Modern Romance August Books 1-4. Кейт Хьюит

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СКАЧАТЬ to hug him and stay close had sent her into swift retreat for fear of what she might reveal. There was no room for such sentimental behaviour within the narrow limits Leo had set for their marriage.

      A few minutes later, Leo stepped into the spacious wet room to join her. ‘What was that all about?’ he asked.

      ‘What was what all about?’

      ‘You pushed me away,’ he reminded her, angry dark eyes spelling out how he had reacted to her conduct.

      ‘That’s what you’ve always done with me afterwards,’ Grace pointed out innocently. ‘Shouldn’t I have done that?’

      Leo knew when he was being played, but then he had also never been on the receiving end of such a careless dismissal before. It had stung, it had felt ridiculously like rejection, he reasoned in confusion at his own thoughts. Before he could think any more, he reacted on instinct and closed Grace’s dripping body into his arms below the falling spray.

      ‘Things change. We’re married now. I think we can afford to be a little more affectionate,’ he declared in a rasping undertone, tugging her even closer.

      Grace hid a smile against a broad muscular shoulder. He wasn’t an irredeemable rat, she decided ruefully. Damaged by his parents’ toxic marriage, he had avoided the softer emotions all his life to date. But he could learn by example, yes, and he was one very fast learner, Grace conceded as the embrace became an unashamed hug.

      A couple of hours later, they lay naked in a tangle of fur throws in front of the gas-fired logs in the massive fireplace in the main drawing room. As night fell they had become hungry and had raided the fridge to savour the delicacies prepared by Josefina, the housekeeper, who had gone home hours earlier.

      ‘I thought pregnant women suffered a lot from nausea,’ Leo said abruptly. ‘But you still have a good appetite.’

      ‘I haven’t felt sick once,’ Grace admitted. ‘A little dizzy a couple of times but that’s all.’

      ‘I’ve signed you up to see one of the local doctors while we’re here.’

      ‘That’s unnecessary this early in my pregnancy.’

      Leo dealt her a warning glance. ‘Humour me. I have a very strong need to know that I’m looking after you properly.’

      But Grace was worried that if she gave an inch, Leo would take a mile. She wondered if he had taken the same managing, controlling attitude to Marina and asked.

      Leo rested back thoughtfully on his hands, the hard muscular lines of his chest and stomach flexing taut and drawing her involuntary gaze. ‘I never felt the need to interfere...offer advice occasionally, yes, veto or demand, no. You’re different.’

      ‘How am I different?’ Grace asked baldly.

      ‘You’re pregnant,’ Leo pointed out, disappointing her with that comeback.

      ‘So, if I’m allowed to ask one awkward question...exactly why did you want to marry Marina?’

      ‘Because I thought she was perfect...’

      Grace froze, the colour leaching from beneath her fair skin.

      ‘Of course, nobody is perfect,’ Leo continued wryly. ‘But I did believe Marina was as near to the ideal as I could get because we had so much in common and were close friends.’

      Never ask a question if you aren’t tough enough to accept the answer and live with it, Grace told herself wretchedly. How on earth could she compete with his ideal of the perfect wife? Most especially when that ideal woman was still walking around? Was it possible that Leo felt more for Marina than he had ever appreciated? And that losing her might make him finally realise it? Not a productive thought train, Grace scolded herself, and she suppressed her crushing sense of insecurity with every fibre of willpower that she possessed.

      * * *

      ‘So, why don’t you want these blood tests the doctor has recommended?’ Leo demanded impatiently.

      Grace wrinkled her nose. ‘Because there’s nothing wrong with me.’

      ‘But the doctor—’

      ‘Dr Silvano is nice but he is a little old-fashioned, Leo. Why should he wonder if there’s something wrong with my hormone levels just because I’m not feeling sick all the time?’ Grace prompted impatiently. ‘A lot of women get morning sickness but there are a lucky few who don’t and I don’t plan to start fussing over myself and worrying without good reason. He’s one of those doctors who prefer to treat pregnancy as an illness and I don’t agree with that.’

      Leo surveyed her with unhidden annoyance. Grace went pink and looked across the cobbled square to the playground where small children were running and shouting. In a few years she would have a child of around that age, she ruminated fondly, wishing Leo would not make her pregnancy so much his business. Yet how could she fault a man for caring about her well-being?

      ‘I’ll go back first thing tomorrow for the tests,’ Grace surrendered with a grimace. ‘Will that make you happy?’

      The tightness of his superb bone structure eased and the hint of a smile softened the hard line of his sculpted mouth. They had been in Italy for four incredible weeks and even when Leo annoyed her, Grace still never got tired of simply looking at him, admiring the proud flare of his nose, the downward frown of his brows when anything annoyed him, the pure silk ebony luxuriance of his lashes when he looked down at her with eyes of pure gold in bed.

      ‘Yes, that will make me happy,’ Leo told her without apology and pulled out his phone to immediately book the appointment.

      Grace sipped her bottled water, reflecting that Leo had taught her a master class in the art of compromise and negotiation. His forceful personality and strong views made occasional clashes between them inevitable. He was much deeper and more of a thinker than he liked to show. Clever, shrewd and over-protective as he was, he was also wonderfully entertaining and her every fantasy in bed. He was willing to make an effort as well. Since their wedding night there had been no further flights from intimacy post-climax. She wouldn’t let herself think negative thoughts around him, wouldn’t let herself dwell on the awareness that she loved him and he did not love her. Unlike him, she wasn’t expecting the perfect marital partner.

      And in any case, Leo might say that he didn’t do romance but it was remarkable how often their outings were drenched in romantic views, surroundings and meals. He had taken her to see a candlelit religious procession in the streets of Lucca one evening and topped it off with dinner in a rooftop restaurant with the stars shimmering far above them. They had enjoyed a picnic below the ancient chestnut trees that overlooked the vineyards in the valley. With no road noise, no people around and virtually nothing in view to remind them of the twentieth century, it had been timeless and peaceful and she had dozed off, probably because she had eaten far too much from Josefina’s fantastic picnic dishes. There had been sightseeing trips and scenic drives and a couple of casual dinner engagements with friends Leo had, who lived locally.

      And then there were the shopping trips and the gifts. Grace tilted her chin, green eyes reflective as she glanced at the gold watch on her wrist and thought about the pearls in her ears and at her throat, not to mention the gorgeous handbag she had foolishly admired in a shop window. Leo was very generous and his giving wasn’t soulless or showing off. If СКАЧАТЬ