âIâve brought someone with me,â Rafael told her, as he lifted something up and deposited it on the bed.
Totally bemused, Serena realized that she was staring at a carrycot, and inside, dressed in soft blue cotton, tiny feet bare, lay a small baby.
âOh! Heâs gorgeous!â she exclaimed. âWhatâs his name?â
âI call him Tonio.â
âHeâs yours? I didnât know you were married.â
âIâm not.â
âThen Tonioâ¦. Heâs aâaâlove-child?â
âA love-child?â Rafaelâs mouth twisted cynically on the word. âThere are those who would call him something far less complimentary.â
âBut if you and his mother are togetherâ¦.â
âNo!â It came out forcefully. âTonioâs mother and I are not together.â
Heâs a man of cool sophistication.
Heâs got pride, power and wealth.
At the top of his corporate ladder, heâs a ruthless businessmanâan expert lover
His life runs like a well-oiled machineâ¦.
Until now.
Because suddenly heâs responsible for a BABY!
His Baby
A miniseries from Harlequin Presents>®.
Heâs sexy, successfulâ¦and heâs facing up to fatherhood!
Thereâll be another HIS BABY title out soon.
âDO YOU know who you are?â
The question came sharply, making Serena blink in confusion as she struggled to focus on her surroundings. Her mind seemed clogged and hazy, her thoughts strangely fuzzy round the edges.
âWhat a silly questionâof course I know who I am! My name is Serena Martin. Andâ¦â
Frowning slightly, brown eyes narrowed in concentration, she ran a disturbed hand through the bright auburn of her hair as she looked round her, taking in the pastel-toned room, the soft peach and cream curtains that matched the cover on the bed in which she lay. In spite of obvious attempts to make it look attractive, the bedroom still had an impersonal, institutional feel. And the dark-haired woman who sat beside her bed, her grey eyes fixed on Serenaâs face, wore a tailored white coat that told its own story.
ââ¦and I presume this is a hospital of some kind?â
âThatâs right.â
âAnd do you know what happened?â
Two voices sounded this time, chiming together so that it was almost impossible to tell them apart. But it was enough to make Serena realise that that the woman in the white coatâthe doctorâwas the one who had reassured her, not the one asking all the questions.
They were coming from the man on the opposite side of the room. The man whose powerful frame filled the doorway in which he stood, strong back ramrod-straight, broad shoulders squared.
He was tall, dark, definitely imposingâfrighteningly so.
Frighteningly? The word brought Serena up sharp. She was sure she had never seen this man in her life before, so where had that description come from? She couldnât say, only knew that it seemed disturbingly appropriate.
âDo you?â he insisted now, the intriguing accent that she had caught so briefly a moment before deepening with the emphasis of his tone. âCan you tell me how you came to be here?â
That was much more difficult. If she hunted in her mind for the answer to his question, all she found was confusion, tangled, clouded thoughts and vague memories. There were muddled impressions of noise and panic, a sickening crash and someone screaming in fear.
Was that someone herself?
âIâI presume there must have been some sort of accident.â
âWhat kind of accident?â
For all that he hadnât moved from his position at the door, the way that the man spoke made Serena feel as if he had actually stepped further into the room, coming dangerously close to her and seeming to pin her against the wall.
âIâI donât know!â For the first time she faced him head-on, turning defiant brown eyes on his dark face. âWhy donât you tell me?â
Who was he? Another doctor? He wasnât wearing the regulation white coat that revealed the occupation of the woman who still sat at her bedside. Instead, his lean frame was encased in the sort of dark suit whose exquisite fabric and perfect tailoring screamed the sort of perfection only a great deal of money could buy.
But perhaps he was of some higher rank than the friendly womanâa surgeon, or a consultant. Wasnât it the case that they didnât wear white coats, just as they were addressed as âMrâ and not âDoctorâ?
Whoever he was, he was stunning, impossibly handsome. Looking at him was like looking into the brightness of the sun, the effect on every one of her senses was so devastating.
That impressive height was combined with jet-black hair, sleek and heavy, brushed back from his face in a way that emphasised his superbly carved cheekbones. Dazedly Serena became aware of a straight, jutting nose, determined chin and surprisingly sensual mouth, but it was the eyes that she noticed most. Fringed by impossibly thick, luxuriantly black lashes, they were deep gold, almost the colour of flame and blazing just as brightly.