by Angelo, Judy
He was happy to see her, that was without doubt. The problem was, no matter how hard he tried he just could not shake himself out of his persistently pensive mood. It was no mystery why he was feeling so low. He’d been like this ever since that talk with his father, the one where he’d felt like punching him in the mouth or at least giving him a generous piece of his mind. But this was his father and he'd just suffered a stroke. There was no way he was going to do anything that could mess up his recovery.
But Vittorio had been so vehemently against Arie that Rome knew he had some serious decisions to make. But not now. He was back in the United States, far away from family and again with Arie, and all he wanted to do was forget about the conflict and lose himself in her embrace.
Within seconds she was at his door, tapping on the glass, drawing him out of his reverie. “You’re home,” she said, beaming as she bent to peer at him. “You didn’t tell me you were coming.”
He gave her a careful smile. “I wanted to surprise you.” When he looked up at her as she bent to him, the setting sun forming a halo behind her golden hair, he was struck once again by her sheer beauty.
But it wasn’t just her physical beauty that had him entranced. It was her inner beauty as well. How many single women would have taken the huge leap of faith to take an orphan into their home and into their heart? She wasn’t the only one, he knew, but she was one of the few. It would not be easy, juggling work and a home and an infant all on her own. But still, that never swayed her determination to help.
More than that, she would have stood by her commitment to the child even at the risk of losing him. He should probably feel insulted but instead all he felt for her was admiration.
“You're coming or what?” Arie pulled his door open and stepped back as she gazed at him expectantly.
He grinned up at her. “I’m coming,” he said and got out of the car to draw her close and wrap his arms around her. She felt so good pressed against him, her body so warm and soft. He dipped his face to the fragrant cloud of her hair. “I missed you,” he said, his voice rough with emotion. “Too much.”
She sighed and leaned into him, pressing her face against his chest. “I missed you, too,” she murmured, “more than you could imagine. I’m so glad you’re home.”
Home. He liked the sound of that. The emotions swelling inside him, he pressed his lips to the top of her head in a gentle kiss that was full of feeling. “I’m glad, too.”
But then, as if another thought crossed her mind, Arie pulled back and peered up into his face. “So why didn’t you call?” she asked and there was a slight pout to her lips that told him she was peeved. “You were gone more than a week and I only heard from you three times.”
Rome gave her a rueful smile. “I’m sorry, honey. There was a lot going on.” Then his arms tightened around her. “But you were on my mind the whole time. You know that, don’t you?”
Her brows fell and she gave him a look of suspicion. “Are you sure?”
He chuckled. “One hundred percent. You can ask my sisters.”
“Your sisters? How would they know?” Arie cocked her head in that cute way of hers and gave him a look that said he’d gone bonkers.
“They know,” he said, his smile deepening, “because I couldn’t keep your name off my lips. Do you know how many times I called them Arie?”
That made her laugh. “Are you serious?”
“As a judge,” he said as he watched her frown give way to mirth. “You know you’re in it deep when you can’t even remember your sisters’ names. It was you on my mind the whole time, Arie. Only you.” When a soft blush rose in her cheeks and she dropped her eyes he knew he was embarrassing her. And that was one of the other things he loved about her. As beautiful as she was, she had every reason to be confident in her hold on him. But no, she had a sweet modesty that always touched him.
Taking pity on her, he decided to change the subject. “Looks like you had a busy day at the office. You’re usually home earlier than this.”
That made her look up at him with eager eyes. “No way,” she said. “In fact, I knocked off early to go shopping. Come look.” She stepped back and grabbed his hand then proceeded to drag him toward her car.
And that was when he saw the piles of bags and boxes in the backseat, on the floor, in the passenger’s seat and when she opened the trunk, in there, too. He pulled up short. “What happened? Where’d you get all this stuff?” His jaw gone slack, he turned to look at her. “Did you buy all this in one day?”
She had the grace to give him a guilty look. “I got carried away.” And then she brightened. “But look, I got the cutest little dresses for Maya Bella. I’ll show you.” And before he could budge she’d flung open the back door and was pulling out bags stuffed with clothes in pink, white, yellow, and flowery patterns that had his eyes crossing.
She was pulling a polka dot dress from one of the bags when he stopped her. “Wait. Let’s take this inside. I have a feeling this is going to take a while.”
And, true to his word, it did. After Arie moved the car, pulling right up to the front door, Rome spent the next ten minutes going back and forth between the car and the living room, transporting bags, boxes and even a cardboard tube. “What’s in this?” He held it up as he dropped an overflowing Gap Kids bag onto the sofa.
Arie looked up from where she sat on the floor, legs splayed, as she carefully opened boxes and laid her ‘darling’ outfits on the coffee table, putting them all on display. “Oh, that’s a picture I’m going to frame. It’s a hummingbird drinking from a bottle. It will be so cute in the nursery. Open it.”
"In a sec,” he said, dropping it on top of the already overcrowded sofa. “There’s still a lot more to bring in, remember? Let me at least get the stuff in before nightfall.” He was shaking his head as he turned to go back outside but he was smiling, too. Arie had already turned her attention back to the baby clothes, not even sparing him another glance. Every time she opened a new package her eyes lit up and her lips spread in a smile. She was happy and that was the best home coming gift he could ever want.
After he'd emptied the car Arie took a break just long enough to whip him up a grilled cheese and tuna sandwich. “That’s it?” he asked, feigning disappointment. “Is this all I get from my gourmet caterer of a fiancée? What about the filet mignon? What happened to grilled salmon?”
She laughed. “You’ll get that tomorrow. Right now we have more important things to do, like sorting all of Maya’s things.”
He gave an exaggerated groan but then he flopped down on the one free chair in the room, sandwich in hand, and chomped down on the morsel that was so delicious he had to lick a finger when it was all gone. He’d been teasing Arie when he grumbled about the grilled cheese and tuna sandwich. She knew it was his favorite and she made sure the house was never out of the stuff.
His hunger pangs assuaged, he took his plate to the kitchen and when he got back he stuffed his hands in his pockets and surveyed the living room. There were baby girl clothes and knick-knacks spread out on every available surface. He shook his head. “One thing’s for sure,” he said with a crooked grin. “Maya Bella won’t ever have to worry about what to wear to baby daycare.”
Arie smiled then reached up to release her hair from the band she’d used to hold it in a ponytail. She let the blonde curtain cascade around her shoulders then reached her hands up to massage her nape, a move that made the fullness of her breasts swell against the soft fabric of her blouse.
As simple and as innocent as it was, that move was a keen reminder that food wasn’t the only thing he’d been hungering for. Arie had sidetracked him with all this baby business but now he wanted to focus on her.
He gave her a slow smile. “C’mere,” he said. “For all the work you’ve given me, you owe me a kiss.”
But Arie did the unexpected. Instead of running into his arms like he thought she would she shook her head and laughed. “No way, tuna breath. No kisses for you.”
>
“What? You’re denying me?” He was doing his best to sound offended but he was failing miserably. When his chuckles spoiled it he knew, where acting was concerned, he would never make the grade. Any hopes he had of giving Orlando Bloom a run for his money were hopelessly dashed.
“Sorry,” she said with a grin, not looking sorry at all. But then she took pity on him and came over to wrap her arms around his waist and gaze up into his eyes. “You know I love you, don’t you?”
Slowly, he nodded. “I know you do,” he said softly, “but not as much as I love you.”
That made her shake her head and smile. “Not possible.”
He responded with a smile of his own but behind that smile was a maelstrom of turbulent thoughts. There was something he had to do, something he had to say. He only hoped Arie would go along with it.
“I’ll prove it,” he said, his smile dissolving in the seriousness of the moment.
She cocked her head to one side. “How?”
“I want to take you to Italy with me. A week from today. To meet my parents.”
Her eyes widened in surprise. “But I thought you said…later…at the wedding?”
He shook his head. “No. I want you to meet them now. It’s very important.”
That made her frown. “Why?”
“I…” He’d been about to say, because I need them to know you the way I know you, I need them to see who you really are. But he didn’t. Arie would never understand. “I just think it’s time.”
He’d thought that explanation would be enough. After all, it was expected that he would present his bride-to-be to his family. Surely she would understand that.
But when he looked into her eyes, instead of acceptance and instead of understanding, what he saw there was fear. And for the life of him he couldn’t understand why.
Which, as much as he tried to fight it, lit a spark of apprehension inside him. Was it possible that his father had guessed right? Did Arie have something to hide?
CHAPTER FIVE
“Arie, they’re calling you to the front. Hurry up.”
“Huh?” She whipped around when she heard her name. “What?”
Farah, who’d been working the event with her all afternoon, put a hand on her boss’s shoulder and turned her toward the banquet hall. “They want to thank you for your impeccable service. They loved it. Now go on before they change their minds.”
To the sound of applause and a little shove from Farah, Arie stumbled into the room then drew in a quick and steadying breath and pasted a broad smile on her face. She hadn’t been prepared for this one bit. It wasn’t every day the caterer was called on for special acknowledgement.
Still, one had to rise to the occasion so, straightening her back and holding her head high, she walked with confidence and poise like this sort of attention was no big deal whatsoever.
To her surprise, New Orleans Lighting Company presented her with an elegant plaque on which her company name and logo were engraved, right above a declaration that Talk Of The Town represented service ‘par excellence’. She’d catered their conference every year for the past five years, never once expecting greater thanks than the knowledge that they were satisfied. Still, it felt good knowing they appreciated her enough to give her special recognition.
She gave the briefest of acceptance speeches – later she wouldn’t even be able to remember a word of it – and fled back to the comfort of her catering team, all twelve of them applauding along with the diners as she exited the room.
“Whew,” she breathed as she slipped past Farah and Paul and handed her plaque to her head chef. “Here, Marcel, take care of this for me, will you? I’ve been so distracted all day I don’t want to lose it.”
“You got it, boss,” the lanky man said with a grin. “Wouldn’t want you sticking it in the oven, right?”
At his words her entire crew burst out laughing and all Arie could do was throw them a haughty glare and flounce off down the hallway toward the kitchen.
Yeah, she’d been distracted all right, and they had every reason to laugh. Why wouldn’t they, when she’d been making dumb mistakes all afternoon, the worst of which was when she’d been busy giving directions to one of the servers and stuck the centerpiece in the oven. It was Farah who rescued the unfortunate flowers from a fiery fate.
It was a wonder the event had gone so smoothly, what with the leader of the team feeling like her mind had gone for a walk and left her body to fend for itself. And it was all Rome Milano’s fault.
Arie was grumbling to herself as she gathered up her things. She had to get out of there. She needed space to think. After giving her staff clean-up instructions she bid them a hasty goodbye and headed for her car. Maybe a drive on the highway would air her head out. Better yet, maybe she should just go home.
But, creature of habit that she was, before she realized it Arie was pulling into the parking lot of her office. She shook her head then gave a sigh of resignation. She was too distracted to even play hooky. So sad.
That left her with only one thing to do – go on in and drown her fears in work, work and more work. Her plan backfired, though, because when she walked in Lena was waiting for her, a look of concern on her face. “Let’s go into my office,” she said as soon as Arie walked in. “We need to talk.”
Arie was tempted to roll her eyes but instead she followed her business partner, her demeanor as meek as a lamb. She knew it would be useless to fight. When Lena wanted answers, Lena got answers, and that was that.
“What’s going on?” The words were out of her mouth before Arie’s bottom even touched the chair. “You’ve been like Alice in Wonderland these past couple of days. Something’s going on. Spill it.”
Arie grimaced and shook her head then opened her mouth to speak. She didn’t get far.
“And don’t give me your usual story that everything’s okay and it’s nothing. Farah called me. She told me what happened at the luncheon.”
Arie frowned. She wouldn’t have tagged the girl as a tattletale. She could only hope she hadn’t told Lena everything. “What did she tell you?” she asked, dreading the answer.
“Everything,” Lena replied, her tone like the perfect school marm. “The forgotten napkin rings, the 'little-girl-lost' look and the baked flowers.”
“They weren’t baked. They were rescued in time.”
“Just barely.” Lena’s brows fell. “And they shouldn’t need rescuing, either. What’s going on, Arie? Where’s your head?”
It was the hint of frustration in Lena’s voice that made Arie decide to give in. She would break her vow of silence because, in all fairness to her partner, she had to explain her bad behavior. And besides, she needed to get things off her chest. She needed to talk.
She drew in her breath then let it out on a sigh. “I’m in trouble, Lena.” She said the words like they were a death sentence. “Big time.”
That made Lena’s brows lift in surprise then the concern returned to her eyes. “What is it? Let me know so I can help.”
Arie shook her head. “Sorry. You can’t help me with this one. When you’ve got a test to take you can’t take your friends along. You’ve got to deal with it by yourself. You know how it is.”
“No, I don’t know how it is. Now stop confusing the heck out of me and tell me what you mean.”
Arie shook her head again and gave her friend a wry smile. “Want to go to Italy with me?”
“Say what?”
“I said, do you want to go to Italy with me? Rome wants me to go to Italy to meet his family and I’m scared out of my wits.” Arie was not ashamed to admit she was the biggest coward this side of New Orleans. “I don’t wanna go,” she wailed and gave Lena a pout that would compete with any two-year old's.
“I don’t get it. Why wouldn’t you want to go? It’s not like you’re some bum Rome would need to keep hidden till after the wedding.” Lena gave a snort. “You’re a saint. What have you got to be scared of?”
Arie shr
ugged then turned her palms up like she was already accepting defeat. “What if they don’t like me? What if I’m not good enough for their son?” Then, as the most worrying thought filled her mind, she folded her arms across her chest. “What if they have a problem with my baby?”
That made Lena fold her arms, too, but instead of the words of sympathy Arie was expecting, the next words she heard were a reprimand. “And what if they do?” her friend asked. “You’re not going to abandon your child or your fiancée because of that, are you?”
“No, of course not,” Arie snapped. “What kind of dumb question is that?”
“I’m glad you think it’s dumb.” Lena’s eyes flashed as she leaned forward. “Whether they like it or not, you’ve got a child. Going to Italy and dealing with them now is the best thing you could do. Get it out in the open. You want absolutely no surprises at your wedding.”
Arie thought about that for a moment. Lena was right, of course. Practical as ever, she believed in a full frontal attack on all problems. “Okay, L, as much as I hate the idea I’ll go.”
Lena gave a satisfied nod. “You do that,” she said. “Just be brave. Whatever will be will be.”
Arie gave her a grudging nod. She only hoped that whatever would be wasn’t that Rome would end up choosing his family over her and Maya.
She’d be going to Italy with all fingers and toes crossed.
***
“Are you okay?” Rome reached over and rested his hand on top of Arie’s.
Trying hard to look composed, Arie swallowed then she nodded. “Of course,” she said quickly. “Why wouldn’t I be?” But her voice was hoarse and just a little bit shaky. Far from convincing, she was forced to admit. She cleared her throat and tried again. “I’m fine,” she said and this time her voice was firm, even if strained.
Rome’s eyes narrowed as he regarded her. “You don’t sound fine and you don’t look fine, either.” He let her hand go but only so he could shift the loose strands from her face and tuck them behind her ear. Then his hand covered hers again. “Nervous?”
