Page 30 of The Baby His Secretary Carries

When Ambrose found a woman as superficial, debauched and manipulative as he was, he married her and they produced a son in a calculated effort to oust his own father from his position as president of Casella Corporation. While Gio had still been an infant in the arms of a series of ill-treated nannies, a small war had raged around him, one that splintered the extended family and nearly sank the company altogether.

By the time Gio was leaving for boarding school, he had seen his grandfather only twice. Otto upended the challenges from his son by paying for Gio’s schooling, taking guardianship of Gio in the process.

That had worked for a time, but Ambrose regularly reared his head, throwing out custody threats and other strong-arm tactics to squeeze more money from his father. If he had ever applied himself so diligently to actual work, he might have been an asset to the company, but all his efforts went toward ensuring he continued to enjoy a free ride.

Gio’s mother was even worse. At least Ambrose was open about his financial motives. Fridrika liked to bait emotional hooks to drag people in and keep them serving her. Gio’s earliest memories were thankfully blank, but later, he had fallen for her claims that she wished to know her son. He’d always been stung. Badly.

If his grandfather had not been alive to see it, Gio would have cut them off long ago, but Nonno still saw glimpses of his beloved Theresa in Ambrose. He also needed to know that her grandson, Gio, had inherited her sense of decency, even if her son had not.

Nevertheless, this latest exercise in buying them off reminded Gio that if something did happen to him, Ambrose would make every attempt to take control of the Casella Corporation. There were a handful of cousins who were excellent in their executive roles, but none as hardened by experience to deal with Ambrose as cold-bloodedly as Gio could.

Gio had always known he needed to produce an heir, but he had foolishly believed there was no urgency. With Otto’s recent illness, however, Gio had to accept that even if Otto recovered, he would not live forever.

Gio had to ensure there would be strong, ethical leadership on the horizon. He needed a wife who would not only embrace motherhood, but would also understand the role her children were being raised to take on.

Molly and her protectiveness of her unborn child leaped to mind, mostly because they were already “engaged.” With his grandfather improving, Gio would have to come clean about their ruse sooner than later. He hated to disappoint the old man, especially when Otto seemed so attached to Molly.

Was it really so far-fetched that he would want to marry her? She had wondered how anyone believed they were engaged and yes, they were from very different backgrounds, but he had learned from his first experience that knowing the same people and attending the same charity events didn’t guarantee a happy union.

He and Molly had a far better rapport than he’d had with his fiancée. Her baby was not as big an issue as she might think. He understood firsthand that not every parent was meant to become one. Sometimes a man other than the baby’s father had to step in for the good of the child, as Nonno had done for him.

Of course, he and Otto had a blood connection, but those kinship ties had been soured on both sides by the time the sullen and mistrustful Gio had been left with yet another stranger, this time a cynical and remote old man.

It had taken a long time for them to warm into the close relationship they enjoyed today, which only told Gio how important it was to bond with a baby from the beginning.

The more he thought about it, the further he went down the road of seeing marriage as a viable path for both of them. Rather than become a single mother, Molly would have a husband who could provide an excellent life for her and her child. There was a time when he had feared what type of father he might make, but he had Nonno’s steady example to follow. Molly’s innate warmth would counter any reticence he still possessed.

If he married Molly, he would gain a life partner whose company he enjoyed. His grandfather already adored her. That was incredibly important to him, given that Nonno had seen straight through Fridrika’s external beauty to the ugliness inside her.

Then there was the animal attraction. Gio kept trying to put that aside so he could think clearly, but he kept hearing her sayYou wouldn’t have an affair with me. Would you?

Hell, yes, he would. He was mindful that he was still her employer, though.

As he wrapped up the unpleasant business of forcing his father to disinherit himself, he allowed himself to replay their kiss the other day and her adorable blush today, when he’d asked what the doctor had said.

He couldn’t press her into an affair if she didn’t want one, but he didn’t understand why she was hesitating. When they kissed, she encouraged him. She obviously wanted him as badly as he wanted her and he wanted her so badly, his blood was on fire.

By the time he had visited the barber and dressed in his tuxedo, he was downright impatient to see her again.

She was worth the wait, he decided, when she finally appeared. The sight of her knocked the breath out of him.

The top of the sleeveless gown was reminiscent of a breastplate in pale, metallic green. The skirt was a filmy waterfall that parted over her left thigh, revealing the three silver bands that formed her five-inch heels. His gaze ate up the glimpse of her leg, the roundness of her hips and the swells of her breasts plumped beneath the serpentine necklace.

She was a goddess, one who controlled all the fey creatures of the forest.

For once, she wore her hair down. The rich brunette waves framed an expression that awaited judgment, but how could she doubt she was anything but entrancing? Her makeup was heavier than he’d ever seen her wear it, but it was playfully dramatic with greens and golds accentuating her eyes. Her bold lip made him want that particular shade of crimson smeared all over his naked body.

“You look very nice,” she murmured, looking down as she adjusted Nonna’s ring on her finger.

“I would have said it first, but I’m speechless.”

She lifted her long, thick lashes. “Don’t mock me.”

“Mock?” She might as well have hit him with a sledgehammer, he was so at a loss as to what that was supposed to mean.

“I feel like a fraud, Gio.”

“In what way?”

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