Men of Power. Кэрол Мортимер

      “The Sonoma vineyards have their own brand of charm.”

      “That’s true, but nothing I’ve ever seen or imagined compares to this.” She quickly averted her eyes.

       No man I’ve ever met compares to you.

      The helicopter dipped lower until it hovered near a gold-tinged villa surrounded by a sun-drenched garden hugging the steep hillside.

      Her breath caught. “Your home?”

      He nodded solemnly. The helicopter set them down in a cleared space at the rear of the villa.

      “Oh, Nicky—” she cried in absolute wonder. “To think this is where your mommy grew up, where you’re going to live—”

      As Massimo had pointed out, this was Nicky’s birthright.

      It was so fabulous only a fool would have asked him why he was bringing the baby back here. She cringed over her pathetic naiveté.

      Yet for all her euphoria, she wasn’t wrong to feel trepidation. She knew from Massimo’s history that this particular Garden of Eden had its serpent. What frightened her more was anticipating the moment when it would strike without warning.

      After thanking Guido for setting up a new crib and dresser, Massimo went in search of Lia. Per his instructions, they’d made one adjustment to the rooms on the second floor.

      Pietra’s bedroom would now serve as the nursery. Julie would stay in the adjoining suite. Massimo’s was down the hall. The arrangement would give them both easy access to the baby without his having to go through Julie’s room first.

      Rounding the corner, he found Lia leaving Julie’s suite with a tray. He noted with satisfaction that she’d eaten most of her lunch.

      Over the past week she’d displayed little appetite. Ironically he’d been more worried about her than Nicky, who’d finally started drinking his formula without problem. After several failed attempts in the beginning with Julie looking on, Massimo learned that all he had to do was act in charge and plunge the nipple in Nicky’s mouth. Suddenly the baby stopped fighting him and they were in business. At that point Massimo didn’t know who was more surprised.

      “Congratulations,” she’d said. “You’ve stumbled onto the secret of the assertive doctrine, just like I did.”

      Between her gentle laughter and a smile for Nicky that drew his attention to the passionate curve of her mouth, he felt a sense of accomplishment he hadn’t experienced in years.

      He popped a lone grape from her plate into his mouth. “Did Julie mention needing anything else right now?”

      “No. The signorina put the baby in his carryall next to her bed. Both are asleep. She cares for him like he’s her own bambino.” Lia’s eyes misted over. “Such a beautiful child Pietra made. To think she’s gone.”

      Massimo inhaled sharply, not wanting to dwell on the nightmare they’d just lived through. It still enveloped him like a shroud.

      “I’m going to bed, myself. Have Gina bring him to me when he’s awake, no matter the hour. Julie needs her sleep. I’ll feed him.”

      She nodded.

       “Bene. Grazie, Lia.”

      “Momento, Massimo. Cesar urged you to call him at your convenience. He and Luca sent flowers. I put them in your study.”

      “I need to get hold of them.” Cesar and his elder brother, Luca, would be shocked when they learned Nicky would be living in Italy with Massimo. This would especially impact Cesar because it meant Massimo’s bachelor existence had come to an end. The fallout from Pietra’s fatal accident was still reverberating.

      “You’ve had many other phone calls. Your uncle, Signor Vercelli, Signor Ricci, Seraphina Ricci, Dottor Pittman, Dottor Reese and Signor Walton.”

      He checked his stride. “Walton?”

      “Signorina Marchant’s fiancé. He sounded anxious to speak to her. Something to do with a wedding, but it was a poor connection.”

      Massimo frowned. So it wasn’t over. Whatever quarrel they’d had, the poor devil had to be kicking himself by now.

      “I’ll tell her. The rest of them will have to wait.”

      Especially his uncle, who’d already played his first hand to no avail. Making sure Seraphina was at the airport to greet him the second he stepped off the plane hadn’t come as any surprise.

      His uncle and her father had been plotting an alliance between the two of them for the past four years. But Massimo wasn’t in love with her. Even if he had been, he would never have married her. She was a big-city girl, overly indulged by her papa and his money. Unsuited to live in a third-world country.

      Totally unlike Julie, for instance.

      Disturbed by thoughts that kept turning to her, he headed down the hall. Upon reaching his bedroom, his legs, in fact his whole body, felt like lead. Since the phone call from Sansone which seemed a hundred years ago, he hadn’t truly slept.

      He showered but was too tired to shave. However, once he was in his old bed, his brain wouldn’t shut off. Like bubbles that kept popping, one thought led to another. Damn if the woman sleeping down the hall hadn’t gotten beneath his skin.

      Massimo could still see her standing there trembling in his hotel room while she railed against his family. In one breath she attacked, in the next she begged to be a part of Nicky’s life, insisting they would adapt to the jungle if they had to. He figured she would have said anything in her grief in order to be with the baby.

      He still thought that, but having spent some time with her, he was also convinced she’d do whatever she had to and never complain about it. His mouth curved to imagine the stir those two blond heads would create among the natives as his loaded canoe glided deeper into the forest …

      With her aboard the jet helping him with Nicky, their flight across two continents and an ocean had been surprisingly enjoyable. The insulation from his cousins had been another plus. He’d hardly given them a thought while he and Julie kept Nicky and each other occupied. She was intelligent. Unspoiled. It was almost as if the three of them were their own little family.

      To his shock he found himself missing the intimacy of the plane’s interior. In such close proximity, he hadn’t needed an excuse to look at her whenever he wanted. He’d been attracted to her at the hotel, and was even more so now.

      Long lashes darker than her hair fringed wide-set blue eyes. His gaze studied the perfect oval of her face, then drifted over a generous mouth to her well-shaped body.

      The image of Nicky snuggled up against fresh youthful skin with her gold hair splayed across the headrest wouldn’t leave his mind.

      It was true what Lia had said moments ago. Julie was acting very much like a mother. His housekeeper had been prepared to look after Nicky herself, but how could she do anything when Julie put the baby in the same room with her?

      He had a feeling that consciously or not, this sort of thing was going to keep happening. Time wouldn’t change Julie’s feelings for Nicky, only deepen them, ensuring an unbreakable bond.

      If he hadn’t brought Julie with him, Lia and the maids would be the ones seeing to most of Nicky’s needs. There’d be no danger in them forming an attachment to him, or Nicky to them. On the contrary. His tiny nephew needed people around him he could grow to love and trust.

      Yet if Massimo were honest with himself, he had to admit the help wouldn’t curl up with Nicky and play with him the same way she did. Every child deserved that kind of love and attention.

      Unfortunately, Julie would be leaving at some point—her relationship with Walton clearly wasn’t as over as she’d made it out. He hadn’t consciously thought about it, but now the prospect of that eventuality alarmed