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Vincenzo has never forgotten Irena. When he hears of her plight he takes control the only way he knows how—by offering marriage!
Life in Vincenzo's Mediterranean palazzo seems idyllic—but Vincenzo is about to discover that the tiny baby inside Irena belongs to him….
The August headlines in the Corriere della Sera caught Vincenzo Antonello by the throat. While in town he'd bought a newspaper before stopping off for lunch, never dreaming what he'd read when he opened it. In a gut reaction, his hands gripped the edges of his Italian newspaper so tightly, it started to tear down the middle.
"Papa? Are you mad?" His six-year-old son had stopped eating his pasta salad to stare at his father.
"No." Vincenzo caught himself in time. "It tore by accident."
"Oh. Can we go to the park now and play soccer?"
"In a minute, Dino. Let me finish my coffee first."
Sources close to the Simonides family have closed ranks on the press, but one rumor has floated that the elusive couple are honeymooning in the Caribbean and won't be available for pictures or comments for some time to come.
The CEO's former Greek girlfriend, Irena Liapis, daughter of Athenian newspaper magnate Giorgios Liapis, was expected to become the bride of the brilliant Simonides tycoon. Since the surprise announcement, it has been learned that the twenty-seven-year-old Ms. Liapis, who heads the monthly lifestyle section of her father's newspaper, has resigned her position and dropped off the scene. Her location is unknown at this time.
An icy hand seemed to squeeze Vincenzo's lungs until he couldn't breathe. Since early July when Irena had returned to Greece, he'd honored her wishes by not going after her. Every day he'd expected to hear that she and the great Simonides were married.
When Vincenzo had first met her, he'd damned the man's very existence and had baited Irena constantly about her alleged feelings for the man she intended to marry. Those feelings had not stopped her spending one blissful night with him, though, Vincenzo thought angrily. He had hoped and believed that the night had been earthshaking for her, too, and that it had erased her desire for Vincenzo's nemesis.
But these headlines proved he'd only been deluding himself. Somehow he'd thought this was the one female on the planet who'd been different.
"Irena!"
"I know it surprises you to see me."
Deline hugged her. "Only because I thought you'd already left for Italy. Why didn't you phone that you were still in Athens?"
"I—I didn't dare," she stammered.
"Not dare?" Her best friend's brown eyes looked at her with concern. "Come in and we'll talk." Irena moved inside. "I just finished feeding the twins. They're out in the garden room in their swings. Leon will be sorry he missed you. He left for work a few minutes ago."
"I know that, too. I came earlier and purposely waited until I saw his car disappear."
Deline had been guiding her through the Simonides villa, but after hearing that comment she spun around and put a hand on Irena's arm. "The minute I saw your face I could see something was terribly wrong. What is it that is troubling you, Irena?"
"My biggest fear right now is that your house staff will know I stopped by and mention it to Leon. He just can't know I came here!"
Unspoken words flowed between them. Deline was already reading between the lines and realized that whatever had brought Irena to the villa, it was deadly serious.
"The maids won't be in until this afternoon. The only person around at the moment is my housekeeper, Sofia. I'll find her right now and tell her that your visit is to remain private. She is a valued staff member and can be trusted, I'm sure. However, I will make it clear that if any of the staff or my husband hear about you having come over, she'll be in serious trouble."
No one ever had a better friend. "Thank you, Deline." They hugged again.
"I'll be right back."
As she darted away, Irena walked into the garden room. The five-month-old twins were in their swings facing each other. Each had a plastic toy and seemed perfectly content, but when they saw Irena, their little arms and legs started moving faster in excitement.
Irena knelt down next to Kris, who'd come through his heart surgery so well, you'd never know he was barely out of the hospital. She kissed his cheek, then turned to Nikos. Both beautiful black-haired boys had been made in Leon's image. Most people would assume Deline was their mother due to her black hair and olive skin.
But others who knew the Simonides clan well were aware of Leon's slip during a rough spot in their marriage. It had been a one-night mistake in a state of inebriation with Thea Turner, a Greek-American woman, now deceased, that had produced his beautiful children.
Incredibly, Deline, who was pregnant with Leon's child, had loved him enough to forgive him and take him back. They were now a family of four with another baby on the way.
"Problem taken care of," she announced as she hurried back in the room.
If only that were true…
"Tell me what's wrong," Deline begged after sitting on the sofa.
Irena eyed her dear friend who would have been her sister-in-law if fate hadn't stepped in to change lives.
Overnight, nothing was the same as it had been before. Leon's twin brother, Andreas, was the man Irena had thought she would be marrying. But two months ago she'd gone to Cinque Terre in Italy for her job and had met another man. So strong was the attraction and feelings between them, she hadn't wanted to leave him.
When she had returned to Greece to tell Andreas the truth, he had been unavailable because of some mysterious circumstance. Irena had soon learned that Thea's half sister, Gabi Turner, had appeared on the scene and Andreas had taken one look at her and had broken it off with Irena. The next thing she knew Andreas had married the blonde American woman and had just left on his honeymoon.
"Irena Liapis— Talk to me!"
Her body started to shake. "I don't know how to tell you this."
"What?"
"You're not going to believe it. I don't believe it."
"It's that bad?"
"Much worse."
"Are you dying?"
Irena knew it was a serious question. "No, but at least it would solve my problem."
Without warning Deline jumped to her feet. "That's never a solution!" she scolded. "I was about to say that unless an incurable disease is about to take your life, nothing else you could tell me would rival what I've lived through while I decided whether to stay with Leon or not."
"Try this. I'm pregnant."
Deline paled. "Andreas's baby…"
After a brief pause; "Probably," she answered in a shaky voice.
Her friend's eyes widened with incredulity. "What do you mean probably?"
"The doctor worked out the dates with me. He's ninety percent sure it's Andreas's, but it could be another's. Oh, Deline, what if it's Vincenzo's baby?"
"Who's Vincenzo?" Her friend's loss of color alarmed her so much, she guided her back to the couch where they could both sit.
"Vincenzo is a man I spent all my time with when I was in Italy doing my article for the paper. He is handsome and… Oh, what a mess!" Irena let her head drop into her hands, a sudden feeling of despair washing over her.
"How long have you known you were pregnant?"
"I've felt queasy for the last week and finally went to the E.R. yesterday. I thought maybe I'd come down with flu or something. The doctor there referred me to an ob-gyn who confirmed it this morning before I came here. I'm six weeks along."
She'd begged the doctor to go over the dates again… and again. When she'd left Greece for her newspaper assignment in Italy, she'd only slept with Andreas, the man she had assumed she would marry on her return to Greece.
But those ten days in Italy had changed the course of her life forever. There she'd met Vincenzo, had been hit hard and fast with feelings she had never experienced or felt before. So much so that she'd extended her stay to be with him and hadn't wanted to go back to Greece… or Andreas.
Her friend's eyes filled with tears. "Oh, Irena. No matter what, you're going to have a precious baby."
"I know." Moisture glazed Irena's cheeks. "I want it more than anything in the world." Wanted it to be Vincenzo's…she added silently.
"Of course you do." Deline squeezed her arm gently. "What are you going to do?"
Irena took a deep breath. "I know one thing I'm not going to do. Andreas will never learn the child I'm carrying is his, if it is his. I'm going to another OB this afternoon to get a second opinion. I have to be sure."
"I was just going to suggest that you see another doctor. This is too important."
"Oh, Deline…I want so much for Vincenzo to be the father."
"But if the next doctor tells you the same thing—"
"If he does, I still refuse to hurt Andreas and Gabi. You and Leon had to live through a nightmare when he came to you with the news that he'd fathered Thea's twins. I don't want to start another nightmare for them. They're in love. Andreas couldn't marry her fast enough. They're on their honeymoon making plans for their future. I won't do that to them."
Deline sat there shaking her head in disbelief.
"I want to be on my honeymoon with Vincenzo. I want to be able to tell him I'm carrying his baby. Sometimes I wonder how you got through it, Deline. I was so crushed for you." The twins were adorable, but they should have been Deline and Leon's.
"I'll never forget you were there for me." Her voice shook.
"I don't mean to bring up the past to hurt you. I just can't do that to them."
Deline got to her feet. "The truth has a way of coming out, Irena. What if everything had remained a secret until years down the road? I'm ...
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Quick Fun Read,
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Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Accidentally Pregnant! (Harlequin Romance (Larger Print)) (Kindle Edition)
This is the second book of a two book set. Although not necessary, I recommend reading DOORSTEP TWINS first because the heroine, Irena Spiros Liapis, was introduced there and understanding her history and the history of the characters that carry forward will greatly enhance this reading experience.
Irena is a very successful player in her father's Newspaper publishing business in Athens. While on a two week assignment in Italy, she meets and falls deeply in love with Vincenzo Antonello, who acted as her guide, interpreter, and companion. She was completely swept off her feet and ends up spending her final night in his arms before returning to Athens. The problem is that, back home, there waits Andreas Simonides, the CEO of the very large and successful Simonides Corporation (and hero of DOORSTEP TWINS). Irena and Andreas have been "a couple" for several years and both their families are expecting an engagement announcement almost any day. Irena had never been intimate with a man until just before her trip to Italy when she and Andreas had finally made love. Now, within only a few weeks she has made love with two powerful and dynamic men. Yes, you guessed it, just weeks later Irena finds she is pregnant and does not know if Andreas or Vincenzo is the father. Because she has fallen head over heals for Vincenzo she knows what she felt for Andreas was not true love. If you read DOORSTEP TWINS first, you will fully understand the desperate situation in which Irena finds herself. Scandal of enormous proportions will descend on at least two prominent families in Athens. She finally elects to resign her position in her father's company and fly to Toronto where she will live until the child is a year old. Then she will return to Athens with the child and tell everyone she is just recently divorced. Because of her love for Vincenzo, however, she stops in Italy to see him first. Ms. Winters' skill in plot and character development is aptly demonstrated as she weaves an interesting, page turning story that captivates the reader from start to finish. This is a fast and satisfying reading experience. The only distraction I have with Ms. Winters' novels is the far too frequent use of non-English words and phrases without including translation verbiage. For novels set in non-English speaking locations, I have learned to stay close to my computer where I can use a translation program. At times, it seems like she is bragging about her knowledge of different languages. She needs to remember that most of her readers do not have her multilingual background. For this reason, I am now deducting star points for this deficiency. Consequently, I award only four stars.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Slightly different than her previous stories,
By
This review is from: Accidentally Pregnant! (Harlequin Romance) (Mass Market Paperback)
I've been a fan of Rebecca Winters for many years and have read most, if not all, of her novels; however, I have opined much recently over the repeating plot, words, phrases, etc. This one breaks out just a little, and that was nice to see. I hope that she branches out more in the future. This is a really quick read (one afternoon for me).
3.0 out of 5 stars
Its moderately fair,
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Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Accidentally Pregnant! (Harlequin Romance (Larger Print)) (Kindle Edition)
Ok i think the previous reviews are about fair. The book had a good plot but it didnt thinken well. It had so much drama it should have been on a talk show to be honest. Like seriously she brought back almost the exact same drama from the first book in the series to this book. I think she should have spent more time developing the characters of this book and less time trying to make us understand what happened in the previous book. Her drama with Andres, his drama with his ex-wife AND his family particularly his step brother was just too much and got Muddled......
In short buy the book if you want to pass your time but if you choose another book you wont be missing anything
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