New Arrivals: His Expectant Mistress: Accidentally Pregnant! / One-Night Pregnancy / One Tiny Miracle...

But when he walked through the apartment and opened the door, it was his stepbrother Fabbio himself standing there. Apparently he hadn’t trusted Gino or Luca to do his dirty work for him. Well, well…The whole nasty history between them flashed through his mind. Vincenzo could count on one hand the times he’d seen his flashy, dark blond stepbrother in the last seven years. “Entrate, prego.”

“I prefer to stay where I am. Is it true?”

Some things never changed. Vincenzo looked over his shoulder. “Innamorata? Come and meet my stepbrother,” he spoke in English.

Irena moved toward him. He knew he could count on her to remain calm in the face of surprise or an emotional storm, except when it came to the baby’s paternity.

Vincenzo didn’t miss the flash of stunned male interest in Fabbio’s narrowed gray eyes when she joined them. After being thoroughly kissed in the kitchen, she’d never looked more desirable.

He put his arm around her shoulders, drawing her close. “Irena Spiros, meet Fabbio. Among his many talents, he’s an avvocato.”

“That means an attorney, doesn’t it?” With the ease and unconscious dignity of a real lady she shook his hand. “How do you do, Fabbio.”

Totally thrown, his stepbrother had trouble articulating. It had to be a rare moment when Fabbio, an inch taller than Vincenzo, was at a loss for words. “I’ve seen you before.”

“People often say that to me. I must have the kind of looks shared by many women.” Vincenzo had never met anyone who could think on her feet as fast as Irena.

“No.” Fabbio wouldn’t let it go.

She said something else to brush it off. “Won’t you come in? Vincenzo just made us the most sensational food. If you don’t finish the bruschetta, I will, and I’ve already eaten too much.” With that voluptuous smile of hers, his married stepbrother’s seduction was complete.

“Since I dropped in without invitation, another time perhaps.” His eyes traveled from her glorious black hair down the curves of her body to her nylon-clad feet, presenting a picture of two lovers enjoying an intimate evening. He finally tore his gaze away to stare bullets at Vincenzo. Fabbio had wished him dead years ago. “If I could have a word with you.”

Irena pressed his arm. “I’m sure you two have a lot to talk about so I’ll disappear.”

Before she could pull away, Vincenzo pressed a kiss to her red, slightly swollen lips. “I won’t be long,” he whispered.

She nodded. “It was nice meeting you, Fabbio.”

Once she’d gone, Vincenzo lounged against the doorjamb, his hands in his pockets. “What’s this about? As you can see, I have other matters pressing.”

His cheeks went a ruddy color. “Mila just found out you’re taking Dino out of the country for another two weeks on Thursday.”

“That’s right.”

“The stipulation doesn’t provide for changes.”

“You know full well my marriage will have effectively done away with the rules of the divorce decree. The only reason you came here tonight was to see the evidence for yourself. Now that you’ve taken your full measure of my fiancée, I’d like you to leave.”

His anger was near the surface. “You’re not getting away with this without a fight.”

“Surely that’s for Papa to decide.”

“He’s ill.”

“Only when it’s convenient for him.”

“Accidenti a te!”

“Curse me all you want, it will do you no good.”

Now he was breathing hard. “The entire family stands against you.”

“It was ever thus.”

“You won’t succeed.”

“Careful, Fabbio. Your fear is showing.”

“So is yours, or you wouldn’t be doing everything in secret.”

“Can you blame me for wanting to keep her away from the wolves for as long as possible? You’re all waiting to tear her apart, but I won’t have it. Irena is the most important thing in my life right now.” He straightened and pulled his hands out of his pockets. “Buonanotte, Fabbio.”

Irena appeared the moment he shut the door on him. “Don’t you think it’s time you told me about your family?”

He lifted one eyebrow. “Except for my mother who died seven years ago, I’ve been at war with them from birth.”

She came closer, searching his eyes for the truth. “You’re not joking.” The pain in hers revealed she was devastated for him.

“Once upon a time I told you we were opposites. You come from a loving family and almost married into what I’ve gathered is a loving, forgiving family. I, too, love my father because he is my father, but I don’t like him or my autocratic grandfather who’s now deceased, or my stepbrother, or my uncles, not even my cousins once they started to resemble their fathers.”

“Oh, dear.”

“I sound like a monster,” he ground out.

“No.” After a moment of reflection she asked, “Besides your mother, are there no girls in this fearsome group?”

With a sharp laugh, he let out the breath he’d been holding and grasped her shoulders. “Dozens.”

“But they hold no sway in the male-dominated hierarchy,” she divined with her rare capacity to discern the true nature of things. “How often is Dino around them?”

“Mila spends most of her time with them, so that means my son does, too. My father dotes on him.”

“Who wouldn’t? I’m crazy about him even after being around him such a short time. Does Dino share your feelings?”

“I’m not sure.”

“How could that be? He tells you everything.”

He shook his head. “Certain things he keeps to himself. In my case, I’m afraid my noninvolvement with family speaks for me.”

“If he sometimes keeps quiet it’s probably because he feels guilty.”

Vincenzo kissed the end of her nose. “Why do you say that?”

“Because he knows how you feel and doesn’t want to do anything that could upset or hurt you. Or get you in trouble,” she added quietly before easing away from him. “From the sound of it, your intention to marry me has put flame to a fuse.”

“You let me worry about that. The family has nothing to do with you and me. Our lives with our children will be our own.”