Page 79 of The Roman's Woman (A Singular Obsession)

“I know that,” Maia said with a sigh. “And there’s no way in hell Calen would let me search myself. He has three guys on it. But I can tell he thinks it’s pointless.”

“Don’t give up,” Sophia said in a low voice. Where would she be if Gio had given up on her?

“I won’t,” Maia said after a pause. “Listen, I have to go. The baby’s crying.”

“Okay. We’ll see you next week,” Sophia promised.

Gio was flying them to New York for the opening of a new five-star hotel. He was an investor in the Caislean chain, and they were both invited to stay at the hotel that first week. So were Gio’s other University friends, so it would be a reunion of sorts.

“See you then,” Maia said before hanging up.

Sophia put down the receiver of her phone and stared at it for a while. With all the good in her life now, there was also some bad. She felt terrible for Maia, but there was little she could do except support her.

The recent events had taught her some valuable lessons, however. Chief among them was the realization that she should embrace Gio and everything that came with him. She wouldn’t look back. Life was too short. Any second things could change and the people you loved might be gone, so you had to appreciate them now while you had them.

Kelly had gotten a little sick of hearing Sophia tell her she loved her. Gio hadn’t. He never would. She was sure about that.

Glancing at the clock, she counted down the minutes till she could go home—the penthouse Gio had bought off Alex. She had given her landlord notice and they had moved the last of her belongings a few days ago.

For the foreseeable future, Gio was going to be working out of the London office, commuting there when he had meetings and working from home when he didn’t.

His father hadn’t been thrilled to hear that because it meant that Gio was effectively stepping back from many of his duties at the bank. But Salvatore didn’t fight him on it—not since they had announced their engagement. As long as he finally got his grandchild somewhere down the line, Salvatore would deal with it.

Exactly when the latter was going to happen was something she’d been thinking about a lot recently. Elynn and Eva had been right. Gio longed for a family.

Of course, he hadn’t said that. The one time she’d brought up children, Gio had told her it was enough to be married to her. He didn’t want to pressure her into compromising her timeline or her professional goals. Babies could wait.

But with her newcarpe diemattitude, she wasn’t sure she wanted to wait anymore. Work shouldn’t supersede what she wanted in her personal life, and she did want children. Why put them off? Especially since she had a partner who was going to be one hundred percent invested in them now.

At five o’clock sharp, Sophia was out the door, hurrying home to Gio. He’d been in London that morning for a meeting, but returned in plenty of time to make dinner tonight.

He loved to cook, and she loved letting him.

She burst through the door of the penthouse fifteen minutes later. Gio was already busy in the kitchen, sleeves rolled up, his hands covered with flour. He was making pasta from scratch. Ravioli from the looks of it.

“Hi baby,” she said, kicking off her heels and running over to the kitchen to give him a proper greeting.

His gold eyes glowed warmly as he bent to return her kiss. He held up his floured hands regretfully. “I would hug you,mi amore, but I’d ruin that dress.”

Glancing down at the deep purple number she was wearing, she nodded. “Let me change, and I’ll come and help in a minute.”

She ran to the bedroom, glorying in the domesticity of their relationship. Feeling a little wicked, she changed into her pajamas. They were staying in to watch the original Star Wars trilogy together for the first time, and she wanted to be comfortable. Of course, the fact that her new sleepwear consisted of sexy little silk negligees, instead of old flannel, would ensure they didn’t finish their marathon tonight.

Throwing a robe over the brief little gown, she stepped into the bathroom. She washed up and then studied her reflection in the mirror.

A newer, more confident woman was staring back at her. Things had changed quite a bit since meeting Gio, including her self-image. She was proud of her curves and would never hide them again.

Speaking of…

Sophia put a hand on her belly, passing it over the softly rounded surface. She would never have one of those flat washboards you saw on magazines, but she no longer looked at it and despaired. It was healthy—no matter how big it got.

Okay, here goes nothing.

Reaching up she swung open the mirrored door to the medicine cabinet, taking out her birth control pills. She tossed them in the trash and went back out to the kitchen.

Pausing in the threshold, she took a minute to watch her man work. His tanned and very talented hands were busy shaping and assembling the pasta in neat little rows. He managed to keep the kitchen immaculate while he cooked, a feat she had never been capable of.

“Our kids are going to clean their own rooms without being asked, aren’t they?” she asked with some amusement.

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