The Unwanted Wife (Unwanted #1)(33)
Author: Natasha Anders

Lisa had been expecting her and was waiting in the doorway with a huge smile on her face. She still retained the few kilograms that she had picked up during her pregnancy but she fairly radiated happiness and good health. She greeted Theresa effusively, enveloping her in a warm hug and spared a slight smile for Sandro who loomed above both of them.
“Alessandro, what a surprise,” she nodded politely. “I didn’t expect to see you today.”
“I took the day off,” he responded easily. “And when I heard Theresa was coming for a visit I thought I’d come along with her and see that baby of yours again.” Again? Theresa wasn’t aware that Sandro had bothered seeing Rhys before now and she frowned in confusion, wondering why Lisa hadn’t mentioned it to her before. “Also, I had some business I needed to discuss with you.” Theresa tensed at the last bit but Lisa simply smiled and nodded, making Theresa wish that she had called ahead to warn her cousin of the impending disaster.
Why would Sandro do this now? When he was getting everything he could possibly want? What merit was there in destroying Lisa’s business? She looked up into his relaxed face and wondered if she could possibly have misread the situation but what other business could he possibly have to discuss with her cousin?
Lisa led them into the house and Sandro immediately gravitated toward the three-month old baby who was seated in a blue baby seat which was placed on the coffee table in the living room. His entire face seemed to light up at the sight of the infant and Theresa watched in fascination as he sank to his haunches until his face was level with the baby’s head.
“He’s grown a fair bit since I saw him last,” Sandro observed in delight, reaching out to grab one of the infant’s flailing hands.
“Well, I should hope so since he never stops eating,” Lisa grimaced and Sandro laughed. Theresa took a step back, feeling like she’d just stepped into some alternate universe. Sandro was crooning down at Rhys in Italian and the baby was staring up at him raptly, his green eyes unblinking. “Would either of you like something to drink?” Lisa asked politely and Theresa shook her head numbly, watching while Sandro nimbly undid the straps of the baby seat and lifted the infant into his arms.
“Coffee would be nice,” he nodded, rocking the baby soothingly. Rhys made an uncoordinated grab for Sandro’s hair and managed to latch on to a tiny fistful of it. Sandro grimaced good-naturedly and said something admonishing to the baby in Italian, while he reached up to loosen the baby’s grip. Lisa excused herself to go to the kitchen but Theresa barely heard her, she was too busy dumbly watching her husband with the baby.
“I didn’t know you liked children,” she whispered, one of her hands absently dropping to her still-flat belly in a protective gesture that he couldn’t miss.
“I like babies well enough,” he murmured casually. “I am quite fond of them actually.” She tried to disguise the stab of pain at his words.
“Any baby except mine, of course” she murmured half-under her breath and he inhaled impatiently, his eyes flaring with fury that he kept contained because of the baby in his arms.
“If you’re going to be making asinine comments like that please make them when I have both hands free to throttle the life out of you,” he said in the most personable, baby-friendly voice he could manage. He sat down on the sofa still holding Rhys in his arms and feeling a flare of possessive resentment; Theresa made her way over to him and held her arms out for the baby.
“I would like to hold my nephew, if you don’t mind,” she informed coldly and he raised one arrogant brow, before standing up and gently depositing the serene baby into her arms. She sat down gingerly in the chair opposite the sofa and cooed at the sweet baby she held in her arms. Sandro stood up and stretched lazily.
“While you’re busy in here, I think I’ll go and have that chat with Elisa,” she looked up in alarm but he was smiling gently down at her, his eyes warm with some emotion she had a hard time defining.
“Sandro,” she began quietly.
“You stay in here with Rhys,” he murmured softly. “I don’t want you getting upset by anything Lisa and I may have to say to each other.” Before she could utter another word of protest he was gone. Theresa got up nervously, holding the baby to her chest. Much as she strained and strained she could not hear a single sound from the direction of the kitchen and she slowly began to move toward the kitchen as well. She was just outside the slightly ajar door when the sounds of their quiet voices finally reached her.
“But I don’t understand why?” Lisa was asking, sounding baffled but, strangely enough, not too upset. “I still have at least a year within which to finish the loan, it’s a substantial amount of money, so I don’t see why you would do this?” Theresa bit her lip, wanting to intervene but not sure how anything she could do or say would persuade Sandro to change his mind. She felt helpless and furious and strangely hurt that he would carry out his threat anyway.
“It’s the right thing to do,” Sandro’s deep voice rumbled quietly in response to Lisa’s question. “I gave you the loan for all the wrong reasons. Reasons which I now… regret… I can’t in good conscience allow it to continue.”
“So let me pay it and we can put it behind us,” Lisa implored and Sandro said something which Theresa didn’t quite catch.
“Sandro, this is crazy,” Lisa was starting to sound upset and Theresa braced herself, prepared to enter the fray come hell or high water. Sandro’s next words cut her short though.