demonstration?” she asked brokenly as she fought back the tears. “I’m tired and I want to go to bed. Alone .”
“You don’t have to worry about that, Bella.” Antonio slowly let go of her hands and took a step back. “What we had was good, but I’ve never been interested in my brother’s cast-offs.”
That burned. Isabella bolted away from him. Her movements were awkward and shaky as she walked across the room and grabbed her backpack. She wanted to keep walking. Out the door. Out of Antonio’s life.
Let him think the worst of her. It didn’t matter anymore. They had no future together. She had already wasted so much time trying to get him back. What they’d had was a dream, and the beauty and magic were fading every minute she tried to hold onto it.
“Leave and I’ll drag you back in here,” Antonio warned. “You are carrying the Rossi heir.”
How could he be like this? So ruthless and hard after the kiss they’d just shared? And why couldn’t she be just as unemotional?
She whirled around and glared at Antonio. His shirt was unbuttoned, his hair mussed, but he still had a commanding presence. He was in control while she felt like she was being tossed from one crashing wave after another.
“I was in love with you,” she announced bitterly.
Antonio didn’t show any sign of surprise. That rankled. He knew how she’d felt. He had always known. And it didn’t make a difference.
“I was so deeply and so foolishly in love,” she said. “It was the reason that I put my future on hold.”
“I never asked you to do that.”
“I changed the course of my life to be with you,” she said as she walked across the length of the room to the doorway, avoiding Antonio. “And right at this moment I regret it.”
His eyes glittered with anger. “You regret getting caught. You didn’t expect Gio to tell me the truth.”
“I regret you ,” she retaliated. She wasn’t sure if it was true. Her emotions were running high. Frustration billowed through her chest. “You were the biggest mistake of my life. But don’t worry, Antonio. I learn from my mistakes and I never repeat them.”
CHAPTER SIX
M ORNINGS were the worst.
Isabella groaned as she sat on the bathroom floor, her bare legs sprawled on the cold linoleum. She had to get up and get dressed. She wished she could sit here until her stomach settled, but she didn’t have the luxury of time.
How was she going to get through this pregnancy? Hell, how was she going to get through this morning?
Another question slipped into her mind and she couldn’t push it away fast enough.
How was she going to be a mother?
A heavy ache settled in her chest. She was scared of going through this alone. She wasn’t ready to be a parent. A single mom. Isabella had always assumed she would be a mother one day. Far, far in the future. But in the meantime she’d had other plans. A few goals she’d wanted to accomplish. She had promised her mother.
Isabella weakly closed her eyes. If her mother were alive, she would be devastated by the news. Before Jody Williams had become ill she had done everything possible to give her daughter the opportunities she hadn’t had. Isabella remembered the litany of advice and warnings. Finish college before you have a child … Never rely on a man … Protect yourself …
At the time Isabella had thought her mother had a bitter view of the world, but her negativity was understandable. Jody’s dreams had been cut short when she’d become a teen mother. Everyone had turned her back on her. The first one to walk away had been the father of her child. Stay away from the rich ones , her mother had said frequently. They have so many choices that they don’t know how to commit .
Isabella wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. She had been so certain that nothing could sidetrack her from her dreams. No man would stand in her way.
She had been so arrogant. So naïve. But she couldn’t dwell on that anymore. Now she needed
“You don’t have to worry about that, Bella.” Antonio slowly let go of her hands and took a step back. “What we had was good, but I’ve never been interested in my brother’s cast-offs.”
That burned. Isabella bolted away from him. Her movements were awkward and shaky as she walked across the room and grabbed her backpack. She wanted to keep walking. Out the door. Out of Antonio’s life.
Let him think the worst of her. It didn’t matter anymore. They had no future together. She had already wasted so much time trying to get him back. What they’d had was a dream, and the beauty and magic were fading every minute she tried to hold onto it.
“Leave and I’ll drag you back in here,” Antonio warned. “You are carrying the Rossi heir.”
How could he be like this? So ruthless and hard after the kiss they’d just shared? And why couldn’t she be just as unemotional?
She whirled around and glared at Antonio. His shirt was unbuttoned, his hair mussed, but he still had a commanding presence. He was in control while she felt like she was being tossed from one crashing wave after another.
“I was in love with you,” she announced bitterly.
Antonio didn’t show any sign of surprise. That rankled. He knew how she’d felt. He had always known. And it didn’t make a difference.
“I was so deeply and so foolishly in love,” she said. “It was the reason that I put my future on hold.”
“I never asked you to do that.”
“I changed the course of my life to be with you,” she said as she walked across the length of the room to the doorway, avoiding Antonio. “And right at this moment I regret it.”
His eyes glittered with anger. “You regret getting caught. You didn’t expect Gio to tell me the truth.”
“I regret you ,” she retaliated. She wasn’t sure if it was true. Her emotions were running high. Frustration billowed through her chest. “You were the biggest mistake of my life. But don’t worry, Antonio. I learn from my mistakes and I never repeat them.”
CHAPTER SIX
M ORNINGS were the worst.
Isabella groaned as she sat on the bathroom floor, her bare legs sprawled on the cold linoleum. She had to get up and get dressed. She wished she could sit here until her stomach settled, but she didn’t have the luxury of time.
How was she going to get through this pregnancy? Hell, how was she going to get through this morning?
Another question slipped into her mind and she couldn’t push it away fast enough.
How was she going to be a mother?
A heavy ache settled in her chest. She was scared of going through this alone. She wasn’t ready to be a parent. A single mom. Isabella had always assumed she would be a mother one day. Far, far in the future. But in the meantime she’d had other plans. A few goals she’d wanted to accomplish. She had promised her mother.
Isabella weakly closed her eyes. If her mother were alive, she would be devastated by the news. Before Jody Williams had become ill she had done everything possible to give her daughter the opportunities she hadn’t had. Isabella remembered the litany of advice and warnings. Finish college before you have a child … Never rely on a man … Protect yourself …
At the time Isabella had thought her mother had a bitter view of the world, but her negativity was understandable. Jody’s dreams had been cut short when she’d become a teen mother. Everyone had turned her back on her. The first one to walk away had been the father of her child. Stay away from the rich ones , her mother had said frequently. They have so many choices that they don’t know how to commit .
Isabella wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. She had been so certain that nothing could sidetrack her from her dreams. No man would stand in her way.
She had been so arrogant. So naïve. But she couldn’t dwell on that anymore. Now she needed
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