straightened in a fluid movement and moved purposefully towards her. ‘And you’re expecting our child, Tia.’ He said the words with careful emphasis. ‘Your place is with me.’
‘With you?’ Her heart started to gallop. With him? Surely he wasn’t serious—not after everything that had happened. ‘You’re not seriously suggesting that we should still get married?’
‘Hardly.’ His tone was dry. ‘You’ve made your feelings on that subject very clear.’
Tia blushed slightly and looked away. Leaving him at the altar had been a lousy thing to do, but at the time she hadn’t been able to see an alternative. She’d just needed to get away as fast as possible.
‘So what exactly do you want, Luca?’
There was a slight pause. ‘You,’ he said softly. ‘You and our baby.’
‘Luca, no!’ Her voice was suddenly hoarse and her heart was beating faster than she would have thought possible. ‘It’s time we were honest with each other. Our whole relationship was a mistake. We were just—very carried away…this baby wasn’t planned.’ Tia decided that it was time to voice at least some of her concerns. ‘A month ago when I told you I was pregnant, you couldn’t escape to the hospital fast enough!’
He tensed and his mouth tightened. ‘That’s not true.’
‘It is true, Luca, and you know it.’ Despite her best intentions, she felt her voice wobble slightly and forced herself to stay calm. The last thing she wanted was for him to know how badly his reaction had hurt her. She had too much pride. ‘You were horrified to learn that I was pregnant and don’t try and deny it because I’m excellent at reading body language and yours was shouting at me!’
His dark eyes were suddenly wary and for the first time since she’d met him he seemed slightly uncomfortable.
‘You misunderstood me. It’s true that the news of the baby came as a shock at first,’ he admitted finally, his voice quiet. ‘I would be less than honest if I didn’t admit that I would have preferred us to have more time together before we considered having children, but—’
‘You don’t need to make excuses. I know that you weren’t pleased, and nothing can change that.’ Suddenly Tia felt hideously sick and she took several deep breaths to try and settle her stomach.
An ominous frown touched his forehead. ‘Tia, when you first told me that you were pregnant, I hadn’t been to bed for almost forty hours,’ he said, his dark eyes intent on hers as he paused only inches away from her. ‘I was called to one difficult delivery after another. By the time I saw you I was dead on my feet. The news that you were pregnant came as a shock, I admit that, and I probably didn’t react the way I should have, but…’
Her eyes challenged him and she tried to ignore the effect that his closeness had on her. ‘So you’re saying that had you had a good night’s sleep you would have been delighted?’
His dark gaze swept over her. ‘You need to calm down, cara mia. You’re very emotional.’
‘Emotional?’ Her jaw dropped and she gaped at him. ‘Of course I’m emotional. We had three blissful weeks together in Venice, but when we moved back to your home in Milan you changed, Luca. I barely saw you. You spent every available minute at the