italian boss

8/12/2019 Italian Boss

1/47

Italian Boss's Mistress by Lynne Graham

Chapter One

"Wrecked!" screamed the caption beneath the photo of a woman bein bndled lassy eyed

into the back of a police car#

"Checosachafacenda $"%is black eyes litterin Gio&anni threw down the newspaper and

trned to his spin doctor# "Let's hope this is the last of it#"

"o'&e spoken to the police$" asked Lcas#

"(i#)he lawyers say chares will be dropped if she oes into rehab" Gio&anni said rimly#

"(he's finally accepted that she has a problem# BtMadre di*io + it has taken lon enoh!"

,fter years of denial his fraile step+sister had taken the first tentati&e step on the road to

reco&ery# Bt despite the snshine that streamed throh the windows of his

beatiflLondonhose Gio&anni coldn't shake off his dis-iet#

"Bt what the hell do I do now$" he -estioned his dark featres hardenin as he anticipated

the trobles ahead# "%ow do I stop the snappers from campin otside the clinic and bribin

patients to sell ossip$ My sister needs protectin from the sharkswho inhabit her world and

God knows there's nobody else lookin ot for her#"

"We need to kill the story" said Lcas -ietly#

"%ow$"


2/47

"We i&e the press an e&en bier one#, di&ersionary tactic#"

Gio&anni narrowed his eyes# ",nd what cold be bier than this$"

"o are#"

"./plain" Gio&anni said tersely#

")hey want a story abot yor fablosly lamoros family#"

",nd fablosly crsed" echoed Gio&anni sardonically# "*on't foret that#"

Lcas shred# "*rs are bi bt yo're one of the world's most eliible bachelors# or

enaement story wold wipe e&erythin else off the front pae#"

".naement story$"Gio&anni sat down and stretched ot his lon les as he stdied his spin

doctor thohtflly# "What black arts are yo concoctin now Lcas$" he mrmred#

",n enaement of con&enience" replied the other man smoothly#

In spite of e&erythin Gio&anni a&e a short lah# ",ren't yo forettin somethin$ )here's no

one who fits the bill# In fact there's no particlar woman in my life#" 0elationships bored him +

and scared the life ot of him# %e'd spent his early years a&oidin the fallot of partnerships

which always seemed flawed and ltimately doomed####

"Which is what wold make it sch a ood story" persisted Lcas# "It wold be so ot of

character#"


3/47

"I may want to protect my step+sister" said Gio&anni rimly "bt there's a limit to what I'm

prepared to do#"

"1o one's askin yo to o throh with it" placated Lcas# "2st 3oin in with the ame that's

all# By the rin# 4lay cat and mose with the cameras# )he press will o wild and by the time

they'&e finished chasin yo Miranda will be clean and sober# We can et her dischared

somewhere -iet and yo can call the whole thin off#"

Gio&anni a&e a stare that wold ha&e intimidated most men# ",nd who's oin to aree to be

my wife$" he -estioned sarcastically#",ny briht ideas$"

Lcas smiled# "Oh come on Gio&anni + yo practically ha&e to fiht them off!"

Gio&anni shred# It was tre# %e cold ha&e his pick of any woman he wanted + whene&er

where&er and howe&er he wanted# If word went ot that he was lookin for a bride then they

wold be linin p arond the block# Women flocked to him like ants to 3am + attracted to his

ood looks and leendary se/+appeal as well as his massi&e bank accont and starry address+

book#

,nd therein lay the problem#

%e flicked Lcas a -estionin look# ",nd when it's all o&er$ What woman is oin to take kindly

to bein dmped$"

"1ot a one###nless yo tell her the trth first#1mber+one rle of spin + don't tell lies5 3st be

sparin with the facts#"

"Bt that wold mean trstin them#"

",nd there isn't anyone###$"


4/47

Gio&anni a&e a brittle smile# , woman he cold trst$ Were there pots of old at the ends of

rainbows$ %is teenae years had been spent watchin a&aricios women bleed his father's

fortne dry# ,nd when Gio&anni was 3st si/teen one of the women had e&en come to his room

late at niht + astonished when the red yoth had trned down her offer of se/#

"1o" he answered shortly# ")here isn't#"

)he silence that followed was splintered by a smart seasoned rap on the door#

Gio&anni stretched and yawned# "es come in" he said withot botherin to trn rond#

)he woman who pshed the tea trolley into the eleant drawin room was 3st short of her

thirtieth birthday and didn't really ha&e a 3ob description#

In the days when e&en the aristocracy had the bare minimm of people workin for them Misty

Carmichael had a nmber of skills at her disposal# (he was able to cook clean and ser&e food

and sometimes she was called on to do all three in rapid sccession#

(he looked across at her not+-ite+Lord bt certainly her master + the arroant bt drop+dead+

oreos Gio&anniCerrti # In for years of workin for him she had tried not to lo&e him or to

react to him as a woman# It hadn't been easy and it still wasn't bt Gio&anni had helped by

manain to make her feel as if she was in&isible#

"Coffee$" she asked#

"4lease" said Gio&anni absently# "Well I'll i&e yor idea some thoht Lcas#"

Bt Lcas did not reply# %e was watchin the woman as she pored coffee + the steam makin

her pale cheeks row pink#


5/47

Misty offered a plate of tiny macaroons thinkin how strained Gio&anni looked# "Wold yo like

a biscit$"

"1o I woldn't" said Gio&anni impatiently# "o know I ne&er eat between meals#"

Irritated he lanced o&er at Lcas# Why the hell was he starin at Misty like that$ %e followed

the direction of his spin+doctor's eyes and for the first time noticed thatMisty's checked workin

dress was pllin &ery tihtly across her bottom# )wo tiht lobes thrstin aainst the man+

made fiber# It was as thoh he was seein her for the &ery first time and ine/plicably a ner&e

bean to work in his cheek#

Misty lared at them both# What were they starin at$ %ad her hair sddenly trned reen$ "Will

that be all$"

".r yes# )hank yo#"

Lcas trned to Gio&anni who was still starin atMisty's retreatin bottom#

"Why not her$" he -estioned simply once she had one#

"%er$" Gio&anni flared his hahty nostrils and lahed# ",re yo honestly sestin I et

enaed to one of the staff$"

)o be contined###

Chapter )wo


6/47

"What's wron with ettin enaed to a member of yor staff$"

Gio&anni's 3et black eyes narrowed as he stared at his spin doctor# "Madre di*io !o are

proposin that I ask Misty Carmichael$ ,re yo cra6y Lcas$ (he ser&es the meals!"

")hat cold be sefl" said Lcas#

",nd she is a sinle mother!" Gio&anni e/claimed#

"(o$"

"(o I ha&e my reptation to think abot!"

Lcas shook his head# "Bt this is a bos enaement remember$*esined to take the heat

off yor sister's spell in rehab# )he more nsitable the candidate the more press co&erae it

will et# )hink abot it Gio&anni#"

Gio&anni did his arroant lips cr&in with distaste# "(he is plain###" he added disparainly#

7rom the other side of the door Misty fro6e# (he had 3st crept back to hear the tail end of

Gio&anni's con&ersation#

4lain$

(he bit her lip and blinked rapidly#4lain$

(o it was tre what they said + that ea&esdroppers ne&er hear anythin ood abot themsel&es#

,nd how! Listenin in to her employer's con&ersation wasn't her sal pastime bt who cold

blame her on this occasion$


7/47

)he pecliar way that Gio&anni and his new spin doctor had been starin at her had been

enoh to make her feel concerned and with ood case she now reconi6ed#

"(o rin and ask her"came Lcas's &oice from the other side of the door#

,sk her what she wondered$

%rriedly Misty pshed the tea trolley back into the kitchen# )here was only a second to check

her appearance in the mirror before the bell bean to smmon her back aain#

7ri66y hair flshed cheeks and 4M( makin her tmmy look fat# (he winced#4lain indeed# Why

feel inslted by Gio&anni's description of her when it was nothin bt the trth$

(he rapped on the door and walked into the spotliht of Gio&anni's bla6in ebony stare which

nsally was fi/ed nwa&erinly on her#

"I want yo to do me a fa&or Misty" he said his &el&ety &oice tined with his faint Italian accent#

4erple/ed by his tone Misty clasped her hands toether at her waist# "M+more cake$" she

asked stpidly#

Gio&anni a&e an impatient click of tone# On many le&els he and his hosekeeper

nderstood each other perfectly# (he knew his likes and dislikes#When to keep -iet and when

to speak# 8nsally he felt he cold be himself arond Misty bt her -estion abot cake

dro&e home the reat lf between them#

%ow the hell did he o abot askin her somethin like this$ .specially with his enimatic spin

doctor lookin on###


8/47

"o can lea&e s now Lcas" he ordered#

"(re#"

Misty allowed herself a sm moment as Lcas left the room + he wasn't so hih+and+mihty

now was he$ *ismissed like a ser&ant himself!

"(it down" said Gio&anni#

Misty was tempted bt she resisted# (omethin told her she needed all her wits abot her and

floppin down onto one of those priceless brocade chairs in her workin niform wold srelynsettle her e&en more#

.specially with Gio&anni's lon body dominatin her line of &ision with those stron msclar

les and the powerfl 3t of his pel&is# (he felt an nwanted prickle of e/citement in her breasts

and hastily crossed her arms# "I'm fine as I am#"

Gio&anni's eyes narrowed thohtflly as he watched her# )he nconscios way she had

co&ered her breasts with her arms told him e&erythin# (o she wasn't immne to him + bt thereaain what woman was$ 7nny he'd ne&er noticed it before#

,nd when he stopped to think abot it mihtn't her inferior stats actally work to his

ad&antae$ Becase if the woman he in&ol&ed in his scheme was beatifl and his e-al he

miht be lred into makin lo&e to her + complicatin matters more than they needed to

be#Whereas there wold be 6ero temptation from this pleasant bt &ery ordinary lookin

woman###

)hen he remembered her pert bottom thrstin aainst the check material of her niform and

once aain he felt the heat to his roin# *amn Lcas for drawin his attention to it!

"I want yo to pretend to be my fianc9e" he said hskily#


9/47

)here was a momentary pin+drop silence#

"Is this some kind of 3oke$" she demanded#

"1o Misty###" It occrred to him how rarely he had e&er sed her name before# ,nd what a

strane name it was# "1o# I am bein deadly serios#"

"Why$" she shot ot#

Gio&anni e/pelled an impatient sih# "I know it mst sond bi6arre + and it is bi6arre# Bt I need

to take the attention off my sister# o know she's been admitted to a clinic$"

"es#"

"It's 3st to i&e the press somethin bier to et their teeth into# o know how daneros

they can be# )hey are sharks" he finished#

Bt he had no -alms in throwin her to them! %idin her hrt Misty stared at him# "What wold

I ha&e to do$"

Gio&anni rela/ed# 4erhaps this was oin to be easier than he had imained! ":ery little" he

mrmred# "o wold wear my rin of corse# ,ppear by my side in pblic#" %is moth cr&ed

into a half smile# ",nd perhaps yo cold be persaded to hold my hand and a6e p at me with

sitable adoration from time to time$"

Oh bt he mst think she was born yesterday! )hat mockin tone didn't fool her + not for a

moment# %e was sed to adoration by the bcket+load and no dobt e/pected plain Misty

Carmichael to sho&el on a whole heap more#


10/47

(o what are yo oin to do abot it$she asked herself# Let him trample all o&er yo with his

handmade Italian shoes$

4eople like yo don't matter to men like him# 0emember that#

Misty drew a deep breath# ",nd what's in it for me$"

Momentarily Gio&anni felt wron+footed#,nd oddly disappointed# %ad he thoht she miht

aree to the plan ot of some misdirected sense of loyalty$ Well that 3st showed how wron

he cold be# %is moth thinned into a cynical smile# (he was no different from anyone else#

"o will ob&iosly be paid" he said tihtly his eyes borin into her#

Misty stared at him her flippant tone disisin the sdden dis-iet she felt# "o may not be

able to afford me#"

%is eyes hardened and so did his &oice# "Oh I can afford anyone Misty" he said coolly# %is

moth didn't say it bt his eyes did#

.specially yo#

)o be contined###

Chapter )hree

Misty forced herself not to react to the dark flash of contempt in Gio&anni's eyes when she

mentioned money# 4art of her wished that she'd 3st kept her moth sht + and yet what did he


11/47

e/pect$ )hat she wold o throh the hassle of pretendin to be his fianc9e 3st for the lo&e of

the idea$

Or the lo&e of him$

"(o what's yor answer Misty$" he -estioned softly# "Or do yo want to neotiate yor price

first$"

Misty shook her head# "o'&e ne&er been anythin other than eneros# %ow lon wold this

pretence ha&e to last$"

",s lon as it takes for my sister to clean p her act and et dischared" he said rimly# ")wo

weeks$Maybe three$ Cold yo bear bein in close pro/imity to me for that lon$"

Misty swallowed# *idn't they say be carefl of what yo wish for becase it can come tre$

Well now it had# )he man she had worshipped from afar for so lon was soon to slip a sparkler

on her finer 3st like she'd always dreamed#

Only the reality wold be as insbstantial as her dreams#

,n otsider miht ha&e said that she was cra6y to want him + bt who cold blame her$ %adn't

he resced her and i&en a home to her and her infant son$

)he mornin she had been inter&iewed by him he was wearin a dark bsiness sit and was

rnnin late and frankly she had been srprised that a man so ob&iosly rich and powerfl was

&ettin a wold+be hosekeeper#

"(ecrity is my concern" he had rowled as if readin her thohts# ")hat and loyalty + of which

I demand ;


12/47

Misty'steeth had 3st stopped chatterin and she was so lad to be ot of the cold and the rain

that all she cold do wasnod her head# ,nd to be honest she was so desperate for a 3ob that

pro&ided accommodation that she wold ha&e areed to dance naked in the middle of the rain+

washed street if he'd asked her to#

"+yes sir" she manaed#

"o don't ha&e to call me sir" he said almost ently# "Gio&anni is fine#" %is eyes had narrowed

as they raked o&er her hollow cheeks and her thin coat and cheap shoes# "%ow lon since yo

ate a decent meal$" he demanded#

Misty'sstomach trned o&er and for a moment she really thoht she miht faint from hner#

Bt it was pointless ettin all fed and settled + not if she wasn't oin to be allowed to stay###

"I ha&e a baby" she said fiercely#

Gio&anni stifled a roan# Get rid of her#1ow#

"Will that be a problem$" Misty persisted#

%e opened his moth to say yes bt somethin in her e/pression stopped him# , sdden look

of defiance had in3ected her defeated air with somethin approachin corae + transformin

her half+star&ed frame into a feisty little fihter#

Bt Gio&anni knew that babies born to sinle mothers tended to ha&e bad or sad histories#

"%ow old$"

"*ominic is ten months#"


13/47

%e inored the tone of maternal pride#",nd what abot the father$"

"%e's###" Misty bit her lip# "%e's no loner on the scene#"

"Bt maybe he wants to be# What's to say he isn't oin to trn p here banin on the door$

*emandin to see his son$ *emandin to see yo$"

)he pain onMisty's face came from the reminder that she had been sch an appallin 3de of

character# "1o" she said -ietly# "%e won't come rond# %e didn't want to know abot the

baby#"

"o're still in lo&e with him$"

Misty shook her head# "1o" she whispered# (he had been taken in by a heartless serial

sedcer# It had not been lo&e + it had been poor 3dment#

,nd then Gio&anni saw how close to breakin point she was and wondered how he cold ha&e

been -ite so brtal# (wearin softly he pshed her down into a chair#

"Where is###*ominic now$"

"%e's downstairs bein looked after by the cook#"

Madre di*iobt he had saddled himself withthestrayest of all cats! Brinin her litter with her

and depositin it in his kitchen!

Bt somethin of the baby's pliht reminded him of his own childhood + of all the disrption and

fihtin followin his parents' bitter di&orce#


14/47

,t that moment he'd decided to take chare and soon had Misty eatin a lare bowl of sop and

the baby asleep by the rane# (omehow + maically + a proper cot and hih chair were deli&ered

that same e&enin and pt pstairs in the two rooms he'd allotted them at the top of his lare

hose#

What woman in the world woldn't ha&e lo&ed a man who had done that for her$ 4articlarly as

*ominic had thri&ed there like a careflly tended plant#

)he hose was sitated in the heart ofLondonand Gio&anni insisted that nrsery fees were part

of her salary + Misty knew that she cold ne&er ha&e afforded them herself# ,nd when it had

been time for *ominic to start school Gio&anni had made sre there was an allowance for his

niform#Misty's pride had been fierce when she saw him in his little ble+and+rey niform a

cap sittin atop the thick thatch of hair#

./cept that the fairy+tale had stopped there# )hins had settled down and Gio&anni had taken a

step back and become nothin more than her boss#

%ad she been hopin for more$

es yes yes! Of corse she had + no matter how many times she had tried to tell herself thathe ne&er e&en looked at her as a woman# ,nd why wold he look at a woman like her$

Gio&anni knew no more abot her than he had on the day she came lookin for a 3ob#

(o maybe this mad scheme made sense# 4erhaps it was 3st what Misty needed to 3olt her ot

of her complacency and her rt#

"o still ha&en't i&en me yor answer" said Gio&anni softly#

"Bt what will I tell *ominic$" Misty asked him bitin her lip#

)o be contined###


15/47

Chapter 7or

Gio&anni stared at Misty# "What does it matter what yo tell yor son$" he demanded#

Misty a&e a lp of disbelief# "%e's fi&e years old! *on't yo ha&eany idea what fi&e+year+old

boys are like$"

"Oddly enoh no" he answered repressi&ely#

"et presmably yo were once one yorself$"

Gio&anni leapt on the word like a do on a bone# "What do yo meanpresmably$ "

Misty bit back her instincti&e retort + that emotionally he was so cold someone miht ha&eassembled him in a laboratory! ")hen srely yo can remember back to the insecrities of a little

boy$"

"I don't remember ha&in any" he said slowly becase the -estion was so nlike any he was

e&er asked that it didn't occr to him to answer it anythinbt trthflly#

,nd Misty cold belie&e that# "*id yo o to school in.nland$" she asked criosly aware that

he had let his ard down and wantin to peep throh this rare chink in his armor#

%e shook his dark head# "I started school inItaly + a tiny school in the montains + close to my

randmother's hose#"


16/47

It was all too easy to pictre what the powerfl billionaire mst ha&e been like as a little boy#)he

ebony hair and solemn dark eyes###and perhaps the beinnins of the elsi&e smile that wold

latercapit&ate leions of women#

"Is that where yo li&ed$"

"I was stayin there" he answered tihtly#

",nd then where$" persisted Misty tentati&ely reconi6in that she'd learnt more abot him in

the past ten mintes than she had in for years#

Gio&anni stilled# %e didn't re&isit the past too often bt it seemed that when yo started down

that road it athered momentm and the memories 3st kept floodin in#

"Later I switched between.nlandand 4aris then ni&ersities in the (tates# )hat's the beaty of

ha&in parents from different contries + yo et a &aried edcation e&en if they hate each

other#"

(he heard the pain in his &oice and it srprised her#

Or did yo think that Gio&anni's power and pri&ilee protected him from pain$mockedan inner

&oice in her head#

",nyway" hedrawled his whole demeanor chanin as he met her eyes# "7ascinatin as this is

I'm still not sre what the problem is abot tellin *ominic# Why tell him anythin$"

"*o yo think he li&es in a bbble and that the parents of his classmates don't read the

papers$" (he drew her chin p with sdden determination# "*o yo ha&e any idea of what the

real world's like$"


17/47

Gio&anni smiled# (he was animated#7eisty# (ddenly he was taken back to the niht she

arri&ed like a stray cat with her litter# "Why don't yo tell me$" he -estioned softly#

(hold she$ Well why not$ (he had nothin to lose# "Other women at the school try to befriend

me becase I work for yo#"

Gio&anni's eyes narrowed# "Why wold they do that$"

"OhGio + don't be dense!"

1o one had called himGio for years + and no one hade&er called him dense# "Why$" herepeated silkily#

"Becase yo're se/y rich and sinle and they###" %er &oice trembled# ")hey want yo!"

)here was a pin+drop silence#

")heywant me$" he repeated incredlosly#

"I sholdn't ha&e said that" she moaned#

Bt Gio&anni didn't appear to be listenin# "*o yo think that too$"

"Wh+what$"

%e mo&ed closer +close enoh for the pale ble from her startled eyes to wash o&er him# ")hat

I'm se/y$"


18/47

%is sheer manetism alone was enoh to imprison her bt then his arm snaked ot to wrap

itself arond the narrow indentation of her waist and made the prison physical# )he kind of

prison yo'd want to escape from###bt she wanted to stay there fore&er#

"W+what are yo doin$" she stammered ot#

%e wasn't sre# )he only thin he was sre of was that he now had an erection ndin aainst

his thih which was threatenin to e/plode# )he pmp of blood to his roin was makin his

head spin and he shook it in disbelief#

%e had chosen Misty Carmichael to play this role preciselybecase she was nsitable as his

fianc9e# (o what was he doin comin on to her like it was real$ Like a man who hadn't had se/

in a lon time$

Gio&anni frowned and abrptly let her o#

"I sholdn't ha&e done that" he rated#

Misty prayed for the thnderin in her heart to sbside# "It was only a hand on my waist" shesaid lihtly throh parched lips# Bt it had been more than that + he knew it and she knew it#

,nd by playin it down mihtn't he think that she trned on for any man that -ickly$

"(o will *ominic be disappointed that I'm not really oin to be his new step+daddy$" he -eried

coolly#

"%ardly#"(he a&e a thin smile# "I 3st don't want to spin him any lies that's all#"

"%ow &ery admirable" he commented#

(he met his mockin look with one of her own# "I may not ha&e made a sccess of many areas

of my life" she said -ietly "bt I ha&e always tried to be a ood mother#"


19/47

%er soft dinity made him feel as if he had attempted to score a cheap point and Gio&anni felt

e&en more nsettled# What was oin on$ %ow come she was makin him feel all thisstff$

"Is there nowhere he can o so as not to disrpt him too mch$"

Misty thoht abot it for a bit# "I ess he cold o and stay with his odmother inCornwall#"

",nd yo can tell him that Mmmy's oin to earn enoh money to take him on a lo&ely

holiday!"

Maybe Gio&anni was tryin to be kind bt Misty winced# %e made her sond like some kind

ofhooker#

%e was starin at her bare face and fri66y hair# ",nd while we're at it" he drawled "yo're oin

to need an rent makeo&er# Becase no one will e&er belie&e I want to marry yo lookin

likethat# "

)o be contined###

Chapter 7i&e

"1er&os$" Gio&anni mrmred#

Misty trned to look at him scarcely able to belie&e this was happenin + and toher!)hat the

man at her side 3st happened to be Gio&anniCerrti the se/y Italian who was one of the

richest men on the planet#


20/47

,nd as far as the world was concerned she was his fianc9e!

"(rprisinly I'm ettin sed to it" she msed#")hoh I'&e ne&er been to a ball before#"

Gio&anni a&e a half smile# %e had ne&er met a woman who told the trth -ite like Misty# )his

week at dinner she had charmed a hard+bitten politician by askin him to show her how to eat

an oyster! "Most women woldn't admit to that" he obser&ed softly#

(he tilted her head to one side# ",t least now yo know I ha&e an e/cse if I let yo down in

pblic!"

"o won't let me down Misty# I'm confident of that#" %e drifted his eyes o&er her#(lowly#

"Gio###"

"Mmm$"

%is black eyes were sddenlysoft and sweet + like dark treacle# (he wanted to saydon't flirt with

me#./cept that woldn't be tre# (he liked it 3st like she liked him#)oo mch#

Oh why had she failed to take her stpid feelins into accont when she'd areed to o alon

with this sham enaement$ ,nd how did she stop wantin make+belie&e to be real and

wonderin what it wold be like when it was o&er$

"*o I###do I look okay$"

",re yo fishin for compliments$" he mrmred#


21/47

"1o# Geninely seekin reassrance before yo parade me past the massed banks of

pressphotoraphers waitin otside and then on to meet the most litterin society inLondon#

Oddly enoh it isn't a sitation I find myself in &ery often#"

%e wondered if he was always this insensiti&e# Bt he didn't sally take a woman's feelins

into accont + he didn't sallyha&e to# It was all &ery confsin and lookin at her was

confsin him e&en more# Becase her appearance was so different since the makeo&er that

Lcas had orani6ed# (he didn't look like Misty anymore# (he looked###

Gone was the fri66y hair which he had only e&er seen tied back in a ponytail# 1ow the crls

were lossy and toched with blond kisses#

Gonewas her nflatterin niform and the off+dty 3eans he sometimes saw her in# Instead a

sil&er sheath of a dress cln like syrp to the ripe cr&es of her body#

Bt it was her eyes that threw him most# %ow come he'd ne&er noticedthose before$ )hat they

were the color of blebells which had been left ot in the rain too lon$

%e swallowed# If this was any other woman he'd ha&e kissed her into compliance and wold

ha&e his finers inside her panties by now# Bt becase it was Misty he knew that intimacy hadto be ot of bonds#Intimacy$

(rely he meantse/$

"(i"he areed hskily his spinnin thohts makin him slip into his mother tone# "o

look###okay#,nd now###yo are ready$"

Misty nodded# "es#"

4lacin a idin arm on her sholders he pshed open the front door and Misty was transfi/ed

by the force of blindin ble flashin lihts that made the nihttime day# (he cold hear the click


22/47

of the shtters like a million demented crickets while the sal insltin -estions were shoted

at them like hecklers from a crowd#

"%ey Gio&anni + what made yo fall for her$"

"Is this a real+life Cinderella story Gio&anni$"

"(he isn't yor sal type is she Gio&anni$"

"%ow does it feel to odownmarket $"

%e felt her tense# "(mile" he red softly the arm arond her tihtenin protecti&ely# ",nd keep

walkin#"

With his toch seemin to be the only safe ha&en in this sea of confsion Misty plled her

moth into a kind ofricts as she climbed into the back of the waitin limosine# Gio&anni slid in

beside her#

",re yo okay$" he asked -ickly# ")hey said some pretty hrtfl thins#"

"I'm ettin sed to them" she admitted# "Bt how do yo bear it$"

"What$"

",llthat! "(he wa&ed her hand at the camera lenses which were pressed aainst the car

windows like alien eyes as it drew away#"(tpid nnecessaryfss! "

"Bt press interest oes with the territory" he defended#


23/47

"I wonder" she answered softly#

"What's that spposed to mean$"

Misty leaned back aainst the soft leather seat# "Well I know that Lcas mst ha&e tipped them

off toniht and that's fine becase it's all part of the aenda to take the heat off yor step+sister#

Bt yo're no straner to the papers yorself are yo$ )here's always snatched photos of yo

in the ossip colmns#"

Instincti&ely he bristled aainst the implied criticism#

"o don't appro&e$"

Misty thoht abot it# "It's not for me to appro&e or disappro&e# o're a millionaire many times

o&er + a shinin sccess in the bsiness world" she msed# "I 3st wonder why yo bother

employin a spin doctor that's all#"

"Becase I ha&e to o ot and eat!,nd I take trips to the theater!" he declared# "Or are yo

sestin I li&e the life of a hermit$ It's better for me to se a spin doctor to maniplate what

ets written abot me than to lea&e myself to the mercy of the hacks!"

")hen yo're 3st playin the same ame" she said serenely thoh she hadn't thoht abot it

likethat before# ",nd yo can't complain when it doesn't o accordin to yor plans#"

)his was nbelie&able! )he opinionated little min/ was makin him sond like some kind ofcontrol freak!

,nd isn't she riht$


24/47

"I hired yo to play my fianc9e" he rated# "1ot some kind of amater shrink!"

Misty opened her moth to ob3ect that hehad asked her opinionthen sht it aain# )his was not

a relationship and it was not e-al# %e was payin for her company and nothin more# (he

cold see the bla6in lihts otside the ballroom and yet more waitin cameras# ,nd sddenly

all her ner&es &anished#

"o're the boss" she said demrely#

In the half liht Gio&anni lowered#"(icara " he rated# "I am#" ,nd with that he plled her into

his arms and bean to kiss her#

)o be contined###

Chapter (i/

Gio&anni's moth mo&ed e/pertly o&erMisty's teasin her lips apart while he reached down to

circle his thmb o&er one nipple with e/-isite precision#Misty 3erked beneath his toch as a

lon+forotten arrow of desire shot throh her + the memory of pleasre almost too mch to

bear#

"Gio###" she roaned# ,nd sddenly her hands were beneath his dinner 3acket and clawin

frantically at the silk of his shirt#"OhGio# "

(weet hea&en bt she was hot! Instincti&ely Gio&anni toched his finer to the fork between

her les watchin her s-irm wantin to tear the dress from her body and to###

"*iobt yo are beatifl" he said brokenly#


25/47

)hey were the words that broke the spell# )hroh the clamor of her star&ed senses Misty

became dimly aware that the car was pllin to a halt# (he tore her moth away from his fry

lihtin her eyes as she looked at his flshed face#

"Oh###my###God" she moaned in disbelief#"%ow stpid of me! )hat wold ha&e made the

mostmar&ellos photo opportnity woldn't it$"

"Opportnityhad nothin to do with it!" he snapped#

"1o$" (he straihtened her dress and then her hair and a&e him an icy look# %e'd ne&er looked

at hertwice in the for years she'd been workin with him! "2st o&ercome with passion wereyo$"

"(i cara + I was#:ery mch so# I still am if yo mst know#" %e saw her mtinos e/pression

and his &oice deepened into a sltry whisper# "o mst reali6e how beatifl yo look toniht#"

Bt it wasn't really her was it$ It was borrowed e/pensi&e clothes and a chic makeo&er + and

3st like Cinderella she wold be back from riches to ras in no time# "It's 3st an illsion" she

said tartly as she climbed ot of the car# "7ine feathers make a fine bird!"

Bt Gio&anni breathed a sih of relief to see her headin for the ballroom# ,fter poncin on her

like that he woldn't ha&e blamed her if she'd told him she wanted to o straiht back home#

,nd in trth woldn't part of him ha&e appro&ed$ (o that he cold ha&e one with her###and

they cold ha&e ended p makin lo&e$

Or wold they$


26/47

7or the first time in his life he wasn't sre that he cold et a woman into his bed# (he was an

nknown factor in more ways than one# , srprisinly thohtfl and articlate woman who had

transformed herself who cold i&e asood as she ot#

2st who was thereal Misty Carmichael$

%e caht p with her bemsed by the lances of the other ests as he ran after her#"*rink$"

"Champane please#"

%e took two lasses from a passin tray# ", woman who knows her mind" he obser&ed#

"It's nice to be on the other side of the tray for once" she answered lihtly# ",nd please don't

patroni6e me#"

Gio&anni frowned# "I woldn't dream ofpatroni6n yo#"

"Woldn't yo$" Misty -estioned wryly#

4eople clstered rond wantin Gio&anni to introdce his fianc9e to them# )here were bsiness

colleaes aristocratic friends of his parents and more than a few e/ and wold+be irlfriends

who'd clearly had their noses pt ot of 3oint#

Bt Misty was charm personified shakin hands and smilin ntil her face ached#8ntil Gio&anni

pt a firm andproprietorial hand at the small of her back#

"*ance with me#"


27/47

.n3oyin herself hely Misty trned to him her eyes sparklin# ")hat sonds more like an

order#"

"I sppose that's how he'ssed to talkin to yo" shrilled an o&er+thin brnette beside her#

Misty didn't miss a beat# "I know" she smiled# "Bt the masterfl toch isterribly attracti&e don't

yo think$"

Gio&anni raised his eyebrows as he plled her onto the dance floor and into his arms# "(he's a

bitch" he mrmred# "Bt yo seemed to cope#"

"Why thank yo#"

"o're a fast learner Misty Carmichael" he obser&ed softly#

(he da66led him with a smile which hid her heartbreak that thiswas sch a ame# ")hat's what

yo're payin me for isn't it$"

%e wanted to tell her to stop remindin him that this was a bsiness arranement + bt why

shold he do that$ Itwas e/actly that# ,nd maybe he shold et his money's worth####

%e plled her aainst him and her pale ble eyes widened as she felt the tension and

nmistakable heat of his body#

"(top itGio " she whispered#

*eliberately he circled his hips aainst hers# "(top what$" he -estioned innocently# "We're

only dancin#"


28/47

"We're not" she said weakly# "o know we're not#" ,nd her head tipped like an o&er+

hea&yflowerhead to rest on his sholder#

%e plled her e&en closer so that he cold feel the tihtenin of her breasts and he placed his

moth ne/t to her ear# "I'm so hard for yo Misty Carmichael# Can yo feel me$ Can yo$"

(he shold ha&e told him to o to hell# "es" she whispered throh bone+dry lips#

",nd yo want me 3st as mch" he contined ine/orably# "I can feel it in yor body and smell it

too# If I threw cation to the wind and kissed yo then I'd be able to taste it too#"

"Gio +"

"What$" he -estioned heady now with the sense of se/al power#

")his is###inappropriate#"

Bt ne&er had he felt sch a delicios sense of e/citement# Cold that be becase itwas so

inappropriate he wondered$ Or becase he was still by no means certain that he cold ha&e

her$

%ow + i&en his comprehensi&e knowlede of the opposite se/ + cold he ensre that Misty

Carmichael wold be his toniht$ What did e&ery woman in the world fall for$

)enderness#

8nseen he smiled as he toched his lips to her bare sholder and slowly kissed his way all p

her neck ntil he felt her shdder with nspoken srrender#


29/47


30/47

"es!"

",ndthat$ "

Oh yes# In the dimly lit hallway of Gio&anni's lare hose Misty was torn between hopes and

dreams and fears# (he wanted to be her boss to be nderstandin# ,nd slow + as if he really

wanted this and had i&en it carefl thoht#

"(holdn't we o pstairs$" she whispered#

"Why notdo it here first$" he -estioned# "1one of the staff will distrb s#"

It was a 3oke abot her stats as his hosekeeper bt it toched a sensiti&e ner&e# ,nd then

Gio&anni was tochin an e&en more sensiti&e ner&e + slidin her panties down his finer

alihtin on the &ery center of her womanhood with achin precision#

"*o yo like that too$"

"+yes#"

")och me" he commanded silkily#

)entati&ely she felt the rock+hard ride of him her own pleasre increasin as he shddered

beneath her rhythmical strokin# "*o yo likethat$ " she asked ner&osly#

"*o Ilike it$" In a minte he wold brst# "8n6ip me!" he rasped#


31/47

(he wanted it to be like the million romantic fantasies she'd e&er had abot him# Bt she cold

see it wasn't oin to happen that way# (wift and perfnctory wasn't what she wold ha&e

chosen bt how cold she refse him when she had wanted him for so lon$

(lidin his 6ipper down she whispered her finertips o&er the hard ede of him prayin that

she wold not disappoint# Wold he ess how ine/perienced she was$ ")ell me what yo like"

she said# "What yo want me to do#"

"2st that#Oh###" he breathed on a note of wonder taken aback by her entleness and her

enerosity# %e raised his dark head and stared down at her and frowned# Was that dobt

clodin her eyes$

"*io!o are not on dty now! 0ela/ Misty + for toniht we are e-als#"

Bt only for toniht she reminded herself and Gio&anni did not know the half of it# (he mo&ed

restlessly in his arms as he kissed her ntil he sddenly tore his moth away scooped her p

and bean to carry her pstairs#

Misty'seyes snapped open# "Where are yo takin me$"

")o bed#"

"Bt I thoht yo said###"

"I know what I said" he retrned fiercely# ",nd I ha&e chaned my mind#"

"2st like that" she said weakly# et e&en while she re3oiced at his decision it onlyemphasised

the fact that he was the master + callin all the shots#

%e ndressed them both ac-aintin himself with e&ery cr&e and shadow of her lsh body

ntil he cold feel her rela/in beneath his finers#


32/47

Misty bit her lip as he mo&ed his dark and olden body o&er her + her emotions so chrned p

that she was nable to stop them from spillin ot# "o are 3st so beatifl" she breathed#

Gio&anni stilled# Most women played ames# )hey held their feelins back in some kind of

se/al power play bt not Misty# %er honesty took his breath away###and yet there was

somethin abot her nai&ete that distrbed him#

")here's still time to chane yor mind Misty# *o yo want me to stop$ 1ow before it's too

late$"

"(top$"(he cr&ed her hands possessi&ely o&er his bttocks shakin her lon hair so that itshimmered aainst his bare chest# "1o I don't want yo to stop#"

"(re$"

"Certain#"

")hen I can't wait any loner# I'm oin to make lo&e to yo Misty Carmichael# 0ihtnow### "

,nd with that he thrst deep inside her# "Oh yo're so hot" he whispered#",nd tiht# ,nd &ery

&ery wet#"

%is words trned her on e&en more and Misty melted# %er body felt sffsed with heat and the

knowlede thatGio was 3oined so intimately with her#

%is lips and his hands were e&erywhere tochin her in places where she had ne&er beentoched + e/citin and ca3olin her as she felt the tension bildin and bildin#

")hat's w+wonderfl" she said brokenly as somethin she didn't -ite belie&e bean to tantali6e

her# Like a blrred pictre at last clickin into focs# "4lease don't stop#"


33/47

%e a&e an odd kind of lah# ",re yo kiddin$"

,nd then it happened + wa&e pon wa&e of it rockin her into a brand+new and rainbow+hed

dimension# Misty d her nails into his arms and bean to cry ot her pleasre as she felt him

shdder ot his own flfillment# )hen the tears bean to fall e&en thoh she tried to stop them#

Gio&anni frowned as he felt their wetness on his sholder# "Misty$ Why the hell are yo cryin$"

(he opened her eyes#"B+becase that's ne&er happened to me before#"

%e felt a chill of forebodin# "What hasn't$"

",n###orasm" she said softly# "I'&e ne&er had one before#"

"%ow come$" hesnapped#

"Becase *ominic's father was###well selfish I sppose#"

"Bt there mst ha&e been other men#"

"1o#"

"o mean that he was yoronly lo&er$" he -estioned incredlosly#

"8ntil now#"(he sihed#"OhGio # It was incredible#o were incredible#"


34/47

Ice+cold dread now crept o&er him# What the hell had he done$ %ad se/ with a woman who was

liht years away from him in terms of e/perience + a woman na=&e enoh to start mistakin

se/al pleasre for somethindeeper#

,nd she was wearin his rin! )re it was nothin bt a plot to fool the press bt wold Misty

now con&eniently foret that$

,nd if that was the case thenhow the hell was he oin to et rid of her$ (wiftly he withdrew

a&oidin her flshed face by trnin to face the wall and yawnin#

"Wold yo mind oin back to yor own room now$" he drawled# "I ha&e a meetin in the

mornin and I really need to et some sleep#"

)o be contined###

Chapter .iht

Misty cold scarcely belie&e what Gio&anni was sayin# On tremblin les she climbed ot of

bed and stared down at the naked body of her employer with disbelief + knowin that she had

beha&ed no better than a whore#

Only now he was dismissin her like the ser&ant she really was####

"Lea&e$" she echoed cr&in her lip with pride + which wasn't easy when she was atherin p

her clothes scattered all o&er his bedroom and rememberin that her dress was downstairs

where it had fallen# "Belie&eme nothin will i&e me reater pleasre!"

Gio&anni was beinnin to ha&e second thohts for she looked manificent when she was

anry# "1othin at all$" he teased# "I mst be losin my toch#"


35/47

"*on't be cheap" she hissed#

"I may be many thins bt I'm not cheap Misty#"

(o he was e&en sinthis opportnity to rb in the fact that he was payin for her time# ")hat's a

matter of opinion#"

Gio&anni saw the hrt and the aner which chased away the rosy flsh of se/al flfillment#

,nd as his body stirred he bean to wonder if he had acted too hastily#

"Well if yo promise to let mesleep then maybe I'll let yo stay here after all" he drawled

pattin the space on the bed beside him and lintin her a look that had a aranteed ;


36/47

"I thoht I 3st did#"

(he composed her face into a witherin look he had ne&er seen before#

"es yo did Gio&anni + bt fortnately I'm rown p enoh to learn from my mistakes# ,nd

that one mst cont as my all+time biest#"

,nd with that she flonced ot of his bedroom and ran to her own at the far end of the hose +

in theser&ants -arters she thoht bitterly + where she spent a sleepless niht tryin to decide

where she shold o from here#

)he followin mornin Gio&anni paced the hose like a caed tier and when Misty appeared

he searched her face for cles#

"%a&e yo fori&en me$" he -estioned softly bt 3st the siht of her was beinnin to make

him ache aain#

Misty had spent the niht decidin how to play this and she was oin to play it cool# (he

coldn't o back to how it had been which meant she had to o forward# (he 3st wasn't srewhere that was oin to take her#

"I hadn't really i&en it a lot of thoht#"

"Liar" he tanted softly# "Bet yo'&e been awake all niht lonin for me to dothis### "

)he finer that brshed slowly o&er her lips was enoh to make her tremble bt Misty 3erked

her moth away# "*on't toch me#"

%is eyes narrowed# "o mean yo're backin ot of or deal$"


37/47

"1o#" What a cold and calclatin man he was# "I'm keepin to my side ofit and I'd appreciate if

yo kept to yors# I'll contine to be yor 'fianc9e' ntil Miranda's ot of rehab + I'm 3st takin

se/ ot of the e-ation that's all# Bt since se/ was ne&er spposed to be part of the deal that

sholdn't be a problem shold it$"

"1o problem$" he echoed incredlosly# ",re yo kiddin$"

(he saw frstration darken his eyes and knew a moment of pre trimph before her traitoros

body bean to ache for him# 0thlessly she sppressed it#

"1ot in the slihtest#" (he a&e a prim smile# "We'll carry on pretendin to be in lo&e only

withot any physical complications#"

%is eyeslittered a challene# "Want to bet$"

,nd Misty knew that e&en if the attempt half killed her she wold resist him# (he had to protect

herself# (hehad to# "I'm not a bettin woman" she snapped#

)he front door slammed and Lcas walked in with a stack of newspapers#

"What is it$" asked Gio&anni impatiently#

Lcas pt the papers down# ")his mornin's are the best yet! )ake a look at these#"

Misty stilled astonished to seeherself plastered across the front paes of all the tabloids#

"Good rief" she breathed# "Is that really me$"

Gio&anni mo&ed behind her to look o&er her sholder#


38/47

"It really is" he mrmred wantin to lift the crtain of crls and kiss her neck aain#

Misty stared# )he photos mst ha&e been taken when they were lea&in the ball becase theyboth looked flshed and briht+eyed with se/al e/citement# Gio&anni's arm was locked arond

her waist and her nipples looked as thoh someone had splashed them with cold water# Misty

blshed#

",nd the cra6iest thin is" Lcas was sayin "that yo really look as thoh yo're in

lo&e#Great actin I mst say#"

Bt it was apparent the look in Gio&anni's dark eyes was lst not lo&e and becase Misty wasa woman she was in daner of readin too mch into it#

Maybe he had done her a fa&or by kickin her ot of his bedroom last niht + destroyin the last

of her fantasies with one swift and crel blow#

"It's oin to be weird when it's all o&er" msed Lcas# "We'll ha&e to work ot some kind of

plan#"

"I'&e already ot one" said Misty -ickly# "I'll be lea&in#"

)o be contined###

Chapter 1ine

"Misty I'm askin yo to reconsider#"


39/47

"*on't waste yor breathGio #"

Impatiently Gio&anni raked his finers back throh his thick black hair frownin as he took inthe sitcases that were stacked ne/t to the door alon with a lamp a bo/ of books and a few

other sndry items#

Misty wasn't 3st lea&in for a holiday or a few days break while she went to collect her small

son from his odmother's hose inCornwall# )here in his hall lay the contents of the home she

had made here for the past for years + the home that she was now plannin to &acate#

"I can't see why yo're doin this" he said stbbornly#

")hen yo're not &ery percepti&e#"

"Why do women always talk in code$" he stormed#

"Becase we stpidly belie&e that men ha&e the emotional intellience not to ha&e e&erythinspelled ot for them!"

, ner&e bean to work in his cheek# "Look Misty + 3st stay will yo$"

Misty shook her head# )his was difficlt enoh# (he was willin herself not to startblbbin

and he was makin it e&en harder for her# Bt she knew that i&in in to him wold ltimately

et her nowhere and she'd be riht back where she started#Only worse#

Becase now she had tasted intimacy with Gio&anni#)re like the enaement itself it had only

been a sham intimacy bt it still had the power to throw her emotions off+kilter and rock her

whole world# ,nd she needed to restore some calm aain# (ome order#


40/47

"I can'tGio #" (he looked at him her heart trnin o&er and hopin it didn't show in her face#

"o're too sed to ettin yor own way# )hat's half yor troble#"

Gio&anni scowled knowin that nothin had been riht since the niht he'd kicked her ot of his

bed# Becase despite e&ery effort in the book he hadn't been able to wear her down and

chane her mind#

Misty had kept her resol&e and resisted him blockin e&ery enticement to ha&e se/ with him

aain# 7or a man who had ne&er known any kind of re3ection from a woman it had been a

soberin lesson# Bt he had learned from it hadn't he$

"I beha&ed thohtlessly" he admitted "for which I ha&e apoloi6ed# (o how lon are yo oin

to keep this p$'

"It isn't aameGio #"

"o mean yo're oin to stay mad at me$"

"o're fori&en# Okay$"

")hen stay#"

"1o!"(he sihed# "o mst ha&e realised all alon that it wold be impossible to o back to the

way thins were after all this#"

"2st becase ofone niht$ "

Misty shook her head the crls still loose and sn kissed# ")hat niht has nothin to do with it#

)he world thinks that we're enaed to be married and soon that enaement is oin to be

broken now that yor step+sister is on the mend# *on't yo think it's oin to look rather odd if I

slot back into my old position of hosekeeper$"


41/47

"Who cares how it looks$" Gio&anni demanded#

"I do# ,nd it woldn't feel riht either" she ared# "4eople wold be bond to talk and to-estion me and I don't want to be defined by my walk+on part in the life of Gio&anniCerrti #"

)hat's what shehad been doin p ntil now and she needed to be free of it# "%ow can I o

back to ser&in yo meals when I'&e shared them with yo$ %ow do yo think it's oin to feel

when e&entally yo meet someone that yo reallydo want to marry and I ha&e to start takin

orders fromher$ *on't yo think that cold be a little awkward$"

"I'm not plannin on marryinanyone " he ob3ected#

"1ot now yo mean#"

"Look I'm not a reat belie&er in happy+e&er+after" he ritted# "I 3st know the hose woldn't

be the same withot yo Misty# ,nd the se/ is dynamic + yo know it is#" %e shred as he

slantedher a look of ndilted pro&ocation# "Why stop somethin that we both en3oy so mch$"

Misty stared at him in horror as his words re&erberated arond in her head like a bitter

whirlwind#)he se/ is dynamic# Well that told here/actly what her appeal to him was#

"WhatGio wantsGio ets + no matter what the cost to those arond him# Or don't I cont$ Is that

why yo're so relctant to let me o$ Becase ha&in a 'relationship' with someone who works

for yo means that yo're e/csed all the normal rles$ o can treat me howe&er the hell yo

like becase yo're payin me$"

Gio&anni shook his head friosly# "%ow dare yo talk to me thisway# Other women wold bebloody ratefl to wear my rin and to be seen on my arm#"

")hen o and make yor delihtfl offer to one ofthem! " she stormed back# "I don't make ood

choices where men are concerned# I made a mistake with *ominic's father and I'm damned if

I'm oin to repeat it#"


42/47

",nd don't compare me to some waster who dmped yo while yo were prenant!"

"o only want me becase yo can't ha&e me Gio&anni" she said -ietly# "Once yo'd otme yo'd et bored and want todisard me#"

,nd I can't risk that happenin to me# 1ot with yo# 1ot when it's so likely to happen#It wold

break her and she cold not afford to be broken + not with a child dependin on her as *ominic

did#

0elationships were hard enoh# Bt when there was sch a fndamental ine-ality as that

which e/isted between her and Gio&anni and he had emphatically told her that it was the se/that was reat which he didn't want to lose####

Well that was 3st askin for troble#Bi troble#

Like askin to ha&e yor heart broken#

"I'm lea&inGio " she said# ",nd I mean it#"

)o be contined###

Chapter )en

)he beatifl redhead writhed aainst the sheets#


43/47

"*o it to me Gio&anni" she red as she toched herself# "*o it to me baby#"

Gio&anni fro6e in the act of nbttonin his shirt# What thehell was he doin here$ %e stared at

the naked beaty knowin he didn't want her#

"I'&e made a mistake" he told her bitterly#

Otside he stared p at an ink+black sky dotted with stars#

.&ery problem had a soltion#

)he -estion was whether he had the corae to se it#

%e made himself wait ntil he was certain and the memory of the naked redhead had been

erased from his mind# )hen that sleepless niht he climbed into his car and bean the lon

dri&e toCornwall#

, sond woke her#

In her remote cottae Misty was sed to hearin the caw of birds and the distant crash of the

wa&es bt this sond was different# (he looked at her watch and frowned#)hree a#m#

Who was dri&in at this time of niht$

4llin on a &el&et robe she crept downstairs 3st as a car plled p and there was a soft knock

on the door# %er heart bean to thnder e&en before she heard the distincti&e &oice#

"Misty$"


44/47

)here was no point in playin ames by inorin him# (he didn't want to wake *om#

(he opened the door steelin her heart aainst the tall firesillhoetted in the doorway + btshe cold do nothin to pre&ent its painfl fltter of 3oy when she saw his shadowed face# "What

are yo doin hereGio $" she whispered#

",re yo oin to let me in$"

"What if I say no$"

"Go on# (ay it then" he challened his eyes flinty in the moonliht#

Wordlessly she plled the door open and he stepped past her + stron warm and &irile# %er

instinct was to toch him bt she foht it#Gi&e me strenth she prayed#

Gio&anni walked into the tiny room where the embers of the fire still lowed# One of *ominic's

drawins hn on the wall and there was a book open on the window seat#

It looked###

Gio&anni swallowed# It looked like home#

%e trned arond# %er hair was loose and she wore ble &el&et#Like a medie&al paintin come

to life#

"Why are yo here$" she -estioned steadily#


45/47

"Why do yo think$" %e stared into her eyes and his heart trned o&er# What a fool he had

been# "I miss yo" he said softly#

,ain she steeled herself# (he had to# "I'd be flattered if I thoht there weren't other

hosekeepers 3st as capable as me" Misty answered coolly "who can make yor coffee the

way yo like it#"

%e stared at her incredlosly#"Coffee$Madre di*io ! o think I'&e dri&en all this way to talk

abot coffee$"

"Is it the se/ then$" she -estioned# "Well I'm sre the nmber of women waitin to step into

my shoes on the se/al front is e&en reater#" (he made herself ask the -estion#"%ow many

women since me Gio&anni$"

"1one#")here was a pase as Gio&anni reconi6ed that how he answered this was important#

)hat only total honesty wold do# "Other women don't work for me anymore" he admitted

softly# "7or the first time in my life I can only think abot one###and that woman is yo#"

(he bent to throw a lo on the dyin embers and then blew ently on the fire to start the bla6e

aain# (he wanted to belie&e him + so mch + bt she didn't dare let herself# 7or this time Mistyhad mch more to lose than her heart#

"o only want me becase yo ha&en't ot me" she said -ietly as she straihtened p to

meet his searchin a6e# "I'm 3st another ac-isition on the wish list of a man who has almost

e&erythin# Once yo'&e ot me yo'll et restless and want to mo&e on# It's the way yo are +

it's the secret of yor sccess Gio&anni#"

"Bt that is where yo're wroncaramia# 1othin is the same now yo're one#" %e had spenthis life bildin fortnes and defyin odds bt pttin these feelins into words felt like the

biest montain he'd e&er had to climb# )o sr&i&e as a child he'd learned to pt p emotional

barriers + which coldn't 3stcome tmblin down o&erniht# %e swallowed# "It felt so warm and

easy when yo were arond Misty# .&erythin is cold and empty now#"


46/47

%er lon hair shimmered as she estred arond her# "Bt I'&e bilt p a ood life here#

*ominic's happy at the local school and I ha&e a 3ob workin at the local craft shop and I'mood

at it# I don'tneed yo anymoreGio don't yo see that$"

"I don't want yo toneed me" he said softly# "I want yo to want me + the way that I want yo#"

%is black eyes brned into her# "*o yo want me Misty$Becase that's the only -estion that

matters#"

It was one of those definin moments#

(he cold trn him away and her life wold be safe###yet Misty reconi6ed it wold also be

empty and fore&er filled with an achin reret#

Or she cold rab this ne/pected chance of happiness and take the risk that e&eryone had to

take when they fell in lo&e#

"Of corse I want yo" she whispered# "Bt I'm scared#"

%e lahed as he plled her into his arms closin his eyes as he breathed in the sweet scent ofher hair# "o think I'm not$ It's the reason I beha&ed so stpidly" he mrmred# "Bt I

reconi6e now that it's a healthy kind of scared# Like the first time yo 3mp into water ot of

yor depth + as lon as yo can swim yo'll be 3st fine#" %e tilted her chin and mo&ed his lips

close to hers# "Can yo swim Misty$"

(he wond her arms arond his neck# "Like a fish" she smiled as she trned her face to his#

%e bent and captred her moth in a lon kiss and in seconds she was tremblin robbed of

e&erythin bt her desire for him#

"Gio$" she whispered nsteadily as the flickerin flames illminated his dark featres#


47/47

"(sssh" he commanded slippin the &el&et robe from her bare sholders# "Come here while I

claim yo#"

")h+that's a &ery old+fashioned thin to say" she stmbled#

%e cpped her breast and toched his lips to it# "(ometimes old+fashioned is best#"

,nd Misty wasn't oin to are with that#

)he .nd

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