She wanted to walk the red carpet like she wanted a hole in her head.
But it was important to De Campo, this sponsorship, and she didn’t really have a choice.
A knock sounded on the door. She pulled herself up off her desk, expecting to see Katy. Instead Riccardo strolled through the door, looking as if he’d just slayed ten dragons and was ready to move on to the next. The smile on his face faded into a frown when he saw her wipe a trail of drool from the corner of her mouth.
“Dio, Lilly, you’re sleeping at your desk?”
“Resting,” she corrected, sitting up straight and smoothing her hair. “Wasn’t I meeting you at home?”
“My meetings were canceled this afternoon.” He walked over to her desk and leaned against the edge of it, his gaze resting on hers. “This is ridiculous. You’re asleep on your feet.”
“I’m fine,” she murmured, standing up. “Just give me a minute to gather my stuff.”
He waved her on. She shoved a file she was working on in her briefcase, along with the antacids that had become a new food group for her, and went to retrieve her sweater off the coat rack near the door.
“Jim—Riccardo here.”
She turned to see her husband on his phone.
“Lilly and I can’t make it to the premiere tonight. Can you and your wife attend in our place?”
Her eyes widened. She waved at him to say she was fine, but he held up a hand.
“Great. We’ll drop off the tickets on our way home.”
She stared at him as he disconnected the call. “I can’t believe you just did that.”
He lifted his shoulders. “Jim’s the head of North American sales... It’ll be a great networking opportunity for him.”
“I would have been fine.”
He crossed over to her. “I know you would have. You’ve been a trooper, tesoro. But enough’s enough. I’m worried about you.”
She pushed her hair out of her face. “It just hit me how tired I am.”
“You’re not getting enough rest.” He ran his fingers down her cheek. “You have big black bags under your eyes.”
“Heartburn,” she lied. “But I am glad you canceled.”
“Because you have nothing to wear?” His dark gaze slashed over her in a reprimand. “You refuse to go buy new clothes, because that would be admitting you’re gaining weight, and you don’t like the way you look. So I went out and bought some for you.”
Her jaw dropped. “You mean you had Paige get me a dress for tonight?”
“No, I bought you a dress for tonight—plus the rest of the wardrobe you need.” He shrugged. “I’m sure I forgot something, but it’s a start.”
“You went shopping?”
His teeth flashed white. “I run one of the world’s top ten beverage companies, cara. A trip to a recommended fashion house isn’t beyond my means.”
She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “How did you know my size?”
He lifted his hands. “I told them you were this tall and like this.” He arced his hands in the shape of an hourglass.
“You did?”
“I did. It’s all in the car.” He looked supremely satisfied with himself as he took her sweater and pushed her out the door in front of him. “I think I have pretty good taste.”
* * *
He had exquisite taste. In everything. Lilly stared at the cream silk sweater draped over her arm. It was exactly the right size and style she would have chosen. As were the T-shirts, blouses, jeans and gowns he’d picked out.
He had forgotten nothing.
A lump the size of Mount Everest formed in her throat. The little pieces of her heart she’d thought shattered forever started to put themselves back together again.
His attention to detail wasn’t surprising. What got her was how in tune a big, macho man like him could be with what she loved. Who she was.
She pulled the last couple of items out of the bag—a sexy lilac-colored silk nightie she was sure Riccardo had chosen with himself in mind, and a pair of yoga pants. Fuchsia yoga pants. Her mouth twisted in her first real smile of the day.
She slipped her too-tight pants off and pulled on the pink pair. And sighed. To be in something that fit, that didn’t make her feel like an overstuffed sausage, was heavenly. She added a T-shirt, pulled her hair into a ponytail, and went downstairs to find Riccardo.
She found him in the den—a cozy, comfortable room that housed their big screen TV and library.
“I ordered us Chinese,” he told her. “Should be here in a few minutes.”
“I’ve decided you are always to shop for me,” she murmured, moving toward him. Lifting on tiptoe, she brushed a kiss across the light stubble that dusted his cheek. “Since you do such a good job.”
He slid his arms around her waist. “I closed my eyes when I handed the woman the yoga pants.”
“You get bonus points for those,” she murmured, lifting her chin and inviting his kiss. She was rewarded with a hard, possessive one that left her breathless.
“You need to cut down on your schedule.”
“I’m not taking any new patients. It’ll gradually lessen.”
He pressed his lips together, consciously controlling his automatic response, which she was sure would have been, Cut it down now.
“You also have to accept the changes in your body. They’re natural and healthy.”
“I’m getting there,” she murmured. “It’s just hard when it feels like my body is out of control. The control part is the hardest for me.”
He spread his hands wide. “Just hand it over to me, cara, and I’ll take care of it for you.”
She made a face at him. “You would love that, wouldn’t you?”
He caught her hand in his much larger one, the teasing light in his eyes darkening into seriousness. “No more keeping things inside, Lil. If you’re struggling you need to tell me.”
“I will. I promise.”
He put some classical music on—a haunting piece of Mozart she knew was his favorite—then pulled her into his arms on the sofa while they waited for the food. She closed her eyes and rested her head against his chest. This was what she’d always wanted. The way they were when they were together like this.
At that moment she knew with certainty that everything he’d been holding back, everything he hadn’t said to her these past few weeks, had been because she’d hurt him so badly. Because she’d deserted him when he’d needed her the most.
Because she had failed him.
“Ric?”
He pressed his lips to her hair. “Mmm?”
“I’m sorry for walking out on you. I’m sorry I gave up on us.”
He stiffened. Then his arms tightened around her. For a long moment silence bound them together, her husky admission sitting on the air between them. Then he bent and pressed a kiss to her shoulder. “I’ve made so many mistakes too,” he said thickly. “It wasn’t just you.”
Her eyes burned. Her throat was clogged with so much pent-up emotion she wasn’t sure she could articulate it all. “I hurt you.”
He turned her around so their gazes met. “We hurt each other.”
“I want to make this work.” Her voice came out husky, edged with the fear she felt.
His eyes were razor-sharp. “What do you mean?”
She sucked in a shuddering breath. “I was so angry with you at first—threatening to turn this into a custody battle, not giving me any choice in the matter. But then I realized you were right. It’s time for me—for us—to move on. To let go of the past. To give this marriage the shot it deserves. To give our baby the home it deserves.”
An emotion she wished desperately she could identify flashed in his eyes. He lifted his hands to frame her face.
“But I want you, Riccardo,” she said shakily. “I don’t want the Golden Man from the Golden Couple. I want the Riccardo De Campo who charmed me out of my phone number in that bar. The man who just wanted to be with me.”
His gaze darkened to midnight. “You will have him,” he promised huskily. “You have always been the only woman for me.”
“You won’t want me in a few months,” she murmured. “I’ll be so far from the woman you married you’ll be repelled by me.”
A smile curved his lips. “Don’t you know there’s nothing you could ever do to make me want you less? You’re like a fire in my blood, cara. I want you all the time.”
The heat in his eyes stole her breath. The reverence of his hands as he slipped her T-shirt over her head and cupped her breasts in his palms made it catch in her throat. And when he stripped the bra from her and set his mouth to her flesh she moaned her appreciation.
The pink yoga pants went next, landing on the floor in a heap. “This part you hate so much,” he whispered, sliding his hands up over her hips, “allows you to carry my baby. And that is a miracle.”