Sweet Temptation by Cora Reilly

get out of fabric than blood.
I couldn’t wait for his reaction.
When I didn’t drink wine during dinner, Mia gave me a knowing look, and
Cassio, too, seemed to catch on quickly. What worried me more was Mansueto’s
eager expression. He’d kept his promise and not mentioned the paternity test
again, but his silence didn’t mean it wasn’t still in his mind. His health had
deteriorated rapidly in the last few months. He needed a wheelchair and had lost
plenty of weight. Getting an heir, one who was related to him in blood, might be
one of the last things he wanted to accomplish in his life.
Even before Giulia gave me my Christmas present, I knew she was pregnant and
not only because she wasn’t drinking wine. She’d acted differently in the last
couple of weeks. Subtle changes. She’d occasionally touch her breasts as if they
ached. She also hadn’t felt well in the morning. I never asked because I wanted
to give her time to come to terms with it.
Of course, everyone else picked up on it during dinner as well. Giulia always
drank a glass of white wine with her food.
Before Father and Mother left, he took me aside. I knew what was coming.
“You should consider doing a paternity test now. Your unborn child deserves it.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” I whispered harshly. Daniele and Simona
were saying goodbye to their cousins and too far away to hear anything.
“If it’s a boy, he might be your true heir.”
“This discussion is over.”
“I’m old. I don’t know how long I still have—”
“Which is why you shouldn’t destroy our relationship now.”
Father nodded then motioned for Mother to roll him out of the house.
Giulia watched me worriedly. I gave her a tight smile. She didn’t need to
know about this.
When I opened Giulia’s box later in our bedroom, I felt a little stunned, even
though I’d known what it would reveal. I was forty. After Gaia’s death, I had
been sure I’d never become a father again, and now here I was.