Page 12 of Playboy Billionaire's Secret Baby

The waitress smiles, not looking like I’ve irritated her but I still feel bad. I cross my hands together on the table vowing to be better in the future. It won’t be easy to find the time to learn Italian with work and being a single mom, but I’ll try…

Wait.I don’t know what catches my attention exactly, but something draws my eyes to the door, right at the moment the waitress brings me over my order. A man is coming into the coffee shop and for some inexplicable reason, the sight of him has my heart racing. It seems like my body is reacting far quicker than my mind. But then he turns to look at me and everything becomes clear, it's as if time stands still. I would know those lovely hazel eyes anywhere because they’ve been in my dreams for years. They shouldn’t be, but they are.

My breath gets caught in my throat as I try to adjust to the shock. But nothing changes and nothing shifts; this really is happening. Even as I blink, he doesn’t go anywhere. Somehow, we’ve been pulled back together like fate is intervening in a wild way.

The man standing in front of me is none other than Frederico D’Amici! On my first day back in Italy! If this is not the hand of fate, I don't know what is.

Chapter 8

Frederico

Whatthehellishappening to me?

It’s almost funny because it’s so crazy. I can’t quite wrap my head around it. I mean, all those months I spent pining after Lexi and telling myselfnotto pine after her. I never thought that I would see her again. I didn’t think our paths would ever cross and certainly not like this.

“Lexi?” A smile spreads across my face. “What on earth are you doing here in the middle of my favorite coffee shop? What a surprise!”

I try to ignore the way my heart skips a few beats as she smiles right back. Damn, she somehow looks even cuter two years later. My memory hasn’t done her justice at all.

“I’ve actually just been at a meeting nearby,” she laughs. “For work. I’m not stalking you!”

I take a seat next to her and order my usual coffee with the waitress, unable to stop looking at her. As our eyes connect, it’s almost as if the last couple of years haven’t happened. They’ve simply vanished; this might as well be the day after the wedding.

“Wow, so you’re working here in Italy, huh? In the field of architecture? That’s fascinating.”

Lexi lights up as she realizes I remember this little detail about her. Little does she know that I actually recall everything about her. Every tiny detail of the wedding is committed to my memory, agonizingly so, to be honest. The more I want to forget, the less I can.

“Yeah, Allegra recommended me for a project here, so I’m taking the opportunity.”

“Does that mean you’re going to be around for a while?”

Her cheeks are stained with an adorable pink hue. “Just for the weekend, for the moment, but I’ll be back if they want me to keep working with them.”

Uh oh. My heart pitter patters like crazy. It’s a bad idea to reconnect with the one woman I have struggled to shake off, but I also don’t want to turn away a chance to hang out with her again. I’m battling with myself - my head and my heart are at war with each other - and I don’t know which will win.

“That’s interesting. So, I take it you’re busy with Allegra tonight?”

“Err, no I don’t have any plans tonight actually, just this afternoon.” Lexi looks at me curiously. “She’s got something planned with Adam’s family. Why do you ask?”

Damn it… now there’s no excuse. No reason we shouldn’t have dinner. “So, would you like to have dinner with me tonight? We have a lot of catching up to do.”

Desire sparks in her eyes, I can almost see the flames of passion. We both know that we’re stepping into quicksand here, but we can’t seem to resist.

“Yeah, that sounds nice. I’m sure you can recommend the best places to eat.”

I shoot her a playful wink. “I do know the best places in town. So, where are you staying? I could come by and pick you up at eight if you’ll be ready?”

“Yeah, okay, I’ll definitely be done with Allegra then. That sounds nice. I’m staying at the Dolphin Hotel just around the corner.”

“Yeah, I know the place. I’ll see you in the lobby at eight.”

There’s a sense of knowing between us, isn’t there? I can feel it clinging to the air. We both know what this reunion means and where it’s going to lead. Right back to the bedroom. I’m sure this time she’ll be out of my system and I won’t be all caught up in memories of her. That was just a blip a couple of years ago, right? Just a funny moment in time. I’m pretty sure it was more the wedding impacting me than anything else. Seeing my good friend getting married, remembering I was once going to get hitched myself once upon a time dredged up a lot.

It probably had a lot more to do with me than it was Lexi. This will be fine.

“Great, well, I’ll see you soon then.” I grab my coffee to go. “Have fun.”

I can’t stop smiling as I head back to work, which, of course, grabs my brothers’ attention. They both want to know who has me grinning like an idiot but I don’t give anything away. I managed to keep me and Lexi a secret before and I want to do so again. She feels likemineand I don’t want anyone to taint what we’ve shared. It’sours…

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