Page 56 of The Housekeeper and the Brooding Billionaire

He met her understanding look and wondered about Charlotte’s emotional moments.

She was remarkably poised, with a sangfroid many public figures would envy. It was only when they made love, or danced, or laughed together, that she revealed the warm, vivacious woman he’d always suspected lurked behind the professional image. She was so contained, rarely giving a hint about her past. Curiosity consumed him. He needed toknowCharlotte in more than the carnal sense.

It was something he’d never felt about any previous lover except Antonia. But that was because they’d agreed to share their lives. Yet his feelings for Charlotte weren’t like what he’d felt for his wife.

Thankfully. He’d never marry again. He shuddered, remembering the fraught drama of it all. The loss of control. The never-ending guilt.

It was definitely time to change the subject. He’d satisfied Charlotte’s curiosity. Now it was her turn.

Unable to resist any longer, he reached for her hand, threading his fingers through hers, enjoying the way they fitted together despite their differing sizes.

‘Tell me something important about yourself, Charlotte. Something from your past.’

‘Because you shared a secret with me?’

Alessio met her steady look. ‘No. Because I want to understand you.’

There it was again, the feeling that Alessiosawher. That shemattered.

It was tempting to read too much into that. The reality was probably that Alessio was uncomfortable talking about his painful past and wanted to change the subject. Yet as their gazes meshed, it didn’t feel like that.

What did she have to lose? It wasn’t as if she had a guilty secret. ‘What you want to know?’

‘Tell me about your family, about your father.’

She must’ve flinched, for Alessio gently squeezed her hand. ‘You go straight for the jugular, don’t you? No wonder you’re so successful in business.’

‘The last thing I want is to hurt you, Charlotte. But I suspect I’m not the only one who might benefit from a listening ear.’

Was it that obvious? Charlotte had thought she’d done an excellent job of getting over her past.

Except she’d let it colour so much of her life. She hadn’t returned to England in all these years. She’d never dated, much less taken a lover until Alessio. She’d never trusted a man enough to let him into her life.

At least with Alessio she knew he wasn’t scheming for anything apart from her body. She admired his honesty even if she found herself wanting more.

Yet he was grieving for his wife and child. She couldn’t expect more from him. He might have married Antonia for their baby, but he was so distraught it was clear he’d fallen in love with her. Her heart squeezed, remembering his expression of stark loss.

Charlotte curled her fingers around his, drawing strength. ‘There’s not much to tell. I adored my mother and despised my father. I haven’t seen him since she died.’

‘Do you miss home?’

The sharp, hollowing sensation in her chest was instantaneous. ‘I miss the home I used to have, but it doesn’t exist any more.’

‘It’s been sold?’

She met his concerned stare and felt annoyed with herself. The man had just spoken of the most intimate personal tragedy. Her past was nowhere near as traumatic, yet here she was, hoarding her misery as if it were unique.

‘No.’ She gathered her thoughts. ‘My mother was the last of an aristocratic family and lived on a country estate. She was on the point of selling up when she married my father. He was a businessman with pretensions to grandeur. Acquiring a country pile where he could entertain distinguished guests with an aristocratic hostess helped him climb the social ladder. As for my mother, she’d been desperate to save the estate not just for herself but for the tenants and employees. My father’s money accomplished that.’

Alessio nodded.

‘Most of my childhood I was happy. I loved the estate and my mother, and my father was away a lot.’

‘We have that in common. I rarely saw my parents.’ Another revelation from Alessio. What had happened to the taciturn man she’d first met? ‘Sorry. I shouldn’t have interrupted. Go on.’

‘There’s not much to tell. My father is a bombastic bully. He demanded absolute obedience from everyone, and if he didn’t get it instantly, you paid dearly.’

Alessio’s voice was sharp. ‘He was violent?’

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