Rumours: The Secret Billionaires. Дженнифер Хейворд
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longer could she push him away? How much longer could he resist her?
‘Padre.’ His son smiled shyly and stepped back a little behind Sadie as he used the Italian form of ‘father’ to him for the first time.
He crouched down to Leo’s level and smiled at him. ‘Your mummy is going to marry me today and that means I will always be your father now. That is good, no?’
He knew there was a connection between him and Leo, but the reaction he got was so unexpected it took him aback. Leo threw his arms around his neck, burying his little body deep into his embrace as he held him close. Stunned to the point of silence, he looked up at Sadie and knew then that whatever it was that had brought them together no longer mattered. The only thing that did was making his son happy.
‘I think his reaction speaks for itself, so please remember this moment and never let him down.’ Sadie’s cool voice filtered through the veil of emotions he’d never thought possible. He deserved that warning, but why did she always make him feel as if he had to prove something?
‘In that case, shall we go inside and get married?’ It wasn’t intended as a question, but he wanted to give her one last chance to say no, to turn away.
‘What about witnesses?’ The tremor of doubt in her voice intensified his emotions as he stood with Leo in his arms and looked down at her.
‘All dealt with. My good friend Sebastien and his wife, Monika, have flown in from England to be our witnesses.’
Her brows raised a little, but she didn’t say anything and after a moment she walked inside. As he followed her he couldn’t quite believe that in just a short time he would be a husband and father.
Was this what Sebastien had envisaged when he’d sent him on the challenge? He shook his head and smiled at Leo. He already knew those two weeks hadn’t been about proving he could survive on a paltry two hundred euros, but had they been about challenging him to the role of fatherhood? Had Sebastien known about Leo or had his plan been to throw him and Sadie back together, hoping they would discover the kind of love he and Monika had?
* * *
Words of Italian and English seemed to rush through Sadie’s mind as she stood with Antonio. Behind them stood the couple who were witnessing it all, and holding Antonio’s hand, as if he feared he’d never see him again, was Leo. She should have been happy. A family and father for Leo was all she’d ever wanted, but at what cost? How long would it be before Antonio moved back to his playboy lifestyle, lived so voraciously in the fast lane of life? It was that question which held her back, prevented her from giving in to the ever-growing attraction.
‘You are now husband and wife.’
She blinked at the words which united her with this man, making her and Leo his family. Then she made the mistake of looking at Antonio. The dark spark of desire in his eyes didn’t fool her. He obviously wanted his friends to think they were so madly in love that they’d rushed off to get married after finding each other again.
‘And now I will kiss the bride.’ Antonio pre-empted the next line and took one step towards her and brushed his lips over hers in a lingering kiss filled with the promise of so much more, if she was brave enough. She wanted to be brave, wanted to find what they’d shared once before.
‘Bravo.’ The friend of Antonio’s who’d witnessed the marriage clapped and she took the opportunity to move back, away from the temptation of something that could hurt her all over again.
She glanced at the tall man, a little older than Antonio, and his lovely blonde wife. Love simmered between them as they smiled at each other, as if sharing a secret only they knew. Would she and Antonio ever be like that? The question flitted through her mind like a bird through the forest, but the answer was obvious. They could never be like that. Love was an emotion Antonio had no concept of. He didn’t want to allow it into his life.
Leo tugged at her dress, trying to find some adult attention, and as she gathered him up in her arms she recalled how Antonio had held him outside when they’d arrived. Whatever it was he’d felt had shocked him. Could that tiny step be the start? Was he opening his heart to his son?
‘I will take my bride to our new home,’ Antonio said, directing his attention to his friends. ‘Sebastien and Monika, we’d love you to join us.’
‘Monika and I would like that very much,’ Sebastien replied, and then he smiled at her. ‘If, of course, your bride doesn’t mind the intrusion?’
‘Intrusion, no,’ she said. She couldn’t thank him enough. The last thing she wanted was to be alone with Antonio now, especially after that kiss had unleashed the sizzle of desire she’d only ever experienced with him. Leo would soon tire and need to go to bed, leaving her alone with Antonio. Company would be perfect. ‘We’d be honoured to have you as our guests.’
She had no idea how Sebastien and Antonio knew one another, but the bond between the two men was more than apparent.
Feeling more as if she were in a dream, Sadie carried Leo back out into the early summer sunshine, unable to completely comprehend that she was now married to the man who’d stolen her heart four years ago, giving her the most precious gift of a son. Marriage had been all she’d wanted initially, but now something was holding her back, stopping her from feeling happy and secure, even though Antonio was the only man she’d ever really wanted.
Such distracting thoughts raced through her mind as Leo sat next to Antonio in his special seat and the car took them through Rome’s traffic. It was a while before she realised they were leaving the city behind. As the question of where they were going almost left her lips the car turned off and up a long driveway towards a grand villa.
She felt Antonio’s gaze on her as she watched the villa come nearer. It wasn’t a hotel, which had been her first thought, and a stab of disappointment lurched through her. She’d hoped Leo could have a bit of freedom to run around on the extensive lawns. He hadn’t had such freedom since coming to Rome, but it would be impossible to allow him to roam in a private home.
‘Where are we?’ she asked and looked at Antonio.
Infuriatingly, he just raised his brows in a sexy and suggestive manner and got out of the car when it stopped in front of the villa. She unclipped Leo, but he lunged forward, not wanting her any more, wanting only to be with Antonio, his new hero. A little deflated, she stepped out into the sunshine, warm with the promise of a long hot summer, and looked at the villa. What must have been the original building had been added to in a tasteful and stunning way. A covered veranda ran its length and her first thought was that the shade would be welcome in the height of summer.
‘Welcome to your new home.’ She turned quickly to look at Antonio as Sebastien’s car turned in at the bottom of the long driveway.
‘My home?’
‘Sì. A home for my bride and my son.’ That sexy darkness was back in his eyes and a shiver of something tingled down her spine, rousing memories of being in his arms, being kissed until her head spun.
Before she could say anything, he bent down to Leo. ‘Would you like to live here?’
Wide-eyed, Leo looked up at him and her heart wrenched at the adoration he already had for his father. ‘All the time?’
‘Sì. All the time.’ Antonio laughed and ruffled Leo’s hair in a way which gave her the impression he was used to little children, something she hadn’t considered possible in a man such as him.
‘With you?’
The laughter deepened, but she held her breath, waiting for the answer that would break her son’s heart. She almost couldn’t bear to hear that he would be returning to his apartment in Rome.
‘But of course.’ Antonio looked up at her. ‘With you and your mother.’
Any further discussion was halted as Sebastien and Monika joined them. ‘I think it’s time we celebrated.’
She followed