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Lie! A voice inside her screamed Lie!

But she could not Even after everything she’d done, she could not look into his face and deny hi about their son looked exactly like Rafael, froray eyes

“Is he my son?” Rafael said in a low voice

Closing her eyes as if bracing for a blow, she took a deep breath

“Yes,” she whispered

The simple, clipped word froer back, as if struck by a h he’d known the truth from the instant he saw the baby on Louisa’s hip

But hearing the word, beads of sweat broke out over his forehead His entire body felt like ice

She’d had his baby And she hadn’t told him

Louisa had caused hily abandon his son

His hands tightened as he stared at her across the warroup of tourists entered the shop behind him with a happy chime of the bell

With a snarl, Rafael opened hisher baby against her hip, Louisa pulled Rafael up the flight of stairs behind the counter

At the top of the stairs, he looked grimly at the second-floor apartment around hi on his arm, Louisa pulled him into a bedroom and closed the door behind him

“Please understand,” she said desperately, turning to face him “You left me no choice!”

He stared around the s table The bed was covered by a handmade quilt On the wall over the crib, soft fabric letters spelled out N-O-A-H beside a frairaffe that looked like it was from an old children’s book

There was no lavish luxury here This apartht and warm The bedroom was decorated armth and simplicity—and kept absolutely clean