time to think about what I want in terms of a relationship, or even if I want one at all.'
'So you won't be marrying for the sake of convenience next time around, I take it?' she asked with an arch look.
'It was convenient for both of us, Maya,' he said as a frown settled between his brows. 'I gave you everything I could. You wanted for nothing. I made sure of it. Our relationship ran its course. There was nothing either of us could do about it.'
You could have loved me, Maya thought. Then maybe our relationship would have had a chance.
Giorgio drew in a deep breath and slowly released it. 'I need to get some sleep and so do you.
You wouldn't happen to have a spare toothbrush, would you? I didn't think to pack anything.'
'I think there's one in one of the bathroom basin drawers,' she said. 'There are fresh towels on the rail.'
Giorgio moved past her and went up the narrow staircase, stooping as the steps changed direction halfway up. The bathroom made him feel like a giant. He had to bend almost double to examine his reflection in the mirror. He looked every bit as tired as Maya looked, he thought. And, yes, she was right: he was every bit as jealous, if not more so. He hadn't even slept with that airheaded lingerie girl, not that she hadn't been keen. The opportunity had been there but he hadn't taken it. He had sent her on her way and downed half a bottle of whisky instead.
He breathed out a sigh, not really wanting to think about that particular headache, and opened the drawer beneath the basin. It was filled with the usual female bathroom paraphernalia: cotton tips, tweezers, tampons, tissues and a brand new toothbrush, still in its packet.
And then his eyes zeroed in on something else…
Chapter Five
MAYA was making up the sofa as best she could with a spare blanket and a pillow when she sensed rather than heard Giorgio come in. The hairs on the back of her neck rose and even Gonzo dropped to his belly and gave a little doggy whimper, just like he did when a particularly nasty storm was approaching.
'Maya.'
She turned from smoothing out the blanket and came face to face with Giorgio's thunderous expression. Her eyes flared in panic when she saw what was in his right hand. Her heart knocked against her ribcage as if someone had shoved it from behind and her mouth went completely dry, so dry she had to brush her tongue out over her lips. 'I…You weren't supposed to find that…'
God, how awful that sounded, she thought in anguish.
He put the positive dipstick down with careful precision on the small coffee table near the sofa. It was like laying down a challenge. It lay in the space between them accusingly, threateningly, dividing them, Maya thought, when it should have been uniting them.
'When were you going to tell me about this?' he asked with diamond-hard eyes.
She sent the tip of her tongue out again to loosen her lips enough to speak. 'I…I didn't think it was worth telling you because-'
'Because it's not mine?' He cut her off savagely.
Maya's mouth dropped open. She couldn't speak for the shockwave of hurt that smashed over her. She shuddered with it. She even felt as if she would collapse with it. Bright lights like thousands of silverfish darted in front of her eyes and she had to grasp the end of the sofa to steady herself. His reaction was something she had not expected-not even for a moment had she anticipated such a response from him. How could he think that of her? But then she recalled the way the press had handled her one date since their breakup. Of course he would automatically assume the child was not his. After all, they had been unable to conceive for years. It would be all too easy to assume someone else had got her pregnant. She bit her lip as she thought about things from Giorgio's perspective. She felt ashamed that her focus had always been on how she felt about not getting or staying pregnant. She hadn't really asked him what he felt about it.
'So you won't be marrying for the sake of convenience next time around, I take it?' she asked with an arch look.
'It was convenient for both of us, Maya,' he said as a frown settled between his brows. 'I gave you everything I could. You wanted for nothing. I made sure of it. Our relationship ran its course. There was nothing either of us could do about it.'
You could have loved me, Maya thought. Then maybe our relationship would have had a chance.
Giorgio drew in a deep breath and slowly released it. 'I need to get some sleep and so do you.
You wouldn't happen to have a spare toothbrush, would you? I didn't think to pack anything.'
'I think there's one in one of the bathroom basin drawers,' she said. 'There are fresh towels on the rail.'
Giorgio moved past her and went up the narrow staircase, stooping as the steps changed direction halfway up. The bathroom made him feel like a giant. He had to bend almost double to examine his reflection in the mirror. He looked every bit as tired as Maya looked, he thought. And, yes, she was right: he was every bit as jealous, if not more so. He hadn't even slept with that airheaded lingerie girl, not that she hadn't been keen. The opportunity had been there but he hadn't taken it. He had sent her on her way and downed half a bottle of whisky instead.
He breathed out a sigh, not really wanting to think about that particular headache, and opened the drawer beneath the basin. It was filled with the usual female bathroom paraphernalia: cotton tips, tweezers, tampons, tissues and a brand new toothbrush, still in its packet.
And then his eyes zeroed in on something else…
Chapter Five
MAYA was making up the sofa as best she could with a spare blanket and a pillow when she sensed rather than heard Giorgio come in. The hairs on the back of her neck rose and even Gonzo dropped to his belly and gave a little doggy whimper, just like he did when a particularly nasty storm was approaching.
'Maya.'
She turned from smoothing out the blanket and came face to face with Giorgio's thunderous expression. Her eyes flared in panic when she saw what was in his right hand. Her heart knocked against her ribcage as if someone had shoved it from behind and her mouth went completely dry, so dry she had to brush her tongue out over her lips. 'I…You weren't supposed to find that…'
God, how awful that sounded, she thought in anguish.
He put the positive dipstick down with careful precision on the small coffee table near the sofa. It was like laying down a challenge. It lay in the space between them accusingly, threateningly, dividing them, Maya thought, when it should have been uniting them.
'When were you going to tell me about this?' he asked with diamond-hard eyes.
She sent the tip of her tongue out again to loosen her lips enough to speak. 'I…I didn't think it was worth telling you because-'
'Because it's not mine?' He cut her off savagely.
Maya's mouth dropped open. She couldn't speak for the shockwave of hurt that smashed over her. She shuddered with it. She even felt as if she would collapse with it. Bright lights like thousands of silverfish darted in front of her eyes and she had to grasp the end of the sofa to steady herself. His reaction was something she had not expected-not even for a moment had she anticipated such a response from him. How could he think that of her? But then she recalled the way the press had handled her one date since their breakup. Of course he would automatically assume the child was not his. After all, they had been unable to conceive for years. It would be all too easy to assume someone else had got her pregnant. She bit her lip as she thought about things from Giorgio's perspective. She felt ashamed that her focus had always been on how she felt about not getting or staying pregnant. She hadn't really asked him what he felt about it.
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