Mistletoe Brides: Italian Doctor, Sleigh-Bell Bride / Christmas Angel for the Billionaire / His Vienna Christmas Bride

CHAPTER SEVEN

THEY decided to admit Emma, and Liv was helping Susan make a call to the insurance company when Stefano strode into the room.

‘Liv?’

Relieved to see him, she gently extracted herself from Susan’s clutches. ‘Go and see Emma.’ Checking that Susan had everything she needed, Liv followed him out of the room. ‘She’s terribly upset.’

‘I noticed. More upset about her things than her daughter,’ he said in a cool tone.

‘It’s hard for her. Her husband left in the summer and she’s been really struggling.’ Liv ran her fingers over her forehead, trying to ease the throbbing ache. ‘Anyway, Emma will be fine and that’s the main thing. Are you going home now?’ Just saying the word made her feel slightly strange because she realised that she didn’t have a home to go back to. ‘I need to talk to the fire service.’

‘I’ve just done it. The blaze is out but it’s too soon for them to assess the damage. They think it was caused by faulty Christmas-tree lights in a flat on the ground floor.’ He frowned. ‘You look awful. You need to rest. You and Max can stay with me for now.’

Liv was so stunned by his unexpected offer that for a moment she just gaped at him. Then she shook her head. ‘No way. We couldn’t possibly.’

‘I’m not letting you refuse, so don’t even waste time arguing.’ His tone was forceful but she still hesitated.

‘That’s far too generous an offer. I just…couldn’t.’

‘Yes, you could. And you will.’

‘Having me around will cramp your style.’

‘What style is that?’ His eyes gleamed with irony. ‘Liv, you’ve seen my life. I work. When I get home, I sleep. You won’t be cramping anything. I want you to move in.’

She couldn’t believe he was making this offer. ‘You’ve never let a woman move in with you.’

‘That’s because I don’t like anyone tracking my movements. And I hate anyone asking what time I’m finishing work. You won’t do that because the chances are that you’ll be stuck at work, too. Now stop arguing and just say yes.’

It was such an overwhelming gesture that she felt her throat close. ‘Max is a very lively little boy,’ she said thickly. ‘He’ll break something. They say that trouble comes in threes. My car is dead, my flat is no more—perhaps the third thing will be Max breaking something valuable that I can’t afford to replace.’

‘He can break anything he likes. It’s a home, not a museum.’ Visibly exasperated, Stefano raked his fingers through his hair. ‘Liv, for once just say yes.’

‘Why?’ She looked at him helplessly. ‘Why are you doing this?’

‘Because I like you.’

‘You…do? You like me?’ Her car was dying, her house had just burned down. But the way Stefano was looking at her made her feel as though something amazing had just happened.

‘I like you.’ A muscle flickered in his jaw. ‘And I like Max.’

Overwhelmed, she took a step backwards. ‘Don’t do that,’ she said hoarsely. ‘Don’t be nice to me, Stefano, or I’ll bawl all over you again and you know how much you enjoyed it the last time.’

‘I’m not giving you sympathy. I’m giving you a solution to your problems. Take it.’ He paused as a nurse hurrying past shot them a curious look. ‘Liv, Max is still waiting in my office. He’s upset and worried. He needs to know where he is sleeping tonight and he doesn’t need some anonymous hotel room. Go and talk to him. Explain that we’re going to buy his Christmas tree. We can sort out where you’re going to live permanently when Christmas is over.’ Stefano pulled his phone out of his pocket. ‘You fetch Max and meet me by the car. I’ll do the rest.’

Stefano’s apartment was in an exclusive red-brick building overlooking the wide expanse of Hyde Park.

Feeling as though she was living someone else’s life, Liv held tightly to Max’s hand as Stefano negotiated the tight security that formed an apparently impenetrable cordon at the base of the building.

Still shocked by everything that had happened, Max barely spoke until they were through the glass doors.

Then his youthful curiosity gradually reasserted itself. ‘Wow, that scanner thing is amazing,’ he breathed as Stefano gently urged them across the gleaming marble floor towards the lift. ‘Like something out of a spy movie.’

‘I smell of smoke.’ Liv wrinkled her nose in distaste and Stefano flicked some debris from his long coat.

‘It clings, doesn’t it? As soon as we get upstairs, you can take a bath.’

And then what? She didn’t have any clothes to change into but Liv didn’t say anything. Presumably the insurance would eventually cover most of what they’d lost, but in the short term it was going to cost her a fortune.

A fortune that she didn’t have.

Perhaps she would have to work Christmas Day after all, she thought miserably. Just for the money.

Suddenly it all seemed like too much.

She’d been holding it together for Max, but the sheer size of the problem she was facing made her want to curl into a ball and give up.

How was she going to cope?

The lift purred soundlessly upwards and when the doors finally opened Liv gave a gasp.

Max spoke first. ‘Which bit is your house?’ He spoke in a soft, awed voice and Stefano smiled and took his hand.

‘All of it. It’s not a house, it’s an apartment. I own the whole of this floor. Come on, I’ll show you your bedroom.’

‘All of it? All of this is yours?’ Max tilted his head back and stared up at the endless glass and spacious elegance. ‘It’s bigger than the hospital.’

Stefano picked him up and lifted him onto his shoulders. ‘There—now it doesn’t seem so big.’

‘Wow, this is terrific!’ Max whooped with excitement and dug his fingers into Stefano’s hair. Liv winced but part of her was overwhelmed with gratitude because he’d made her little boy smile.

With her son on his shoulders, his bronzed hands holding the child steady, Stefano seemed nothing like the intimidating consultant she worked with in the emergency department.

‘I’ll show you the bedroom I think you’ll like, but you can choose a different one if you prefer.’ He strode across the pale wooden floor, opened a door and lifted the boy off his shoulders in an easy movement. ‘What do you think?’

‘It’s like mine,’ Max said in wonder. ‘Only bigger. It’s a space capsule, Mum.’

‘Yes. Aren’t you lucky?’

‘I have twin nephews the same age as Max.’ Stefano strolled across to the window. ‘They chose the décor.’

‘They like the same things as me.’ Max clambered onto the cabin bed and vanished under a canopy of moons and stars. ‘This is so cool. It’s just like being at home only better.’ His little head peeped round the side of the canopy. ‘Is it OK to say that Mum? That doesn’t make you sad, does it?’

‘You never make me sad,’ Liv said quickly. ‘I’m pleased you like it. It’s very kind of Stefano to have us.’

Stefano steered her out of the bedroom and back into the glorious living room that overlooked the park.

Beneath them she could see horses cantering sedately along a track, their breath forming clouds in the freezing air. Mothers wrapped up in scarves and long elegant coats pushed buggies and watched toddlers romping in the snow.

‘It’s a fabulous place.’

‘You make it sound like a problem.’

She gave a wry smile, her eyes still on the view. ‘I’m hoping that it won’t be too much of a wrench for Max to go back to his real life after this.’

‘Don’t think about that and anyway, you’re his real life. You’re his security. As long as you’re all right, so is he.’ Stefano put his hands on her shoulders and turned her towards him, a frown in his eyes as he studied her face. ‘You’re exhausted. Can you stop thinking and worrying for just five minutes and let me sort things out? Max and I are going to buy a Christmas tree and you are going to lie in a hot bubble bath for an hour.’

‘An hour?’ She was horribly aware of him, her heart thudding in a crazy rhythm against her chest. ‘I wouldn’t know what to do in a bath for an hour.’

‘That’s the point.’ Amusement gleamed in his eyes. ‘You do nothing.’ He gave a slow smile and then his gaze slid to her mouth and lingered.

‘Mum?’

Liv jumped backwards. ‘Yes?’ Flustered, she licked her lips, as if Stefano’s gaze had left a mark she had to remove. ‘You’re going to buy a Christmas tree. Don’t buy a big one.’ Reaching for her bag, she pulled out her purse. ‘This is our budget. Don’t argue.’ She stuffed the money into Stefano’s hand. ‘Thank you.’

For a moment he didn’t respond. He simply looked at the money in his hand and then glanced at her face. Then he smiled and slid the money into a soft billfold, as if he knew that to refuse would make her uncomfortable.

‘Grazie. Now go and relax and leave everything to us boys.’

‘Do you like that one?’ Stefano watched as Max gazed at the huge, glittering Christmas tree in the window of the exclusive Knightsbridge store.

‘It’s amazing,’ Max breathed, his head tilted backwards as he scanned it all the way to the top. ‘Like something out of a Christmas movie.’

‘Good.’ Wishing all decisions were as easy, Stefano strode through the doors and into the store, Max by his side.

Within seconds he found an assistant, briefed her on what he wanted and then looked down at Max who was tugging at his sleeve. ‘What’s the matter? You’ve decided that you want a different one?’

‘No, but—you can’t buy the one in the window,’ Max whispered. ‘It isn’t for sale.’

Stefano smiled. ‘It is now.’

‘Really?’ Max glanced over his shoulder, as if checking that his imagination hadn’t been playing tricks. ‘What about the decorations?’

‘Those too.’

‘But what about the decorations you already have at home? Aren’t you going to use those?’

‘I don’t have any decorations at home.’

Max looked startled. ‘But what do you usually put on your tree?’

‘Nothing.’ Stefano handed his credit card to the assistant. ‘I don’t usually have a tree.’

‘You don’t have a tree?’ Max looked shocked. ‘Not even a small one?’

‘No.’

‘Why not?’

‘I don’t bother with a tree because I usually spend Christmas on my own.’

There was a long silence while Max digested that fact. ‘That’s terrible,’ he said in a hushed voice. ‘Mum told me that some people are on their own for Christmas and that’s just the worst thing.’ His expression sympathetic, he slid his arms round Stefano and gave him a hug. ‘Well, this year you won’t have to be lonely,’ he said solemnly, ‘because we’re going to keep you company. We can stay as long as you need us.’

Oblivious to the team of sales assistants who were casting him covetous glances as they busily collated the decorations for the tree, Stefano stood still, too stunned by the child’s warmth and generosity to answer immediately. Then he put his hand on the boy’s shoulder and squeezed gently. ‘Grazie,’ he said softly, ‘thank you.’ The child was like his mother. Always thinking about other people.

‘You’re welcome. Mum always makes Christmas amazing.’ Max’s eyes widened as the assistant wrapped the boxes of decorations. ‘I hope it isn’t costing too much,’ he whispered. ‘It can’t cost too much or Mum will just worry.’

‘Does she worry a lot?’

‘All the time. She thinks she’s hiding it but I just know.’ The child glanced up. ‘Girls don’t always say what they mean, do they?’

Stefano hid a smile. ‘No,’ he said wryly. ‘They certainly don’t.’

‘It’s weird really,’ Max said frankly. ‘I mean, if I’m worried about something I just say it straight out. Mum tries to hide it. Why does she do that?’

‘I expect she doesn’t want to worry you.’

‘But I always know when she’s worried because she has a different face. Her smile is bigger when she’s really worried, like she’s trying extra hard to hide the fact that she’s worried. And when it’s money that’s worrying her she makes lots of lists and does a lot of adding up. Just to check she doesn’t run out. But if something new comes along she has to cross something out.’

Stefano digested that information for a moment. ‘So what do you think she’d like for Christmas?’

‘Oh that’s easy.’ Max looked smug. ‘A hug.’

‘A hug?’

‘Yes.’ Max picked up a frosted bauble from the display and examined it closely. ‘Whenever you ask Mum what she wants for Christmas, she always says “a really big hug”. Which is a bit weird, to be honest. I mean, I love anything with a remote control, but she’s just happy with cuddles. Girls are pretty easy to please, aren’t they?’

Never having encountered a girl who was easy to please, Stefano gave a sardonic smile. ‘Your mother is easy to please.’

The assistant cleared her throat and returned his credit card. ‘Could you give me a delivery address, sir?’

‘We haven’t finished shopping yet.’ Making an instantaneous decision, Stefano took Max’s hand. ‘Come on. We need to replace some of the things you lost.’

Max hung back. ‘Where’s the money coming from? Did Mum sell her tickets to the ball or something?’

Tucking his credit card back into his wallet, Stefano looked at the child. ‘She had tickets to a ball? The hospital ball?’

‘Yes, she won them. But she doesn’t want them so she’s going to sell them to someone who can go. She can’t go because she’s not Cinderella.’

Stefano exhaled slowly and squatted down next to the little boy. ‘Did she tell you that?’

‘Yes. She said it the morning the tickets arrived in the post.’ Max shrugged. ‘She sort of looked at them in a funny way, said that she’d never won anything in her life before, and then put them back in the envelope. Then she said something like “I’m not Cinderella and I’m not going to a ball.” But she hasn’t given them away. They’re in her handbag. I saw them when she gave me my pocket money.’

Stefano digested that information and then straightened, ‘I don’t know about you, Max,’ he said idly, ‘but it seems a terrible waste not to use those tickets.’

‘She doesn’t want to go because she thinks her bottom is too big and she doesn’t have anything to wear. Girls really care about things like that,’ Max said sagely and Stefano smiled.

‘Then we’d better fix that, hadn’t we? Are you any good at keeping secrets?’

Hearing laughter and Max’s excited chatter, Liv emerged from the bathroom self-consciously, wrapped in a large soft robe that Stefano had given her.

‘Mum, Mum come and see this tree!’ Max was almost exploding with excitement and he darted across Stefano’s apartment as if it had been his home all his life. ‘We’re going to decorate it together.’

‘You bought decorations?’ Eyeing the size of the tree and then the number of parcels and bags that now littered the floor of the room, Liv felt a flutter of panic.

Max immediately hurled himself across the room and hugged her. ‘You’re not to worry. Stefano needed a tree anyway and he needed decorations.’ He lowered his voice. ‘He didn’t have any. Can you believe that?’

Liv glanced towards Stefano and he gave a wicked little smile.

‘Nice bath?’

Suddenly conscious that she was naked under the robe, she blushed. ‘Lovely. Thank you.’

‘I bought you some clothes. Just some basic stuff to tide you over until you can go shopping yourself.’ He handed her several bags, as if it were nothing. ‘I hope they fit.’

Liv’s stomach lurched as she stared at the label on the bags. ‘You didn’t—’

‘You can’t spend the next few weeks dressed in a bathrobe.’ Stefano’s eyes gleamed dangerously and then he turned back to Max and took the box of lights from him. ‘Where do you want these?’

How could she argue when she needed something to wear? Resolving to find some way of paying him back, Liv picked up the bags. ‘Thank you.’

She retreated to the beautiful bedroom and delved into the bags. Jeans? Her heart sank and she dropped them onto the bed. Why did it have to be jeans? This was going to be so unbelievably embarrassing. She could never find jeans to fit so there was no way he was going to have succeeded. The thought of confessing that she was actually three sizes larger than his estimate, made her shrink with embarrassment.

Postponing the moment when she had to try and pull them over her thighs, she delved into the bag again and hot colour flooded into her cheeks as she pulled out the pretty silk and lace bra. This was getting worse by the minute. How could she wear that? She needed something far more robust. Stefano had never seen her in anything that wasn’t baggy, so obviously he wasn’t going to have a clue what size—

Her thoughts tangled as she looked at the label. The bra was exactly the right size and she dropped it as if it were scalding hot.

How had he known what size to buy?

Horribly self-conscious, she turned and stared at the closed door, half expecting him to be watching her with that sexy smile on his face.

She couldn’t even tell herself that it was because he was very, very experienced with women, because she didn’t think for a moment that he would have had any experience with women of her size.

Pulling on the silk panties, she was momentarily sidetracked by the fact they felt so decadently luxurious against her skin. Then she tried the bra and was amazed to find that it not only felt secure, it looked fabulous.

He had excellent taste in underwear, she thought weakly, reaching for the jeans.

Braced for humiliation she pulled them up, but instead of becoming stuck on her thighs as she’d expected, they slid over her legs, moulded to her bottom and fastened easily.

Unable to believe he’d bought her a perfect pair of jeans when she’d never succeeded in doing that, Liv glanced at the label and then wished she hadn’t because she knew instantly that they’d cost him a fortune.

She knew she ought to tell him to take them back. But then she glanced at herself in the mirror and they looked so impossibly good that she almost giggled with delight.

Her legs looked long and slender, her bottom curvy and—

Eyeing her cleavage, she sighed.

She needed a top.

Opening another bag, she found a luxuriously soft cashmere jumper in a shade of green that she loved, together with a scarf, a hat and an adorable pair of gloves.

Feeling like someone completely different, she strolled out into the living room.

‘What is this? Make-over time?’

‘No, those are the basics.’ Stefano was reaching up to place a bauble at the top of the tree. ‘A make-over is something entirely different. Do they fit? It was a bit of a rushed selection. Max and I didn’t have much time.’ He turned to look at her and his eyes swept over her in blatant masculine appraisal.

‘These jeans are amazing.’ Disconcerted by the look in his eyes, she looked down at herself. ‘It’s like having plastic surgery.’

‘You don’t need plastic surgery.’ His tone exasperated, he strolled towards her and took her face in his hands. ‘You’re gorgeous, Liv.’

Her eyes slid towards Max and Stefano exhaled slowly and let his hands drop to his sides. ‘I’m glad everything fits.’

‘I don’t even want to know how you knew my size,’ she muttered and he gave a knowing smile.

‘Guesswork.’ The way he was looking at her made her feel dizzy and breathless and the clothes made her feel—well, they made her feel incredible.

‘Thank you.’

‘It’s a pleasure.’ His gaze lingered on hers for a moment and then he turned his attention back to the tree.

But there was a tension in his broad shoulders that hadn’t been there before and Liv felt a sudden rush of exhilaration because she knew that there was chemistry between them. She didn’t understand it, but it was definitely there.

The question was, would she dare to do anything about it?

By the middle of December the whole hospital was buzzing with excitement at the prospect of the Snowflake Ball. Those without tickets were hoping desperately for a sudden flurry of returns and those with tickets spent the day of the ball discussing how to look glamorous and stay warm at the same time.

‘Everyone has gone mad,’ Liv grumbled as she handed Anna a pile of notes. ‘It’s just a dance. With all the same people they work with every day.’

‘In case you hadn’t noticed, a dinner jacket is so much more attractive than a scrub suit.’

‘But once you’ve seen them in a scrub suit, there’s no going back.’ Liv said dryly. ‘I’m glad I gave my tickets to you. What are you wearing?’

‘Oh!’ Anna avoided her gaze. ‘I haven’t decided yet.’

Liv looked at her in amazement. ‘But it’s tonight.’

‘I know. But we finish at four. That gives me four hours to decide what to wear. That should just about be enough.’

‘You should have let me have Sam for the night.’

‘You don’t think that two little boys in Stefano’s flashy apartment would have been pushing things?’ Anna smiled. ‘Anyway, there’s no need. Dave’s mother has turned up for her annual Christmas take-over, so she might as well make herself useful. How’s Max doing? Is he sleeping in his own bed yet?’

‘Yes. He only slept with me for the first couple of nights. He seems to be fine, actually. And that’s because of Stefano. Max is so cocooned in this wonderful masculine world of football and Ferraris that I think he’s forgotten that his own home no longer exists.’

‘Sam told me all about Stefano turning up at school in the Ferrari to collect Max.’

‘Yes. That was probably the highlight of Max’s life so far.’

Anna looked at her closely. ‘And you’re not happy about that?’

Liv bit her lip. ‘I’m happy that he’s happy, of course I am. But I’m also worried about what is going to happen in the new year. At the moment Max is living in style. He’s made friends with the whole of the security team in Stefano’s apartment block and they play spy games with him all the time. He goes for rides in Stefano’s Ferrari. How is he going to adapt to returning to his own life?’

‘He’s just having fun. You’re the reality of his life, Liv. You’re the anchor. But that doesn’t mean he can’t have fun while it’s on offer.’ Anna touched her shoulder. ‘And you should do the same. Just enjoy it while it’s there. Life is a cold, hard thing as you well know. If there’s any warmth available, then take it and make the most of it.’

‘That’s what I’m doing.’ Liv thought of her new clothes and Stefano’s incredible apartment. ‘He has this balcony that wraps itself around the whole apartment. It’s fabulous. And it’s so, so peaceful.’ She took a deep breath. ‘And it feels safe. In the flat I always slept with one eye open in case someone tried to break in and there were often fights on the streets outside. Living in Knightsbridge is like moving to a different country.’

‘All right, I’ve heard enough.’ Laughing, Anna covered her ears with her hands. ‘Any moment now I’m going to thump you. Just don’t tell me that you’ve seen Stefano naked. That will really ruin my day.’

‘One of the advantages of an extremely large apartment is that it’s perfectly possible for two people not to see that much of each other.’

And that was a good thing, she told herself firmly. He’d been so generous that she was starting to imagine things she shouldn’t imagine.

Yes, he’d said that he wanted to have sex with her, but he was a man, wasn’t he? And she had no doubt at all that if Stefano ever caught a glimpse of her without the clothes he’d bought, he’d change his mind about finding her attractive.

Anna peered at her closely. ‘Is something going on I should know about?’

Liv felt her heart bump. ‘Nothing.’ She wasn’t going to mention that one incredible kiss in his office because since then he hadn’t laid a finger on her so obviously he’d changed his mind about finding her attractive.