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But fighting the anger She could tell fro back what he wanted to say Herfantasy of how peaceful life would have been if she had really just run away At least for a few years Then she re away at her

‘There’s no point laying into elo,’ she said quietly ‘Now that you know, I shall try and include you in our child’s life I understand that you ht want to help support him, or her, financially, but I just want you to know upfront that I won’t accept any money from you for myself’

Angelo gave an incredulous laugh and moved to one of the chairs, where he proenerous of you, Francesca Sadly, it falls somewhat short of what I had in mind’

‘What did you have in mind?’ Francesca asked faintly She unconsciously placed one hand protectively on her stomach

‘So a little more…shall we say, involved?’

‘What do youup every afternoon on her doorstep flooded hervision of hier hoer she would continually struggle to fall out of love with It would never work

‘I elo explained patiently but ruthlessly, ‘I don’t intend to be sidelined into visitor mode I didn’t ask to be catapulted into fatherhood but, now that that’s the reality, I intend to deal with it’

‘Deal with it?’ Francesca didn’t like the sound of that ‘It’s not a knotty work probleelo!’

‘No,’ he agreed smoothly ‘But, like every other situation in life, there is a solution and the solution I have in mind will be a permanent one’

‘I won’t let you take this baby away fro with a er and immediately sat back down ‘You may have a lot of money but there’s no court in this land that would tear a mother apart from her child because of that!’

‘Nor should there be Do you really think that I would be ? I was raised in a very secure fa front I would never conte a mother from her child to pursue fatherhood on my own’

‘What then?’

‘We will be married’

Four words dropped into the silence like time bombs Time, for a few seconds, seemed to stand completely still and the colour drained from her face She shook her head slowly, in a daze

This ti the sour whiff of refusal, there would be no running out on him He would marry her for the sake of his child if he had to haul her up the aisle kicking and screaed and impotent at the situation thrust upon hi her squir to work that one out and maintained his silence

‘That’s a crazy suggestion’ Francesca tried a laugh which stalled in her throat ‘People don’t just get e’

‘Maybe that’s what’s wrong with the world’ Angelo shrugged ‘However, I’m not one of those people I don’t walk away from my responsibilities in the hope that so and pick up the pieces’

‘I wasn’t asking you to run away from your responsibilities!’ Francesca cried ‘I already told you that you can have as oes on!’ Already she could see the huge complications that would arise from that, but none of those co him

‘Not good enough,’ Angelo pointed out patiently ‘What happens when you find anotherback in the shadohile my child calls another man Daddy?’

‘This is ludicrous! I haven’t even had the baby yet and you’re talking about what ht not happen in the years to come!’