One Passionate Night: Her Brooding Italian Boss / The Heiress's Secret Baby / Best Friend to Wife and Mother?

As if seeing the direction of her gaze, Antonio said, “That’s my studio.”

She tilted her head as she studied it. In some ways the old stone house was more beautiful than the big elaborate home that had obviously been built within the past few years—probably for his wife.

Her face heated as envy tightened her chest, so she quickly reprimanded herself. This man she thought so handsome had had a wife, someone he’d adored. She’d been hired to be a glorified secretary. She was pregnant with another man’s child. And she’d also decided the night before that she was no longer going to try to fit herself into a world too grand for her. Being jealous of Antonio’s dead wife, being attracted to a famous artist slated to inherit the estate of one of the world’s wealthiest men...that was foolishness that she’d nip in the bud every time it popped into her head, until it left for good.

Antonio motioned to the door and she walked before him into the grand foyer of his home. A wide circular stairway and marble floors welcomed her. To the right, a painting of what looked to be the field outside his house brightened the huge foyer with its rich greens and striking blues of both the flowers and sky.

“I’ve seen this before.”

He laughed. “In Tucker and Olivia’s Montauk mansion.”

She faced him. “That’s right!”

“I bought it back from them.”

“I can see why. It’s beautiful.”

“It was the first thing I painted when I rented the run-down shack I now use as a studio.”

He walked up behind her. Little pinpricks of awareness danced up her spine. “The second I set foot on Italian soil, I knew this was my home, that the time I’d spent in foster care in America was an aberration. An accident.” He pointed at the painting. “This picture captures all the happiness of that discovery.”

“I see it.”

He sniffed a laugh. “Tucker did too. Made me pay him a pretty penny to get it back.” He motioned to the stairs. “Let me show you to your room.”

Taken aback by the abrupt change of mood, she almost didn’t follow him. Her skin was prickly and hot from his nearness, her breathing shallow. Still, she smiled and started up the steps, reminding herself that he was off-limits and she should be paying attention to the layout of the house rather than the nearness of her boss.

At the top of the staircase, Antonio directed her down a short hall. A glance to the left and right showed her the upstairs had been designed in such a way that private hallways led to individual rooms. And each wall had a painting. Some stark and stunning. Some warm and rich with color.

They finally stopped at a closed door. Antonio opened it and directed her inside. She gasped as she entered. Thick white carpets protected golden hardwood floors. A white headboard matched the white furniture, which was all brightened by an aqua comforter and bed skirt and sheer aqua curtains that billowed in the breeze of the open window.

“It’s beautiful.” She’d tried not to sound so pedestrian and poor, but the simple color scheme in the huge room with such beautiful furniture took her breath away.

“Thank you. I did this room myself.”

“You did?” She turned with a happy smile on her face, but her smile died when she saw him looking around oddly. “What?”

He shook his head. “It’s nothing. Foolish.”

“Come on.” She used the cajoling voice she’d use with her older brother when he had a secret. If they were going to be working together—and she hoped his recent change in mood was an indicator that they were—she needed to get him to trust her. “We’re friends. You can tell me.”

He sucked in a breath, walked a bit farther into the room. “Most men let their wives decorate, but mine was away—” He caught her gaze. “Traveling. She also showed no interest in the samples the designer sent to her, and one day I just decided to look at the whole house as a canvas and—” he shrugged “—here we are.”

“Well, if the rest of the rooms are as beautiful as this one, I can’t wait to see everything.”

He smiled slightly. “I’ll give you a tour tonight.”

She said, “Great,” but her heart sank. Talking about his wife had made him sad. He might give her the tour, but it would be grudgingly. The disparity of their stations in life and the reality of her situation poured through her. She might be trying to get him to trust her, but if she were simply a new assistant not a friend of friends, he wouldn’t give her the tour of his house. She might not even get such a grand bedroom. He probably wouldn’t have told her the tidbit about decorating it himself. And he wouldn’t be sad.

Maybe it was time to put herself in her place with him—for him.

“You don’t have to.” She laughed lightly, trying to sound like an employee, not a friend. “This is your home. There might be areas you wish to keep private.”

He faced her, his expression filled with sadness. “People in the public eye quickly realize there is no such thing as privacy. If you sense hesitancy about my showing you the house, it’s because the house reminds me of better times.”

She struggled to hold back a wince at her stupidity. Of course, memories of his dead wife affected him more than the oddness of having a friend working for him. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry too.” He glanced around at her room again. “I’d love to have my inspiration back. I’d love to paint again.” He drew in a breath, as if erasing whatever memories had come to mind and faced her. “I need to go to my father’s for an hour or so. But it’s already late. Especially considering we’re five hours ahead of New York here. You may just want to turn in for the night.”

“Are you kidding? I had a seven-hour nap! Plus, I’m still on New York time.”

“Maybe you’d like to read by the pool? Or make yourself something to eat. The staff doesn’t return until tomorrow, but the kitchen is all yours.”

He left her then and she fell to the bed, trepidation filling her. So much for thinking he’d changed his mind about keeping her. He was going to Constanzo’s to confront him about hiring her. When he came back, he’d probably tell her that her services were no longer needed.

She wanted to stay. Not just because she needed a job, loved getting room and board and wanted some time away from everyone to figure out her life, but also because Antonio was so sad. Somebody needed to help him.

Empathy for Constanzo rippled through her, total understanding of why he desperately wanted to do something to lift his son out of his sadness. Antonio was a good man. Life had treated him abysmally by taking away his beloved wife. He deserved to have someone nudge him back into the real world. And having someone to help actually gave her a way to forget about her own troubles. It could be the perfect situation for both of them.

Except Antonio didn’t want her.

Her stomach rumbled and she rose. Might as well find the kitchen and make herself something to eat. Because this time tomorrow she’d probably be on a plane back to New York.

A failure again.

But on her way to the kitchen, the beauty of the house superseded her need for food as it lured her from one room to the next. She hadn’t expected a stuffy, formal house. Antonio was too creative for that. But she also hadn’t expected to be so charmed by paintings and sculptures that added life and energy to brightly colored sofas, or the eclectic dining room that had a long wood table and sixteen different-styled chairs around it.

Eventually she found herself at the door of a room with a desk and a tall-backed chair, which fronted a huge office with an enormous window through which she could see the pool and the field of flowers behind it.

His office?

With an office in front? For an assistant?

Had he had an assistant before? Could Constanzo be right? Was he ready for someone again?

She entered hesitantly. Stacks of papers littered the first desk, the desk she believed would belong to an assistant. But his room was empty, his desk dusty though free of clutter.

She walked in slowly, ran her fingers through the dust on his desk, curious again. From the coating of dust alone, she’d swear he hadn’t been in this room since his wife died.

At the wall of glass, she stopped. The window was actually a series of doors, which she slid aside. A warm breeze fluttered in, bringing the scent of the pool not more than twenty feet away. When forced to do paperwork, Antonio could be poolside.

Sheesh. The rich really knew how to live.

With a sigh, she closed the doors. But as she walked into the outer office, she saw all those papers piled high on the assistant’s desk. A film of dust dulled the white of envelopes. Dust covered the arms of the desk chair. But that was nothing compared to the sheer volume of untouched paperwork, unopened mail.

Glancing around, she combed her fingers through her hair. It was no wonder Constanzo wanted his son to hire a PA. He clearly needed some assistance.

And, technically, helping him straighten this mess was her job—

If she kept it.

She walked to the desk, lifted a piece of paper and realized it was a thank-you from a fan. Reading it, she lowered herself to the chair. Obviously, Antonio didn’t know the letter’s author. So a simple note to express appreciation for his kindness in writing would suffice as a reply.

She leaned back. A box of fancy letterhead caught her eye. A beautiful script A on Antonio linked with the B in Bartulocci. What fan wouldn’t want to get a thank-you on the actual letterhead of the artist he admired?

The desire to turn on the computer and write a quick thank-you tempted her. She faced the monitor that sat on the side arm of the desk. She could press the button that would turn it on...

No. She couldn’t. It wasn’t right.

Still, somebody had to help him, and she needed a way to prove herself.

She lifted her hand to the start button again, but paused halfway and bit her lip. The computer software would probably be in Italian—

Though Antonio had been raised in the US—

She shook her head. It was one thing to look at a few pieces of mail, quite another to actually write letters for him without his permission.

But how else would she prove herself?

* * *

Antonio stopped his motorcycle at the front door of his father’s country house. He didn’t knock. He just entered the foyer and walked back to his father’s game room. Sure enough, there he was, playing pool.

“I see the nap you had on the plane gave you energy too.”

He set down his cue stick. “Antonio! Why aren’t you home?”

“With the PA you hired for me?” He shook his head. “Because I don’t want a PA and because your meddling in my life has to stop.”

“I don’t meddle. I anticipate.”

Antonio groaned. “You meddle, Dad. And I can’t have it anymore. Not just because it infuriates me, but because this time you’re hurting an innocent woman. She’s going to be devastated when I send her home.”

“So if you’re the one sending her home, how can you say that I’m the one hurting her?”

“Because you’re the one who brought her here under false pretenses!”

“I did no such thing. You need her.”

Antonio groaned again. “There’s no reasoning with you. You always see what you want to see.”

“True. But that’s also why I win so much.” He walked to the wall of pool sticks, chose one and offered it to Antonio. “Here is a place you sometimes beat me.”

Antonio snatched the stick away from his dad. “If you win, I keep her. If I win, she goes home after a few weeks of rest. But you pay her severance and you let her stay in your penthouse in New York.”

Constanzo grinned. “You’re on.”

They decided on best out of three. Constanzo played pool constantly in his spare time, and was very, very good. But Antonio needed to prove a point, to get it across to his dad that he couldn’t take every matter into his own hands. He didn’t just want to win. He had to win. In the end, he beat his dad by one shot.

Constanzo sighed. “This is a big mistake. You need her. And she needs a break.”

Antonio headed for the door. “That’s why I’m going to let her stay a few weeks. It’ll give her time to relax enough that she can think through her problems.” He turned and faced his dad. “And you pay her a big enough severance that she can get a decent apartment.”

Constanzo sighed. “It is wrong to send her home. But I lost the bet and I agree. If she must go, I’m the one who owes her severance.”

Antonio got back on his bike feeling only slightly better. He didn’t want to hurt Laura Beth, and he didn’t like the fact that he’d had to gamble to get his way in a situation that his father shouldn’t have interfered with. But he’d won.

Revving the bike’s engine, he shot along the hills, past the green fields to his house, the wind blowing his hair and teasing his face. By the time he got home, darkness had fully descended and he noticed a light coming from his office. Confused, he parked in the garage and entered through the series of doors that took him from the garage, through the butler’s pantry and kitchen to the main living area.

Because there were no lights in the pool area, he thought Laura Beth must have been more tired than she’d thought and retired to her room. Glad he didn’t have to face her until the next day, he headed back to the office to turn off the light.

But when he stepped inside, he stopped dead in his tracks. There, behind the stacks of unopened mail and the wide computer monitor, was Laura Beth.

He raced to the desk. “What are you doing?”

She looked up at him. “I’ve been sitting here fighting the temptation to read your mail.” She pointed at one open fan letter. “I know you well enough that I could answer that for you. And any letter like it.”

Fear collided with anger. But the stacks appeared to be untouched. The computer hadn’t been turned on. She couldn’t have seen anything.

His head began to pound anyway. Still, he calmed his voice before he said, “You went into my office without permission.”

“I didn’t touch anything but this one letter that was already open.” She met his gaze. “Plus, it’s my job to get you organized.”

He sucked in a breath. Memories of finding his wife’s itineraries and the matching itineraries of her lovers swam through him, making him shake with anger. Not at Laura Beth, but at his wife. At her shameless audacity. And his just plain stupidity. Add to that the abortion information. The appointment on the calendar. The payment in her check registry. The way she hadn’t even tried to hide the fact that she’d taken his child from him.

How the hell could he face that? How could he face another person knowing that his wife hadn’t even told him of the pregnancy?

It took great effort for him to soften his voice, but he did it. “I’m not ready for this.”

She pointed at the stacks of papers again. “You don’t have to be ready. If most of this is fan mail, I can answer it. I can create lists of requests for charitable events. I can coordinate your schedule with Olivia,” she said, referring to her friend, who was also his manager. “And I think that’s Constanzo’s point. A smart PA could do a lot of this work for you.”

“I don’t want you in here! I don’t want anybody in here!”

His shout echoed off the walls of the quiet office. Laura Beth shrank back, her big green eyes round and frightened.

He ran his hand along his nape. “I’m sorry. But this will not work for me.” He motioned for her to rise. “Please come out from behind the desk.”

She rose and stepped away from his desk.

“You are welcome to stay for the next two weeks. Rest in the sun. Be a tourist. Hell, I can take you around to see the sights. But I do not want a PA.”

To his great dismay, her lower lip trembled.

“Seriously. When you return to New York, you can stay in Constanzo’s penthouse. And Constanzo is writing a check for a huge severance.”

The lower lip stopped trembling as fire came into her green eyes. “What?”

“This is Constanzo’s mistake. He will pay for it.”

“I don’t want your severance! I want a job. I’m insulted by your charity when it’s pretty clear I could earn my keep, and even more clear that you need me.”

To his surprise, she propelled herself toward him and stood directly in front of him. The tinge of flush in her cheeks matched the glitter of anger in her green eyes. Heat poured from her, triggering his attraction. He’d always loved the way she could stand up for herself.

“I don’t want to go home! I want this job. I need this job!”

She stepped closer. The raw power in her glittering eyes hit him like a punch in the gut. He hadn’t seen this kind of passion in years. Hadn’t felt it himself in forever. It was everything he could do not to pull her to him and kiss her senseless to capture it.

He stepped back. “You think you want this job. You think living in Italy will be a grand adventure. But trust me. You will miss your city and your family.”

She eliminated the distance between them again. The fire in his belly spiked. He caught her gaze. Was she daring him to kiss her?

She didn’t back down. She stood toe to toe with him. Fire matching fire. “And you can trust me when I tell you that I will not regret being thousands of miles away from my family. I need to be here. I want this job!”

He snorted in derision. He was feeling passion. She was talking about a job. He must really be tired to be so far off base, thinking a woman was daring him to kiss her when she was simply fighting to keep her job.

He turned away, started walking to the door.

Quiet, but close, as if she’d followed him, her voice drifted to him. “Antonio, I need to be away from my family and friends. For a while. I have more than job troubles to figure out.” She said nothing until he faced her again, then she caught his gaze. “I’m pregnant.”

CHAPTER FOUR

“PREGNANT?”

Laura Beth watched Antonio, her heart chugging, her nerve endings glittering. Her announcement might have settled him down, but while they’d argued, she’d seen something in his eyes. She’d expected anger and had been prepared to deal with it, but the smoldering gazes? Sweet, considerate Antonio had been replaced by sexy Antonio, a man who looked as though he wanted to kiss her.

The only way she could think to deal with it was to tell him the truth, and now here they were, talking about something she wasn’t even ready to announce.

She stepped back. “I’m only two months along, but pregnant all the same.”

He rubbed his hands across his eyes, as if confused. Whatever had been happening with him in that argument had disappeared, and he was back to being sweet Antonio, her friend.

“I’m a man. Right now I have no idea if it’s appropriate to say congratulations or offer sympathy. I mean, I know this is trouble for you, but babies are wonderful.” He shook his head. “And my dad? He goes bananas over babies. Boy or girl. It doesn’t matter. He’s a cuddler.”

A laugh bubbled up. Not just from relief. He’d made her think about the baby as a baby. A little girl. Or a little boy. She wasn’t just going to be a mother; she was getting a baby.

“Congratulations are what I want.”

“So the father’s on board?”

She swallowed hard, not sure what to say. But she’d be answering this question for the remaining seven months of her pregnancy, so she might as well get used to it.

“No.” She cleared her throat. “Let’s just say his response was less than enthusiastic.”

“And there’s no wedding in your future?”

“He doesn’t want to see me again or see the baby at all.”

Antonio pointed a finger at her. “With my dad’s lawyers, we can force him to be part of the baby’s life.”

She shook her head. “I don’t want him to. He said he would send child support, but only if no one knows it’s coming from him.”

“I think you just blew that by telling me.”

She paced away. “If he doesn’t want to be part of our baby’s life, then I don’t want him to be. I think an angry dad would do more harm than good. And I don’t want his money.”

Thankfully, Antonio refrained from pointing out the obvious: that she needed money too much to turn any down. Instead, he asked, “What do you want?”

She shrugged and spread her hands. “Time. I have to tell my conservative parents that their little girl is about to become a mom with no father for her child. Ultimately, I’ll need a job that supports not just me, but me and a baby. So working for you kind of solved all my problems.”

He winced. “You can stay.”

Hope blossomed in her chest. Being here was the perfect opportunity for her. But she couldn’t take charity. “And be your assistant?”

“You’re my friend. You don’t have to work for your keep.”

She stormed over to him. “Yes! I do! I can’t be a charity case. Don’t you see?”

He sighed and shook his head. “All I see is a woman with a lot of pride.”

“Oh, yeah?” She crossed her arms on her chest. “What I see is a man with a lot of pride. You’re fighting with your dad about hiring one measly assistant—whom you need—and you won’t budge an inch! Why won’t you let me work for you?”

“We’re friends. I should be able to let you stay in my home as a guest, not an employee.”

“That’s not why you’re fighting Constanzo.”

He gaped at her. “Now you’re telling me how I feel?”

“Before you knew I was pregnant, you didn’t want me working for you. You said you don’t want a PA. But it’s clear you need one. So obviously there’s a reason you’re fighting having someone work for you.”

He sighed.

“Fine. Don’t tell me. Because I don’t care. What I do care about is earning my keep. And just from the glance I got at your mail, it was clear that I could at least answer your fan letters. I minored in accounting, so I could also keep track of your money. Anything else in your office, in your life, in your world, I wouldn’t care about.”

He sighed again. “You are a pregnant woman who needs a rest. Just take the time here with me to have some fun.”

She raised her chin. “No. If you won’t let me work, I won’t take your charity. Not even your offer of Constanzo’s penthouse. I’m going home.”

“You don’t have a home to go back to.”

“I’ll think of something.”

“If I tell Constanzo you’re pregnant and refusing a few weeks of rest, he won’t let you use his plane.”

“Then I’ll fly commercial.”

He raised his hands in defeat and slapped them down again. “You can’t afford that.”

“I know. But I’ll be fine.”

“No. You won’t!”

“Then let me stay here for two weeks as your assistant. If you don’t like what I do or still feel you don’t need someone at the end of two weeks, I’ll take another two weeks to rest and then go home.”

He stalled, as if unaccustomed to someone compromising. His brow furrowed. His expression and demeanor were so different than five minutes ago that confusion billowed through her. When they’d first begun arguing, before he’d known she was pregnant, his eyes had been sharp. Glowing. She could have sworn he wanted to kiss her.

Her eyes narrowed again. He might have been seductive Antonio, but he hadn’t made a move to kiss her. It was as if he had been daring her to step closer—

Had he been daring her to step closer?

He might have been. But to what end? She’d been close enough to kiss, yet he hadn’t kissed her.

She swallowed just as he said, “Really? If I let you work for me for two weeks then you’ll spend another two weeks resting and not arguing about going home?”

“Yes, I’ll get out of your hair if you let me work for two weeks and rest for two more. But that’s if you still want me to go home.” Her voice shook a bit as she considered that he might have actually been attracted to her. If she hadn’t told him about being pregnant...he might have kissed her. Just the thought almost made her swoon.

Telling herself it was foolishness to deal in what ifs, she said, “But who knows? You might—” she swallowed again “—like me.”