Page 29 of The Baby His Secretary Carries

“Once he’s fully out of the woods, I’ll consider that, but not yet,” he countered. “I have a clean bill of health, by the way.”

“Wh-what?” She sat back into her armchair and stared across at him.

“It’s information I want you to have.” He was watching her through the screen of his spiky lashes. “What didyourdoctor say?”

“That my blood work was fine. I told you that,” she mumbled and looked to the ground again. Was that a castle?

“You didn’t ask whether—”

“Oh, my God, Gio!” A raging blush consumed her, licking her with flames of guilt and yearning and enticement.

“So you did ask.” His mouth quirked with amusement. “And given that reaction, I hope to hear those words again soon.”

Oh, my God, Gio?“You’re not funny.”

“I wasn’t joking.”

She ignored him for the rest of the flight. Or rather, tried to, which was impossible. Thankfully, the flight wasn’t long. Very soon, they were touching down in Milan.

A drive through congested traffic ensued, then they arrived at the hotel, where they were shown into a beautiful suite with a sitting room, a terrace and two bedrooms. One bedroom was already occupied by a team of busy bees who looked up with smiles of greeting.

“Molly, this is Ursula.” Gio came up behind her as Molly stood in the bedroom doorway, too intimidated to enter. “She and her team will look after you today.”

A gorgeous woman with a wide smile and shimmering gold shadow on her eyelids stopped fussing with the gowns on the rack and came toward her to shake her hand.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you, too.” Molly was agog at the gowns, the likes of which she’d only ever seen on coverage of the red carpet at award shows.

“I need to meet with Vittorio, to finalize the arrangements for my parents.” Gio squeezed her shoulders. “Once you’ve chosen something, Ursula will take care of alterations while you relax in the spa. Have a massage, eat, nap if you can. She’ll make sure you’re back here in time to have your hair and makeup done.”

“You’re not...going to tell me what to wear?” She turned to face him, perversely disappointed and already bereft that he was leaving her.

“You’ll look beautiful in whatever you choose.” It felt very natural that he dropped a light kiss on her lips. It was the sort of kiss any engaged couple might exchange when one was heading out the door, but she wound up pressing closer and settling her hands on his waist, unconsciously urging him to linger.

He drew in a small, sharp breath, then swept his mouth across hers a few more times, more deeply, sending delicious tingles through her.

When he drew back, his blue eyes were the hot center of a flame. He trailed a caress in the curve of her throat, one that felt like a promise. Like anticipation.

“Until later.” His voice had become a rasp in his throat that made her skin feel tight in the most pleasurable way.

He left and she turned into the bedroom in time to see everyone exchanging looks of raised eyebrows that said,Ooh-la-la.

CHAPTER SIX

THECASELLAFORTUNEhad its roots in the shipping trade and the earliest forms of cargo insurance, which had essentially been a series of gambling ventures on shipments making it to harbor. Most had, which had provided capital to a long-ago Casella son to build ships of his own. His son then married the daughter of a steel-mill owner. Together, they produced a dozen ships and almost as many children, one of whom had a passion for trains.

The locomotive enthusiast expanded the corporation into the manufacture of engines and rail cars. His brother, Otto’s uncle, founded the Casella brokerage firm. Another uncle became an active buyer and distributor for the import-export arm of the company.

By the time Ottorino took over as president, the Casella Corporation was manufacturing airplane parts and owned enough farmland that they supplied and packaged their own brands of olive oil, pasta and pesto, among other goods.

Otto married the heiress to an automobile manufacturer, a move that was decried by the press as mercenary, but Otto had genuinely loved his bride. Sadly, they only birthed one son before she passed away from an undiagnosed heart condition when Ambrose was fourteen.

Otto became a withdrawn man and his son became a troubled teen. Ambrose was expelled from his boarding school twice for drug use.

As an adult, Gio was capable of some compassion for his father’s desire to self-medicate his adolescent grief. If that had been the extent of Ambrose’s failings, and he had subsequently sought help along the way, they might still have a relationship.

Ambrose had only paid lip service to rehab, however, using it as a means to get on Otto’s good side when it suited him. Sobriety was not something he wanted. He liked to party and travel and spend money that was handed to him. At his core, he was an entitled, narcissistic parasite of a man.

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