Mediterranean Tycoons: Tempting & Taken: The Italian's Runaway Bride / His Inherited Bride / Pregnancy of Revenge

Carmela started it. ‘All of Rome society attends. We always go as a family, and stay the night. It is the biggest charity gala of the year. Probably because after the restrictions of Lent are over everyone wants to celebrate.’

‘Sounds good.’ Kelly grinned; she felt better than she had in months. ‘I can’t wait.’

She listened as Gianfranco explained he had to attend it, as it was expected of him, and all the reasons why Kelly could not. It was too far to travel in her condition—they couldn’t take any chances with the baby. They would only be gone the one night, and Anna and all the staff had strict instructions to look after her.

He had to be joking! Kelly thought. Next weekend, of all weekends! It was her birthday on the Saturday!

Olivia smiled at Gianfranco. ‘If Kelly is worried about being on her own, I don’t mind missing the gala and staying with her.’

‘That’s very generous of you,’ Gianfranco said with a beaming smile for Olivia. ‘But not necessary—is it, Kelly?’ he asked, his dark eyes capturing Kelly’s.

‘No. I’ll be perfectly all right with Anna.’ At least Anna genuinely seemed to like her. She was no longer sure of any of her dinner companions…

It suddenly hit her that for the past few months she had been married to Gianfranco her lifestyle had changed dramatically; with a few exceptions she had agreed to everything he wanted, so unsure was she of her position as his wife. He, on the other hand, had made no compromise whatsoever in his lifestyle. His trips abroad, his frequent stays in Rome… In a flash of blinding clarity she saw it all, and did not like what she had become. Bit by bit, her confidence in herself as a woman had been chipped away. Without a murmur she’d accepted separate bedrooms, because he said it would be better for her. How often in the night had she awakened, alone in the huge bed, full of fear at the enormity of giving birth? She would have liked the comfort and protection of Gianfranco’s arms around her. It didn’t have to be sex…

She recalled how insatiable he had been when they were first married. He was a very virile man with a great sex drive. What had Judy said? ‘He is not the type for deep emotional commitment…don’t let him out of your sight.’ Perhaps she should have listened…

Kelly sat up straighter in the hard-backed dining chair; seated at Gianfranco’s right, she flicked a look at his chiselled profile—darkly masculine and supremely confident. He also looked tired. Perhaps he had been unfaithful. How would she know, stuck in the country? All her doubts suddenly resurfaced in her head.

‘You’re sure?’ Gianfranco said quickly, his black eyes narrowing on her pale face with an intensity that seemed to want to read her mind.

Kelly forced a smile to her stiff lips. ‘Positive.’ She placed her hand over his on the table. ‘Now, if you will excuse me.’ She squeezed his hand before letting go. ‘I’m rather tired.’ Pushing back her chair, she flinched as Gianfranco leapt immediately to his feet and took her arm, helping her up.

She needed breathing space, time to marshal her thoughts, but Gianfranco insisted on taking her to her room and helping her undress. She saw the desire flare in his dark eyes as he lifted her nightgown over her head and smoothed it down over her shoulders, his large hand lingering tenderly on her stomach.

Over the past few weeks she had deliberately suppressed the memories of what it felt like to be in his arms, wild with passion, her whole being centred on him, drowning in desire. Now, at the worst possible moment, heat flooded through her, and she trembled. She wanted to be angry with him, but she couldn’t. He would remember her birthday, Kelly told herself; even he could not be that insensitive. She was worrying over nothing.

‘I know, I know, Kelly,’ Gianfranco murmured, and took her in his arms and kissed her long and gently, his dark eyes narrowed intently on her face. ‘But it won’t be for much longer.’ A rueful smile twisted his firm lips, and, taking her hand, he pressed it hard against his aroused flesh. ‘It is a lot worse for me, I can assure you.’ He groaned. ‘But as soon as we can I am going to take you away for a long holiday.’

He wanted her and he loved her—he must do, because she couldn’t bear it if he didn’t. ‘There is no need for us both to suffer,’ she whispered, her slender fingers deftly unfastening his trousers.

‘No. No. It’s not fair. I can do nothing for you; the doctor was quite explicit.’

Kelly simply smiled, her heart racing, and very soon Gianfranco was saying, ‘Yes. Yes.’

Kelly slept soundly that night, totally reassured Gianfranco did love her, and she went on thinking it until she watched the Mercedes vanish out of sight early the next Saturday morning.

Tears filled her eyes as she made her way back upstairs to her bedroom and, curling up in a ball on the bed, she let them fall. Today was her birthday, and she had been so sure Gianfranco would remember, stay with her. In her mind it had become a crucial test of his commitment. She had been wrong…

The house was full of servants and yet she had never felt so totally and utterly alone in her whole life. She cried, great racking sobs that shook her whole body; she wept until she had no tears left. It was a nagging pain in her lower back some time later that finally forced her to sit up on the bed. Kelly rubbed her tear-swollen eyes; wallowing in self-pity was no good, for her or the baby.

At ten o’clock the same night Kelly could delay no longer. The pains had started mid-afternoon but she had rested and eaten dinner and tried to pretend it wasn’t happening. It was too soon…

Aldo drove her to the hospital in Verona, and Anna accompanied her. Kelly was grateful for her help. Anna held her hand and reassured her when the pain was almost unbearable, and at five to one in the morning Kelly gave birth to a healthy baby girl with a striking mop of ginger hair. In the euphoria of holding her baby in her arms, she could forgive for a moment the fact Gianfranco had not been with her when she needed him. And in the next hour she forgot about everything as the doctor and nurse fussed over her.

The sound of hushed voices wakened Kelly, and her eyes fluttered open. Groggily she glanced around. She was in a private room, and then immediately she remembered, her gaze flying to the side of the bed and the crib.

Gianfranco, tall, dark and incredibly handsome, was at the foot of the crib, still dressed in the formal dinner suit he had obviously worn for the charity gala. His chiselled features looked oddly severe. His mother was standing beside him, but his whole concentration was fixed on the baby.

He was here at last, Kelly thought, her heart swelling with love and pride, and was about to speak to let him know she was awake.

‘It’s ginger.’ He glanced at his mother, an expression of complete amazement on his handsome face, and then back to the baby.

Kelly heard him, and something in her rebelled. ‘She is a girl, not an it,’ she murmured, hauling herself up into a sitting position.

‘Kelly, Kelly, mia cara.’ Gianfranco dashed to her side, and his dark eyes, blazing with emotion, caught and held hers.

‘Kelly, she is beautiful; a perfect little girl. Thank you, thank you. I can’t begin to tell you how sorry I am I wasn’t here.’ Sitting down on the side of the bed, he cupped her face in his strong hands and scattered dozens of frantic kisses on her eyes, her brow, her nose, and finally he covered her mouth.

A slight cough broke them apart. Carmela said, ‘Congratulations, Kelly! She is perfect, and now I think I should leave you three alone to get used to being a family.’ And to Kelly’s surprise she actually bent down and kissed her cheek before departing.

‘You don’t mind she is not a boy?’ Kelly asked Gianfranco as he got up and went back to the crib, staring at his child as if he had never seen a baby before.

He turned his dark eyes gleaming with pride. ‘Of course not, cara.’ His firm lips turned back against brilliant white teeth in the most magnificent smile Kelly had ever seen. ‘The next one will probably be a boy.’ His comment gave Kelly pause for thought, but then the doctor arrived.

‘So how is the new mother now?’ Dr Credo asked jovially, standing by the bed. Taking Kelly’s wrist in his hand, he took her pulse.

‘Fine.’ She smiled up at him while the nurse deftly slipped another pillow behind her back.

‘Good. You gave us a bit of a scare earlier. Three weeks early—well, one week early really, as two weeks either side of the given date is acceptable. But I am happy to say the baby is perfect. You, on the other hand, are going to have to take care. You haemorrhaged a little after the birth, so we are going to keep you here for a week.’ Letting go of her wrist, he turned and took Gianfranco’s arm and led him to the far side of the room, talking softly.

Kelly heard the raised voice of her husband and glanced across at him. He was standing, broad shoulders taut, his hands curled into fists at his sides, his face grey beneath the tan, the strong features rigid with some intolerable emotion. His dark gaze moved back to her face, his eyes widening as though he had suddenly realised some great truth. He was a father, and the thought crossed her mind that he did not look particularly ecstatic, more shell-shocked, but she didn’t care, as the nurse handed her her baby.

She gazed down in awe at the beautiful, tiny face, the shock of bright red hair, and she was filled with an overwhelming love. She hugged the child to her breast, and pressed the lightest of kisses to the baby’s cheek. ‘Anna,’ she whispered. Then, with the assistance of the nurse, the baby was suckling at her breast.

When the doctor and nurse left, Gianfranco slowly returned to the bedside, his dark eyes narrowing intently. A lump rose in his throat; his lids came down over tear-filled dark eyes, hiding his thoughts.

‘Look, Gianfranco, she’s feeding,’ Kelly murmured, wanting to share the magic moment. ‘Isn’t she gorgeous?’

He lifted his lashes, making no attempt to hide the moisture in his eyes. ‘Yes, you both are,’ he said huskily, and, sinking down on the bed beside Kelly, he reached out a finger and gently traced the curve of the baby’s cheek, the curve of Kelly’s breast.

He watched mother and child, and silently thanked God for their safety. No thanks to him, he thought, for once in his life completely humbled. The information Dr Credo had revealed to him had shocked him to his soul. He had never known Kelly’s mother had died in childbirth, but then he had never asked, he castigated himself. Dr Credo had said she did not like talking about it. Apparently he had contacted her own doctor in England for her notes, and that was how he knew. He had assured Gianfranco it was not genetic. But it didn’t make Gianfranco feel any better.

‘Do you want to hold her?’ Kelly asked, pulling the soft cotton of her gown back over her luscious breast. She lifted her head, her eyes, glowing like sapphires, brimming with happiness, seeking his. She chuckled at the flicker of fear she saw in the dark depths that met hers.

‘Come on, she won’t bite,’ she said simply. Nothing could spoil her delight in her child, and she watched as Gianfranco very carefully took the child from her arms.

They looked good together: the broad-shouldered dark-haired father cuddling the infant in his strong arms, a totally besotted look on his handsome face as he stared down at the baby.

‘She has my father’s hair, but she definitely has your eyes,’ Kelly bubbled on. ‘I thought we might call her Anna Louise. You picked Alfredo for a boy and said I could choose if it was a girl. So what do you think? Anna after Anna, who has been a good friend to me, and was such a help last night, and Louise after my mother.’

‘Anna Louise is perfect,’ Gianfranco said quietly. He could hardly object to his child being named after a servant when the said servant was the only friend Kelly had made in their brief marriage. He had been partying the night away when Kelly had needed him. In all his thirty-one years he had never felt so inadequate—a new experience for him. But he made a silent vow that from now on his first priority was his wife and child.

The nurse entered and took the infant from Gianfranco and placed her in the crib.

‘Rest, Signora Maldini,’ she said, and, turning back to Kelly, gently eased out a pillow to allow Kelly to lie back down in the bed.

‘Yes,’ Kelly sighed. ‘I am rather tired.’ Her long lashes fluttered down. She smiled as she felt the soft brush of Gianfranco’s mouth against her own. ‘Nice,’ she murmured, and slept.

When Kelly awoke three hours later the first of the flowers were delivered, and by evening the nurse complained they were running out of vases. From Gianfranco came dozens of red roses; the card read simply ‘Thank you, my love’ and his name. From the staff, from friends…half from people Kelly didn’t know. But the headily scented blooms that filled the air completely eclipsed the faint hospital smell.

It was the best week of her life. Gianfranco visited morning and night, and he presented her with an exquisite diamond bracelet. For our daughter, he had said, and kissed her. He brought Anna with him one morning, which delighted Kelly, and on another Olivia, which did not. When Gianfranco was talking to the nurse Olivia got her dig in. ‘You couldn’t even do this right—we wanted a boy.’

Kelly ignored her; she was so happy. Judy Bertoni arrived, and let drop she was pregnant again, and the two girls arranged, with Gianfranco’s tacit agreement, to spend a few days’ shopping when the baby was a bit older.

Apart from the doctor, all the staff spoke only Italian, and much to Kelly’s satisfaction her own Italian had improved dramatically, thanks to her tapes.

The following Saturday it was mid-morning when Gianfranco strolled in. Casually dressed in beige trousers and shirt, with a lambswool sweater draped across his broad shoulders, he looked sensational.

‘Ready to go, Kelly?’ Gianfranco asked in a deep, husky drawl.

‘Yes.’ She rose to her feet; something warm quivered deep down inside her as her eyes collided with deep dark brown. ‘Though I don’t know about this dress,’ she said, suddenly nervous. It was one Judy had brought in for her, a mint-green wild-silk sheath buttoned down the front from the slightly scooped neck to the hem. Good for feeding, Judy had said. But to Kelly it seemed a little short and a lot clingy under Gianfranco’s discerning gaze.

In one lithe stride he was beside her and, wrapping an arm around her waist, he smiled down into her exquisite face. ‘You look perfect,’ he murmured, and kissed her.

Excitement lanced through her nerve-endings, and sent her pulse-rate racing. Kelly was shocked, fighting against a tide of fierce physical awareness. She had just had a baby; somehow she had thought it would make a difference but it didn’t.

‘Come on, the car, the baby carriage—everything awaits you, Kelly, and I have a surprise for you.’ Gianfranco slashed her a gleaming smile and kissed her again.

‘But first the nurse has to carry the baby off the premises and I have to sign you out.’

They stopped at the reception desk, and Kelly waited impatiently while Gianfranco completed the paperwork. She glanced across, as he seemed to be taking a long time. When he came back to her his smile had gone and he looked oddly sombre.

‘Something wrong?’ she asked, fearful that she might not be able to leave yet.

A muscle jerked beside his unsmiling mouth. ‘No, nothing at all.’

But, by the time the car drew up outside the Casa Maldini, though Kelly had tried to hang on to her optimism, she’d failed. They had hardly spoken a word, and it was a tight-mouthed, austere Gianfranco who helped her into the house with baby Anna.

Their reception committee was waiting. Carmela, Olivia and the staff—everyone fussed over the baby. Until Gianfranco took the carrycot holding the baby in one hand and Kelly by the arm with the other. ‘I’ll take you upstairs.’

A few minutes later Kelly was standing in the middle of a nursery, with every conceivable object a baby could possibly want or need. Gianfranco, with amazing efficiency, had placed the sleeping child in the delicate crib provided, and, straightening up, he gestured with one elegant hand to one of two doors set in one wall. ‘Through there is a connecting bedroom with en suite bathroom for the nanny, and another bathroom.’

‘It is beautiful.’ She gazed around at the walls, skilfully painted with a nursery-rhyme scene of a rolling landscape with all kinds of field animals. When her eyes finally reached the figure in the mural she realised it was Little Miss Muffet. She bit back an exclamation at the sight of the enormous spider! She was lost for words…

‘While you thought the guest rooms were being decorated this nursery suite was being devised, and it connects with ours. It was Olivia’s idea to keep it a surprise.’

The spider should have told her Olivia had had a hand in it, she thought cynically. ‘Yes, it is a lovely surprise.’ Tearing her eyes from his, she moved to the cot and smiled down at her sleeping baby. ‘We will be fine here, won’t we, darling?’ she murmured.

Straightening up, she glanced back at Gianfranco. ‘I think I’ll check out the rest later; I could do with a lie-down.’ She tried to smile brightly, but it didn’t quite come off as she crossed to the door that connected with her old room.

Long, elegant fingers wrapped around her arm and stopped her. ‘Wait, Kelly; Mamma has arranged some interviews this afternoon to choose a nanny—obviously you will want to take part,’ he said, scrutinising her with dark, impassive eyes.

‘No,’ she said tightly. ‘Let’s get one thing clear right now: I am not having my baby looked after by a nanny for quite some time—if ever.’ On this point she was adamant. ‘Is that clear enough for you?’

‘Yes, clear enough. I get the message. I can’t do anything right in your eyes.’ Gianfranco suddenly exploded. ‘Why didn’t you tell me it was your birthday last Saturday?’ His abrupt change of subject made Kelly’s head spin. ‘I would never have known except when I signed you out at the hospital the nurse suggested if you had given birth an hour earlier you and Anna would have shared the same birthday. Have you any idea how low that makes me feel?’

‘Not half as low as I felt,’ Kelly responded with muted sarcasm.

‘I don’t need to be reminded of that.’ Dark hooded eyes met hers. ‘Do you imagine for one second I would have left you alone on your birthday, or that I don’t regret missing the birth of our child?’

‘If you say so,’ she agreed. Their baby was sleeping not three feet away and she did not want to argue. She heard his hissed intake of breath and put a hand on his arm. ‘I’m sorry but I assumed you knew it was my birthday when you applied for our marriage licence. And you took my passport.’ She justified her reasoning, but, seeing the grim expression in his eyes, she changed tack. ‘I know you are a Leo, born on the third of August,’ she tried to placate him. ‘But perhaps it is a male-female thing—Venus, Mars. Let’s not fight about it.’

‘You’re right; I should have known. I’ll make it up to you.’ He reached out, his strong hands clasping her tense shoulders, drawing her closer. He dropped a kiss on her upturned face, his dark eyes burning into hers. ‘I don’t deserve you.’

Her heartbeat thudded and she drew in a quick, excited breath, a wealth of emotions welling up within her. She loved her husband, the father of her child; what else mattered? Kelly lifted her hands and circled his neck, pushing her fingers slowly into his thick, luxuriant hair, and she had an almost unbearable longing to be held in his arms again, to feel the long length of his hard body pressed against her without the inconvenience of her once swollen stomach. ‘No, you don’t, but you’ve got me,’ she teased.

He didn’t laugh, but bent his head and let his tongue dart between her parted lips in an erotic invasion that turned her bones to water, and made her tremble. ‘Ah, Kelly,’ Gianfranco husked in his accented drawl. ‘You don’t know what you do to me.’

She knew what she would like to do to him, she thought breathlessly, the hardness of his aroused body setting her imagination in overdrive.

‘Oops, sorry.’ Olivia giggled. ‘I couldn’t wait to find out what Kelly thinks of the nursery.’

Gianfranco’s arms fell from around Kelly. ‘She loves it. Don’t you, cara?’

The phrase ‘dropped like a hot brick’ sprang to mind… Kelly moved stiffly back and, glancing at Olivia, said, ‘Yes, it’s great.’

Anna started to cry. Saved by the baby. ‘If you will excuse me, Anna needs feeding.’ Crossing to the cot, she lifted Anna in her arms.

‘You really should get her on a bottle as soon as possible,’ Olivia offered. ‘Then anyone could feed her.’

Ignoring the other woman’s comment, Kelly settled down on the nursing chair, and in minutes Anna was suckling greedily at her breast.

Gianfranco surveyed the mother and child, his black eyes fixed on Kelly’s breast. Astonishingly he felt a stab of something very like jealousy towards his daughter. He wanted to be where Anna was, and his body warned him to get out fast. ‘I must go,’ he said shortly.

Kelly glanced up, but he was already exiting the room. Now that she was left with the baby and only her thoughts, the events of the last half-hour ran through her mind, and warning bells rang loud in her head. What kind of woman had she become? Placating Gianfranco at any cost! Actually apologising to him for his forgetting her birthday! Afraid to speak her mind except on the simplest of topics, in case she offended him or his family. What kind of weak example of womanhood was that to set her precious daughter?

Four weeks later, restless and unable to sleep, Kelly slid out of bed. She glanced briefly at the connecting door to the room Gianfranco occupied and for a moment was tempted to go to him. But he had decreed no sleeping together until she got the all-clear from the doctor at six weeks. He had given her a diamond necklace to match the bracelet as a belated birthday present, also a car for her personal use, and he was good with Anna—when he was around. But he was not around much.

Love was a fearsome emotion, she thought with a sudden shiver. Except for the love of her child—that was totally different. She would do anything for Anna, and with that thought in mind she walked along to the nursery. Her breast milk was drying up, and the nurse had suggested supplementing Anna with formula, but the baby did not seem to like it much. Quietly she opened the nursery door, and shock held her rigid for a second.

Olivia had Anna in her arms and was feeding her with a bottle of formula. ‘What the hell do you think you are doing?’

Olivia looked at Kelly. ‘Practising for when you are gone.’

Snatching the baby from Olivia’s arms, Kelly was shaking with anger. Now she knew why Anna was not feeding well from her. ‘Get out, and keep away from my child,’ she snapped.

‘Your child?’ Olivia sneered. ‘Haven’t you realised yet? Gianfranco is going to dump you as soon as you stop breast-feeding and we are going to be a family. Why do you think your so-called marriage was only a civil ceremony in England? He does not even need to divorce you to marry me in church, you stupid cow.’ And Olivia walked out.

Kelly tried to tell herself it was the ravings of a slightly unhinged woman. But deep inside she didn’t really believe it. She had put up with a lot to stay with Gianfranco, but when it came to her daughter she would fight like a tigress.

CHAPTER NINE

Three years later.

ST AIDEN’S COVE in Cornwall was virtually deserted, although it was early summer. Kelly stood beside the outcrop of rocks on the tiny beach and watched her daughter methodically shovelling sand into a small red bucket; nothing would stop Annalou’s determination to build a sandcastle, and Kelly was vividly reminded of Gianfranco. Annalou had her father’s eyes, and also his confidence. Nothing seemed to bother her.