Page 10 of Ruthless Rival

However, I didn’t get to do a single thing on my checklist for today because I received a call right after I pulled on a light blue dress shirt, a black suit jacket, and black slacks.

“What’s wrong, Guilia?” I asked, immediately fearing the worst because my daughter hardly ever called me out of the goodness of her heart.

“Alessia is in labor. You need to come down here now,” Guilia said.

“But it’s more than a month early,” I stated to her.

“Papa, it will be alright, this happens sometimes and for all we know she is further along than we thought.”

I didn’t say anything else before hanging up and rushing to the foyer, then to the coat closet. I flung open the door and grabbed Alessia’s overnight bag before bolting out of the house, calling to Iso to follow me.

“To the hospital,” I ordered the driver once Iso and I got situated in the car.

“Yes, sir,” the driver replied while pressing his foot on the accelerator and tearing down the street.

When I arrived at the hospital, I approached the first nurse I saw walking around near the lobby. “I need information on my daughter, Alessia Mancini. She’s in labor in suite 102,” I told her, holding up her bag. “And she needs this.”

The young nurse smiled at me, brushing her fingers through her straight, blonde hair resting over her light green scrubs. “You must be her father. She said you were coming.” She laughed as she took the overnight bag from me. “I’ll make sure she gets this. No worries, grandpa, Alessia is doing great and it’ll probably be a while before the baby decides to come out.”

I nodded my thanks. If Alessia didn’t need me just yet, I wanted to take a walk to wake up better. My head ached from exhaustion and my tired eyes felt blurry. “I’ll be walking around the building for a minute. I’ll come back around and check with the nurse station for an update soon,” I informed her, wanting to know everything going on with my daughter.

“Well, I can keep you updated personally,” the nurse offered as she took a step closer to me, joining her hands behind her back. “I’m going on break soon and there’s a nice, little café here in the hospital. It’s not the best coffee, but would you want to get a cup with me? I can have one of the other nurses keep me in the loop.”

Her offer warmed me and she wasn’t bad to check out. She had a petite figure and full, pink lips that made heat stir in my lower regions. I would never fool around with a nurse while my daughter was on the cusp of labor, though. I was far too focused on Alessia’s safety to think about anything else. “That’s kind of you to offer, but I’m afraid I wouldn’t be great company today,” I said with a faint smile.

The nurse’s face fell slightly, but she still smiled at me and nodded her understanding. “That’s fine, sir. Can’t blame a girl for trying.” She laughed lightly.

I nodded politely at her and walked past her, venturing through the long hospital hallways until I came upon a small gift shop. The place was overflowing with teddy bears, flowers, and balloons. I lingered for a moment in front of the store, pondering on grabbing Alessia something.

However, a dark beauty moved in front of the display of roses, sticking out like a thorn. I tried to breathe in, but my chest tightened. The woman from my dream and the wedding was haunting my reality as well.What is she doing here?

Mrs. Mora hadn’t spotted me yet. She moved through the gift shop with a faint frown on her stained red lips. Her wavy, black hair caressed the back of her shoulders as it streamed down her delicate neck.

I wondered what it would feel like to grip her hair and kiss her neck. If I wanted any shot at getting to know her, I had to talk to her. I couldn’t hover around like a buzzard. I walked past the shelf of teddy bears holding hearts, approaching her from the side. “Pleasure to see you again,” I greeted her.

Mrs. Mora didn’t flinch, but she noticeably tensed up. She then turned to me with a curious smile on her face. “Oh? We’ve met?” she asked. “I would’ve remembered meeting a man like yourself.”

“A man like myself?”

Mrs. Mora walked toward me, but from the dedicated, long strides of her legs, it looked more like she was stalking her way over to me. Her eyes locked onto mine the entire way. “Undeniably handsome,” she stated.

She was only a foot away from me, but I could still smell her hairspray and sweet perfume. I admired her boldness. It was refreshing, in a world of people who hid behind masks and screens. “I saw you at my son Adriano’s wedding,” I explained. “Then I saw you a few months later at the Governor’s ball. However, we haven’t formally met until now.”

“I think we should fix that,” she replied with a playful smile on her face. She extended her hand out to me. “I’m Gabriela Mora.”

Warmth flared up in my body at her dazzling smile. “Alberto Mancini,” I introduced myself. I took her hand, noticing how much smaller it was than mine. Despite the firmness of our handshake, her hand felt soft and smooth. Now, I distinctly remembered its gentle weight on my thigh in my dream. I wanted to feel it again, but I released her hand and adjusted the collar of my dress shirt.

“Pleasure,” Gabriela stated softly, her eyes seeming to study mine.

I wasn’t used to someone staring me down like this. She had guts, which I liked. A lot. “How is our esteemed governor?” I asked her, nudging the conversation along so it wouldn’t falter. I didn’t want to be done with her yet.

Gabriela cocked her head at me. “Well, if you’d like to chat about the governor, why don’t you invite me to dinner tonight? There’s plenty to discuss,” she suggested as the corner of her mouth curled up in a smirk.

This smirk was dangerous. My chest tightened just at the sight, and my mind started to wander, thinking about her lips. “Just dinner?” I replied, as my eyes slipped down along her figure. She wore a long-sleeve black dress and it hugged every single one of her curves just right.

“We’ll see what happens after dinner. I wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise,” Gabriela said, plainly teasing me. “I’ll meet you at eight. Por Qué No?”

I didn’t have time to even open my mouth before she winked and sauntered out of the gift shop, leaving me there with a heavy, relentless thump in my chest. I might've been able to resist the beautiful nurse, but there was no way I could deny this vixen. Truly, I didn’t want to.

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