The CEO, the Puppy and Me

Ric nodded in understanding. “So your hotel, it isn’t doing well because your sister isn’t offering wedding packages?”

“Actually, her assistant, Sylvie, has taken over the wedding business. My sister still oversees it but mostly from a distance. Apparently, there’s a lot to do before a royal wedding.”

Ric was concerned for Gia. If she didn’t find her biological father, she was going to need the hotel to focus on, and the last thing she’d need was to deal with a failing business. There had to be a way of turning things around.

He had to give it some thought. His algorithm was geared toward a lot larger, complex system. Still, there were components of it that dealt with bringing in business from individuals as well as other businesses. Would it be possible to rework the algorithm to scale it down to bringing in customers to a hotel? It was a stretch. A big stretch. But he was up for the challenge.

CHAPTER NINE

THINGS WERE LOOKING UP.

At least where the villa was concerned. The search for Gia’s father was still a wait and see scenario.

More than a week had passed since Ric had agreed to let Gia work on his uncle’s villa. She hadn’t wasted one single moment. It felt so good to be productive. Sitting around just wasn’t for her.

Ric had spent a lot of time in his study. Gia wasn’t sure how much time he spent at his office, as she had the go-ahead to hire a construction crew and to start work on his uncle’s villa. Not just a couple of men but a whole army of them, tackling different rooms at once. Ric wanted this job done as quickly as possible, and he was willing to pay whatever it cost.

Gia was so excited about taking this run-down home and turning it into something magical that the wait for news about locating her biological father wasn’t nearly as excruciating. She’d even started taking calls from her siblings, who were so relieved to speak directly to her instead of getting by with sporadic text messages.

And Gin went with her every day to the villa. Though the pup was interested in making it to the garden in back, Gia was having none of it. He was hurt back there once; they weren’t having a repeat episode. Though the garden was on her list of things to do, it had moved down in the order of priority because the gardener couldn’t fit her in for a couple of weeks.

Gia wasn’t one to bark out orders and stand back; she was the type who liked to get her hands dirty. She blamed it on her—She paused. She blamed it on Aldo. Even though they weren’t biologically connected, she couldn’t ignore how much they had in common. Aldo had enjoyed getting his hands dirty at the vineyard, testing the soil, sampling the grapes and fixing the irrigation system.

And so she’d spent the day patching walls and prepping them for fresh paint. In all honesty, the villa’s bones were in awesome shape. And with Ric wanting to keep the layout as it was, this job was going to go quickly. It was more a touch-up than a remodel. Still, she enjoyed it. The villa had a rich history and warmth to it that drew her in.

There was a marble floor in the spacious foyer, with a crystal chandelier. Both were staying. They just needed to be cleaned until they gleamed. Each room had tall windows, and when the old drapes were removed

, the Mediterranean sun lit up the place. What wasn’t there to like?

The walls had ornate trim that was unique but not over-the-top. Gia made sure to tell the crew it was to remain. Any trim that was damaged by a leak in the roof was to be repaired or if worse came to worst, it was to be re-created. She knew plasterwork could be a painstaking job, but it added so much character to the house. It was like this villa had its own personality. Some family was going to be very lucky to live there.

She thought of Ric living in the villa. It was a lot of house for one person to live in alone. But would he always be alone? She could easily imagine him with a baby in his arms. The child would be laughing because Ric had just tickled them. Gia found herself smiling at the image.

Then a beautiful woman entered Gia’s image. The woman was tall, slender and gorgeous. She was smiling as she came to lean into Ric. They both fussed over the child. She would be his wife.

Gia blinked away the troubling image. It was best she focused on the here and now. And right now, she had to hurry and get to the villa. The kitchen floor had been put in, and the cabinets were being delivered today.

She glanced in the mirror, taking in her newly bought navy-blue T-shirt, which hugged her curves, and the new jeans with the perfectly placed worn holes near the front pockets and her hips. She smiled. If her mother knew how much she’d paid for jeans that already had holes in them, she would lecture her about wasting her money. As her mother’s voice filled her mind, Gia’s smile broadened.

She missed her mother. She may be mad at her for keeping such an important part of her life from her, but she really missed her. She missed being able to talk to her as they cooked in the kitchen together.

Gia wanted to tell her mother about Gin and his boundless energy. But more importantly, she wanted to tell her about Ric and how amazing she found him. She knew her mother would take things out of context and suggest she date Ric. At which point she would tell her mother she couldn’t. He was a workaholic and she, well, she was still figuring herself out. It was bad timing among other reasons...

Tap. Tap.

“Yes?” Gia called out.

The door opened, and Gin barked before running over to Ric. He smiled and bent to pet the puppy. It gave Gia a moment to study him. Wasn’t that the same shirt he’d had on the night before? And his hair, it was unusually scattered. What was up with that?

When Ric straightened, there were shadows beneath his eyes. “I was wondering if you had a couple of minutes to talk.”

That sounded serious. “Should I be worried?”

He shook his head. “Nothing for you to worry about. I just have a proposal for you.”

Proposal? Suddenly her thoughts went in the wrong direction. Flowers. Candlelight. Ric down on one knee—

She screeched her thoughts to a halt. Where in the world had that come from? She wasn’t ready to settle down. Not with Ric. Not with anyone.