James was waiting for her on the stairs, and a grin curled her mouth as she saw that he was posing beneath the portrait.
‘Well?’ he demanded with a mock injured air when she made no comment. ‘Don’t you think it’s a good likeness?’
He had had the clothes worn in the portrait copied, without her knowing it, and tonight had put them on for the first time. The resemblance was remarkable, but there were subtle differences, easily discernible by a woman who looked with the eyes of love.
‘Isn’t this what you wanted?’ he whispered against her ear, pulling her into his arms. ‘Your favourite fantasy come true…your dream lover?’
Wriggling out of his embrace, Jenna tapped him on the chin with the fan she was carrying. ‘Fie, sir, you are too bold,’ she cautioned him in simpering tones, adding with a soft giggle, ‘Ask me that again later tonight, James. I just might be able to give you an answer!’ She looked at him out of the corner of her eye and grinned wickedly. ‘I shouldn’t dance too much if I were you, you’re going to need plenty of stamina.’
‘You’ll regret saying that,’ he threatened softly, but both of them knew it was just a game. There was no fantasy lover in Jenna’s life, only a very real and live one—in the shape of her husband.
Tonight they would bring in the New Year, and with it she would finally put aside all the miseries of the old. There was so much to look forward to, and she could hardly wait for it to begin. Tonight they would celebrate what was to come with their friends and neighbours. Later, alone, they would celebrate those same things together, reaffirming their love for one another and the life they had created between them.
On the last stair, Jenna paused, and James reached for her automatically. ‘James…’ she eyed him thoughtfully and said as seriously as she could, ‘do you think you could manage to lure me away from the ball? Could you ..?’
‘Do you really want to find out? If so, it can quite easily be arranged.’ He picked her up as he spoke and turned to go back up the stairs, just as they heard the first car crunch over the drive. ‘Just in the nick of time!’
Jenna pouted and then as she prepared herself to go and greet their first guests she whispered against his ear, ‘But never mind, there’s always later!’
‘Always…’ James kissed the tips of her fingers lightly as he released her. ‘That word has a very delightful permanent sound to it, Jenna. And that’s how I want you…permanently…for always…’
* * * * *
Now, read on for a tantalizing excerpt of Michelle Smart’s next book,
CLAIMING HIS ONE-NIGHT BABY
The second book in her Bound to a Billionaire trilogy!
Natasha Pellegrini and Matteo Manaserro’s potently charged reunion leads to one night of explosive passion. When Matteo discovers Natasha’s pregnancy, he’s intent on claiming his baby. Except he hasn’t bargained on their insatiable chemistry binding them together so completely!
Keep reading to get a glimpse of
CLAIMING HIS ONE-NIGHT BABY
CHAPTER ONE
JAW CLENCHED, HIS heart pounding an irregular beat in his chest, Matteo Manaserro watched the coffin being lowered into the consecrated ground of Castello
Miniato’s private cemetery.
Surrounding the open earth stood hundreds of Pieta Pellegrini’s loved ones, friends, family, colleagues, even some heads of state, with their security details standing back at a discreet distance, all there to say a final goodbye to a man who had been respected the world over for his philanthropic endeavours.
Vanessa Pellegrini, Pieta’s mother, who had buried her husband Fabio in the adjoining plot only a year ago, stepped forward, supported by her daughter Francesca. Both women clutched red roses. Francesca turned around to extend a hand to Natasha, Pieta’s widow, who was staring blankly at the wooden box like an ashen-faced statue. The breeze that had filled the early autumn air had dropped, magnifying the statue effect. Not a single strand of her tumbling honey-blonde hair moved.
She lifted her dry eyes and blinked, the motion seeming to clear her thoughts as she grabbed Francesca’s hand and joined the sobbing women.
Together, the three Pellegrini women threw their roses onto the coffin.
Matteo forced stale air from his lungs and focused his attention anywhere but on the widow.
This was a day to say goodbye, to mourn and then celebrate a man who deserved to be mourned and celebrated. This was not a day to stare at the widow and think how beautiful she looked even in grief. Or think how badly he wanted to take hold of her shoulders and…
Daniele, Pieta’s brother, shifted beside him. It was their turn.
Goodbye, Pieta, my cousin, my friend. Thank you for everything. I will miss you.
Once the immediate family—in which Matteo was included—had thrown their roses on the coffin, it was time for the other mourners to follow suit.