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Chiara’s eyes darted to Morgan, and Jess could see the wheels turning in her head. Her heart stalled then raced. ‘Oh, darling, hi, you’re awake.’ She held out her trembling hand and Chiara took it.
‘Mum, you’re shaking.’ Stopping short of Morgan, Chiara looked from her, to him, then back to her. ‘Is this the Morgan man you told me about?’
‘Yes, my love, it is.’ She was terrified of how Chiara was going to react, before she’d even had time to speak to him privately. Maybe she’d done this all backwards, but it was too late to change that now. ‘He thought it would be nice to surprise us with a visit.’
‘Wow, yes, that is a big surprise.’ Chiara nodded.
Feeling the walls pressing in on her, Jess pointed to the kitchen. ‘Why don’t you go and see how Nonno is doing, and we’ll be in soon.’
‘No way.’ Chiara shook her head. ‘I want to get to know my …’
With no other option, Jess clamped a hand over Chiara’s mouth. ‘Sweetie, Mum needs to talk to Morgan first, okay?’
‘Jess? What’s going on?’ Morgan’s eyes stayed glued to Chiara’s.
‘Oh, oops.’ Chiara looked up at Jess, her gaze sweetly innocent. ‘Haven’t you told him about me yet, Mum?’
CHAPTER
23
Jess didn’t answer either of them. She just stood there, her face turning as white as a ghost. Morgan dragged his glance of shock from her and back to Chiara’s wide blue eyes. Her little bare feet twisting anxiously, she looked at her mum and then smiled at him, and in that pivotal, mind-blowing moment, where the world seemed to screech to a grinding halt, everything slipped into place. Returning Chiara’s smile, he then brought his questioning gaze back to Jess’s. Just as she was clearly struggling, he found it impossible to string a sentence together, but he didn’t need to try, because her silence told him everything he was dying to know.
‘She’s mine …’ he finally said, ‘isn’t she?’ Even now, he itched to reach out and ease the lined concern from Jess’s brow.
Her gaze falling to the floor, she took a beat, and then another, before she brought her tear-filled eyes back to his. ‘Yes, Morgan, she is.’
Even though he felt as if the wind had just been knocked out of him, Morgan had no choice but to treat this as good news, for Chiara’s sake. There was no way in hell he was going to let his little girl see him flinch. ‘Well, hello there, Chiara, can I give you a hug?’
She nodded, shyly. ‘Yes.’
He crouched down and gently embraced his daughter. Throwing her arms around his neck, Chiara clung to him tightly. ‘It’s so lovely to meet you, sweetheart,’ he said, choking past raw sentiment.
‘It’s really nice to meet you too, Morgan,’ she said, her head buried into his shoulder.
An overwhelming flood of emotions rushed through him – joy, protectiveness, awe, excitement, happiness – as if she’d just been born into the world, and into his life, and he couldn’t believe he was holding his daughter. He’d never imagined this moment. With the way time was passing him by, and his inability to move on from Jess, he’d never believed he’d be lucky enough to have a child. But here she was, in his arms. Tears built, and fell, and he didn’t bother wiping them away. As much as he wanted Jess to join in their embrace, he knew this was a moment that belonged solely to him and Chiara. They deserved that much, after being kept away from each other for so long.
Chiara was the first to let go, and she offered him a cute smile. ‘I’m going to go and help Nonno now.’
‘Okay, see you soon.’ Standing, Morgan watched her go, and then turned to Jess, who was standing there with tears flowing down her face.
Feelings of anger and betrayal filled him. But as he stared into her eyes, all he saw was pain and regret, and knowing Jess the way that he did, he knew there had to be a reason. A valid explanation that he needed to find out. ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ His voice was rough with emotion.
Jess sucked in a breath. ‘I wanted to, Morgan, I really did.’ She stepped closer to him, her voice trembling. ‘I wanted to tell you sooner, but I wasn’t certain until I got the paternity test back yesterday. I was going to call you tonight, to tell you, once Chiara was in bed.’ Her hands went to her heart. ‘I promise that’s the absolute truth.’
Although he was deeply hurt, Morgan’s heart softened as he watched the woman he loved tangle herself up in guilt and remorse. He knew what it was like to keep a secret, and his was just as big, in a different kind of way. ‘So, just clarifying, you didn’t know for sure, when you were in Australia?’
‘No, I didn’t.’ The fear and uncertainty were clear in her gaze.
She was waiting for his reaction, and even though he was hurting, he didn’t want to add to her pain. They had to find a way to get through this, together. ‘Now I get why you were so distant, after our night together.’ He reached out and took her hands. ‘You were torn.’
‘Yes, I was, and I’m so sorry I didn’t open up then. I truly am.’ Sobs broke, and she shook like a leaf. ‘I was a broken girl when I found out I was pregnant, and I made a very bad choice to not find out who the father was back then.’
‘I believe you, Jess, I do.’ He held her tear-filled gaze with his. ‘I just need some time to process this, to honestly say I can forgive you, but for now I can at least try and understand it all.’
‘Thank you, Morgan, I couldn’t expect anything more.’
With nothing left to say for now, he pulled Jess into a tight embrace, their tears mingling together. For the first time in a long time, even though he’d been blindsided and shellshocked, he felt complete. He had a daughter, and if they could find a way through all of this, he also had the woman he loved with all his heart. And nothing else mattered in that moment.
