Page 123 of Chasing Caine
I shook my head at him, his vast exaggerations, and turned back to her. “You know it’s not like that, sì? Most nights we spend with our friends or Chiara and her group. He’s not the Casanova he thinks he is.”
Mario shoved me playfully.
“He’s mine for the next half hour, Mario, so buzz off.” She’d bonded with him over something the day I left them at the villa together. I never asked what, just appreciated they got along so well.
“Don’t forget to call me when you’re bored of him!” He leaned in and kissed the camera before I could move it out of his way.
Samantha laughed loudly, shielding her face. “My eyes!”
Mario focused on me, unable to contain his grin. “You know she loves me, right?”
“Mario, I’d love you more if you gave us some time alone.” She motioned for him to leave.
“Alright, you two lovebirds. You have thirty minutes!” He waved to her and headed out, throwing a wink at me over his shoulder.
“You handle him very well, bella.”
She hopped out of her chair again. “Thirty minutes means no time to waste. Guess what I—” She sat in front of the camera. “—got in the mail yesterday?”
“My Christmas present?”
“Did you send something?” Her brows and shoulders dropped. “I thought we were waiting until you got home?”
“No, sorry, that was a joke. What did you get?”
She pushed her lasagna aside and stared at her lap, taking a deep breath. Her arms moved and there was a sound like folding paper. It was difficult to tell in the candlelight, but her cheeks appeared to redden.
“Test results?”
Her lips twitched, and she held the sheet of paper in front of the camera. It trembled slightly, but I could make it out: Her test came back clear. Mine had been completed months ago.
“Why am I so embarrassed by this? It’s just a standard STD test.” She folded it and placed it to the side.
“Because it represents another step in our relationship, and we both know how much you love speaking about your feelings.”
Her eyes flicked up to me and back down at her letter. “Ha, ha.”
“So, there’s just one more thing we must speak of.” I pushed my food aside and leaned forward. “If we’ll be skipping the condoms when I get home, you’ll be on birth control?”
She nodded, not looking up at me. “Have been for a long time.”
“It’s not perfect, though.”
“What would you do?” Her lovely smile faded. Serious words were never her strong suit.
“If you became pregnant?” My thumb drifted to my lips, and I toyed with my ring. There was an answer I wanted to give, and then there was the right choice. “I would ask what you wanted.”
“If I didn’t want to keep it?”
“I would try to change your mind but would respect your wishes.”
“But if I did?”
I lowered my hand to lean on it, smiling at her until she looked back up. Her face was drawn, serious. I blinked slowly, staring into her captivating eyes, which didn’t quite settle on me. One of the worst things about a video chat. The eyes were never right.
“Samantha, I would tell every person I know that the most miraculous woman in the world was having my child. I would celebrate every day, go to every class, every doctor’s appointment, and do anything you asked. I would be the happiest man on the planet.”
Her lips tightened as I spoke, and her gaze snapped to the ceiling. I knew this face. The first time I’d seen it was the night we truly met, when she told me of her sister’s illness. This was herdon’t cryexpression. Perhaps the answer I wanted to give most was the right one, after all.