Italian Doctor, Sleigh-Bell Bride (Lakeside Mountain Rescue 6)

Stefano laughed, but his eyes didn’t leave Liv’s face for a moment. ‘What is “goopy”? This is not a word I know.’

‘It’s sort of…’ Max pulled a face and shuddered as he tried to explain. ‘Girly. I had to marry one of the girls in my class in a play this term and it was the grossest thing that has ever happened to me. She looked as though she was going to eat me or something. And she said lots of mushy stuff. If Mum marries you do we get to live in your cool apartment and play with all the gadgets?’

A wry smile on his face, Stefano spoke to the driver in Italian and the sleigh immediately glided to a halt.

The horses snorted and tossed their heads, their breath clouding the freezing air, their hooves making a muffled sound as they stamped the snowy ground.

‘How would you like to exchange a few words with the horses, Max?’ Stefano lifted the little boy down from the sleigh and Max eagerly sprinted forward to stroke the horses.

Beneath them lay the valley. Smoke curled upwards from chimneys, snow sparkled in the bright sunshine and the mountains rose up with pride, dominating the breathtaking landscape with their stark, wild beauty. Breathing in the crisp cold air and the scent of pine trees, Liv knew that she’d never forget this moment as long as she lived. ‘You love me?’

‘I love you. Do you want me to say it again?’ Stefano took her face in his hands and looked at her, his dark eyes serious. ‘I love you, tesoro.’

Her heart was thumping and her mouth was dry. ‘But…’ She swallowed hard. ‘I’m no one.’

Stefano gave a slow smile that turned him from handsome to devastating. ‘You’re the woman I’m going to marry.’

She felt dizzy and shaky. Marry? ‘I thought—I thought that for you it was just sex,’ Liv whispered. ‘I wanted it to be more. I really, really wanted it to be more, but that was all in my own head.’

‘It wasn’t in your head.’ His eyes were gentle on hers. ‘It was real. And it wasn’t just sex.’

‘But…you didn’t say anything.’

‘Liv, you haven’t been with a man for four years.’ He spoke the words quietly, just for her. ‘I know what a big thing this is for you, even more so because you have always put your son’s needs before your own. To begin with you rejected everything I gave you. You were so independent. I was giving you time to get used to the idea of being with me. That’s why I wanted you to come home with me for Christmas.’

‘When you first invited me I was so excited. I thought it meant that you cared, but then Isabella told me that you wanted to keep Donatella at a distance—’

‘So it was Isabella.’ His eyes narrowed wrathfully. ‘Remind me to drop my sister in a snowdrift later. Liv, you’re an intelligent woman. Do I look as though I need help keeping women at a distance?’

Liv bit her lip, her eyes scanning every detail of his handsome face. ‘I suppose by now you must be pretty experienced at managing the expectations of the opposite sex.’

A smile touched the corners of his mouth. ‘I have had some practice, I admit. But this isn’t about me, is it, tesoro? It’s about you.’ His eyes held hers, demanding her full attention. ‘You still don’t believe that you are lovable and sexy. You are so lacking in confidence that when someone suggests I might have had an ulterior motive for bringing you here, you don’t even question it.’

Dragging her gaze from his, Liv realised that her heart was pounding. ‘Stefano—’

Strong fingers caught her chin and he forced her to look at him again. ‘I’m going to make you see yourself as others see you, Liv. Warm, beautiful, talented, clever and a wonderful mother. And sexy.’ He drew her head towards his and his eyes glittered dark with sexual promise. ‘Very, very sexy. I have never brought a woman here before. What does that say to you?’

Hypnotised, Liv stared up at him and he slowly brought his mouth down to hers.

‘It says that I’m crazy about you,’ he murmured against her lips. ‘It says that I cannot bear to be without you, even for a few days. That is why I brought you here, tesoro. And I wanted to see how you coped with my family.’ He pulled back slightly, a sardonic gleam in his eyes. ‘As you’ve already gathered, being with me comes with a great deal of family interference. Do you think you can stand it?’

Still in a state of suspended disbelief, Liv couldn’t think properly. ‘I—Does your father know that—? What if he doesn’t approve? I have a child, Stefano. Donatella would probably be a far more suitable Italian wife.’

‘Donatella and I would drive each other mad in less than a day. She isn’t the right woman for me.’ He sat back in his seat, his arm draped along the back of the carriage, very much his own man. ‘You, on the other hand, enchant me and fascinate me and have done since the first moment I saw you hugging Anna.’

‘That was so embarrassing—’

‘I heard her say that she wanted to buy you hot sex for Christmas and you looked so appalled that I was instantly intrigued. A woman like you should be having hot sex every night of her life.’

Liv blushed. ‘You were so kind to me. That night the car broke down and then with my flat—’

‘It wasn’t kindness, Liv.’ Stefano slid his arm round her and curved her against him. ‘I’ve never felt so protective towards a woman. I don’t know what happens to me when I’m with you but I just want to wrap you up and keep you safe.’

His words brought a lump to her throat. ‘Stefano—’

‘I make you this promise, tesoro,’ he said huskily, ‘I won’t let you be hurt ever again if it is in my power to prevent it. I won’t let you struggle and I won’t let you make any more sacrifices.’

His words drove the last of the breath from her quivering body. The emotions inside her swelled to a point that she could barely contain them. When had anyone ever taken care of her before? She’d always had to do it herself. On her own. She’d fought, struggled and worried her way through parenthood, with no one to share the burden. And now this man was telling her that she no longer had anything to worry about. She was afraid to move in case the dream shattered into a million tiny fragments.