Page 26 of Bound by Their Christmas Baby

‘You will be cold,’ he said, eyeing her coat.

It wasn’t what she’d expected him to say. ‘I’m fine.’

‘It’s below zero…’

‘It’s not like I’m not used to the cold,’ she interrupted. ‘I grew up in New York.’

‘Fine,’ he said with a shrug, but his obvious disapproval irked her. He was so superior, so arrogant, she yearned to take him down a peg or two.

‘Our son is fine, by the way. Thanks for asking. Your concern is truly touching, particularly given the way you uprooted us from our lives so unceremoniously.’

His brows lifted and an electrical current surged from him to her. ‘I’m well aware he is fine. I gave him a bottle before coming in search of you this morning.’

Just like a tower being demolished, Abby’s moral high ground gave way beneath her, leaving her feeling churlish. Worse, she felt like someone who’d used their baby to score points, something she’d sworn she’d never do.

Refusing to apologise, she stared at a point over Gabe’s shoulder. ‘Rosa said he slept well.’

Gabe could have continued their spat but he didn’t, and she was glad. ‘Yes. Perhaps it is the Italian air that agrees with him.’

‘Perhaps.’

They walked side by side from the castle, through the enormous wooden door at the front. The icy temperature hit her like a wall. It was much colder than she’d expected. The castle had been so cosy she hadn’t been able to grasp that beyond its walls was a sub-arctic breeze. She didn’t respond visibly though; he didn’t need to know he’d been right. Next time she’d have to add another layer or three beneath her coat.

In the daylight, everything was clean and shiny, glowing white against a leaden grey sky. It wasn’t snowing, but it had done so overnight. The freshly fallen powder had been recently pushed aside and a sleek black sports car was parked at the foot of the steps. It was exactly the kind of car she would have expected Gabe to drive. Expensive-looking, undoubtedly powerful and very expensive.

She pulled open the passenger door, sliding into the warmth of the vehicle with relief, buckling up and pressing back against the leather of the seat.

A blast of ice-cold air hit Abby as Gabe slid into the seat beside her, his powerful frame taking all the spare space, his presence a force to be reckoned with and conquered. The engine throbbed when he started it, like a beast beneath them. He steered it away from the house, his driving expert. Once they cleared his long winding driveway and entered the streets there was thick snow, but Gabe and the vehicle had no problem manoeuvring across it.

‘You don’t need to grip the door as though you are about to die,’ he said, tilting his face sidelong to regard her with sardonic amusement before returning his attention to the road. ‘You are safe.’

Safe? She didn’t feel safe. In the road sense, she did, but the reason her nerve-endings were pulling taut had more to do with the man beside her and the anxiety his proximity kindled within her.

‘Have you lived here long?’ she asked to ease the tension within her.

He arched a brow, turning his handsome face towards her. ‘Small talk?’

‘Curiosity,’ she corrected. ‘If I’m going to marry you, I figure I should know a bit more about you besides the fact you’re a judgemental douche.’

‘A judgemental douche?’ he repeated and, despite the cynicism in his tone, there was the hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth.

‘Yes.’ Abby wasn’t laughing.

He sobered. ‘Va bene.’

‘So?’ she said after a long moment of silence had stretched between them. He slowed the car to a halt. ‘Why have you stopped?’

He jerked his head and Abby followed the direction of his gaze. Two deer were making their way across the road, picking their way slowly through the snow, their inky-black eyes alert as they eyed Gabe’s car warily. It looked like a scene from a Christmas movie. All that was missing were bells around their necks and elves at their sides.

‘I’ve lived in the castle about five years.’

‘Why? It seems so remote.’

‘I like remote.’

‘Yes,’ she drawled. ‘I can see that.’ Again, she was sure she saw his lips twitch. The deer moved off the road and Gabe started to accelerate gently, continuing their journey.

‘I have a helicopter for when I need to get to my office in Rome.’ He frowned and when their eyes met she wondered if he was imagining her in his lobby. Pregnant and desperate to talk to him. Was he remembering the way he’d had Security remove her from the premises? Did he feel guilty? He turned his attention back to the road. ‘But I have all the facilities I need to work from here.’

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