Page 1 of The Baby His Secretary Carries

PROLOGUE

MOLLYBROOKSWASalready hyperaware of her sale-rack blouse, cotton culottes and discount sandals when she stepped off the elevator onto an upper deck of theAlexandra. She hadn’t had time to shop and had had to make do with what was in her closet, not that she owned clothing that belonged in this setting, anyway.

The superyacht was gliding past Cyprus as though barely touching the water, but she was thrown off balance when someone in a crisp white uniform asked sharply, “Are you supposed to be here?”

No. Definitely not.

Her immediate supervisor, Valentina, had twisted her knee while skiing yesterday. Molly had been on a plane within the hour and was strictly here as a gofer so Valentina could stay in her stateroom and keep her leg elevated.

“I’m bringing this to my employer, Georgio Casella.” She nodded at the leather portfolio she held with the freshly printed document inside it. “For his review and signature.”

“Why isn’t he doing it electronically?” the man asked with a scowl.

Because it was a court document detailing the theft of proprietary information, not that it was any of his business.

“I’m not privy to his reasons.” Molly channeled Valentina’s polite smile and cool tone. “Perhaps you’d like to ask him when you show me where to find him?”

With a grumble, he led her through an opulent lounge, where emerald cushions accented ivory sofas placed to view the wall of windows overlooking the sea. A crystal chandelier sparkled and the fresh flowers on an end table perfumed the air as they passed.

They moved into a darker room with tinted windows and a curved cherrywood bar. Colorful bottles were arranged behind it and glasses dangled above. The stools were low-backed and upholstered in black leather. Highboy chairs and drink tables were arranged near the windows and the doors opened onto—

He was in the freakingpool.

Please don’t keelhaul me, she pleaded silently as she looked into the mirrored finish of Gio’s unforgiving sunglasses.

If she hadn’t felt his attention zone in on her like a raptor swooping for a bunny, she would have thought he was asleep. He didn’t even lift his head. He sat low with his arms splayed along the edge of the free-form pool. The water cut across his tanned, muscled chest, right in the middle of his brown nipples.

Don’t look!

Molly jerked her gaze back to his sunglasses, hoping he hadn’t seen her ogle him. She didn’t mean to, but the man absolutely fascinated her, leaving her mouth dry every time she had to talk to him. Thankfully, that wasn’t often. Valentina was his executive assistant and Molly was Valentina’s support. Until this trip, she had never seen him outside the London office and he was only there on and off, as he traveled constantly, usually with Valentina by his side.

Today, he had a topless woman next to him. She lowered her sunglasses to give Molly a look that asked,What on earth has the cat dragged in?

Oh, God.

Gio was a guest aboard this yacht. He wouldn’t like her embarrassing him or jeopardizing the deal he was working out with the yacht’s owner, Rafael Zamos.

She sent a wavering, apologetic smile to the handful of people here with him: the other couple in the pool, also mostly naked, the two men at the bar, one with his shirt hanging open over his barely there swimsuit, and the two women lying topless on nearby loungers.

“I—” Her throat closed and her heart stalled as she recognized...Sasha?

She looked so different! Her burnt caramel hair was tinted a bright blond. Her face and figure were elegant and lean, not rounded by youth and pregnancy. She wore pink gloss on her lips, eyelash extensions and diamonds in her ears.

She also wore a look of horror as she yanked her filmy cover-up across her naked breasts.

“What are you doing here?” Sasha—or Mrs. Alexandra Zamos, Molly was realizing through the rushing sound filling her ears—sounded livid.

All the blood in Molly’s body drained into her sandals. A plummeting sensation assaulted her gut. She genuinely thought she might faint.

“What’s wrong, Alexandra? Is the help supposed to stay belowstairs?” Gio’s topless paramour was laughing at Molly, though, not her friend. “You’re such a snob.”

“Molly is my assistant’s assistant,” Gio said crisply. Now his head came up. “What do you need, Molly?”

“Valentina, um...” Molly cleared her throat, trying to recover from seeing her adopted sister’s mother for the first time in eleven years.

She should have done her homework! Her coworkers had been green with envy that she was leaving the blustery November streets of London to spend a week aboard the Zamos yacht, but Molly hadn’t bothered looking up photos or gossip about the owners. She had used her time on the flight to Athens to study the deal the men were negotiating. It had been made clear to her that she was expected to stay on the crew level. If anyone would rub elbows with Gio’s vaunted peers, it would be Valentina, exactly as it always was.

And how could Molly ever imagine she would bump into Sasha like this? She had known Sasha’s family was wealthy, but notthiswealthy.

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