Rising Stars. Maisey YatesЧитать онлайн книгу.
matter to you. Not like a career.”
His jaw clenched as he turned away. “It was raining that night,” he said in a low voice. “I was driving the car so my parents could convince my brother to see reason.” Gabriel gave a hard laugh. “But instead, Guilherme convinced them he needed to go back and marry Izadora. ‘Turn the car around,’ they told me. I looked into the rearview mirror to argue. I looked away from the road only for a second,” he whispered. “Just a single second.”
He stopped, his face grief-stricken.
Laura stared at him, feeling sick.
“I slammed on the brakes. I turned the wheel as hard as I could. But the tires kept sliding, right off the cliff. I heard my mother scream as the car rolled, then we hit the bottom. They all died instantly. But not me.” He looked at her bleakly. “I was lucky.”
“Oh, Gabriel,” she whispered, coming close to him.
She tried to put her arms around him, to offer comfort. But his body was stiff. He pulled away.
“I was wrong about Izadora. At my brother’s funeral she wouldn’t even look at me. I offered to buy her a house, set up a trust fund for my niece, but she refused with angry words. I’d taken her husband from her, taken the father of her child, and she told me she hoped I would rot in hell.”
Laura shuddered.
“She eventually married an American and moved to Miami. My niece is grown now.” He took a deep breath, and she saw that his eyes were wet. “She’s almost twenty, and I haven’t seen her since she was a baby.”
“You haven’t?” Laura said in shock. “But she’s your only family, your brother’s child!”
His jaw clenched. “How could I see her?” he demanded, turning on her. “Why should I be allowed to spend time with my niece, when it was my thoughtless action that caused her to lose her father? Her grandparents? They never got to see her grow up. Why should I?”
“But, Gabriel…it was an accident. You were trying to help your brother. We all make mistakes with the people we love. Your brother would forgive you. Your family loved you. They would know your heart. They’d know you never meant to—”
“I’m done talking about this,” he growled, raking his hair back with his hand. He set his jaw, and his dark eyes glittered. “You wanted to understand why I never want children. I’ve told you why.”
She closed her eyes, drew a deep breath. Tears streamed down her face as she opened her eyes.
“It’s too late,” she whispered.
“What do you mean?” he demanded. “Too late? What are you saying?”
She lifted her chin. “I’ve never had another lover, Gabriel. How could I, when I never stopped loving you? It’s always been you. Just you.”
He stared at her. His dark eyebrows came together like a storm cloud. “That’s impossible,” he said angrily. “Robby—”
“Don’t you understand?” She shook her head tearfully. “Robby is your son.”
The echo of her words hung in the air between them like a noxious cloud.
Gabriel stared at her, then staggered back.
“What?” he choked out.
“Robby is your—”
“I heard you,” he cried, putting his hands over his ears. But he couldn’t stop his mind from repeating those words. Robby is your son. “You’re wrong. It’s impossible.”
“No,” Laura said quietly. “Didn’t you notice how he looks so much like you? That he was born exactly nine months after our night together? How could you not know? How could you not see?”
He shook his head. “But—but it can’t be,” he gasped. “I was careful. I used protection.”
She shook her head. “Condoms have been known to fail—”
“Only to people who use them incorrectly,” he muttered. “I do not.”
“But even then, three percent of the time they—” “No.” He held out his hand, blocking her words. He felt as if he couldn’t breathe, and loosened the tie on his tuxedo. “I can’t be his father. I can’t.”
Laura took a deep breath. She looked so beautiful in her white gown and veil. He’d never seen her look so innocent, so beautiful. So deceitful.
“I know this must come as a shock to you,” she said softly. She gave him a tremulous smile. “It was a shock for me, too. But Robby’s not an accident. He’s not a mistake.”
“Then what is he?” Gabriel demanded.
She looked up at him, her blue eyes luminous.
“A miracle,” she whispered.
Images of Robby’s chubby, smiling face went through his mind. His dark hair, his inquisitive dark eyes. Of course Robby was his son. Pacing, Gabriel raked his hair back with his hand. How could he have not seen it before?
Because he hadn’t wanted to see it, he thought grimly. Because having a child, when he’d killed his parents and prevented his brother from raising his, was the one thing he could not allow himself to do.
“I destroyed my own family,” he said in a low voice, staring blindly through the windows toward the wintry hills. “I don’t deserve another.”
Laura came slowly toward him, her beautiful face filled with tenderness and love, her eyes glowing with light.
“What happened that night was an accident. It wasn’t your fault. But you’ve buried yourself in the cemetery with them, not allowing yourself to be happy or loved, always punishing yourself—”
“Not punishment. Justice,” he said in a low voice, feeling as if his heart were being ripped out of his chest. “If I hadn’t tried to talk Guilherme out of having a family, if I hadn’t tried to talk him out of committing to his wife and baby, they would all be alive. Why should I enjoy the life I denied my own brother?”
“Your brother is gone. He forgave you long ago. But we’re still here, and we need you,” she said. She took a deep breath and lifted her tearstained eyes to his. “Please, Gabriel. I love you. Love me back.”
His jaw hardened as he stared down at her.
“Don’t use the word love,” he said harshly. “You lied to me. And you turned me into a liar, as well. I said I would never have a wife. Now look at me.” Rage burned inside him as he gazed down at his tuxedo. He ripped the tiny rose boutonniere out of his lapel. “Just look at me!”
She went pale beneath her wedding veil, and the beautiful light in her eyes dimmed. “I’m sorry. It’s why I didn’t tell you I was pregnant. I knew it wasn’t what you wanted, that you’d feel trapped by duty to a child. But—” she took a deep breath “—I couldn’t marry you. Not without telling you the truth.”
“Thank you,” he said coldly, pacing the carpet. He stopped. His body felt chilled, as frozen as a New Hampshire winter. Maybe because of the icy dagger she’d just plunged through his back. “Thank you, Laura, for being so trustworthy and decent.”
She flinched. Her eyes were red, her beautiful face swollen with tears. “I understand if you want to back out.”
“Back out?”
“Of the wedding,” she whispered. He saw the way her petite, curvaceous body was shivering in her wedding dress. He forced himself not to care. What difference did her feelings make to him anymore? His lips curved as he looked at her scornfully. “I’m more determined to marry you now than ever.”
She licked her lips and he saw a tremulous hope in her blue eyes. “Because you love Robby?”
He