The Playboy of Rome

Great. Now he’d just been reduced to the level of a cute little kid. Talk about taking direct aim at a guy’s ego. He eased the car back onto the road. If he’d ever entertained striking up a more personal relationship with Lizzie, it just came to a screeching halt right there. How did one make a comeback from being “cute”?

“So you aren’t mad at me now?” He chanced a quick glance her way as she shook her head.

“I can’t blame you for wanting an easy solution to our problem. And after watching how much you worry about your grandfather, I realized that you aren’t the sort to revel in others’ misfortune.”

Wow, she’d read all of that into him not wanting her to drag his grandfather into the middle of their situation? He was truly impressed. But that still didn’t erase the cute little boy comment. His pride still stung.

After a few moments of silence passed, he turned to the right onto a private lane. “We’re here. Are you up for this?”

CHAPTER SEVEN

SHE WAS MOST definitely ready for this adventure.

Lizzie gazed out the car window at the rolling green hills and lines of grapevines. This place was a beauty to behold. Did a more picturesque place exist? She didn’t think so.

Of course, it didn’t hurt that she was in the most amazing sports car, being escorted by the sexiest man on the planet. But she refused to let Dante know how truly captivated she was by him. She couldn’t let him have any more leverage. They still had a contract to iron out.

And whereas he appeared to have plenty of money to hire his own legal dream team, she didn’t have two pennies to rub together. She had to play her cards carefully, and by letting him know that she was vulnerable to his gorgeous smile and drawn in by his mesmerizing gaze, she would have lost before she even started.

They pulled to a stop in front of a spacious villa situated atop a hill overlooking the sprawling vineyard and olive grove. The home’s lemon-yellow exterior was offset by a red tile roof and pale blue shutters lining the windows and doors. The three-story structure gave off a cheerful appeal that called to Lizzie.

Her gaze came to rest on a sweeping veranda with blue-and-white lawn furniture, which added an inviting quality. What a perfect place to kick back while enjoying a gentle breeze over her sun-warmed skin and sipping an icy lemonade.

“This is where you live?”

Dante cut the engine. “This is where my family lives.”

“It’s so big.”

“It has to be to accommodate so many generations. It seems like every generation expands or adds something.”

She especially liked the private balconies. She could easily imagine having her morning coffee there while Dante read the newspaper. “I couldn’t even imagine what it would be like to call this my home.”

“A little smothering.”

“Smothering? You can’t be serious.” She turned, taking in the endless fields.

He shrugged. “When you have so many people keeping an eye on you constantly, it can be.”

“But there’s just your grandfather, father and brother, isn’t it?”

“You’re forgetting about all of my aunts, uncles and cousins. They stop over daily. There’s never a lack of relatives. In fact, the dinner table seats twelve and never has an empty chair. They disapproved of my father not remarrying. So they made a point of ensuring my brother and I had a woman’s influence.”

“And did it work?”

“What? Oh, you mean the woman’s-influence thing. I guess it helped. I just know that it was annoying always tripping over family members.”

She frowned at him. “You should be grateful that they cared enough!”

His eyes grew round at her agitated tone. “I...I am.”

She didn’t believe him.

She couldn’t even imagine how wonderful it would be to have so much family. He took it all for granted, not having sense enough to count his blessings. She’d have done anything to have a big, loving family.

“Not everyone is as lucky as you.” With that, she got out of the car, no longer wanting to hear how hard Dante had it putting up with his relatives.

He was the luckiest person she knew. He wasn’t much older than herself and he already owned his very own restaurant—a successful one at that. Not to mention his jaw-dropping apartment. And she couldn’t forget his flashy sports car. And on top of all that, he had a family that cared about him. Stacked up against her life, she was left lacking. She was up to her eyeballs in debt. And without the money from this television spot, she didn’t know how she’d survive.