Valentine's Day

That put her in a great mood. Shopping trips often seemed to have that effect—and something told her she was having a lot more fun than Max was right now.

Taking care of Jamie was a breeze. He was such a sweetheart, so responsive and free with his baby smiles and gurgles, that being with him was a joy. And dressing him in his cute new outfits was fun, too. She was glad he was a boy and about a month older than Michelle had been, so the comparisons and memories, though they did come up and did bring a wave of sadness, didn’t sting the way they might have.

The situation that worried her most right now was the status of this baby. What was going to happen if the DNA result was negative? If Sheila appeared and had a good explanation for where she’d been, she supposed Jamie would go back to his mother and the rest of them would go on with their lives. But what if Sheila was on drugs or something else that made her impossible as a mother to this little angel? That would present its own problems. But there was no point thinking about that. Sheila claimed this was Gino’s baby and there was, so far, no reason to doubt her.

So what if Sheila didn’t return and the test did come back with the result Max was looking for? What would happen then? It was perfectly obvious. Max would pack Jamie up and take off for Venice. She would lose again. Another heartbreak.

No, now she was letting her emotions run rampant. She wasn’t that attached to this child and she wouldn’t let herself be. She was a caretaker, nothing more.

And she wasn’t going to fall in love—with either one of them.

It was midafternoon and Max wasn’t back yet. Jamie was napping peacefully. Cari decided to take a shower. A few minutes later she was luxuriating in the multiple-spray waterfall of the fancy bathroom when she thought she heard something. She turned off the water, listening intently.

There it was. Jamie was crying. Wouldn’t you know her timing wouldn’t work out? Sighing, she stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel and that was when she heard Max at the bathroom door.

“Cari, the baby’s crying. Why is he crying?”

“Well, pick him up and see what he needs,” she called back, toweling fast. She hurried to blot her hair and put on her robe. As she emerged from the bathroom, she could hear Jamie down the hall.

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” she called, pulling the robe more tightly around her as she rushed down the hallway. In the nursery, Max was standing at the side of the crib looking down at Jamie. Cari pushed right past him and picked the baby up, cooing and rocking him as he slowly quieted down. Glancing up, she saw from the look on Max’s face that he was not happy.

“Why was he crying?” he demanded.

This entire scene was putting a knot in her stomach. “Relax,” she said shortly. “Babies do cry.”

His frown was ferocious. “But if it was bad when the nanny let him cry…”

A scene flashed in her mind. It had been very late and she’d been frantically trying to heat a bottle and get it back to Michelle before Brian completely exploded.

“Can’t you shut her up?” Brian had yelled from the bedroom. “I’ve gotta get some sleep. I’ve got to work in the morning, you know.”

“Just a minute.”

“Cari, if you don’t shut that baby up I’m leaving. I can’t live like this.”

“Brian, just give me a minute…”

A crash came from the bedroom where Brian had thrown the lamp against the wall.

Cari blinked away the memory. She looked up into Max’s face.

“You left him alone,” he said accusingly. “Why did you leave him alone?”

Cari took a deep breath and gathered all her resources. “Max, listen to me carefully. He was asleep when I went to take a shower. He was only alone for a couple of minutes.” She gazed at him earnestly. Surely he was mature enough to understand.

But maybe not. Maybe he was going to be like Brian. Her heart sank. If so, what would she do? She wouldn’t dare leave the baby here with him, and yet how could she stay?

“Max, this is not a major issue. Babies do cry. You don’t leave them alone to cry for hours, but now and then it’s going to happen.”

Fascinated, she watched him visibly begin to relax. He looked down at the baby and ran a hand through his hair, then looked up at her again. “I’m sorry,” he said gruffly. “You’re right, of course. It’s just, I came in and heard him crying and didn’t know where you’d gone.”

A surge of relief that developed quickly into affection rolled through her. She wanted to touch him. She wanted to reach out and run her hand down the side of his face. Instead she challenged him.

“Here’s a question for you. Why does the crying bother you so much?”

He stopped as though that was a new one he hadn’t thought about before. “I guess it’s because I’m afraid something is wrong and I won’t know what to do about it,” he admitted at last.

She smiled, feeling such relief. He wasn’t like Brian. That was becoming clear.

“Good answer,” she murmured. “So it’s not just that the noise drives you crazy?”

“Well, I can’t say I love the noise,” he said. “But I don’t think it’s driving me crazy, exactly.”

“Good.”

She hugged him. It was spontaneous and it was one-handed and it was quick. In fact, it was over before he realized it was happening. And then she was gone again and leading the way out into the living room with Jamie in her arms.

“What all have you got there?” she cried, surveying the piles of packages in exclusive department store bags and boxes.

“You wouldn’t believe it,” he said, coming out behind her. “What I’ve got is presents. Presents for my mother. Presents for the servants at my mother’s house in Venice. Presents for all the people who work for me.” He shook his head, looking at her in bewilderment. “Why the hell do women love presents so much?”

She shrugged and grinned at him. “You’re the one buying them.”

He snarled just a little. “C.J. made me.”

“Of course.” She laughed.

He looked at her sideways. “I wanted to buy you a present. But C.J. wasn’t as enthused about that.”

“No kidding.” Cari laughed again. She shook her head of wet curls. “You don’t have to buy me any presents,” she told him. “Just being here, taking care of Jamie, is enough.”

He smiled as though he enjoyed her laughter. “The whole time, I wanted to be back here with you,” he said softly.

She rolled her eyes. “Right.” She turned away, bouncing Jamie in her arms.

“No, really. You don’t believe that?”

Looking back at him, she flushed. She could see his honesty in his eyes. Yes, she believed it. But still, she didn’t trust it. She sighed, remembering the morning kiss. If she didn’t take care, they would be right back there again. She could see it in his eyes.

“Max, we have to talk.”

“About not getting involved?” he asked gruffly.

She looked at him, marveling. What—did he read her mind?

“Exactly.” She shook her head. “Especially if you’re going to be marrying C.J. for heaven’s sake.”

“Marrying C.J.” Slumping down onto the couch, he groaned, his head in his hands.

“It’s not going to be as easy as it seemed from a distance.”

“You don’t seem to like her very much.”

“You can tell, can you?” He looked up, adorably chagrinned, with his beautiful black hair falling over his eyes. “It’s not really fair to say I don’t like her. She’s okay. For someone.” He chuckled suddenly. “Randy, for instance.”

She agreed, smiling. “He does seem to have a major crush there.”

“Oh, yeah. He can’t take his eyes off her.”

She threw a hand up in the air. “Then let him marry her.”

“Good idea. One flaw. That doesn’t get me the ranch.”

She dropped down beside him on the couch, sitting with her feet up on the coffee table and Jamie propped by her legs. The baby laughed at them both and they played with him for a moment. Then she turned to Max.

“Are you seriously considering marrying her just for her ranch?” It did seem a bit of a stretch.

“Yes, I am.”

That was like a knife through her heart, though she knew it shouldn’t matter to her at all.

“Why?”

He looked at her, his eyes clear and determined. “For my mother’s sake.”

He’d said something along these lines before but she had a hard time buying it “Your mother tells you whom to marry?”

“No.” He shook his head. “You don’t understand.”

She shrugged. “You got that right.”

“Okay. I will try to explain.”

“Please do.”

He sat very still for a moment. She waited, her heart beating just a bit faster, anticipating what he might tell her. She knew it would involve heartbreak. When reasons seemed irrational, heartbreak was usually lurking somewhere in the mix.

“My brother, Gino, the one who died recently, he was just the best.”

Max moved restlessly and Cari could see that this wasn’t going to be easy for him to get through. He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. She resisted the impulse to reach out and run her fingers through his thick, lustrous hair.

“Gino did everything right. He was a skiing champion and a world-class swimmer. He danced like Fred Astaire and sang like Caruso. He was smart and good at business. He turned a small pair of cafés he took over when my uncle died into a major chain with restaurants all over Europe. He was handsome and loving, the sort of man whose smile was always his first reaction.” His voice cracked, but he went on. “He was flawless.”

Her breath caught in her throat. She gazed at Max with a compassion that threatened to overwhelm her.

“It’s so tragic that you lost him.”

“Yes.” Clearing his throat, he looked up at her, his eyes dark and troubled. “But for my mother, it was more than tragedy. It was the end of her life.”

Cari shook her head, confused. “But she still has you.”

He nodded, but there was something that looked like anguish in his face. “Yes. Of course. But you see, it was Gino that she…” His voice trailed off and he looked away. For a moment he couldn’t say the words. “Gino was the oldest, and he and my mother had a special bond. Gino was her helper when she went through some very bad things. I was too young to understand at the time, too young to be of much help. Gino was her right arm. When my father left her, she always said she couldn’t have survived without Gino.”

Cari frowned. She didn’t really understand this. He was implying that his mother loved his brother more than anyone or anything—even Max himself. And yet she couldn’t detect a bit of bitterness in him. He seemed to accept it in a way she’d never seen before. She didn’t get it.

“Are you telling me you didn’t resent her attitude?”

He looked up, shocked. “Resent it? Not at all. I felt the same way about him that she did. He was my best friend. He was my idol, my mentor, my guiding star. I would have given my life to save his.”

Cari was struck by a sense of admiration. She wasn’t used to a man who could put others before himself quite this way.

Brian had lived on bitterness. He always thought everyone he dealt with was out to cheat him and he tried to cheat them first, just to protect himself from their schemes. It had been hard to try to get him to see that others weren’t really against him, because every attempt she made to do that just cast her in the role of his enemy, and he would accuse her of doing it, too.

Poor Brian. Now, at this distance, she could pity him. At the time, understanding had been harder to come by.

“My brother died trying out an experimental small plane. He was considering investing in the company that made it. It was a tremendous blow to us all, but to my mother, it was the end of her world. I had to have her closest servants watch her night and day to make sure she didn’t take her own life. My heart was already broken by the death of my brother, but every time I saw the tragedy in her face, my heart would break again. I resolved that I would do anything—anything I could think of, to bring back her smile.”

“And you think getting the ranch will do that?”

“Yes.” He straightened and looked her full in the face. “I know it will. You see, her family settled the area where the Triple M Ranch is located in the nineteenth century. Her great-grandfather cleared the land. Her grandfather started the first profitable herd. She grew up on that ranch.” He shook his head and his voice turned a little bitter. “And it was her own father who gambled away the family fortune and sold the ranch to C.J.’s father to keep from going to prison.”

“I see.”

“From the time I was a little boy, I was raised on stories of the Triple M. It just tortured my mother to think it was in C.J.’s family’s hands instead of where it belonged. C.J.’s mother, Betty Jean, was my mother’s best friend, but when C.J.’s father took over the ranch and then married Betty Jean, they broke all ties. My mother went to Europe and met and married my father. But she never got over losing the ranch.”

“I think I’m beginning to understand some of the intensity here,” Cari said tentatively, watching Jamie fall asleep propped against her legs. “But it still seems a bit extreme. Maybe it’s an Italian thing?”

“My mother is as much a Texan as she is anything,” he said with a crooked grin. “Maybe it’s really a Texas thing.”

She nodded, giving him that one. “Could be. We can be intense in our love for the land,” she admitted.

“Anyway, a few weeks ago, C.J. wrote to my mother. She wanted to come to Italy for a visit.” He frowned, thinking that over. “Okay, now I get it. Gino coming here last year, hoping he could buy the ranch, must have been what led her to believe we might be willing to do almost anything to get it back in our hands. So she decided to use it to leverage herself a husband.”

“A rich husband,” Cari reminded him.

“Of course. What good would a poor husband do for someone like C.J.?”

Cari shook her head. “You have a point there.”

“Anyway, I didn’t want her in Italy bothering my mother. And that was soon after Sheila called to tell me she’d had Gino’s baby.”

“And what did she want?”

“Just money. But when I demanded proof the baby was Gino’s, she disappeared. It was a few weeks before my people traced her to Dallas. And that gave me a reason to come here to take care of two things at once.”

That explained a lot of things, but it didn’t make anything seem easier. Max needed to get the baby situation settled, and he needed to get control of the ranch. Both were up in the air right now. That was one thing she had to keep in mind. No matter how much she cared for him, no matter what happened between them, Max Angeli was just passing through. In another few days, he’d be gone. And maybe her life—and her heart—could get back to normal.

“So now I know why you parachuted by mistake into my life,” Cari said with a tiny smile.

“Fate,” he said. “Fate can be a—”

“Don’t say it in front of the baby,” she warned, rising and getting Jamie and his things together for the walk back to the nursery.

“Cari, Cari,” he drawled, leaning back and looking at her languorously. “How long has it been since a man has made hot, sexy love to you?”

She threw him a sideways glance. “It’s been so long that I’m not sure I remember what those words even mean.”

“We should rectify that situation.” There was a smile in his voice, but a thread of interest, as well, and a hint of sensual urgency that made her pulse race.

She gave him a quick smile and turned to leave. “No, thank you,” she said back over her shoulder.

Laughing softly, he rose and followed her. “I forgot to tell you. C.J. and Randy are coming here for dinner.”

“Oh? Down in the dining room?”

She assumed they would want to be away from the baby so they could have a relaxing evening. No matter. She would just as soon be up here, taking care of Jamie. She really didn’t need any company.

“No,” he said, surprising her. “Actually, C.J. wants to show Randy that she can cook. So she’s going to prepare something wonderful on the little stove in the kitchenette.”

Cari turned and stared at him. “What?”

“So she says.” He grinned. “But we do have room service as a last resort.”

She shook her head ruefully. “Somehow I’m afraid we’re probably going to need it.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

BUT Cari was wrong. C.J. turned out to be a wonderful cook, to the surprise of at least two of the dinner participants. She threw together plates of finger food, which included bite-size pieces of filet mignon on toast, salmon and crème fraîche on rye crackers, a light-as-air pâté on sautéed slices of croissant, lobster tail on sourdough bread rounds, bruschetta on deep-fried parmesan toast, and a few other things, each more delicious than the last.

“Appetizers,” Max said without enthusiasm when she first put out her spread. But once he’d started eating, the only sounds to be heard were sighs of ecstasy.

“You see,” C.J. said to Randy, flouncing her apron as she sashayed past. “I can cook. And on little tiny good-for-nothing stoves, too.”

It turned out her purpose was to convince him that she could help him cater one of his large parties. He didn’t need much more persuading once he’d tasted her food.

“Hire her,” Max proclaimed, his mouth full of lobster. “She’s a genius at cooking. This is wonderful stuff.”

“I’m not trying to get a job with him,” C.J. said pertly. “I’m trying to hire on with you, and you know it.”

Max looked at the two women, one after the other, and inwardly he groaned. C.J. was gorgeous in an exaggerated way, all red lips and aggressive breasts and swinging hips, with fire-engine-red hair as icing on the very tempting cake. She was vivacious, exciting.

But—what the hell? He’d been there, done that. She was just like every other woman he’d dated since he was seventeen. He was bored with it, bored with her.

Cari was something new to him—warm, sweet, principled. She had standards. Imagine that! Rules she used to guide her life. He’d thought such things went out with high-buttoned shoes, except for boring, shriveled people who wanted to stop anyone from having fun.

But what Cari had was something different from anything he’d ever known. She had integrity. Wow. What a difference it made. Loving her would make him a better person. He knew that intuitively. She would change his life. Too bad it was so impossible.

Still she had a special spark that attracted him in a way C.J. and her type never could. What was he going to do about that? Or did he really need to do anything at all?

“That was the best meal I’ve had in ages, C.J.,” Cari told her when the men had gone down to the bar for an after-dinner drink and left the women behind.

“My one talent,” C.J. said with a sigh. “You see why I need to marry Max.”

They were lounging on the couch, and Cari was feeling almost friendly to the woman.

“Do you really need to marry him?” she asked hesitantly. “I mean, after all, I’m sure he’s willing to pay you quite a bit for the ranch. Why not just sell it to him and invest the money you get out of the deal?”

C.J. shook her head fervently. “No can do.”

“Why not? You could get a lot of money for it.”

“‘Money’ per se, isn’t what I want. Security is what I need. The kind that major wealth can bring. That’s my goal.” She settled into the corner of the couch, pulling her legs up under her. “Here’s a lesson in life, Cari. Money is very nice, but just plain old money has a way of slipping through your fingers. I’ve learned that often over the years. Money evaporates.” She nodded wisely. “The land is always there. It’s the goose that lays the golden egg. You don’t sell off that darn old goose. Not if you’re smart.”

“So the ranch is doing well?” Cari asked, wondering just who was managing it. C.J. didn’t seem to be doing it and she never seemed to talk about it.

“As well as can be expected. But that’s not where I count on to get my support. It doesn’t matter how much money the ranch makes. As I said, money can disappear in an instant. All kinds of things can make money disappear. Life can soak it right up. I’ve seen that happen. The ranch is my leverage. It’s something I can use to get the life I want. I’m just lucky I’ve got it.”

“I see.”

“You know what?” C.J. went on. “This may surprise you, but I’m tired of being a party girl. It’s getting hard to keep up that front. Once my looks go, it’ll be over anyway. I’ve got to prepare for my future. I want kids and a family just like everybody else.”

“You do?” Cari stared at her. “I thought babies gave you the willies.”

“They do. You don’t think I’d be caught dead taking care of my children, do you? That’s what servants are for.”

“Oh. Why didn’t I think of that?”

“Because you don’t think ahead the way I do. You really should start planning for your own future, honey. I’m a bit older than you. I’ve been around the block a few times. I can teach you a few things.” She nodded wisely and Cari tried to smile, but was afraid she wasn’t very convincing.

“But as for me,” she went on, “here’s the bottom line. I want it all, but I don’t want to do it grubbing in poverty. Max is my only hope for the good life. And I mean to take advantage of that hope any way I can.”

Cari had to admire her honesty, even if she didn’t think much of her ethics. Later, when C.J. and Randy had left, she told Max about what the woman had said.

“How well does that ranch do?” she asked him.

He shrugged. “The ranch is mortgaged to the hilt, from what I’ve been able to ascertain. They tell me she can’t come up with the monthly fees at this point.”

“Isn’t there some way you can just sort of squeeze her out?”

He grinned at her terminology. “It’s complicated. If this was an ordinary project, I wouldn’t hesitate. That’s how you make the big deals. But in this case, my mother wouldn’t stand for it. She wants everything aboveboard and by the rules. She has a certain compassion for C.J.”

Cari could understand that. For Max’s mother, C.J. was a part of the Texas she’d left behind and still seemed to yearn for.

“So you’ll have to marry her?”

He merely shrugged and looked deep into her eyes without saying anything. Finally he just walked away.

A half hour later, he asked if she’d like to come out to the ranch with him the next day.

“I want to go out to see it. Every time I ask C.J. to take me out, she finds a way to avoid it. I want to go out on my own and find out what she’s trying to hide.”

“Sure. We’ll go with you.” She didn’t go anywhere without Jamie anymore.

“Good. I’ve ordered a picnic basket from the kitchen. We’d better leave early, just in case C.J. and Randy get a yen to visit again.”

She laughed. She thought it was funny that Randy seemed to have attached himself to C.J. so thoroughly at the same time the woman thought she was romancing Max—sort of.

She left Max to watch a little television, and she went to bed, glad she had her own nightgown instead of the T-shirt. She was exhausted. Taking care of a baby was tiring work, even when you loved every minute of it. She quickly went to sleep and slept like a log until the wee hours.

Something woke her. She opened her eyes and for just a few seconds, wasn’t sure where she was. Turning toward the crib, she saw a shadowy figure standing there and she gasped.

“Relax.” It was Max. “It’s only me. Jamie was whimpering, so I came in to make sure he was okay.”

She reached out and turned on the bedside light and there he was, holding Jamie in his arms, the picture of the perfect dad. Joy filled her heart and tears sprang to her eyes.

“Oh, Max,” she said, blubbering a bit.

“What’s the matter?” He was astonished. “Did I frighten you that much? Cari, I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s not that.” Slipping out of bed, she pulled her robe on and went to him, kissing his cheek and then smiling at the baby. “I’m just so happy,” she said, choking on her words and smiling at him tearfully. “I just… it’s just that my husband…” She sniffed and shook her head. “Never mind.”