"So what did you want to ask me?" She finally asked, without acknowledging his fervent words. The omission did not go unnoticed and Sandro flinched slightly before taking a deep breath and levering himself up off his knees to sit down on the sofa beside her, angling his body so that he could face her."I want you to meet my father," he repeated and her eyes showed her confusion."I'm not sure I understand... you know that doctor Shelbourne has prohibited any flying during my third trimester," he smiled slightly before shaking his head."Amaya, cara, you really need to catch up to the twenty-first century," he teased half-heartedly, it had become a standing joke between him and Rick, of all people, that Amaya was so technologically-backward. She could barely operate her mobile phone, so e-mailing, instant messaging and every other form of electronic - inging, left her completely baffled. She had wiped out the hard drives on three laptops in as many years and now kept her records stric
"You make my family miserable! You take my grandson and keep him away from his family, keep him away from his dying father... you nothing but selfish. Why you want a man who no love you? No pride... you no pride. He love a good woman, he no love you!"Amaya gasped in horror and raised her hands to her mouth, defenceless against the hatred she saw burning in the old woman's eyes. Her eyes flooded with anguished tears and Aiden swore shakily before saying something soft and dangerous sounding to the three women on the other end of the camera but Amaya had blocked them all out and was struggling to her feet, ignoring Aiden's desperate protest.She was out the door and halfway up the stairs before he caught up with her."She's old, cara," he said desperately, holding onto her arm as she tried to wrest herself away from him. "She's old and stubborn. What she said was not true.""I didn't make your family miserable?" She asked brokenly. "Of course I did, Aiden. You know that's true... I did
Aiden had made good on his promise and had enlisted both Lisa and Phumsile's aid in ensuring that she took her vitamins and rested enough... but that was the only promise he kept..... A month passed with barely any word from him, his phonecalls, the few that came, were rushed and impersonal and barely lasted three minutes each time. When Amaya tried to contact him, he was never available, or so the cold female voices on the other end of the line told her. She had no choice but to take them at their word.She kept track of Aiden's movements through the news; online, televised and printed, his father's death and Aiden's subsequent taking over of an empire were pretty hot news items and barely a day went by that it wasn't mentioned in some form of news. There had been paparazzi coverage of the funeral, despite the media ban the family had put on proceedings, some intrepid photographer had managed to get a picture of Sandro standing over his father's open grave, his face closed up tighte
"It's the baby..." she whispered in fear. "I think the baby's coming...""No, no, no," the naked panic and fear in his eyes did nothing to alleviate Amaya's own terror. "He can't be coming now. He's nearly a month early! Are you sure?""I've been cramping all day but I thought it was due to stress," Amaya moaned after the pain had subsided. "But now I think I'm having contractions.""Okay, it's okay," he soothed, automatically gathering her trembling body into a hug. "We'll be fine. We have to get you to the hospital."Amaya had argued, begged, cajoled, attempted to reason but Aiden had refused point blank to defer his position as her coach to Lisa. In the end, Lisa had simply declined to go in to hospital with her, saying that it was best for Amaya to have her original coaching partner with her. Shocked and hurt by what she felt was an unforgivable betrayal, Theresa had refused to look, or even talk, to her cousin while Sandro shepherded her out to his car. Lisa had seemed to be chee
She awoke to the sound of angry, hushed voices and blinked groggily as she tried to get her bearings."I don't want you anywhere near her," she heard Aiden hiss furiously and tried to concentrate on the drama unfolding in her doorway where she could see two large men silhouetted. One was unmistakably Aiden and the other; she narrowed her eyes slightly, trying to focus a bit better. It looked like her father."She's my daughter and I'll damned well see her when I want to," the other man blustered, confirming that he was, indeed, Jackson Noble III."So that you can damage her more than you already have?" Aiden asked, almost shaking with rage. "I won't let you get close enough to hurt her like that again. And you can forget about getting that grandson you want anytime soon. I refuse to give you the pleasure.""Well then stay married to her until you do, or give up the vineyard," her father sneered."The vineyard never meant as much to me as it did my father. You can have the damned place
"You were hoping for a girl?""Yes. Very much," he staggered her by confirming, his eyes remaining steady so she was in no doubt as to his sincerity."I don't understand..." she shook her head slightly. "Why?" He didn't respond, dropping his eyes to the suckling infant at her breast."Aiden?" She prompted and he raised his eyes to hers once more. He smiled cryptically before shrugging."This is neither the time nor place to be having that particular conversation, Amaya'," he frustrated her by saying."But...""We'll discuss it soon but right now I think Lily is ready to be burped," he pointed to the infant whose tiny mouth had slackened. She awkwardly dragged her bodice back up and then clumsily repositioned Lily until the baby was draped over her shoulder."Could you get the nurse?" She asked Aiden, putting his previous comment from her mind for now. "I'm not sure how to do this.""Rub your hand on her back in a circular motion," he noted the surprise in her eyes before shrugging. "T
Amaya headed down to the kitchen for breakfast three weeks later and found her husband already seated at the table, newspaper in hand. He'd already dressed Lily and had her little baby carrier placed on the table in front of him. Lily was asleep and Aiden was so absorbed in his paper that he didn't notice her at first. It was Phumsile's usual day off, so he'd fixed himself a bowl of cereal, toast and some coffee. She smiled at the sight of them, her heart overflowing with love for both of them."Good morning," she greeted cheerily, as she headed over to the breakfast nook. She dropped a kiss on the baby's cheek and then, after the briefest of hesitations, one on her husband's lean cheek. While Aiden was a lot more affectionate these days, she still felt a certain reserve around him, not sure if she could touch and kiss him as freely as he did her. She knew she was being silly but she seemed unable to overcome her emotional barriers. He told her he loved her every day but she still cou
"Ours was just the biggest news because of your father's involvement. It made a bad time for the family even worse. I was so busy doing damage control after the news of Rosalie's pregnancy and subsequent abortion that when the story of our marriage first hit, I wasn't even aware of it, until my mother brought it to my attention. I dropped everything and flew home to you. I couldn't stand the thought that you'd think it was true... that you'd think I valued our marriage so little that I would file for a divorce without even talking to you about it." "What happened to the friend?" "She sold our secrets for a pittance but the status she had in our society has diminished to nothing. She is no longer welcome in the circles she once ruled. Trust me, there's no greater punishment for someone like her. Gabriella has learned a valuable lesson in discretion... and a few Italian publications are currently being sued for libel when they completely fabricated a lot of the so-called 'facts' to ba