A Natural Father (5 page)

“But you’re making a profit. And you’ll make a bigger one once you get the site up and running and you attract more business,” Rosie said.

“Said all that. They didn’t care.”

“Crap,” Rosie said. Then she sat straighter. “We’ll try another bank. There’s got to be someone out there with a bit of vision.”

“Rosie, I have my van lease with them, do all my banking through them. If they don’t want to do business with me, no one else is going to step up to the plate.”

“You don’t know that. We have to try.” Rosie pulled her cell phone from her bag. “What’s the name of that new bank, the one advertising all the time?”

“I’ve already called the other three major banks, and two of the building societies,” Lucy said.

“And?”

“Like I said. No one wants to take a risk on me. And that’s before they’ve gotten an eyeful of this.” She indicated her belly.

Rosie stared at her, clearly at a loss as the facts sank in. “Crap,” she said again.

“Oh yeah,” Lucy said.

A waiter appeared at their table and Rosie waved him away.

“No, wait. I need chocolate,” Lucy said.

“Good idea,” Rosie said.

They both ordered hot chocolates and cake before returning to the crisis at hand.

“There has to be some way around this,” Rosie said.

Lucy pushed her hair behind her ear. She was tired, exhausted really, but she was hoping the chocolate would give her a much needed kick. Crawling into bed and sleeping for a day was not an option open to her right now.

“I’ve been doing some sums. If I save my ass off between now and when the baby is due, I can put aside enough to cover my bills for three months. Ma mentioned the other day that Cousin Mario is looking for work. I thought I could offer him the driver’s job for three months. He can take my wage, I’ll live off my savings. It might work.”

Rosie was staring at her. “What if you need more than three months? What if Mario won’t do it for what you pay yourself? Which, let’s face it, is a joke.”

Lucy felt the heat of threatening tears, and she clenched her jaw. “I guess I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.”

“No. It’s a make-do, Band-Aid plan, and it’s not going to cut it. You need that twenty thousand.”

“Really? Do you think?” Lucy said. She so didn’t need her sister pointing out the obvious to her, not when she was trying to be stoic.

“We’ll lend it to you,” Rosie suddenly announced, slapping her hands onto the table so hard she made the sugar dispenser jump.

“What?”

“Andrew and I have got some money put aside for renovations at the office. We can put them off and lend it to you instead,” Rosie said.

Lucy stared at her sister. “God, I love you, you idiot, but there’s no way I’m taking money from you and Andrew. Forget about it. I’ll talk to Cousin Mario tonight, get something else sorted. It’ll be fine.”

“Listen to me,” Rosie said, leaning across the table until she was right in Lucy’s face. “That money is just sitting there. We’ve been talking about hiring an architect for years and it hasn’t happened. We’ll draw it up like a loan, if that makes you feel any better. You can pay us interest, make regular payments. We’ll be just like the bank, only nicer.”

Lucy shook her head. “No. You’ve already taken me into your home. You won’t let me pay more than a token rent. I can’t keep taking your charity forever, Rosie. What kind of a mother am I going to be if I can’t stand on my own two feet?”

“Exactly. And the fastest way for you to get there is to get that Internet site happening and grow your business. I know it hurts your pride, but taking a loan from your family is the best thing for you and the baby. And that’s the truth.” Rosie sat back in her chair, her case made.

Lucy stared at her, her mind whirling.

It was so tempting. Rosie and Andrew had the money. Lucy could stick to her original game plan. She’d already spoken to a Web site design company in anticipation of today’s bank appointment. She could go full steam ahead with her schedule and be online within a month.

“Say yes. Be smart. For the baby,” Rosie said.

“It’s so much money,” Lucy said. “And you guys have got plans for it.”

“They’ll wait.”

“What about Andrew? It’s his money, too.”

“He loves you almost as much as I do, and he’ll understand.”

Lucy closed her eyes. So many big decisions lately. If only she had a crystal ball. She opened her eyes again.

“Yes. Okay. I can’t believe I’m saying that, but thank you. Thank you so much. Where would I be without you?”

“Good girl!”

“I won’t let you down,” Lucy said. “I promise I’ll pay back every cent.”

“I know you will. I know where you live, remember?”

They were both blinking rapidly. Lucy shook her head.

“I feel like I just got off a roller-coaster. Talk about up and down.”

“Welcome to parenthood, I guess,” Rosie said. “From what I hear, this is just the beginning.”

They both smiled, and Lucy reached across to grab her sister’s hand, overwhelmed with gratitude and relief.

“Hey there. Long time no see,” a familiar male voice said.

Lucy looked up to see Dominic Bianco standing next to the table. She felt her sister’s fingers convulse around hers in reaction and had to fight the urge to giggle. Truly, Rosie’s crush on The Bianco was a hoot.

“Dom. You’re not just finishing work for the day, are you?” Lucy asked, noting he was still wearing his Bianco Brothers shirt.

“Something like that. Hey, Rosetta, how are things?”

Rosie was smiling at Dom with slightly glazed eyes. “G-good. Things are good. I’m married now, you know,” she said.

Dom’s eyebrows rose a bit at her sister’s odd segue.

“Congratulations. When was the wedding?” he asked politely.

“Eight years ago,” Lucy said.

“Right,” Dom said. He looked confused, as well he might.

“Lucy tells me you’ve come back from six months in Italy,” Rosie said.

Now it was Lucy’s turn to be embarrassed. She didn’t want Dom to think she spent her spare time talking about him.

“Yeah. Had a few months in Rome, Florence and Venice, checked out the countryside.”

“Andrew and I were going to go for our honeymoon, but we wound up in Thailand instead,” Rosie said. “I guess you got a bit of sun while you were there, huh? You’re really tanned.”

Rosie’s eyes were on Dom’s forearms as she spoke, and she looked as though she was about to lunge across the table and sink her teeth into him. Lucy drew back her knee in case she had to kick her sister.

“It was summer over there. What can I say?” he said.

He turned his attention to Lucy. “Your client happy with the herbs for his wedding dinner?”

“As happy as he can let himself be. He’s French. He makes it a point to never smile too much.”

Dom laughed, and Lucy felt a surge of satisfaction that she’d amused him.

“We’ve got a few French chefs as clients. They like to keep us on our toes, that’s for sure.”

“Pretty amazing, Lucy winding up as one of your customers after all these years,” Rosie said. “It’s a small world.”

“Even smaller when you’re Italian,” Dom said. “Lucy is one of our favorite clients. My father and I fight over who gets to serve her.”

Even though she knew he was only joking, Lucy shifted in her chair.

“That’s rubbish. You almost always serve me,” she said, aware of her sister’s speculative glance bouncing back and forth between them.

“That’s because I cheat,” Dom said with an unrepentant grin.

The waiter arrived with their hot chocolates and cake, and Dom checked his watch.

“I’ll leave you to it—looks as though you’ve got your work cut out for you,” he said, indicating the generous slices of cake.

“See you tomorrow,” Lucy said.

Dom smiled and gave a small, casual wave before moving to the other side of the café, out of sight behind the central counter.

“Oh. My. God. Pass me the chocolate. I need emergency therapy,” Rosie said, slumping in her chair and fanning herself. “He’s better-looking than ever. What a hunk. I mean, wow.”

“Oh, look, there’s Andrew,” Lucy fibbed.

Rosie immediately sat up straight. Then she realized her sister was yanking her chain.

“Good one. Very funny.”

“Just a timely reminder.”

“Hey, I love Andrew with everything I’ve got, don’t you worry. I’m not going anywhere, with anyone. But I can still admire The Bianco. It’s a sentimental thing.”

“It’s sad. And, can I say, just a little embarrassing. You almost got drool on your good shirt.”

“Pshaw,” Rosie said, flicking her fingers in the air. “I was in total control the whole time.”

Lucy rolled her eyes and spoke to the ceiling. “Delusional. The woman’s delusional.”

“Anyway, he never even noticed me. He was too busy looking at you like he wanted to lick you all over.”

Lucy stared at her sister.

“He was not!”

“Uh-huh. He was, and he was flirting with you, too.”

“Get out of here. I look like I’ve got a beach ball stuck up my top. He was not flirting with me.”

“Lucy is one of our most favorite clients ever. My father and I wrestle to the death over who gets to serve her. What do you call that?”

“Being polite. Or being funny. Maybe both. But not flirting.”

Rosie gave her a get-real look. “Seriously? You seriously didn’t think he was flirting with you?”

“Of course not. Duh,” Lucy said, pointing to her belly.

“Man. We are going to have to do something about your dating skills, because if you’re not picking up signals that strong, you are never going to find another man,” Rosie said.

Lucy knew her sister was only joking, but her words still caught her on the raw.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Rosie asked as Lucy reached for her hot chocolate and concentrated on stirring it.

“Nothing. Nothing’s wrong.”

“Bad at flirting and bad at lying. What am I going to do with you?”

Lucy stopped stirring her drink and met her sister’s eyes.

“I don’t want another man. I want Marcus. I want the father of my baby,” she said in a small voice.

Her sister stared at her, her face full of sympathy.

“Go on, say it. Tell me I’m pathetic for wanting someone who doesn’t want me,” Lucy said.

“I don’t think that’s pathetic. Marcus is the pathetic one. I just feel sad that I can’t give you what you want.”

Lucy sighed heavily and picked up a fork.

“I guess all this chocolate is still very necessary, after all,” she said.

“Chocolate is always necessary, whether it be for celebration or commiseration,” Rosie said.

Her sister waited until Lucy was swallowing a chunk of sinfully rich frosting before speaking again.

“And he was flirting with you. The Bianco was fully, blatantly, balls-out flirting with you.”

“I should have waited to talk to you, I know—”

“You think?”

Rosie blinked. Andrew didn’t often lose his temper but when he did it was usually well-earned. Like tonight. As soon as she’d given it some thought, she’d known she should have spoken to him before offering the money to Lucy. But she couldn’t undo what had already been done.

“I’m sorry. I got carried away. All I was thinking about was Lucy and how I could help. I hate that she’s in such a difficult position.”

“I hate it, too. But we’ve already given her a home. We can’t afford to give her our savings, too.”

“I hear what you’re saying, but that money’s just sitting in the bank, collecting interest. Why not use it to help Lucy? She’ll pay us interest like the bank. It’s a win-win situation.”

Andrew pushed his chair back from the table and stood.

“What about our plans to renovate the practice? What about getting a junior partner? All that just goes by the wayside, does it?”

“No, of course not. But it’s not like we were actually ready to do any of that. We haven’t even decided on an architect yet.”

“Because you keep putting it off.”

Rosie stood, hating being at a disadvantage. “I haven’t put anything off. Neither of us has pushed for the renovation. We’ve been too busy building the practice.”

Andrew looked at her, his face tense.

“Rosie, every time I suggest we start talking to architects you come up with a reason for why we can’t. First it was the Larson trial, then it was the Bigalows’ divorce. The time after that you strained your Achilles’ at the gym and you didn’t want me doing all the legwork on my own.” He stared at her, his jaw set. “If you’re not ready to have children, tell me and stop stringing me along.”

Rosie took a step backward. She hadn’t been expecting such a direct confrontation, not after the way they’d both been sidestepping the issue for so long. It had become a game of sorts, the way they skirted around the all-consuming subject of when to start a family.

“I’m not not ready,” Rosie said quickly, even though her stomach tensed with anxiety. “I’m not stringing you along. The time simply hasn’t been right before.”

Andrew sighed heavily. His blue eyes were intent as he looked into her face. “So when will the time be right if we give all our savings to Lucy? Five years? Ten years? You’re thirty-one. How old do you plan on being when our kids are in college? You’re the one who insisted we needed to add a junior partner to the firm before we even considered starting a family. And we both agreed we couldn’t do that until we’d renovated the practice to create an extra office.”

Again the tightness in her belly.

“Lucy probably only needs the money for a year or two,” she said. “As soon as she’s paid us back, we’ll renovate and start trying.”

“Rosie. Be serious. It will take longer than two years for Lucy to pay out a loan. She’ll be working part-time, she’ll have expenses for the baby. It could take her years to get on top of things. We’ve dealt with enough bankruptcies to know that most small businesses don’t survive the first few years.”

“Lucy is not going to go bankrupt!”

“I didn’t say she was. But she’s also not going to suddenly become Martha Stewart, either.”

He watched her, waiting for her to acknowledge that he was speaking the truth.

Finally she nodded. “Okay. You’re right. It probably won’t be two years.”

He returned to the dining table and sat. His meal was only half-eaten, but he pushed it away.

“So we need to make a decision. Do we invest in our dream or your sister’s?” he asked quietly.

She sat, too. Suddenly she felt very heavy.

“We could remortgage,” she suggested.

“We’re already leveraged because of buying the office. And once you have a baby and we put a partner on, our income will be reduced. That was the whole point of socking away extra money to pay for the renovations rather than taking on more debt. You know I would have been happy if we were pregnant years ago. But I know financial security is important to you, so we did things your way. Now you’re telling me you want to put things off again while we lend our renovation fund to your sister?”

Rosie picked up her fork and pushed it into the pile of cold peas on her plate.

“Do we put off having a family or not, Rosie?” he asked.

She raised her gaze to him. She knew exactly how much he wanted children. It was one of the first things they’d discussed when they got together all those years ago. He wanted at least three children, wanted to build a family that would make up for the lack in his own shitty childhood. Even though the thought had scared her even back then, she’d invested in his dream, built castles in the air with him. And for the past eight years she’d been burying her head in the sand, pretending this day would never come.

“I shouldn’t have offered the money to Lucy,” she said quietly. “I’m sorry.”

Andrew waited patiently for her to answer properly.

“We’re not putting off starting a family,” she confirmed. “I’ll tell Lucy that we can’t lend her the money after all.”

Andrew’s shoulders relaxed. She saw for the first time that there was a sheen of tears in his eyes. This meant so much to him.

“I’ll come with you. We’ll explain together,” he said.

Rosie shook her head.

“No. It was my mistake. I’ll do it.”

She stood. She hated to think of how disappointed Lucy would be. Her sister had been so excited this afternoon.

If only she hadn’t acted so impetuously. If only she’d stopped to think, waited to talk to Andrew tonight. But she hadn’t, and now she had to go break her sister’s heart to avoid breaking her husband’s. And then, somehow, she had to overcome this terror that struck her every time she thought about becoming a mother.