ALSO BY RUTH CARDELLO
CORISI BILLIONAIRES
The Broken One
THE WESTERLYS
In the Heir
Up for Heir
Royal Heir
Hollywood Heir
Runaway Heir
LONE STAR BURN
Taken, Not Spurred
Tycoon Takedown
Taken Home
Taking Charge
THE LEGACY COLLECTION
Maid for the Billionaire
For Love or Legacy
Bedding the Billionaire
Saving the Sheikh
Rise of the Billionaire
Breaching the Billionaire: Alethea’s Redemption
Recipe for Love (Holiday Novella)
A Corisi Christmas (Holiday Novella)
THE ANDRADES
Come Away with Me
Home to Me
Maximum Risk
Somewhere Along the Way
Loving Gigi
THE BARRINGTONS
Always Mine
Stolen Kisses
Trade It All
A Billionaire for Lexi
Let It Burn
More Than Love
Forever Now
Never Goodbye
TRILLIONAIRES
Prince Xander
Virgin for a Trillionaire
TEMPTATION SERIES
Twelve Days of Temptation
Be My Temptation
BACHELOR TOWER SERIES
Insatiable Bachelor
Impossible Bachelor
Undeniable Bachelor
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Text copyright © 2020 by Ruth Cardello
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
Published by Montlake, Seattle
www.apub.com
Amazon, the Amazon logo, and Montlake are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates.
ISBN-13: 9781542017046
ISBN-10: 1542017041
Cover design by Eileen Carey
This book is dedicated to my friend Erin.
Thank you for being so good to my family—those with two legs as well as those with four. Your kindness to all creatures is inspirational.
—Ruthie
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CONTENTS
My family tree
NOTE TO MY READERS
CHAPTER ONE JUDY CORISI’S FATHER, DOMINIC
CHAPTER TWO MAURICIO
CHAPTER THREE WREN
CHAPTER FOUR MAURICIO
CHAPTER FIVE WREN
CHAPTER SIX WREN
CHAPTER SEVEN MAURICIO
CHAPTER EIGHT WREN
CHAPTER NINE MAURICIO
CHAPTER TEN WREN
CHAPTER ELEVEN MAURICIO
CHAPTER TWELVE WREN
CHAPTER THIRTEEN MAURICIO
CHAPTER FOURTEEN WREN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN MAURICIO
CHAPTER SIXTEEN WREN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN MAURICIO
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN WREN
CHAPTER NINETEEN MAURICIO
CHAPTER TWENTY WREN
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE MAURICIO
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO WREN
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE MAURICIO
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR WREN
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE MAURICIO
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX WREN
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN DOMINIC
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT MAURICIO
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE WREN
CHAPTER THIRTY MAURICIO
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE WREN
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO MAURICIO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE WREN
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR MAURICIO
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE WREN
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX DOMINIC
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
NOTE TO MY READERS
If you’re discovering me through this series, you may come across some names you’re not familiar with. These are Easter eggs, fun little finds, for readers who have been in my billionaire world since Maid for the Billionaire.
Dominic Corisi kicked off my career in 2011. He was how so many readers first found me, and he has remained a favorite for many. Although this book is primarily about Mauricio and Wren, the series is also about Dominic finally finding his family. It wouldn’t be one of my romances if that was an easy journey.
Secrets can tear families apart, or they can heal them.
Some have to do one before they do the other.
So come meet Dominic for a second time and discover why.
CHAPTER ONE
JUDY CORISI’S FATHER, DOMINIC
Fresh from a meeting with the head of the Chinese division of his tech company, Dominic Corisi sat behind a large mahogany desk in his Upper Manhattan office. His phone beeped with a message from Jeremy Kater, one of his business partners: Meet me in WorkChat.
He replied via text without hesitation. No.
His phone rang a second later. “What do you have against WorkChat?” Jeremy asked in an amused tone.
“Besides the fact that you installed my competition’s technology in my closet without my permission?”
“You’re the one who says business is best done face-to-face. Plus, you know I modified it to meet our security needs.”
“My issue with it isn’t security related. Virtual reality is not face-to-face. And I don’t care how you glorify holograms; I refuse to step into a closet to conduct business.” Technology didn’t intimidate Dominic. He’d built his fortune on it. No, the odd practices of the next generation did. Shortly after the install, he’d learned that one of his US-based team leaders had started using a filter that added a bunny face to Dominic when they spoke in WorkChat. Dominic brought that young man to his New York office to fire him in person, and he had yet to regret it. The man had shown up with a representative from human resources, like a child using a parent for protection. So Dominic had explained to both of them that real life doesn’t have a filter. It was harsh, ugly, and often unforgiving.
I did that kid a favor. Weak never wins.
Coming back to the moment, Dominic inquired about Jeremy’s wife. “How is Jeisa?”
“She’s good. I thought she’d have more time now that Marie and Reesie are both in school, but she’s even busier. Yoga. Soccer. Karate. Marie can already kick my ass.”
“Not a difficult feat, I’m sure,” Dominic joked, but there was no bite in his humor.
“So grumpy. Is it because you miss us?”
“That must be it,” Dominic said in a dry tone. There was a time when he wouldn’t have associated with someone like Jeremy. Despite the younger man’s success, he remained eager to please and eternally optimistic. Dominic’s childhood had left him too hardened to be able to stomach that type for long, but Jeremy was as loyal as he was brilliant. He’d earned his place at the table.
Loyalty made almost any sin pardonable.
Except fucking bunny ears.
Dominic’s wife, Abby, had convinced him to rehire the young man and put him un
der Jake Walton’s tutelage. Dominic didn’t regret that either.
No one became one of the richest men in the world by playing nice, but for the past ten years, ever since Abigail Dartley had walked into his life and turned it upside down, Dominic had tried to be the man she deserved. Before her, he’d only known love to be fragile and angry—vindictive. That wasn’t the way Abby loved. She’d raised her sister, Lil, after the death of their parents. She was strong, stable, infinitely patient. For her, love was a commitment . . . and a privilege. And he was a better man because of her.
Without her, vengeance had been his family.
She’d given him not only a daughter but also a second chance to be the brother to Nicole he always should have been. Without Abby, he would never have forgiven his mother.
His life was full of family—some by blood, many by choice.
A man like that was grateful enough to rehire someone he swore would never work for him again and not feel less for doing it. I did make sure the kid left my office near tears and with a full understanding of what would happen if I heard he so much as whispered about why I’d fired him.
Love had softened Dominic’s heart, but he was still Dominic.
“Did you call for a reason?” Dominic prodded.
“Yes. This isn’t an easy conversation for me—”
“Just say it. Did you crash a server? Violate a government treaty?” Whatever it was, there was a solution. Jeremy worried too much. Almost everything was fixable.
“It’s about Judy.”
Dominic tensed at the mention of his ten-year-old daughter. “What about her?” Nothing mattered to Dominic more than his wife and child. Not his business. Not his life. They were his Achilles’ heel.
Jeremy continued, “I promised Judy I wouldn’t say anything, but I have children, and if they were doing something like this . . . I’d want to know.”
“Doing what?” Dominic growled the words between his clenched teeth.
“Don’t get all worked up. It’s not really bad. Well, it could be bad, but nothing has happened yet. And really, who knows, it might end up being a good thing in the end.”
“Just tell me,” Dominic roared.
“I feel guilty breaking Judy’s confidence, but . . .”
“Oh my fucking God—”
“She asked me for help with a school assignment.”
Jeremy’s announcement circled in Dominic’s head. He processed it through a filter of panic and fury. “If this is some kind of joke, I will kill you.”
“She’s working on a family tree for you as a surprise.”
“What?”
“A family tree. You know—family, that thing you don’t like to talk about? She wanted to add more branches to it and asked Alethea to help her discover more about your family.”
Breathe. Don’t punch the wall. Don’t crush the phone. Breathe. “And that was difficult for you to tell me because?”
“Because Judy asked Alethea to help her first. Whatever Alethea found, she left no digital trace of it and told Judy she couldn’t help her with it anymore.”
“Sounds like a wise choice.” Dominic walked to the large window of his office and stared out over the skyscrapers. He took another deep breath. Only a man with as many enemies as Dominic had would understand where his thoughts had taken him in the prior dark moments. No one is in danger. Relax. He knew his daughter had been assigned a family tree project the previous school year. She’d asked for his help with it, but there was a limit of what he wanted to remember . . . even for her. The past held too much pain.
Judy hadn’t gotten a good grade on that assignment, and apparently that had bothered her enough to continue to work on it. She’s driven—like me.
Dominic continued, “Now that you’ve started my day with a mild heart attack—”
“Sorry about that, but I’m concerned. Alethea doesn’t stop. You know that. Once she starts digging, it’s an addiction to her. She found something. I’d bet my life she did. Did she say anything to you?”
“No.”
“See, that’s what has me worried. I’ve retraced her online steps. Her search took her all the way to Italy. Then nothing. I don’t like it. Alethea found something she couldn’t tell you—couldn’t tell Judy either. But what?”
“You’re overthinking this. Alethea is a new mother. Her focus naturally switched to that over playing private eye.”
“You’re not curious about what she found? You might have family in Italy.”
“I have all the family I need.” The only peace Dominic found was by focusing on the present and those he loved today. The past only filled him with questions he couldn’t answer. Extended family? Which side did he want to learn more about? His violent, abusive father’s family? No. His mother’s? Although she was back in his life and he’d forgiven her, she’d left her children when they’d most needed her, and they’d suffered for more than a decade . . . not knowing if she was dead or alive.
Did he need more like either of them in his life?
The answer was easy—hell no.
“What should I tell Judy?”
“I’ll send you a few names to give her. Done.” As calm returned, he added, “And thank you for bringing the matter to me. I won’t betray your confidence to Judy. It’s important for her to have people she feels she can turn to.”
“We love her. We love you too. Anything you need. You know that, Dom.”
“Okay. Tell Jeisa I said hello.”
“I will. And you really don’t want to know what Alethea found in Italy?”
“I really don’t want to know. And if I ever do want to, I’ll ask her.”
“Sounds good. Hey, let’s lighten the mood. I heard the funniest joke this morning. Want to hear it?”
Dominic ended the call without hesitation and pocketed his phone. He rubbed his chin and sighed. He’d have to say something to Abby about this. She wouldn’t like that Judy was keeping secrets from them.
When it came to parenting, he and his wife often disagreed on how they saw situations. He’d learned, though, to discuss their differences in private and show only a united front to their daughter. In most cases, Dominic deferred to Abby when it came to doling out consequences.
Despite being ten, Judy would always be his little princess.
Proof that the world was capable of good.
His little angel had convinced one of his security team, Alethea, to conduct a covert operation they both knew he wouldn’t approve of.
And when Alethea had failed to produce results . . . had Judy let that stop her? No. Instead, she’d contacted one of the world’s most talented hackers and enlisted his help.
Dominic smiled.
That’s my little girl.
CHAPTER TWO
MAURICIO
A major life crossroads—I found myself at one again.
This time, however, my path forward was less clear.
Returning to Paris had been a mistake. The city was full of fun, wild memories for me, but none that fit with the man I’d become. It was also frustrating as hell that the friend who had asked me for help was completely ghosting me.
“Felix didn’t make our meeting,” I said into my phone, not even attempting to hide my irritation. My brother Sebastian no longer needed to be coddled. He was in a much better place than he’d been in a long time. Heather and her daughter, Ava, had given him his second wind. “He’s not answering texts or calls. I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing here.”
“Have you checked the hospitals?” Sebastian asked. His thoughts naturally went to the worst-case scenario. I understood why, but it didn’t fit this situation.
“My guess is that he is somewhere sleeping off a hangover. His father might be right about him not having what it takes to assume any role at their family’s company.”
“Have you spoken to his father?”
“Since arriving? No. Over the years—plenty. He doesn’t think Felix is responsible enough, so he gave him a small p
roject with which he could prove himself without doing any real damage. Felix said he wanted to wow his father . . . bring in a client that would impress him . . . which is why I’m here. I lined up contacts to introduce him to.”
“You and Felix used to be tight. I’m sure he’ll resurface.”
“My feelings aren’t hurt, Sebastian. I’m pissed. If I don’t hear from him soon, I’ll be flying home tonight.”
“There’s no need to rush back. I have everything under control.”
The sun was setting just behind the Musée d’Orsay across the river. Someone else might have been impressed by the sight, but it did nothing for me. For the first time in my life I felt adrift, and it was unsettling.
Sebastian continued, “You always loved Europe. There was a time when we could hardly get you to come back to the States.”
Those days felt like another lifetime. Paris had been one of my favorite cities to party in. Back then, my family hadn’t been wealthy, but I had been young and unencumbered by responsibility. My plans had been to backpack across Europe for a summer, but a woman, whose name I’d long since forgotten, had invited me to a party. That night I’d met Felix and his friends.
My brothers called me the pretty boy of our family. Broad shoulders. Flat abs. A dick big enough to make even a man look twice in a public shower. None of it was a curse.
Paris had been my playground, and I’d had a sinfully good time in it. Back then, Felix and I had had a lot in common. Women. Parties. Travel. Young and wild, we had felt like there was nothing we couldn’t do.
The fun had come to an abrupt stop, though, when Sebastian’s first wife died in a car accident. She’d been pregnant, and the loss of both had sent him into a dark place he’d only recently surfaced from. My father had called me home, and I’d gone without hesitation because I knew, had our roles been reversed, Sebastian would have dropped everything for me.
Family first.
The years that followed had been tough for everyone. I’d stepped in when I needed to and stepped back when Sebastian was able to take the lead. Working had been cathartic for my brother, and building financial security for the family had become nearly an obsession for him. Together we’d turned my father’s small chain of stores into the multibillion-dollar Romano Superstores. In general, if the job entailed tearing down, threatening, or bulldozing through, Sebastian handled it. If an issue could best be handled with diplomacy, finesse, and charm . . . I took the lead.
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