Hidden Heart (43 page)

Alessandro turned around,
raised his hands in the air and said, “How could I when you left
with that designer so fast I didn’t even have time to say
good-bye?” He dropped his arms and took the same fighting position
as Tessa, hands on his waist, feet apart.

“
How do I know you aren’t
making this up? How do I know she is really your sister?” Tessa
squealed, a jolt sparking through her body, her heart
galloping.

He handed her his cell
phone, “Here, talk to her. Her name is Gabriela; ask
her.”

Tessa pushed his hand away,
but it was too late. She heard the ring on speakerphone and after
the second ring, a voice saying, “
Ciao,
fratello, come stai?
”

Alessandro held Tessa’s
gaze and said in English, “Gabriella, I’m here with Tessa; can you
tell her who you are?”

Tessa heard the woman’s
soft laugh, then clearing her voice, she said, “I hope you forgive
my English; it is not as good as my brother’s. We actually met once
in the furniture store, but we didn’t have time to meet officially.
My brother’s…how do you say? Ah, manners are not very good.” She
laughed again.

Tessa swallowed the knot in
her throat, and finding her voice again, she said, “Hi, Gabriela,
you’re right. He lacks in manners sometimes. I, um, nice talking
with you.” Tessa pushed the phone away and walked back to the sink,
leaning against it and crossing her arms.

“
I’ll call you later,”
Alessandro said and hung up. He looked at Tessa, tilting his head,
“Happy now?”

Tessa pondered her words
and options. She desperately wished she could just jump in his
arms, relieved the woman she saw him with was only his sister, and
forget about everything. But that meant she needed to acknowledge
out loud she’d been wrong, something she never before had to
do.

She uncrossed her arms and
began picking at her nails. She bit her lower lip and looked
briefly him. Alessandro stared at her, his eyes sad, his face
tired, his posture defeated.

“
Last night,” Tessa began,
her voice cracking. She cleared her throat and looking down at her
fingers she said, “Last night, you said…you said you wish you could
stop loving me…” She glanced again at him, holding her
breath.

Alessandro shook his head,
rubbed his chin, “I’ve never had so much to drink.” He paused,
sighed and shook again his head. “Again, I regret coming last
night.”

She saw him walking away
and said quickly, “I didn’t get rid of you because I wanted to be
with another man.”

He waved a hand and looked
over his shoulder, “You don’t have to explain yourself, Tessa. It’s
your life to live free and do what you want.”

Alessandro’s glacial tone
made her shiver.

Tessa walked to him and
when she was only a step away, she grabbed his arm, forcing him to
stop and whispered, “And what if what I want is to be with you? Is
that still an option?”

Alessandro turned around to
face her. “Why, so you can break my heart again, throwing me away
like a bad shoe?” His stern gaze froze her, his words jabbing her
heart like boxing gloves.

Tessa let go of his arm.
“I’m not seeing anyone,” she mumbled.

“
What about the man you
were with last night?”

“
That man is
my…brother.”

Alessandro burst into a
fake laughter and began applauding, “Bravo, Tessa, you are quite a
remarkable actress. My sister—your brother. How convenient. You
forget I
know
your
family? You forget I know both your sisters, or did you just forget
to mention him while we were dating?”

She slapped him over his
left arm. “Stop it. He
is
my half-brother. His name is Cristian Mincu and I
found him by finding my biological father. As is turns out, my mama
had an affair and I am the result of it.” Tears stung her eyes, but
she’d be damned if she’d let him see her embarrassment. She turned
on her heels and marched to the sink once more to finish cleaning
up. She turned on the faucet, picked up a sponge and scrubbed a
plate vigorously, as if she could scrub away the suffering disgrace
she’d felt ever since she read her mama’s letter for the first
time.

“
Is this true?”
Alessandro’s voice sounded shaken.

“
No, I made that up so I
can try out my acting skills,” she snapped at him.

“
I’m sorry,” she heard
Alessandro’s soft tone behind her back.

She straightened her
backbone, “Don’t be. I don’t need your pity.”

He reached sideways and
turned the faucet off again, but didn’t touch her.

Tessa gripped the sink’s
edge and closed her eyes. A few more tears rolled down her cheeks,
her nerves at the breaking point. She turned to confront him, but
melted when he touched her face and wiped off her tears.

Alessandro cupped her face,
looked longingly down at her. His eyes stopped on her lips. Slowly
he put his lips on hers, slightly parted. She closed her eyes and
let the feeling sink in. It surprised her how intense it felt, a
warm touch, soft and gentle, with just a light dance of his tongue
as if a ship had reached harbor after a long sail. He caught her
off guard, no doubt about it, her heart rampant, her pulse racing
because of one simple kiss.

In one smooth motion
Alessandro finished kissing her and when she opened her eyes, her
world tilted dangerously. He smiled at her, the smile that always
melted her heart, the smile she missed for so long, the smile that
made her walk on air.

“
I haven’t been very nice
to you lately,” Alessandro moaned against her lips, kissing her
again, this time more intense, prolonging the moment.

Still kissing her, he
untied her ponytail, fanning it down her back with his fingers, and
pulling her closer to his body—radiant desire. She leaned against
the countertop, hugging his shoulders while he ravaged her mouth,
tasting, suckling, teasing. His strong fingers relaxed the tension
in her neck, traveling down her back, squeezing her buttocks, then
up again, cupping her breasts and brushing his hot thumbs across
her nipples, erecting them instantly. His fingers burned her flesh
sending bolts of arousal through her body.

Muddled thoughts buzzed
through Tessa’s mind. She knew she’d have to tell Alessandro what
she dreaded for so long to say, that the baby was Daniel’s and that
she’d have to face his disappointment. She felt she had a real
chance to get Alessandro back, the only man she wanted in her life
forever, but how would he take the news? Would he be angry with
her? Would he be hurt? She had known about the baby’s existence
before their relationship began, but yet she hid it from
him.

Tessa broke the kiss,
tugging softly at his lower lip, catching her breath. She needed to
break contact with him, to get her thoughts back on track. She
looked down while her hands rested behind her on the
countertop.

“
You know, Alessandro, you
came here accusing me and judging me for what I’ve said or done.
But truth be told, there were many things you didn’t know about me,
things that I needed to take care of before I could be with you.
And you are wrong if you think that you were the only one that
suffered when we broke up. I had too much baggage, too many things
you couldn’t understand.”

He cupped her face again
and pressed his forehead against hers, “I am sorry I judged you…I
am sorry I wasn’t there to protect you from that bastard…that
bastard that killed our baby and pushed you away from
me…”

Tessa’s stomach cramped as
if a vulture’s claw threatened to yank it out of her. She swallowed
hard and mumbled, “The baby…I—”

“
I grieved after that baby
more than you’ll ever know, because I couldn’t do it with
you…mourning together…I felt helpless knowing how torturous it
must’ve been for you, the mother of our baby…” He squeezed his eyes
shut and embraced her tighter.

She put her head on his
shoulder, sobbed against it, crying her heart out.

“
It’s okay,
cara mia
, let it all
out.” Alessandro softly brushed his fingers through her hair,
holding onto her. “I don’t want to waste another day without you,
let’s—”

“
Alessandro, stop.” Tessa
pleaded with him, put a hand over his mouth, inhaled once and
blurted out, “The baby wasn’t yours.”

His eyes widened, his mouth
fell open. His face turned pale as he struggled to breathe. He
gripped her shoulders with such force, she felt the pain spreading
into her limbs.

“
Are. You. Sure?” he asked
between gritted teeth.

She nodded, barely
articulating, “It was Daniel’s.”

He let go of her shoulders,
walked away and stopped near the table, holding onto its edge with
both hands, his knuckles white. The air came out of his lungs as if
he just finished a marathon.

Tessa walked slowly to him,
holding onto her middle, the pain again unbearable.

“
Don’t come near me,” he
ordered, paralyzing her. “Did he know?”

“
No, I didn’t tell him. The
night you found me…I wanted to tell you about the baby…I tried to
tell you early on in our relationship, but I couldn’t gather the
courage to tell you, for fear you might leave me when you found
out.” Another wave of sobs forced Tessa to pause. Telling the truth
hurt, but it hurt even more to see the pain she caused him. “I had
an abortion scheduled the day you were to return back to
Buch—”

He almost knocked her off
her feet when he ran into her, but steadied her with his palms,
gripping her shoulders and shaking her.

“
An abortion? You wanted to
get an abortion? You considered
killin
g the baby?” His anguished
expression, the blank stare scared Tessa. He looked at her as if he
saw right through her. He let go of her shoulders simultaneously,
as if touching her burned his hands.

He took two steps back,
brushed both hands through his hair and holding his head between
his palms he yelled, “I was so crazy about you, I moved to this
country only to be with you. I left my job only to be near you,
live with you and love you. I built a house, for when you were
ready to move in with me. I even bought you an engagement ring, and
you? You tried to take an innocent life, the life of your own baby?
What kind of a monster are you? Who are
you
?”

And before she knew it,
Alessandro was out the door, slamming it shut. Gone. Out of her
home, out of her life. This time she knew, it was
forever.

Tessa dragged her feet to
the bedroom, not bothering to lock the door behind Alessandro. She
lay in bed, covering her shaking body, covering her face, and
cried. At first quiet sobs, then louder and louder, pouring her
heart out. The more tears she spent, the emptier she felt. She had
no idea how long she cried before she fell asleep, an inexplicable
exhaustion making her eyelids heavier and heavier, until darkness
swathed her in a dreamless sleep.

Alessandro took off like a
mad runner. He got into his car and drove away. He drove faster and
faster, holding onto the steering wheel with both hands, so tight
his fingernails dug painfully into his palms, but he didn’t care.
He dodged a traffic light turning red while he was in the middle of
the intersection, but he didn’t care. He drove for hours with no
direction, sometimes in circles, speeding up until he reached the
town’s limit, but he didn’t stop. He just kept driving, driving
away, further away from
her
.

Ever since he’d met Tessa
his life had been turned upside down. In fact, his life wasn’t his
anymore. His life revolved around her, like the Moon around the
Earth. No matter where he was or what he did, his thoughts
gravitated to her, his mind humming her name, his heart drowning
with love.

But it turned out Tessa had
secrets. He grieved for a baby that wasn’t even his. He’d thought
of that baby many times, and how devastated Tessa must’ve been when
she lost it. But no, she wasn’t devastated because she’d planned
an
abortion
. How
could he fall in love with a cold-blooded woman and not know what a
selfish creature she was? How did she manage to deceive him so
much?

As a Catholic, Alessandro
considered abortion among the worst of all crimes. He grew up in a
family where children were considered a blessing, the more the
better. A family where dinners were often interrupted by crying
babies, by running and screaming around the table, but never ever,
did one pronounce the word “abortion”. How could he forgive
her?

He stopped brusquely,
turned off the engine and the lights and sat there. Surrounded by
darkness and silence, he pressed his head to the steering wheel,
hitting it with both hands, until he felt numb with pain. He got
out of the car and the sweet smell of pine tree and green grass
tickled his nostrils. As his eyes adjusted to the gloom, the area
seemed familiar; a house in the middle of nowhere with mountains
guarding it—Tessa’s cabin.

“
Go figure, I can’t seem to
get away from you,” Alessandro snarled. He walked to the porch, ran
his fingers along the upper side of the doorframe until he found
the crack and the key felt cold against his fingers. As it looked,
no tourists had rented the house. He’d spend the night there, clear
his mind and drive back to Bucharest tomorrow.