“Tiptoeing around your penthouse apartment?” Claire asked.
He shrugged. He hadn’t given much thought to where or how. “Why not?”
“I would prefer more neutral territory, Mr. Moretti. I won’t be comfortable in your home, and I doubt you’ll enjoy the mess a baby and all her things can make in your fancy apartment. You’re not going to be happy coming to Brooklyn, either.”
“Okay. What do you think about us taking a vacation together? Renting a beach house or something?”
“Luca, I’m not sure that’s such a good—”
“I’m listening,” she said, interrupting Edmund’s complaint. Claire’s delicate brows then drew together in confusion. “It sounds nice, but how long of a vacation are we talking about, here?”
If they were going to do this, and make it work, they couldn’t skimp. She was right; a few hours here and there wouldn’t get them anywhere. He needed to get to know the mother of his child, to bond with his daughter and to make Claire at ease with him and his ability to care for Eva. That would take time.
“I think a month ought to do it.”
“A month?” Claire was stunned. “Mr. Moretti—”
“Please, call me Luca,” he said with a smile that made her pulse quicken in her throat.
That was a dangerous smile. It was charming. Disarming. Combined with his movie star good looks, it was enough to make her forget that he was the enemy, not a potential paramour. She almost preferred that he return to his cold, businessman expression.
“Luca, I have a job. I’m a curator at the Museum of European Arts. I can’t just leave for a month, especially on short notice.”
“Do you think it will be easy for me to simply turn over the reins of my family company for a month? It will be a hardship for both of us, but it has become very clear that it is a necessity to make this work. We need time away, just the three of us, to get comfortable with one another. Don’t you think Eva’s welfare is worth the sacrifice?”
Nice. Now Luca was the good guy and Claire was the one being unreasonable because she wouldn’t do whatever it took for her daughter. “Of course she’s worth the sacrifice. My daughter is my whole life.”
“Then what’s the problem? The way I see it, our court date with the judge is in six weeks. After spending four of those weeks together, perhaps we can come up with an arrangement that makes both of us happy and can present that to the judge.”
Claire felt Stuart squeeze her knee beneath the table. She didn’t have to look at her lawyer to know that he liked this idea. No one wanted to go up against Edmund Harding in court if they could avoid it. Going to see the judge with both parties on the same page would make things easier on everyone. Including Eva.
That was the thought that won her over. Her boss wouldn’t be happy, but he would understand. He knew what she had been going through the past two years. He’d be the first to tell her she deserved a vacation. Maternity leave was hardly a break. That was just a six-week introduction to the hard life of a single mother.
“Okay. If you agree to take the emergency visitation filing off the table, I’ll agree to your proposal.”
Luca nodded slowly and gestured to his lawyer. “Okay. I’ll make the arrangements for a location.”
“I’d prefer it not be too far away,” Claire said. “Long trips with a baby are difficult, and I’m not sure I’m ready to take her on a plane.”
“I have an old friend from college who has a place on Martha’s Vineyard. Would that suit you?”
Claire tried not to react. Martha’s Vineyard was the summer playground of the rich. Until recently, she’d been solidly middle class, and a vacation locale like that had always seemed out of her reach. The sudden increase in her checking account balance hadn’t changed her mind-set along with her tax bracket. “That would be suitable,” she said, coolly.
“Very well. I’ll speak to Gavin and make sure it’s available. How long will you need to prepare for the trip and arrange the time off?”
It was Monday. At the best, she could leave this weekend. “I’m not sure, but it will take a few days.”
“I’ll give you my contact information. Let me know when you find out¸ and I’ll have a car sent to pick you up.”
“That’s not necessary. I can arrange my own transportation.” Claire was never the kind of woman who sat back and let people take care of her. Not Jeff, and certainly not Luca. She had the capacity and the money to handle this herself.
“Ridiculous. We’ll ride together and start getting to know each other as soon as possible.”
Claire clenched her jaw. He spoke as if everything was law. It made her crazy. She had to pick her battles, though. If he wanted to send someone all the way out to her brownstone in Brooklyn to pick them up, then fine. “Very well. Are we done here?”
Luca’s lips twisted into an amused smile. “We are.”
Good. Claire was in desperate need of getting out of this room. The spacious conference room closed in on her the longer Luca stared at her. Those dark hazel eyes had the slightest hint of gold twinkling mischievously in them. He seemed to look right through her, seeing all the secrets and shame she was desperate to hide.
Picking up her bag, she pushed up from her seat and turned her back on Luca Moretti. She needed some distance between them. She wanted to breathe air that wasn’t scented with leather and the spice of his cologne. Claire moved with purpose out of the conference room, exiting Edmund’s law offices with Stuart on her heels. She didn’t stop until she was standing on the sidewalk, looking at the traffic buzzing down Lexington Avenue.
Claire took a deep breath and felt the muscles in her neck and shoulders finally start to loosen. It wasn’t just what he saw in her. It was how he made her feel. Luca lit a fire inside her that licked at her cheeks and made her think about the needs she’d ignored for longer than she could remember.
When she and her husband decided to have a child and it didn’t happen easily, sex with Jeff became a chore. Mechanical. When that didn’t work and they went to the clinic, it was even worse. Desire and arousal went out the window with sterile rooms and medical procedures. Their relationship changed as their failures became all they could focus on.
It was no wonder Jeff strayed.
Claire had been so wrapped up in getting pregnant, and then obsessed with preparing for the baby’s arrival, she didn’t notice anything was wrong. Jeff was working later, going on more business trips, but a lot of people worked long hours. Even she did from time to time, especially when a new exhibit was getting ready to open at the museum. But she also ignored the fact that he took a shower the minute he got home, the distant look in his eyes and the complete disinterest in physical contact. She was so adept at justifying every red flag that if his mistress hadn’t died in the car with Jeff when he wrecked, she might never have accepted he was having an affair.
It had taken time to come to terms with the truth, but knowing that her relationship with Jeff would’ve ended no matter what had helped her cope with his death. She had lost her husband long before that night. If Jeff had lived long enough for the truth about his infidelity to come to light, they probably would’ve divorced. And if by some miracle they had fought through the rough patch, finding out that he wasn’t Eva’s father would’ve been the end. His ego never could’ve taken a hit like that.
Realizing all this had been a major blow to her confidence in her ability to make good choices. She had thought Jeff was the perfect man for her and she’d been wrong. She’d thought a baby would help give her what she was missing from