Rumours: The Secret Billionaires. Дженнифер Хейворд

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СКАЧАТЬ 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 them inside, making polite conversation with Monika but in total awe of her surroundings. The villa was gorgeous and furnished beautifully. How and when had he done this?

      The pop of a champagne cork startled her and Leo laughed—a sound which filled her heart with warmth—and she pushed away her doubts. For Leo’s sake she would enjoy this moment.

      ‘To marriage,’ said Sebastien as he raised his glass. ‘To the bride and groom—and Leo.’

      Antonio raised his flute of champagne to her, his dark eyes intent and watchful, shining with unguarded emotion. ‘To my beautiful bride.’

      She smiled shyly. She had been overreacting all along, getting carried away with pre-wedding nerves. Everything would be fine now they were married.

      ‘And let’s not forget the challenge you accepted and clearly excelled at.’ Sebastien’s voice slashed through that hope which shivered like a delicate spider’s web on a dewy morning.

      ‘Challenge?’ The word had left Sadie’s lips before she could stop it. What was Sebastien talking about?

      Monika placed her hand on her arm and Sadie looked at her. Did she know what this was all about? ‘They’re teasing. They always challenge one another—over everything.’

      ‘I told you I worked in the garage to prove I could.’ Antonio’s voice jolted her attention and she looked at him, aware that Monika and Sebastien were exchanging glances with one another. They knew something she didn’t.

      ‘I challenged him to live for two weeks without his family name and wealth and he did.’

      Sadie looked at Sebastien, her long slender fingers over her lips as she took in the full implications of what she’d learnt. ‘I had no idea.’

      * * *

      Antonio had seen the doubt and confusion rush over Sadie’s face and inwardly he’d berated Sebastien’s honesty. He’d watched, helpless to say anything, as Monika had tried to smooth things over with Sadie, but as usual Sebastien had calmed the situation down, telling just enough but nowhere near all the details.

      Thankfully, Leo had chosen that moment to rush in from the gardens, full of excitement for his new surroundings, but now, with Leo asleep in his new room and their guests gone, it was just him and Sadie.

      It was their wedding night, but the moment Sebastien and Monika had left the tension had intensified between him and Sadie, tension which was born out of the ever-present simmering sexual attraction between them. Already he was being drawn in, being forced to engage in emotions he’d long since thought withered within him—and that was just with his son. Sadie was even more of a threat to the equilibrium of his emotions.

      ‘I trust that our arrangement of separate rooms will continue.’ Sadie’s voice was sharp and unyielding as she sat with him on the terrace, the twinkling lights of Rome in the distance and the sounds of the night surrounding them.

      Had СКАЧАТЬ