The Billionaire's Baby Swap

A cry escaped her lips.

Without doubt his facial bone structure was Valentina’s. She saw shades of her mother, as well. Her beloved mother who was no longer here to turn to for love and advice. The baby had deep blue eyes. His pale blond hair—the way it grew—was hers and Matteo’s. She carefully unwrapped him to check his toes.

He’d been dressed in a cute one-piece polo suit in navy and white. She could tell he’d been given perfect care and was thriving, but his little chin had started to wobble, tugging at her heartstrings. Valentina was a stranger to him, but she realized he belonged to her. All of a sudden he started to cry, wrenching her heart.

“Oh—my precious baby. I’m your real mommy, Vito. I know you’re confused, but I already love you to pieces.”

She put him over her shoulder. “You dear, dear little thing.” She stood up and walked around, whispering endearments to comfort him. Right now she prayed that her darling Ric was feeling the same love from his birth mother. But the more she tried to quiet him down, the more he resisted, filling her with panic.

* * *

The head of the hospital came in Giovanni’s room accompanied by a nurse. With the door open, he could hear a baby crying at the top of his lungs from another room. It was Vito! But Giovanni couldn’t do anything about it because the nurse placed the baby in his arms. Then she left.

“His name is Riccardo,” Signor Conti informed him. He put a list made by the other mother on the table. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.” The closed door shut off most of the sound.

Giovanni looked down at the baby. The second he saw his face and those dark eyes peering from the edges of an exquisite hand-stitched quilt in blue, yellow and white, he didn’t need the proof of a DNA test to know it was his son. The telltale black hair and widow’s peak proclaimed him a Laurito. His nose and mouth had the look of Tatania. He had long fingers, a trait of the Laurito men.

He could tell the mother had taken meticulous care of him. The one-piece navy body suit had four white sailboats. Giovanni was thrilled beyond belief at the sight of his son, but the baby wasn’t happy to be with him and began to cry.

“Riccardo—figlio mio—I know you’re frightened, but we’ll become friends. You’ll see.” He raised him to his shoulder and ran his hand over his back. “I know you miss the mother who took care of you, but now you’re home with me where you belong.”

How shocking to feel this instant affection when he’d felt the same way about Vito. Seeing his own flesh and blood was like a miracle. He kissed his head and cheek while he walked around patting his little back to quiet him down. His son smelled wonderful.

But no amount of loving helped. If anything, the crying was getting worse. Vito had never cried this hard with him. Anyone hearing Riccardo would think something was terribly wrong.

Unable to stand it another minute, he scanned the list given him to find out if Riccardo had been nursed or drank formula. What he did see was the mention of formula. It was the same kind he’d given Vito.

Anxious to comfort him, he pulled out one of Vito’s bottles and tried to get his son to drink it, but the baby was too upset and fought him.

Frantic because nothing was working, he opened the door to take him for a walk, anything to help him stop crying. Once out in the hallway, he heard Vito, who was crying hysterically. The sound came from another room around the corner and a long way down the hall. That was where Giovanni headed because two screaming babies needed comfort, rules or no rules.

As he reached the closed door ready to knock, it opened unexpectedly.

“Oh—” The mother cried to see Giovanni standing right there.

“Mi scusi, signora. I was just coming to find you.”

“That’s what I was about to do.”

Despite the fact that both babies were crying at the top of their lungs, for a moment his gaze took in the angelic-looking woman. At first she seemed so familiar to Giovanni he couldn’t understand. Then it struck him that it was because the son he’d taken home from the hospital and adored was a tiny replica of her, down to her blond hair. Good heavens, what a gorgeous woman!

But he couldn’t go on staring at her when something needed to be done quickly to quiet the babies. “Let me take Vito.”

“Yes. He doesn’t want me,” her voice trembled.

Giovanni felt her pain and grasped him in his other arm while handing a tearful Riccardo back to her. Without hesitation the exchange took place in the hallway. He didn’t care if they weren’t supposed to meet. Apparently she didn’t care, either. It told him this terrible situation had nearly destroyed her, too. Already he felt a bond with her as she crushed Ric to her, yet never took her eyes off Vito.

After a few seconds their children quieted down and eventually blessed peace reigned. She looked up at him. Suddenly they both laughed in relief. In that instant he felt a tug on his emotions to discover this woman could find humor at such a precarious moment. She appealed to him in ways he couldn’t begin to explain.

“Thank you for coming to our rescue.” She sounded a little breathless as their eyes clung.

“I didn’t know what else to do.”

“I hear you. Where’s your wife?”

“I’m divorced. She gave up her mother’s rights.”

Her incredible sapphire-blue eyes clouded. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s past history. Is your husband here?”

She kissed his son—her son. “We never married. Our relationship ended a long time ago.”

At this historic moment he had too many questions, but the hall wasn’t the place for the kind of conversation they needed. “Why don’t I grab the diaper bag out of the room I was in and join you in here so we can talk.”

“Please hurry—”

That pleading in her eyes got to him. He understood the urgency and was gone and back in a flash. After closing the door, he dug inside the bag and handed her Vito’s bottle.

She did the same with her bag. “Here’s one for Ric.”

He liked the shortened version. In a minute both babies had settled down and were drinking, totally happy to be in familiar arms.

Signor Conti poked his head in the room, shocked to see the four of them together. “So this is where you went, signor. It seems your babies found you.”

“Our children don’t understand hospital rules,” Giovanni muttered. “But it wouldn’t have mattered how this was handled, the babies need time to adjust.”

He cleared his throat. “Under the circumstances, let me introduce you. Signorina Valentina Montanari, please meet Signor Giovanni Laurito.”

Giovanni’s body quickened. Such a prominent name in Italy’s business world made him wonder if she was any relation to Rinieri Montanari, the new head at Montanari’s. He was a hard man to do business with, forcing him to hold talks with Ernesto Bruno when he needed to meet with the CEO himself.

“I can see you two have a lot to talk about. This is a situation no one is prepared for. Since you’ve met, stay here as long as you need to. Remember we provide counseling if you feel that you need it.”

They thanked him. Giovanni closed the door behind the administrator and sat down with Vito slumped against his shoulder.

She sat in the other chair and kissed Ric with all the love of a doting mother. He admired her for going through this whole experience without a husband to help her.

“Ric’s hungry. I tried to nurse him, but I didn’t have enough milk so he’s been getting used to the formula.”

“It looks like both babies have been on the same brand sent home by the hospital.” He had dozens of questions but asked the first one on his mind. “How soon did you decide Ric wasn’t your son?”

She darted him a glance. “From the first moment I saw him, I was surprised he didn’t look at all like me. In the beginning I didn’t say anything to my family, but after two weeks everyone agreed he didn’t look like anyone on our side of the family. In the case of the baby’s father, I saw no resemblance to him, either.

“My oldest brother knew I was worried and suggested I get a DNA test done so I could be absolutely certain one way or the other. My fear turned into a nightmare when the results came back, letting me know he wasn’t my baby.”

Giovanni nodded. “Nightmare is the right word, but I was the last person to be contacted by the hospital, so I haven’t had as much time as you to be torn apart.”

She smiled sadly. “No matter the length of wait, it has been a hideous experience loving our children, yet knowing we would have to give them up.” Her gaze centered on him. “Now that I’ve met you, there’s no question Ric is your son. His hairline and coloring match yours.”