The Secret The Italian Claims. Jennie Lucas

was right. And he hated her for it.

      “And now we both know what kind of woman you are,” he said coldly. “The kind of woman who is willing to lie about herself for a hundred thousand dollars.”

      Her deep brown eyes held his, then dropped.

      “Yes,” she said in a low voice. “I suppose I am.” She squared her shoulders. “But I’ll still need the check before I sign.”

      “Fine.” Turning away, he got his checkbook out of the safe. Scribbling the amount and signing it, he handed it to her.

      Her hand trembled as she took the check. For a moment, she just looked down at it. Then she pressed it against her chest, looking almost near tears.

      “Thank you,” she whispered. “You don’t know what this will mean to us.”

       “Us?”

      “Me,” she said quickly.

      Obviously, she’d already found another lover. The thought bothered him. He pushed it aside. He had no claim on her, and she would have none on him once the deal was finished.

      Setting his jaw, he held out the pen. “Now your side of the bargain.”

      “Of course.” Taking the pen, she leaned over his desk to read the two documents—the nondisclosure agreement and an admission of fault. As she read, Cristiano’s gaze traced unwillingly down her long throat to the dark hair tumbling down her back to the sweet fullness of her backside. Her breasts seemed fuller than he remembered.

      He forced himself to look away.

      Signing both papers with a flourish, she put the lid back on his pen, then handed it to him along with the signed papers. “Here.”

      She seemed strangely joyful, as if the weight of the world had just been lifted off her shoulders.

      Cristiano barely restrained a scowl. His hand brushed hers as he took the papers and pen. Her cheeks went bright red, and she dropped her hand. “Thanks. Goodbye.”

      He watched incredulously as, without another word, she headed for the door.

      “That’s it?”

      Hallie glanced back with a smile. “You wanted to be rid of me.”

      He couldn’t believe it could be so easy for her to leave him when it was so hard for him to let her go. When it took all his self-control not to ask her to—

      “Stay for a drink,” he heard himself say. “Just one drink. To toast the future.”

      The corners of her lips curved into a humorless smile. “Isn’t Natalia waiting for you?”

      “Who?”

      “Who?” She snorted. “The gorgeous supermodel you were taking out tonight.”

      “She’s just a friend,” he said impatiently. He knew the Russian girl wanted more. But what did he care about her? Seeing Hallie today had brought back everything he’d tried to forget over the past year, everything he knew was forbidden but that he still wanted. “Share a drink with me.”

      For a second, Hallie hesitated. Then she straightened, glaring at him. “After the way you treated me, do you really think I would ever choose to spend more time with you?” She lifted her chin. “I never, ever want to see you again. Goodbye, Cristiano.”

      She turned away, clutching the check against her heart. She left him without looking back.

      Cristiano stood in his private office, stunned.

      Hallie would cause no legal trouble. The cost of his night with her had been minimal, one he’d been more than willing to pay. And now she was gone. For good.

      His jaw tightened. It was what he’d wanted, wasn’t it? He’d wanted to permanently rid himself of the temptation she offered. He’d never felt so attracted to anyone.

      He’d slept with beautiful women before. The danger—the difference—was in Hallie’s voice, so rich with heartbreak and longing. And in her deep brown eyes, which had looked at him with such frank joy. In her low, husky laugh that had melted him with her warmth and delight.

      She’d made him feel things against his will.

      Not with his body.

      His soul.

      So after he’d fired her he’d ordered his secretary to block Hallie’s calls if she ever tried to contact him again.

      Yet, tonight, he’d been the one who had asked her to stay. And Hallie, without any apparent difficulty or regret, had gotten what she’d wanted and easily walked away.

      His pride was in shock.

      As a matter of course, Cristiano always put his own selfish desires first. You had to look out for number one.

      He’d just never imagined a kindhearted country girl like Hallie could do the same.

      Rubbing the back of his head, he put his checkbook back in the safe. He told himself he’d go meet Natalia and spend the evening at yet another bland charity gala, but the thought seemed ridiculous.

      Hallie had looked delicious, her body even more curvaceous than he remembered. She had a new maturity about her. Her dark eyes had become guarded, he realized. Not as honest and clear as he remembered. She’d held something back. Some mystery. Some secret.

      Cristiano closed the safe, then stopped.

      Something didn’t make sense.

      When Hallie had first met him in the lobby, she’d been nervous and tense. I have something important to tell you, she’d said. But what was it? Simply that she’d hired a lawyer?

      Except she’d never actually said that. Cristiano had. She’d been slow to talk and so he’d filled in all the blanks. When he’d offered her money, she’d been surprised, even shocked. Surely that was why she’d asked to speak to him privately. Because her lawyer had told her to.

      Unless she didn’t actually have a lawyer.

      Unless she’d come to him for some other reason. A reason she’d decided to forget once he’d offered her a check.

      Cristiano’s eyes widened.

      He strode out of his private office and down the sweeping stairs that overlooked the huge, gleaming lobby with enormous chandeliers hanging from thirty-foot ceilings. His eyes scanned over the crowd of wealthy tycoons and beautiful starlets that filled the lobby and main bar of the Campania on a typical Thursday night.

      He saw Hallie on the other side of the lobby, near the door, talking to two young women, a plump redhead and a pregnant blonde. Hallie smiled, her joy obvious even from this distance, as she reached out to take something from the blonde.

      A baby stroller. Looking down at it, she smiled and cooed.

      Cristiano’s blood went cold.

      A baby stroller.

       A baby.

      Later, he wouldn’t even remember how he had reached her. His brain was blank, his body like ice as he walked through the faceless crowd toward Hallie Hatfield and the baby stroller she gripped by the handle. When he drew close, he heard her soft laughter as she turned to her friends. The other women’s eyes went wide as Cristiano put his hand on her shoulder.

      Hallie’s face was still smiling as she turned. Then the blood drained from her face.

      Cristiano looked from her guilt-stricken face down to the small, dark-haired, fat-cheeked baby drowsing in the stroller. He slowly lifted his eyes back to hers.

      “Is this your baby, Hallie?”

      The fear in her eyes told him everything he needed to know.

      The other two women stared between them, wide-eyed.