“What are you talking about?” Blair pulled free from his hold.
“I have a responsibility to my family, to the generations of Sandrellis who have gone before me. This baby, this child of ours, has a birthright, a heritage, that stretches back centuries. It will be born where I was born, where my father was born before me and his before him.”
Draco struggled to control the rising sense of sheer joy that plumed like a massive cloud of excitement from deep inside him. A baby. A child. His child. Finally he could bring his parents something to look forward to, some happiness in lives that had seen altogether too much sorrow. First the death of Lorenzo, his brother, ten years ago, and then more recently, Marcella and their unborn infant and his father’s ill health.
No matter what Blair thought, this baby would be born right where it belonged. In the heart of Tuscany.
“You’re being unreasonable,” she argued. “This is exactly why I would never have told you that I was pregnant. You don’t even know yet if it is your baby, and you’re already riding roughshod over me and making decisions about it without any thought to how this affects me.”
Draco stiffened. “You have been intimate with other men since we met?”
She couldn’t hold his gaze, instead letting her eyelids flutter down over her eyes, hiding from him her deepest thoughts. It was all the answer he needed. She could no more deny the baby was his than she could stop him in what he was going to do now.
“You will appoint a new chef to take over from you immediately,” he said firmly.
“I will do no such thing. Carson’s is my restaurant. I’m in charge here, not you. Besides, I am Carson’s, as was my father before me!”
She all but spat the words at him and he fought to control a smile. As if her claim to familial lineage could be compared with the generations-old traditions and responsibilities handed down through his.
“You cannot argue with me on this, Blair. It will serve no purpose.”
“No purpose? How dare you. You cannot dictate to me where I live. I have a business to run here, my home is in New Zealand and my baby will be born here.”
“If you want to play hardball with me, that is fine. I can match you any day of the week. If you do not agree to return to Tuscany with me and have our baby there, where it belongs, I will terminate your lease on the restaurant. The choice is yours. I will be back this time tomorrow for your answer.”
He strode out the door, barely trusting himself to remain in her presence. He’d already lost one child. He would not lose another in this lifetime if he had any say in the matter.
His mind was already ticking over as his driver shot out the car to open the passenger door for him. As he settled against the buttery-soft leather of the interior of the limousine he took his mobile phone from his breast pocket and flipped it open.
His instructions to his New Zealand–based assistant were terse and to the point. “Get me the address of Blair Carson’s father. I need it immediately.”
Before ten minutes had passed his driver had pointed the limousine down the Southern Motorway and they were headed for an appointment he had no intention of leaving until he had exactly the answer he wanted.
Blair Carson, Sr., was not as Draco had expected. The house in which he lived could barely be called more than a casual beachfront holiday retreat. If his information was correct, the man rented on a month-by-month basis. Hardly the kind of stability that Draco took for granted in his world, and hardly the kind of family stability Draco wanted for his unborn child either.
Draco instantly noted the similarities between the elder Carson and his daughter. Similar height and build, although the man walking toward him now was slightly stooped, his black hair streaked with grey.
He extended his hand, wasting no time in getting to introductions and outlining exactly what he wanted from him.
“So you’re telling me my daughter is pregnant?” Blair’s dad looked incredulous.
“Yes, sir, and it would mean everything to my family if I could take Blair back to my home in Tuscany to have the baby there. But you know how she feels about Carson’s. She isn’t happy to leave the restaurant in just anyone’s hands. I understand you oversaw the kitchen while she was on her tour in February.”
“That’s right. It was good to be back in charge.” Blair’s father nodded, a smile wreathing his face.
“Then, could I presume upon you to do the same again for me while she is in Tuscany until the birth of the child? I will certainly make it worth your while.” Draco mentioned a figure that was more than competitive. “I would like you to take over as soon as possible, as I have business to attend to back home, and I would like Blair to travel with me. Obviously, I understand that your health makes it impossible for you to do all that Blair has undertaken in recent months, however, I believe I can trust you to appoint someone in the kitchen who would give her the peace of mind she needs to be able to step away.”