The Italian's Unexpected Heir

“For what?”

“Giving me a second chance.”

She had no idea how much her words meant to him. It wasn’t until that moment that he realized just how important their relationship was to him. She meant more to him than he was willing to admit, even to himself.

His gaze dipped to her lips. There was a tiny dab of frosting on her bottom lip. He longed to lean forward and lick it off her berry-red lips. The urge swelled within him.

The truth was that he couldn’t forget about their steamy encounter in Paris. It haunted his dreams at night. Teasing and taunting him.

During the day he thought he’d finally gotten a handle on things. But standing here so close to Sylvie, he realized that he’d only been fooling himself. She had gotten into his blood and he had no idea how to undo the spell she had over him.

When he lifted his gaze upward, he noticed the twinkle of interest in her eyes. Desire stirred in his gut. In that moment he started to question his judgment. Maybe just a little kiss wouldn’t be so bad. After all, she didn’t seem to reject the idea. In fact, the look in her beautiful brown eyes was one of interest. She was interested in him?

Was it possible she didn’t regret their night together like he’d been imagining? Had he jumped to all the wrong conclusions?

He halted his rambling thoughts. He stepped back and raked his fingers through his hair. He couldn’t believe he’d almost talked himself into kissing her.

“Sorry about that,” he said. “I need to get going.”

Before she could say anything, he strode away. He didn’t trust himself to stay there in the last lingering rays of the sun with the most beautiful woman he’d ever known.

It wasn’t until he was almost to the vineyard that he realized he hadn’t done what he’d set out to do. He hadn’t talked to her about winding down the wedding business. And now he was hesitant to go near her again. She had to know that he’d almost kissed her.

His feet kept moving. Their talk could wait for another day—a day when he

had his head screwed on straight.

Sylvie was off-limits to him. It was the way it had to be. He refused to hurt her again when he couldn’t commit to a relationship—not when he let down the people closest to him.

CHAPTER SIX

HAD THAT REALLY HAPPENED?

Had Enzo almost kissed her?

Saturday morning Sylvie was still thinking about that moment on the veranda a few nights ago. In fact, it’d taken up a lot of her thoughts. Perhaps too many because she’d had to rush to put the finishing touches on this wedding. A wedding that was about to take place in the garden.

And yet, when she was supposed to be checking last-minute things off on her to-do list, she was thinking about the way Enzo had stared into her eyes—the desire that had flashed in them. And then there was the way his look had sent her heart racing.

At times his gaze could be so intent that it was like he could see straight through her—like he could see what made her tick. All this time she’d been fooling herself into thinking she had kept her attraction to him under wraps—that there was no way he knew just how much she wished he would pull her into his arms and kiss her. But then what?

This is where things got really muddled. In her daydreams and for that matter, in her nighttime dreams, she never got past the arms wrapped around each other and the lips pressing to each other. She supposed it was because she couldn’t imagine what normally came next—a loving and committed relationship.

The truth was relationships didn’t last. She’d learned that lesson over and over again in her life. It was best to just keep things light and simple.

Because putting her tattered heart on the line wasn’t something she was willing to do. The thought of letting herself feel deeply for Enzo and then losing him—she gave herself a mental shake. It wasn’t going to happen. She wouldn’t let it.

The only reason she had planned the surprise party was to remind Enzo of what he had here at the estate—what he would lose if he were to sell it. The party, the cake and all the other arrangements she’d seen to... Well, those had nothing to do with her feelings for him because...because she had those all under control.

So how did she explain what had happened in Paris? It was that city—the city of love. It had cast some sort of spell over her—over them. But once they’d returned to Tuscany, they were both able to see what a mistake they’d made. There was nothing between them—nothing more than a casual friendship.

Okay, maybe that wasn’t quite true. Maybe it was more like a close friendship—at least that was the way things used to be. Enzo used to confide in her and she had done the same with him. But ever since that one night, there had been an awkwardness between them—much like a wall. One that each of them had taken some comfort in hiding behind. But now it was getting in her way. Now she needed to knock it down, if she was going to convince him not to sell the estate.

Ring. Ring.

It was the house phone. The only thing it was used for these days was business. Personal calls went to their cell phones. Sylvie checked the time on her fitness tracker. There was less than an hour now until the wedding ceremony. Surely, this wasn’t bad news regarding the wedding.

The phone rang again.