“Here in Positano. Two months after the divorce she called to tell me she was going to have a baby. Though she’d been on birth control, we discovered there’d been an antibiotic interference. The news couldn’t have come at a worse moment, but I was overjoyed to think I was going to be a father.”

She moaned. “How hard for both of you. So for seven months you haven’t been together?”

He shook his head. “We’ve only been in touch through our attorneys. I was at my office in Naples when her mother called to tell me she’d gone to the hospital. Tatania doesn’t want to hear my voice.”

“How could that be?”

“She’s angry with me for not being the man she thought she was marrying.”

“I suppose it’s human nature to want to change the things you don’t like. I’ve never married, so I can’t speak from experience. Did that make you angry?”

“Not angry, only frustrated with myself for getting married when I knew my deepest feelings weren’t involved.”

She shook her head. “Then why did you propose to her?”

He sucked in his breath. “That’s a long story for another day. Right now I want to concentrate on our babies.”

Valentina didn’t dare press for more answers. “To think your ex-wife and I were both involved in that accident and gave birth on the spot is absolutely uncanny. Carlo told me the police gave the ambulance driver the citation for not taking more precautions no matter the emergency. But my brother is still upset and wishes he’d flown me to the hospital in the helicopter.”

“It’s water under the bridge now,” he murmured. “We can thank providence there were no injuries.”

Valentina nodded and reached in the diaper bag for a bottle to feed Ric. He made a lot of noise when he drank and wouldn’t stop unless she pulled the bottle away to burp him. The second she put him to her shoulder, Vito let out the loudest burp she’d heard him make. His father burst in deep rich male laughter she felt coil inside her.

When she kissed his cheek before feeding him the rest of his formula, he felt cooler. There was nothing wrong with him that being with her again couldn’t fix. He was so precious she didn’t know how she could ever say goodbye to him. In her heart she knew Giovanni Laurito had those same feelings.

“Perhaps in time your ex-wife will come to you, desperate to see her son. If she did, I don’t see you as the kind of man who would turn a deaf ear.”

His brows met in a frown. “You don’t even know me.” He’d reached in his bag for a bottle and started to feed Vito.

“That’s true, but I’ve seen you with your son. The way you love him tells me what kind of a person you are. You love him so much, you came to find him when you heard him crying. The hospital rules meant nothing to you. I’m sure you’d fight to the death for him. It’s just something I know inside of me.”

“Then we’ve met our match,” he said in a low husky tone, “because you were willing to forget protocol, too. Otherwise you wouldn’t have agreed to come to the park with me today when I know your brother would have forbidden it.”

She blinked. “What does my brother have to do with my decision?”

“Possibly more than you think.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve been putting two and two together. Your brother’s name is Rinieri. Correct?”

“Yes.” She averted her eyes. “But—”

“He and I have been undeclared business enemies for over a year. There was a time when I had a certain advertising agency in my sights that was in financial difficulty. I made an offer to buy out the owner because I like their work. But I found out he did work for your brother’s company. I decided to make the man an offer to come to work for our company exclusively, and he said he was considering it.

“But your brother dangled a counteroffer in front of him, and now negotiations are at a standstill. Because of this, I do know your brother will never agree to the suggestion I proposed to you at the hospital about our spending time together with the boys.”

Valentina felt a chill run down her spine. “When Signor Conti introduced us, I realized who you were. The Laurito logo is everywhere.” She’d just put Ric down because he’d fallen asleep. “The one with the laurel wreath like the emperors wore.”

His half smile quickened her pulse.

“I thought, ‘You’re that Laurito!’”

“I’m one of them. Our earliest ancestors came from Laurito near Salerno. In the early eighteen hundreds, one of my ancestors who was head of obstetrics in Naples came up with a stethoscope to hear the fetal heartbeat. Thus began the manufacture of medical instruments. It developed into major hospital equipment.

“Today that includes all types of machines to carry out research in medical and scientific laboratories. I’ve worked for some time on creating new advertising strategies for our company.”

“How incredible.”

“The advertising part is where your brother comes in to the conversation.”

“I love and respect my brother, but he doesn’t interfere with my making my own decisions.”

“So if I asked you to come home with me today and stay as my guest for a few days while the four of us get acquainted, you wouldn’t be worried how your brother will react? I wouldn’t want to be the person to create friction between the two of you.”

There was nothing she’d love more than to go with him. But at this moment she didn’t know what to do, let alone what to say. While she sat there in a daze, he got to his feet. Vito had finished his bottle and slept against Giovanni’s shoulder.

“At least this meeting has quieted the babies for now,” he murmured. “I’ve found out there’s nothing wrong with Ric except that he misses you. While they’re both asleep, I’ll run you back to your brother’s villa. If Vito is inconsolable later and you decide you want to try the experiment we’ve talked about, then give me a call. If I don’t hear from you, then I’ll know you’ve decided that getting together isn’t a good idea, after all. I’ll respect whatever you decide.”

He was such a good man, Valentina marveled. The thought of not seeing him again was unthinkable.

She eventually stood up and carried Ric to the car. Giovanni brought Vito along with the diaper bags and blankets. In a minute both babies were strapped in so they could leave the park.

He drove her home in silence and retrieved the carry-cot from the trunk.

She put Vito in it. Luckily he was still in a sound sleep. The knowledge that Ric was in the car was killing her, but what could she do?

“Our meeting did settle them down. Maybe it was all they needed and they won’t be as upset from now on. Thank you for making it possible,” she whispered and started toward the house. “I’ve enjoyed this morning.”

“So have I. More than you know.” His voice sounded husky.

The last thing she’d wanted to do was leave. Her attraction to Ric’s father was so strong, it frightened her how much she could care for him after just two meetings with him. What was wrong with her?

* * *

Giovanni watched the lovely woman with the creamy blond hair and beautiful figure disappear behind the door. The double irony here was that he feared Ric wasn’t the only male in the Laurito household who was going to miss her.

What were the odds of a baby switch that had thrown a Montanari and a Laurito together? She would have to be strong in her own right to go up against her brother, especially when he’d learned the name of Ric’s birth father.

Giovanni could imagine their conversation. He’d tell her to forget another meeting. The baby would soon adapt. In truth, if Giovanni had a sister who’d been put in the same circumstance, he would tell her the same thing.

But Giovanni was the one embroiled in this cruel twist of fate. He loved both children and could hardly tear himself away from the villa when he knew Vito was inside. Since he’d told Valentina she would have to be the one to contact him, he had no choice but to drive back to Ravello without her.

He had hopes that if Ric woke up on the way home, he’d like the ride enough not to cry. The more he thought about it, the more he worried that he might have seen the last of his other son and the mother who’d given birth to him. He felt a sense of loss that was acute.

To his surprise Ric was awake by the time he reached his villa. When Giovanni removed him from the car, he didn’t cry. Grazie a Dio.

“Oh—” When Stanzie saw them in the foyer she rushed over to kiss the baby’s cheek. “His temperature is gone.”

“We spent a few hours at the park. I think he liked it.”

“Of course he did. He’s much happier now.”

“I’m going to change his diaper and put him in his baby swing on the terrace.”

“Shall I prepare another bottle?”

“Thank you, but he probably won’t want it for a while.” Giovanni needed to call his assistant and tell him he wouldn’t be in the office for a few days. Ric needed him even if his little son didn’t want him yet. He wanted the mother who’d taken him home from the hospital. So did Giovanni.

Their lives had been turned upside down. He couldn’t help but wonder what Valentina Montanari was going through right now. If Vito was being as difficult as Ric had been to this point, she was in for another sleepless night, too.

* * *

At 11 o’clock Rini entered the nursery while Valentina was giving Vito his last bottle. He’d been inconsolable all day. But for the moment he was so worn out from crying, he’d stopped fighting her and began drinking.

“How’s he doing?” he whispered. “I had business in Genoa that made me late.”

Vito heard his voice and his eyes opened before he stopped drinking. Then he started crying again. She put the bottle down and hugged him to her shoulder to quiet him.

“Sorry,” Rini mouthed the word. “Why don’t I hold him for a while so you can go to bed?”

“It won’t work, Rini. He thought you were his daddy, whom he adores. He’s still looking for him. If you’d seen them together today, you’d realize how difficult this is.”

“Which is why you shouldn’t have gotten together with him.” Lines darkened her brother’s face. “How can you expect Vito to forget?”

“I can’t.” She shifted Vito to her other shoulder in an effort to calm him down. “I need to talk to you about this, but it will take a while.”

Rini pulled up a chair and sat down. “I’m listening.”

“As you know, he’s raising the baby himself because his ex-wife gave up her parental rights. She’s never seen her birth son and doesn’t want to.”

Rini rubbed the back of his neck. “That’s tragic.”

“I agree. He called me this morning because Ric had been crying so much he was running a temperature. His plan was to take him back to the hospital to see if something else was wrong. We talked briefly and decided to meet because I haven’t been able to comfort Vito, either. He came by the villa and drove us to the park near the hospital.”

Her brother got up from the chair and stood there with his hands on his hips. All the while Vito kept whimpering. “He should never have called you.”

“We exchanged phone numbers at the hospital in case of an emergency. It was a horrible moment. Vito was in one room, Ric in another. Both children cried hysterically after the exchange. I was frantic and opened the door to discover an equally frantic father standing there holding a red-faced Ric. We reached for our children and held them until they settled down.”

Rini shook his head. “Whatever happened to rules?”

“I knew that was what you would say. As Signor Laurito stated, the children didn’t recognize rules. Nothing about this situation has been normal. His ex-wife and I both gave birth before our ambulances reached the hospital where the switch took place. He loves Vito as much as I love Ric, and we find the situation impossible. I think his plan for us to spend a few days together will work.”

“You think?” he blurted with uncustomary harshness. “You do realize who he is—”

“Yes. He’s a brilliant CEO of his own company, just like you.” In fact they were a lot alike. That was probably what was wrong. Within a few minutes she’d told him details about how Giovanni’s company had gotten started. “I explained that I couldn’t do this here at the villa, so he has invited me to stay at his villa with Vito for a few days, no more.”

Her brother paced the floor for a moment, then stopped. “Despite the fact that I think the idea is a mistake, why did you rule out my villa?”

“Because this isn’t my home. You’ve been wonderful to me, but I would never ask that of you. Especially when he told me the two of you are on opposite sides of a business transaction.”

Rini looked surprised. “He told you that?”

“Yes. He’s forthright and honest, exactly like you. I trust him. If Vito hasn’t settled down by tomorrow, I’m considering doing it. I know I don’t need your approval, but I want it more than anything.”

A bleak expression crossed over his face.

“I want my baby to be happy. Vito didn’t ask for this. Neither did Ric. His father is in agony just like I am. If we can give our children a better start by getting them to trust both of us, then we can separate them and it won’t be such a horrible shock. What would be the harm in doing this?”

His head went back and he closed his eyes. “I don’t have an answer for that. It sounds like your mind is made up. I love you, Valentina, and I’ll support your decision, but I can’t answer for the rest of the family.”

“The rest of the family hasn’t been here for me every day and night since you moved me here. I’m blessed to have a brother like you.”

Vito was crying hard again. She got up from the rocking chair and walked around the room with him. Rini’s gaze met hers.

“I’ll leave so you can get him to sleep. I’ve an early-morning meeting at the office. Phone me when you know your plans.”

Her eyes smarted. “I promise.” She watched her brother’s retreating back. There was so much he could have said, but he’d kept silent. Because he was wise and had so much integrity, that’s why he was the head of Montanari.

A half hour passed and Vito finally fell asleep. Valentina went to her room and slept until she heard him crying around four. After that there was no comforting him. At eight in the morning she reached for her phone and called the one person who could end this nightmare.

“Valentina?” Giovanni answered on the second ring. “I trust your night was as bad as mine.” His voice sounded an octave lower than usual, telling its own tale of another sleepless night.

“Vito’s been awake since four.”

“Ric finished off his three o’clock bottle and fussed off and on until ten minutes ago. He’s sleeping, but before long he’ll wake up looking for you. I don’t want to live through another day like yesterday.”

“I—I talked to Rini,” she stammered. “He thinks getting the babies together is a mistake, but he said he’d support me in whatever decision I make. If you meant it, I’ll take you up on your invitation to stay with you for a few days.”

“You just said the words that saved my life. Ric and I will come for you. I should be there by 10 a.m.”

“We’ll be ready.”

“A presto, Valentina.”

After rushing to shower and wash her hair, she dressed in another blouse and skirt. Next she got busy packing for herself and some of the outfits she’d bought for Ric. Bianca was in the kitchen when Valentina went downstairs and poured herself a cup of coffee.

The first thing she needed to do was phone Rini. His voice mail was on. She left the message that she would be in Ravello and be staying for several nights. “Call me anytime, Rini. Love you,” she said before hanging up, then drank most of the hot liquid.

“How can I help you?”

“I’ve got everything packed, Bianca. Thank you so much for all you do. You’ve been wonderful. All I can hope is that this experiment will help the four of us get acquainted. Hopefully the next time Signor Laurito brings me and Vito home, my baby won’t be so unhappy.”

She kissed Bianca’s cheek and carried a suitcase and the diaper bag to the front door.

When she went back up to the nursery, Vito was crying again. She dressed him in another outfit and put him in the carry-cot with the blue-and-white quilt Giovanni had bought him with one of Mondrian’s composition-type designs. He had wonderful taste.

“In just a minute you’re going to be with your papà, Vito.” She kissed his hot cheeks and carried him downstairs to the foyer.

Bianca had already opened the door. “The signor has arrived.”

Yes. He certainly had. Today he’d come dressed in a white polo crewneck and jeans that molded to his powerful thighs. To her chagrin she realized she felt an excitement that didn’t have anything to do with getting the children together. The man himself stood a class apart from other men. She’d scoffed all her life about the idea of love at first sight, but she hadn’t met Giovanni...

For the first time in her life she’d been struck by a physical and emotional attraction so strong, she astounded herself. The fact that he was Ric’s father only added to the attraction.

“Buongiorno, Valentina.”

“Ciao! It has to be a better day than yesterday.”

“Is there any doubt?”

No. There wasn’t, not now that he was here.

She felt his jet-black eyes wander over her, bringing heat to her cheeks, before he picked up the carry-cot and gave Vito a kiss. She followed with the suitcase and diaper bag. Once he’d settled Vito in the car seat, he stowed everything else in the trunk.

Valentina would have opened the rear door to give Ric a kiss, but caught herself in time. He wasn’t crying right now. If he didn’t see her, that would be better. She climbed in front and fastened the seat belt without a struggle.

“I see a smile on your face.”

Valentina studied his rugged male profile. “Almost three weeks ago I struggled to get the seat belt around me on my way to the hospital.”

Before he started the car he said, “No one would ever know you gave birth less than a month ago.”

“Though you’re a liar, I thank you.”

His kind of deep male laughter excited her. He drove them out to the road leading to the coastal highway headed for Ravello. “Have you noticed there’s no noise coming from the backseat?”

“Yes. I’m afraid to talk about it for fear I’ll break the spell.”

“Both my sisters have told me that when their children were babies, they often took them for a drive to get them to sleep.”

Valentina nodded. “I heard the same thing from my sister-in-law. Since it’s working right now, I couldn’t be happier.”

They followed the Amalfi Coast road beneath a golden Mediterranean sun. The car meandered five hundred meters above a turquoise sea. She could smell the fragrance from the lemon groves. Around each curb perched pastel-hued villas on the mountainside. No sight on earth could match it.

“You’ve got another smile on your face.” He noticed everything.

“Though I was born and raised in Naples, I’ve always thought this is the most beautiful place on earth.”

Giovanni nodded. “The locals call it ‘the footpaths of the gods.’ In my teens I rode my bike here with some friends from Naples. When we reached Ravello, I decided it was where I would live one day. Naples has a stifling effect on me.”

“You’re like Rinieri, who’s also allergic to the crowded city. Early on he loved to rock climb and dive with his friends. They explored the Amalfi Coast and climbed to the top of the cliffs. He saw the turn-of-the-last-century villa he lives in now and decided he’d buy it one day. I never saw anyone work so hard to make that dream a reality.” She looked away from him. “You must be a workhorse, too.”

By now they’d reached the town of Amalfi. To Valentina it was a beguiling combination of mountains plunging to the sea with crags of picturesque villas and lush forests that took her breath.

“You’ve just described my ex-wife’s reason for wanting a divorce.” The unexpected revelation could explain one of the major reasons why their marriage had failed, but there had to be more to it than that. “Now that I have a son to raise, I’ve got to take another look at my life. I don’t want him to grow up accusing me of never being there for him.”

She bit her lip. “Was your father absent a lot?”

“Almost constantly. I see him more at work.”

“I grew up in a family where the men were married to their work. Having observed my brothers, it’s apparent to me that successful men have a hard time balancing their lives. Business has a way of consuming them.”

“But it shouldn’t,” he bit out. “Since I’m going to be raising Ric alone, I’m going to have to change the way I do business.”

“The fact that you want to be a more involved father is commendable.”

He darted her a glance. “But you’re not holding your breath.”

“You’ve already been an amazing father to Vito or he would never have cried his heart out when he had to leave you. At the park his eyes followed you every second. Your bond with him is so strong, I’ll admit I’ve been jealous.”

“Then it shouldn’t shock you that I’ve felt the same way about Ric’s attachment to you. But if our plan works, our problems will go away.”

Heaven willing. “Does your family know I’ll be staying with you for a few days?”

“No. I’ve decided to proceed on a need-to-know basis. Of course, everyone knows about the switch.”

“Are you worried that my staying with you will get back to your ex-wife?”

“Not at all, but for the time being it’s no one else’s business. My two older sisters have a bad habit of getting nosy.”

Valentina chuckled. “My family is like that, too.”

“Then we understand each other.”

“Definitely.”

“I take it your brother knows you’re here with me.”

“Yes. We talked last night.”

CHAPTER FOUR

GIOVANNI DIDN’T COMMENT. Instead he made a left turn onto another road that climbed higher up the mountain. At the top sprawled the refined jewel town of Ravello with its dreamy gardens and magnificent views. Royals as well as composers like Wagner had stayed in the spectacular villas dotting the landscape. Valentina could understand why.

They kept climbing through a grove of green olive and lemon trees. He slowed down at the side of a stunning two-story white villa with burnt red tiles built in the Mediterranean style. Pale blue shutters adorned the windows. She’d thought there could be nothing more fabulous than her brother’s ochre colored villa, but this place was spectacular.

Deep purple and red bougainvillea draped over the several terraces. A rock garden with palm trees formed a backdrop for the rectangular swimming pool. The profusion of flowers created poetry of such perfection, she wished she were an artist. Turning toward the sea, she gasped softly. “You live in heaven, Giovanni.”

“That’s what I thought when I first explored this spot years ago.”

“Your darling Ric will grow up in a virtual wonderland.”

Giovanni shut off the engine and levered himself from the car with a masculine grace he wasn’t aware of. She slid out her side and they both opened the rear doors to get the children. Ric was still asleep, but Vito had awakened. His gaze fastened on Giovanni.

She smiled at him. “See how he searches for you?”

While he kissed her son, she plucked Ric from the car seat and followed his father across a patio into a fabulous sunroom. She gasped softly. It was circular in design with a tall ceiling and tall rounded windows filled with light that looked out on the gardens and sea below.

He kept moving through the breathtaking house to the curving staircase inlaid with stone tiles, enhancing the earth-toned colors of the surrounding landscape. Once they reached the second floor, he walked down a hall with a balustrade that overlooked a portion of the villa below.

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