Page 7 of Baby Mine

When he reached his destination, he paused and scanned the room. The doors on the opposite side had been left open, and a warm breeze swept the interior. He crossed to them and peered outside. Nicoletta stood with sheers and a basket pruning flowers in the garden. He approached her. “Nicoletta, bion giorno.”

She glanced up at his voice, and he winced at the open joy in her expression. She cast down long, thick lashes and smiled. “Bion giorno, Renzo. I hoped I would see you before you left.” She approached him and laid a possessive hand on his arm before leaning up on her tiptoes to kiss him. Renzo just turned his head in time, but her lips landed just beside his. The disappointment in her gaze radiated, and he chided himself for not making his intentions plainer. Now that he stood here, he wondered if this was the time. If she became emotional, he could not be rude and cut her off simply because he would be late for work.

“I have a full day, but I wanted to talk to you,” he began.

She gazed at him with expectance and then stepped closer. Her small breast brushed his arm. He cleared his throat, irritated this wasn’t going as smoothly as he thought it would. In business dealings he intimidated others to get what he wanted. Hell, in his personal life he had no trouble wrapping the women he chose to give attention to around his little finger. However, he had no wish to hurt Nicoletta.

“You are a very good friend of my family. Your father was instrumental in helping my father purchase his first winery, and my father bought out yours within a few years. That’s how successful he was at growing the company. He went on to expand his holdings until—”

Nicoletta pressed closer, if that were even possible. “Renzo, why are you giving me a history lesson?”

He frowned. “I’ve always felt responsible for you. The direction your family took in business wasn’t the wisest after your father let go of the winery.” He stopped, not wanting to remind her of financial trouble. Just recently her father had come to him for a loan.

The confusion on Nicoletta’s face cleared, and she radiated more happiness than she had moments earlier when he greeted her. “Renzo, you’re asking me to marry you.”

Renzo stared. Words escaped him. The gasp and the sound of shattering glass startled them both. He turned from Nicoletta to find Jada standing there with a teacup on the path in front of her, the contents spilled, and the china in bits. The curse he’d avoid earlier slipped out now.

“Jada—” he began.

“Oh damn, I’m so sorry.” Jada bent over the mess and started gathering pieces of the teacup. For an instant he saw a quiver in her hands, but questioned if he was seeing things when it disappeared. “I bet that was expensive. I’m going to replace it. I promise.”

Renzo rushed to her side and pulled her away from the mess. “Leave it. I’ll get a maid to handle it.”

She struggled in his hold. “No, I did it, and it’s my responsibility.”

He tried looking into her eyes, but she wouldn’t meet his gaze. He held on to her upper arm, wanting to keep her near so he could explain, but he also needed to disabuse Nicoletta of her wrong conclusion. Irritation rose in him. He should have handled this better, and of all times for Jada to show up just when he spoke with Nicoletta. He realized now it must have been Jada on the elevator. “Hold on a second,” he insisted. “Stay right there, and I will get a maid. Do not move.”

Even before he spun away, he caught the frown and stubbornness coming into her eyes. She would not be ordered. He regretted walking out on her the night before, knowing her reaction to his high-handed treatment. The entire time in Italy, he had carefully wooed her. The only explanation he could give himself now was that he had felt more relaxed, confident she was where she belonged—with him.

He pushed a hand through his hair as he went in search of someone to clean up the mess. Only after he reached the kitchen did he recall he’d left both women alone together. “For the love of—”

“Renzo!” His mother glared at him. Her English did not extend far, but she’d learned quickly, probably because she’d raised two boys, the usual ways one might swear in a foreign language. Renzo would never disrespect his mother by deliberately uttering one in her presence, but she’d caught him out a few times in the past.

“Mi dispiace, Mamma.” He breathed a sigh of relief to find Marie in the kitchen. He gave the maid instructions and turned on his heel to return to the women he left behind. He could only hope Jada hadn’t fled and Nicoletta hadn’t confronted the woman he truly intended to make his wife.

* * * *

Jada stooped to place bits of broken china in her palm. She kept her gaze focused on the task at hand because if she didn’t she’d either attack the woman in front of her or cry like an idiot. Neither Nicoletta nor Renzo were getting the satisfaction. What she should have done was crack Renzo upside the head. Sure, Nicoletta was nothing to him except a family friend. What a load of crap. The bastard had asked her to marry him. At least she knew the truth now, but did it have to make her feel like someone had stabbed her in the heart and twisted the knife? Why the hell did she have to fall for him?

A shadow fell over her, and she peered up, sunlight blocking her vision. She paused in her movements to shield her gaze. Nicoletta, the delicate sweet beauty, stood there with a hard expression making her lips look too thin. Not that the change in attitude surprised Jada.

“I don’t know why you’re here, but I can guess.” She put long, slender fingers on hips that must fit in size two jeans or smaller. Well, if she wore jeans. Right now she stood in a soft, flowing dress that revealed a modest amount of long, shapely legs. Demure on one hand, sexy on the other. “You’re one of the many women Renzo slept with while he was away on business, and now you’re here hoping to get a little piece of his money. Don’t you think we’ve seen this a million times? We’ve sent them all away with nothing.”

Jada stood slowly. “Is that right?”

“Oh yes. As you overheard, I’m going to be his wife. I don’t mind him having a little extra fun. He does have a big appetite. What I do mind is them coming here thinking they will get even a cent of the Mariani fortune.”

“Because that’s all yours,” Jada quipped. “Look, bitch, I don’t care about you or your fiancé. Got that? I don’t want or need his money.”

The disbelief stood stark in Nicoletta’s face, pissing Jada off even more.

“I came here to give him some information. I did that, and now I’m out. You can stay here and allow your husband to cheat on you. By all means, continue to enjoy yourself!” She spun on her heel to walk away. Let him get a maid to get the teacup. She no longer gave a damn.

After crossing the room she’d used to get outside, she spun around the corner only to smash face first into Renzo’s massive chest. His hands came up to her waist to steady her, and she began struggling to get away on instinct.

“Get your hands off me!”

“Jada, I need to talk to you,” he insisted.

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