The Baby Bombshell: The Billionaire's Baby Swap / Dating for Two / The Valtieri Baby

Giovanni might not have given birth, but his paternal instincts had taken over, and he was filled with a joy he hadn’t known in years. His marriage to Tatania had never taken. Since the divorce he’d felt relief, but was pretty much devoid of any other feelings. She’d gone through the greater part of her pregnancy without Giovanni’s help. To be united suddenly with his son thrilled him to the core of his being.

He couldn’t comprehend that Tatania didn’t want to coparent with him. According to the doctor, she hadn’t asked to see the baby. If he knew Violeta, she would work on her daughter, but Giovanni didn’t hold out hope. Every child needed a mother and father, but during their marriage, Tatania had shut down. It was as if every motherly instinct had been drained out of her. Psychiatric counseling hadn’t helped.

Eager to examine his son, he put him on the changing board and unwrapped him down to his shirt and diaper. Being uncovered had wakened him. His eyes opened. Giovanni couldn’t tell their color. Maybe a muddy slate blue.

He kissed him on either cheek. “I’m your papà. Welcome to my world.” He checked his legs and feet that were wiggling. Those tiny hands had fingers that curled around his finger. Before long he would pull him up slightly to discover how strong he was. Laughter came out of Giovanni.

In a minute the pediatrician walked in the room and smiled. “It looks like father and son are doing well. The nurse will bring you a bottle and teach you how to feed him.”

“Thank you, Doctor.”

The rest of the night turned out to be pure delight as he fed and bathed Vito. By 11 o’clock Giovanni felt like an old hand, but he was exhausted. He arranged for his pilot to pick him up. He’d go home to sleep, then come back in the morning.

Once the baby was released, they’d fly home, where Stanzie and her husband, Paolo Bruno, were waiting for him. The attractive couple in their early forties had been managing the Bruno Advertising agency under their uncle Ernesto Bruno. Giovanni had become acquainted with the dynamic couple three years earlier through business. But months ago their uncle let them go because the business was failing.

Giovanni had stepped in to help them out and asked if they’d take care of his villa and garden for a temporary period. He believed in them and planned to set them up in their own advertising business a little later down the road that would benefit the three of them. Until that could be accomplished, he’d hired them to work for him, an arrangement that suited everyone. They’d been hoping to have children, but it hadn’t happened yet and they could hardly wait for the arrival of the baby.

He’d spent the past month turning one of the guest rooms into a nursery with everything the baby would need. But nothing had prepared him for the sheer wonder of being a father. This tiny infant was his heart’s blood. Already those protective feelings had taken root. He could tell his life had changed in ways he’d never dreamed of.

* * *

Two weeks had passed since the birth of the baby. Valentina looked down at her handsome son while he slept on his back. She was still trying to breast-feed, but the baby wasn’t getting enough milk so she supplemented with formula.

She’d also struggled trying to decide on the right name for him before he was born. But once she’d laid eyes on him, she felt Riccardo suited him best. She’d called him Ric from that moment on.

“Did you name him after our grandfather?” Carlo questioned while they were gathered round in the nursery. Everyone was crazy about the baby, who luckily slept soundly.

“Yes, but let me ask you a question. I want your opinion on something. Because Matteo was blond, and I am, too, I didn’t expect to have a baby with black hair. Dark hair does run in our family, but Ric’s hair is a stark black. I don’t know. Do you think Ric looks like our grandfather Riccardo?”

Carlo shook his head. “No. Not at all.” Other than the dark hair, Valentina didn’t see any similarities, either, but she’d had to ask. “This little guy has a distinct widow’s peak.”

“Papà noticed it immediately when he came to visit and thought it odd. Now I’m going to ask another question. Do you think he looks like me?”

Rini’s eyes narrowed on her. “No.”

“But he doesn’t look anything like Matteo. He was blond and blue-eyed. My baby’s eyes are dark already.”

“Now that you mention it, Melita thought it strange he doesn’t look like you.”

At Carlo’s comment a sick feeling grew in the pit of her stomach, and she turned away from the crib. “Let’s not talk about it anymore.”

“He could be a throwback to an ancestor, but none of it matters. Don’t worry about it.” Carlo kissed her cheek. “I’ve got to go home. Melita is waiting for me to help put Angelica to bed. Talk to you later.” His footsteps faded down the hall.

Rini stayed in the nursery with her. “Valentina? Look at me.” She was afraid to. “I know what has been going through your mind since you brought Ric home from the hospital. At first I didn’t dwell on it, but tonight I have to admit I’m puzzled that I see no signs of you or our family in the baby. Before you turn yourself inside out, there’s a simple way to learn the truth.”

“I know,” she whispered. “Get a DNA test done.”

“Exactly. Then you’ll know the baby is yours and you can stop driving yourself mad with worry.”

Her breath froze in her lungs. “You wouldn’t suggest my doing that if you didn’t have doubts, too.” Nothing got past her successful brother who was known for his genius in the business world. She held herself taut. “What if the baby isn’t mine? I love little Ric with all my heart and soul. He’s so gorgeous and so sweet.”

They stared at each other for an overly long moment.

“Find out the truth first before you tear yourself apart.”

Tears filled her eyes. “If he isn’t my son, then it means that someone else went home from the hospital with my baby. Things like this just don’t happen!” she cried out. The baby stirred before growing relaxed again.

“I agree switched babies are very rare, but it does happen. That’s not to say that it happened to you, but to remove all doubt, call the doctor and have the DNA test done. I’ll take you to the hospital in the morning and we’ll get this thing settled.”

Though she wanted to be more independent, she didn’t know how she could do this alone and was grateful for Rini’s loving support.

They hugged good-night and she went to her room, leaving the doors open so she could hear Ric when he woke up for his next bottle. Unable to sleep, she got on the internet and researched switched-baby stories. The latest one had come out of France. But the switch hadn’t been discovered until twenty years later.

How horrible that must have been for both sets of parents. If Valentina’s baby was given to the wrong mother, then she wanted her own baby back as soon as possible. But she wanted Ric, too. He was her very heart. How could she possibly give him up? They’d already bonded. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

Was there a mother out there who was worried that her baby didn’t look like her, either, and wondered if some terrible mistake had been made? If so, then she’d already bonded with Valentina’s birth baby. Valentina could hardly bear it.

She spent the rest of the night in agony. Instead of sleeping, she went in the nursery and sat in the rocker, holding Ric. The nursing just didn’t give him enough milk. She fed him bottles to satisfy him at two different times during the night. Morning couldn’t come soon enough. There wasn’t any time to lose getting to the hospital to learn the truth!

* * *

Giovanni fed Vito his early-morning bottle before turning him over to Stanzie. He hadn’t expected her to be a babysitter to Vito and had decided to hire a nanny. But when Stanzie heard that, she begged to do the honors.

In two weeks his boy was filling out and so much fun to play with, Giovanni had a hell of a time leaving the villa to put in a day’s work at his office. He’d had visits from his parents and sisters since he’d brought the baby home. Violeta had begged to see him. He could hardly refuse her.

Giovanni realized she was a doting grandmother and could understand her pain over her daughter’s refusal to see Vito. His son would be lucky to have the love of two grandmothers who already worshipped him.

After his flight to work, he met with Ernesto Bruno over a working lunch in his office conference room. The man’s company did advertising for major companies, including the Montanari Corporation. For the last little while Giovanni had been working to buy Bruno’s failing advertising business. He’d settled on a price that would be very lucrative for him. A win-win situation.

But by the end of the meeting, it became clear that Signor Bruno was still stalling. Maybe Giovanni had underestimated his loyalty to the Montanari family. It appeared the new CEO Rinieri Montanari, a shrewd entrepreneur, wanted to make Bruno Advertising a part of his company. Giovanni realized that in order to get to the root of the problem, he needed to go through Rinieri himself to settle this one way or the other.

He and Ernesto agreed to look at numbers and meet again in a week. After the other man left, Giovanni went back to his office to look over last month’s accounts. He should have done it before, but Vito’s arrival had consumed him.

Giovanni told his secretary to hold all calls. To his surprise she walked in on him, disturbing his concentration. “Signor Laurito? Forgive me, but there’s a call for you on line two. It’s Signor Conti, the administrator of the hospital in Positano. He said it was extremely urgent.”

The administrator? Why?

He thanked his secretary and got on the phone. “This is Giovanni Laurito. You wished to speak to me?”

“I realize you’re an important man, but something has come up I need to discuss with you. Could you come to the hospital this afternoon? Because of confidentiality, I can’t talk about this over the phone.”

Giovanni’s brows knit together. Maybe this was about Tatania. But if she’d changed her mind about seeing the baby, she’d go through her attorney surely, not to mention her mother. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.” He hung up and alerted his pilot. Before leaving his office, he called the villa to inquire about Vito.

“He’s being a perfect boy and is taking his nap.”

“That’s good. Thank you, Stanzie. I’ll be home for dinner. Ciao.”

A half hour later he was invited in the administrator’s office. “Thanks for getting here so quickly.”