She was still on his mind. Everything about her. Her body, her perfect curves, her curly hair...her sultry voice that made him want to take her into his arms and just claim her over and over again until she said his name. He could not think of anything else except for that. The way her brown eyes seemed to glow innocently as he looked into them or the way her full pink lips seemed to call out to him. As far as he was concerned, she was everything. She was actually the reason sex was created. He had never wanted anyone as much as he wanted Amanda. It was not just that he wanted her in his bed. He wanted her, period. He wanted everything about her. Her heart. Her body. Her love. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. Her scent was still lingering on him. It was different. Mild. Gentle, almost like she was trying to be subtle.
Or perhaps that was what she was doing. Being subtle.
He was still lost in thought when he heard the sound of stiletto heels against the concrete pavement. He opened his eyes and suddenly the peace and tranquility he had been feeling drained off as he looked at Isabella Benassi.
“Well, are you just going to look at me or are you going to offer me a drink?” she asked and he forced out a smile. He stood up and she took a step towards him and looked into his eyes. She slipped a hand behind his neck and pulled him close to her, hugging him by force.
“Isabella,” he started in a soft voice. “What are you doing here?”
“Well, last I heard this was a party,” she said, smiling. “Or was the invite a big mistake?”
He bit his lower lip and shrugged. He had forgotten that some of the people in his contact list were just there by default. People like Isabella. He could not help but notice how different Isabella was from Amanda. She had layers upon layers of makeup and he could just tell that she had clip ons in her hair. It was way too big...it actually reminded him of a bad Kardashian makeup job. She had a shorter than short dress and heels that seemed to be a little too high for comfort.
“What is it, Rafael? Cat got your tongue?” she asked and he smiled.
“I thought you were in Cancun.”
She sat down and sighed.
“I was but when i got that email you sent about this party I was on the first plane back. There was no way I was going to miss this.” She looked around and smiled. “You really have outdone yourself this time around, haven’t you?”
Rafael shrugged.
“Well, to be honest, I kind of got tired of the same old shit with the same old people.”
“That’s why you had the video vixens from Brazil?” she asked and he forced out a laugh.
“So you noticed them too, huh?”
“Are you kidding? Everyone noticed them. I mean, they are beautiful women with Kardashian butts that were serving drinks.” She rolled her eyes. “The term Brazilian wax is not just thrown into conversation for fun, Rafael. There is a point to it.”
“I thought it would make the party a little more fun,” he said.
“For the rest of you guys. For us women it just makes us want to pull longer hours at the gym.”
“So, I did do everyone a favor, then? Didn’t I?”
Isabella smiled as she looked up at Rafael.
“Are you trying to say that the women you know are overweight? In so many words?” she asked and he forced a smile. “So, why are you out here and not in there where all the action is?”
“I think I have had quite enough of the party tonight,” Rafael said sighing loudly.
She looked in the lemonade pitcher and raised an eyebrow over the other.
“Yeah, no kidding. Are you having lemonade at a party? Your party?”
“Like I said, I’ve partied enough for the night. Maybe for the entire year,” he said in a soft voice. He looked at her and wondered what she was after. She would not have come over to talk to him just for the sake of it. And after the whole thing with his family a few days earlier, all he could think of was whether or not it was a good idea to have her there. She had something up her sleeve. He could almost smell it in the air but he could not understand why it was taking forever for her to get whatever it was off her chest.
“What are you doing here, Isabella?” he finally asked and she shrugged.
“Like I said, I came out here for a party.”
“I don’t mean here as in my house, I mean here. By the pool.”
She took a long deep breath and flipped her hair over her shoulder.
“I was looking for you.”
He wanted to say something. Maybe ask why or something of the sort but for some reason, he could not bring himself to say it without sounding sarcastic. He knew that the look in his eyes said everything he was thinking.
“You know, when my parents began hinting at marriage, I was afraid they were going to suggest some oil guy in the United Arab Emirates but when I found out they had been talking about the two of us...I was stoked,” she said and he shrugged. “Wait, you don’t know about this?”
“Oh I know about it, alright.”
“And?” she stressed.
“And?” he asked and she raised an eyebrow over the other. “There is nothing to tell. All I know is that is not something I am willing to do.”
“What are you talking about? We have chemistry Rafael,” Isabella said. “And I know you feel it too because you and I both know that. I mean, all those trips to London, Sweden, Milan, Las Vegas...” her voice trailed off.
“Are you going to mention every single place that the two of us have been?”
“Why are you acting like this? We have had so much fun together,” she said. “I mean, you don’t take a girl for all those holidays if you don’t have some kind of deep connection with her.”
Rafael sighed and forced out a laugh.
“Isabella, I won’t deny that we’ve had fun together but that’s just it. We had fun.”
“So, you are trying to tell me that we have no future together?” she asked and he shook his head.
“Not one that I ever thought of.”
“Are you trying to give me the whole ‘I am not the marrying type’ speech?” she asked and he shook his head.
“I am the marrying type, Isabella but I am not the kind to get set up by the parents.”
“But we took the time and had our fun and...” she shook her head. “Did I mean nothing to you at all?”
Isabella was starting to get on his nerves. He wanted to have a stiff drink at that moment. That was what Isabella did to him. She drove him to drink. Probably that was the only way he could manage to deal with her. When he was intoxicated.
“Isabella, we had fun. But that was it. I do see myself getting married but definitely not to you.”
He began walking away and Isabella reached for his hand but he shrugged it off.
“Don’t,” he said as he looked at her. He noticed her lips part as if she wanted to say something but he was quick to shut her up. “Just don’t.”
“But we need to talk about this,” she said and he shook his head.
“You have your own life, Isabella. Don’t let the Benassi name take that from you,” Rafael pointed out.
“But I do want to be with you,” she said, sounding a little bit sad and desperate.
“Isabella, I...” his voice trailed off before he sighed. “Don’t let your parents determine your life,” he managed to say before he walked away.
Chapter 6
Amanda didn’t know why but waiting for the days to pass by before she met up with Rafael had proven to be one of the hardest things she had done. Especially because he had taken her number and she had taken his.
She was still trying to rack her brain, trying to figure out why she was so drawn to him. There was something about him and she still had no idea what it was. But the one thing she was very sure of was the fact that she was trying more than anything to convince herself everything that was going on, the feeling of being drawn to Rafael, was not as a result of her issues with Brett. She would have hated to have to settle for him as a condolence prize. Some k
ind of rebound. Because Rafael was not the kind of man you went on rebound with, he was the kind of man you went on rebound for. He was most definitely not Brett or any of her other exes. So there was definitely a guarantee that he would love her in whatever she had on...or did she?
She held a dress against her body and then another one and sighed.
“He is not like Brett,” she told herself. “Anything you put on is fine. Absolutely anything.”
She’d had to deal with years of questioning everything about her but now she knew that he had been doing that because he wanted her to dress more like Sienna. She had a perfect size zero body that would let her get away with anything and everything bold but Amanda was more conservative.
She loved to dress up and fix herself up but as far as Brett was concerned it was never enough. He always wanted more. He wanted her to show more skin...like Sienna. He wanted her to wear her hair up more often...like Sienna. At that moment, she felt really stupid. How could she not have seen what was unfolding right in front of her eyes. It was so clear. In black and freaking white.
But now, the whole idea that she was literally growing by the minute was a bigger burden on her shoulders than she could have ever thought of. She knew that she would soon start showing and that she would need to dress the part and also reveal to the world that she was expecting her cheating ex-boyfriend’s baby.
She sighed loudly and held another dress against her body. A smile played on her lips. It was one of her favorite dresses: a sleeveless, light blue, tight fitting maxi dress with a low cut neckline that showed off her perfectly full cleavage. She always thought she looked perfect in that dress especially when she straightened her curls out and let them loose on her shoulders. Brett had loved those kinds of outfits at first but somewhere along the way, they no longer did it for him. But it was not about Brett anymore. It was all about her. She put on the dress and quickly straightened her hair before she did her make-up. She could not help but feel proud when she saw her reflection because perfection did not begin to explain how perfect she looked.
She had just put on a pair of sandals when she heard Emilia’s doorbell. She had given Rafael her address because he had insisted on picking her up even though Amanda had insisted that they were not going for a date.
“Well, we are going to eat later, right?” he had asked. “I might as well make sure I do it right the first time just in case...you know to pave the way for the second time I take you out which in your words would be a first date.”
She took one last look in the mirror before she made her way to the front door all the time thankful that Emilia was not home because she would have definitely made a big deal of the situation.
“Whoa,” Rafael said under his breath when she opened the door. “You look amazing.”
She smiled as she looked at his black fitting pants and maroon shirt. He looked better than she had ever seen him. It might have been a casual look for him but he looked amazingly handsome. Better than David Beckham as far as she was concerned.
“You look great too,” she said as she looked at him.
“I feel like I am not doing you any justice,” he said and she gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear even though it was not really out of place.
“Trust me, you look perfect,” she said in a voice a little lower than she wanted it to be.
“I got you something,” he said as he handed her a box he had been holding behind his back. She reached for the box and opened it, a smile played on her lips. “It’s Swiss chocolate.”
“Yeah, my favorite,” she whispered. “How did you know?” she asked as she looked up at him.
“Well, I know for a fact that ladies love chocolate and if I am going to get you some, why not give you the best kind there is?” Rafael said and she bit her lower lip.
“Thank you, this is...” her voice trailed off. “I don’t even know what to say right now.”
“You are letting me take you around town. So this is as great as it is going to get for me.”
“You sure have a boring life if this is as good as it gets,” she said and he stepped forward. Her heart rate suddenly sped up. She did not know why but judging from how bold she knew he was, she could almost guess he was going to try and kiss her. But what really scared her was that she was sure she would not pull away. But he did not. At least not the kind of kiss she was anticipating. He slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her close before he kissed her cheek. It was a soft lingering kiss that left her feeling flushed.
“I would not be a proper gentleman if I did not do that to appreciate the beauty of the woman in front of me right now,” he said.
She put the box of chocolates down on the table next to the door before she looked at him.
“Shall we?” she asked and he smiled.
“I thought you would never ask,” he said as she stepped out of the door and pulled the door shut.
*****
After leaving Emilia’s, Rafael had taken Amanda to the Imperioli Enterprises building. At first she did not understand why he was taking her there and he would not tell her either.
“I thought we were taking me for a tour of the city,” she said as he led her to the elevators.
“Just trust me, okay?” he said in a soft voice as the elevator doors closed. “You do trust me, don't you?” he asked as he looked into her brown eyes and she nodded.
“I do,” she said in a whisper.
“Good.”
They rode up to the roof and she forced out a laugh when she saw a helicopter on the roof.
“Are you serious?” she asked as she looked at the chopper.
“There is no better way to see the town unless it is from up there,” he said, leading her towards the aircraft.
“But there is no pilot,” she said as he helped her in.
“You are looking at one baby,” he said before he walked round to the other side and got in.
Amanda could not help but feel excited. It kind of felt the same way she did the first time someone she liked paid attention to her. Or maybe the first time she got to see her favorite destination or taste her favorite food. She did not really know what she felt except the fact that she was excited to be there with him.
“Hope you are ready for the ride of your life,” he said as he looked at her.
“Oh I got my camera ready,” she said as she patted her camera bag. “Now, on with it. We only have a few more hours of daylight and I really don’t want to waste it.”
“You can be a little bossy. Did anyone ever tell you that?” Rafael asked and she shrugged.
“There have been a few comments,” she said, smiling.
“And did any of the comments point out how hot it was?” he asked as he started the engines.
She rolled her head to the side to hide the fact that she was blushing.
“Take us up, Imperioli,” she said as she took her camera out of the bag. She took the first photo of an unsuspecting Rafael before he turned and smiled at her. She was not sure he knew it at the time but at that moment, she was having the time of her life. She was actually having fun for the first time in months.
*****
“That was amazing,” Amanda said when they landed back on the roof of Imperioli Enterprises.
“I’m happy you enjoyed it.” Rafael looked at her and waited for her to get her camera back in her bag. “To be honest, I was only too happy to do it.”
She looked at him and took a long deep breath to calm herself. She was still feeling like she’d had a shot of adrenaline or something of the sort.
“Thank you for doing this. I don’t think I have ever taken such beautiful shots...ever,” she said in a soft voice. “And recently I found a way to get all the shots I need in the same post and...” her voice trailed off when she remembered just where she got the idea. Sienna.
“What? What happened?” he asked and she shrugged.
“Just a few terrible memories...coming back to my mind,” she said, her face sudde
nly becoming gloom.
“Hey,” Rafael started as he lifted her chin using his index finger. “Where did you go?”
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be a party pooper...I just have this cloud over my head.”
He smiled.
“You mean a halo.”
She smiled and shrugged.
“To each their own, I guess,” she said as she looked at him.
“Come on. I’ll take you to the best spot in town for dinner,” he said and she frowned.
“I should really be getting home.”
“It’s only six thirty. And I am going to feed you.”
“Do we really have to go to the best spot in town?” she asked. “I mean, I really should be keeping a low profile around here and you do not exactly do the whole low profile thing.”
“Trust me, Amanda. This place I am taking you is not just the best restaurant in Turin but it is as private as you could ever want it to be,” he said, still holding her chin. “What do you say, Amanda? Can you trust me enough to come with me?”
She bit her lip and nodded after a long time.
“Good. Come on,” he said before he got off. He walked around and helped her out before he took her hand in his.
She slowly followed him into the elevator and breathed long low breaths as he held her waist. She could sense that he was somehow possessive with her. She could guess that he was the kind of man who got whatever he set his mind on and at that moment, it seemed like she was what he wanted. Who he wanted.
She could feel people’s eyes on her as they made their way through the front lobby to the front door. But he did not seem to care. As far as he was concerned, they were the only ones who were there at that moment and nothing else mattered. He led her to his white Lamborghini and waited for her to get in before he got in.
“Ready?” he asked as he strapped himself in and she nodded.
“Yeah, ready.”
“Good,” he said before he pulled out of the driveway.
Her heart was pounding in her chest as he drove off. She did not know why she felt so nervous. It might have been the whole pregnancy thing making her sick as a result of all the motion but it could have also been just nerves. She could not wait to get to the restaurant and have a ginger ale to settle her stomach.
Accept My Baby: A Billionaire BWWM Single Parent Pregnancy Romance Page 6
