The Italian's One-Night Baby

Ellie held up a hand to silence him. ‘Yes, I get it but living with you would be a little like living on the side of a volcano waiting on the next eruption. You’re very volatile—’

‘And you’re not?’ Rio tossed back, watching her closely as her fine-boned hand closed round her orange juice to raise it to her peach-coloured mouth. ‘If I had you in my bed every night I would be a lot less volatile—’

Ellie almost choked on her drink and, spluttering, set it down, her face flushing.

Rio shrugged and dealt her an amused look. ‘Well, it’s true. Having Beppe warn me off you doesn’t improve my mood and makes it almost impossible for me to be with you.’

‘We don’t even have a relationship—’

‘Then what do we have? You’re splitting hairs, being too cautious. Take a risk on me,’ Rio invited.

And she so wanted to do that, Ellie realised in astonishment. She had never done a reckless thing in her life but Rio tempted her to the edge of foolishness. What if she was pregnant? It would upset Beppe and mess up his relationship with Rio. It would be virtually impossible for her to manage to work and care properly for a child without a partner and a settled home. But to make that decision now when she had no idea whether or not she had conceived? She glanced up at him, at the strong face that sent her heart racing and turned her resolve to mush. Was it wise to give into that side of herself? Or would she live to regret it?

‘Ellie…’ Rio prodded impatiently.

‘I don’t rush major decisions!’ Ellie responded.

Rio shot her a wicked smile. ‘We could go to bed and think about it—’

‘Another version of angry sex?’

‘But you’re not angry with me right now. You’re attempting to work me out,’ Rio surmised, uncoiling with fluid grace from the pillar he had been lounging back up against. ‘But I’m really quite basic. If I didn’t want you I wouldn’t be suggesting this.’

The silence smouldered with unspoken undertones. In the interim, Rio’s housekeeper reappeared with a tray. A plate of delicate and ridiculously enticing little sandwiches and a pot of tea were set down in front of Ellie.

‘Think of how simple all this could be…if we do it my way,’ Rio urged silkily. ‘We say we’re in love. We marry in haste. Beppe tries to dissuade us but is secretly delighted… And a baby, if there is one…would be the icing on the cake for him.’

Ellie snatched up another sandwich, registering that listening to Rio weave his arguments with such panache and conviction improved her appetite. He had drawn an attractive picture. If she didn’t marry him and then discovered she was pregnant, how much damage would she do to her new relationship with Beppe? And could she really stand by while Rio took the blame when she knew she was just as much to blame? In addition, if she was pregnant, she would definitely be seriously considering Rio’s marriage proposal because no one knew better than Ellie that raising a child alone was hard. In the course of her work she had met a lot of exhausted single parents struggling to keep work and family afloat. Her grandmother had struggled with that burden, as well, and both Polly and Ellie had been made thoroughly aware of that fact.

‘I’m thinking about it,’ she told Rio, who was emanating a wave of silent impatience. ‘I won’t give up work, you know. I’ll never be a trophy wife. I don’t like shopping or fussing with my appearance either,’ she warned him.

‘I’ll shop for you,’ Rio countered smoothly.

‘Stop being so reasonable!’ Ellie exclaimed in frustration. ‘I’m not used to it—’

Rio stole the last sandwich and grinned at her. ‘Stop being so sensible and so negative in your outlook.’

Ellie breathed in slow and deep. ‘All right… I’ll do it. I’ll marry you. Are you happy now?’

Rio treated her to an approving appraisal. ‘Finally. We’ll go and tell Beppe straight away and I’ll get my staff on to organising the wedding—’

‘I have to phone my sister first…and I want to do it in private,’ Ellie told him squarely, sounding a great deal more sure of herself than she actually felt.

‘And then we go and buy a ring,’ Rio informed her. ‘We’ll go the traditional route—’

‘Will we?’ Ellie looked at him uncertainly, for she certainly hadn’t expected to be offered what she assumed to be the equivalent of an engagement ring.

Was the ring to impress Beppe with the reality of them as a couple? Or was it supposed to please her? And what was she going to say to Beppe? And how was she going to explain to Polly that she was suddenly rushing into marriage with a guy she had said she loathed?

CHAPTER SEVEN

‘I JUST NEVER thought I’d see the day,’ Polly carolled with a misty smile as she stepped back to scrutinise Ellie’s appearance. ‘You’re getting married. I thought you were all set to be a spinster with a string of important letters after your name and a cat.’

Ellie had thought that too but she didn’t admit it. She had never compromised on what she wanted from a man until Rio had literally crashed into her life at Polly’s wedding. And that encounter had altered her image of herself and softened her rigid views. She had gradually begun to appreciate that she was lonely and that there was something hollow about achievements and more painful about trials when she had nobody to share those experiences with. Only now she was putting herself out there in a way she never had before, taking a risk on getting attached to a male who against all the odds appealed to her more than any other for no sane reason that she could find.

For Rio, she had lied for the first time in her life. She had told her father that she loved Rio but in actuality she had no idea what she felt for him. At first she had thought it was a mad infatuation but her thirst for information about him and her craving when he was absent had not faded. Surely an infatuation would have long since died from lack of fuel? All she really knew for certain was that Rio absolutely fascinated her, drew her and compelled her. And he made her feel more with him than she had felt in a lifetime of sensibly repressing strong emotions that unsettled her. And Rio had always specialised in seriously unsettling her.