The Italian's Christmas Proposition / Christmas Baby For The Greek. Cathy Williams

speculation, she ate without thinking—the pasta, some salad that looked dangerously close to needing last rites performed then a slab of chocolate dessert that was just the thing to settle her mind.

      She was startled when she heard the sound of the door opening and then there was Candice, shedding outer layers of snow-covered gear as she breezed into the kitchen, pink-faced and smiling.

      ‘I really miss the little monsters.’ She headed straight to the fridge to pull out a bottle of mineral water. ‘But—’ she looked at Rosie with a grin ‘—some time out is a wonderful thing. Had a ball. So nice to catch up with that crew. Where’s Matteo?’

      ‘He’s…um…working.’

      ‘Working?’ She kept her eyes fixed on Rosie’s flushed face as she drank from the bottle before lowering it. ‘Where? In Dad’s office? Surely he can pack in the work for a few days…if he’s head over heels in love with you?’

      ‘Well, you know how it goes when it comes to men and…er…work.’ Rosie offered vaguely. Her sisters had always had the ability to pin her to the spot with their penetrating blue eyes and she was pinned to the spot now, unable to move forward and incapable of shuffling back.

      ‘Tell me.’

      ‘Lucien works all the hours under the sun, or have you forgotten?’

      ‘He’s a surgeon,’ Candice responded drily. ‘Lives depend on him. It’s early days for you both, Rosie. I would have expected him to have made a little time for you, especially considering the time of year, when most businesses are operating at a much slower pace.’

      Rosie remained steadfastly silent. A fierce defensiveness for her so-called boyfriend suddenly kicked into gear allied to the stubborn need to stand her ground. Where had that come from?

      ‘He isn’t where he is because he’s a slacker, Candice,’ she said without the usual note of apology in her voice. ‘Sometimes work can take over, and not necessarily because lives are at stake. Lucien might save lives on an operating table, but Matteo and how he runs his businesses can affect the livelihoods of lots of people who work for him.’

      Candice stared.

      ‘I consider myself duly told off. Second time for the evening. The only reason I sound nosy…’ She sighed. ‘Okay, I’ve researched the guy,’ she confessed, ‘And he’s big stuff, Rosie. Somewhere at the back of my mind, I recognised the name, but I honestly thought I was mistaken because I couldn’t believe that someone who doesn’t even breathe the same air as we do could…well…’

      ‘Find me attractive? Thanks very much.’

      ‘It’s not that at all!’ Candice said quickly. ‘I can’t help being protective of you—he’s out of your league, Rosebud. For a start, the sort of women he dates…’

      ‘I know. He likes high-powered career women.’

      ‘So he told you? I’m impressed with his honesty on that front, at least. Of course, Emily’s heard of him, and so has Robert. But, from everything I’ve read and heard, he’s so far up the pecking order that you literally have to be a billionaire to have much personal contact with him at all on the business level.’

      Frankly, Rosie couldn’t help thinking, the more Candice elaborated, the less likely it seemed that someone like Matteo would even glance in the direction of someone like her. Not unless they had temporarily taken leave of their senses. Christmas madness. Except, he didn’t do Christmas.

      ‘But of course,’ Candice continued, flipping open the bin and dumping the plastic bottle into the recycling section, ‘Opposites do attract, I’ll give you that.’

      ‘They do…’ Rosie smiled to herself, remembering what Matteo had said earlier.

      ‘There’s no accounting for people when they fall in love.’

      Fall in love? Was that the story doing the rounds? And was it spreading like a forest fire beyond the family unit?

      ‘Well…’ She laughed lightly and managed to galvanise her body into action, walking across to sit opposite her sister, wishing she had opted for a restorative glass of wine, for some Dutch courage would have done wonders right now. ‘I don’t know about falling in love…’

      ‘What do you mean?’

      ‘Relationships aren’t all about falling in love,’ she asserted, glancing away.

      ‘That’s not what you’ve always maintained,’ Candice told her drily. She paused and delivered a searching look to her sister. ‘I don’t want you to get hurt,’ she said quietly. ‘And I’m very much afraid that you will. I just don’t think you’re tough enough to handle a guy like Matteo.’

      Into the brief silence came the last voice either of them expected to hear.

      ‘Maybe that’s what I find so charming about your sister.’

      They both looked up to see that Matteo had silently pushed open the kitchen door and was now lounging in the doorframe.

      How long had he been there?

      Rosie tried to remember if she had said anything incriminating and was certain that she hadn’t.

      He’d showered and changed into a pair of faded jeans and an old tee shirt and he looked drop-dead gorgeous—easy, relaxed, wildly sophisticated and with that edge of danger about him that made her whole body go on full alert.

      ‘Maybe,’ Matteo continued, ‘It’s a breath of fresh air to be with a woman who isn’t as tough as nails and doesn’t want to spend every minute of her time discussing the state of the world and how it should be fixed.’ He strolled towards Rosie and then remained standing behind her, his hands on her shoulders, lightly caressing her neck and feathering shivers of pleasure through her body.

      He leant to brush his lips on the nape of her neck and she nearly passed out.

      She had never seen Candice out of her depth but Matteo unsettled her, Rosie thought. It was his self-assurance, his bone-deep confidence that his opinions carried weight. He didn’t allow anyone to take advantage of him and, before they thought that they could try, he made sure to establish the lines of command.

      ‘And what makes you think that your sister will be the one to be hurt?’ he enquired coolly.

      ‘Exactly.’ Rosie finally entered the conversation but her usual spirited response was seriously compromised by the continuing, caressing motion of his fingers on her neck. ‘Candice, please don’t worry about me.’

      ‘I intend to take very good care of your sister.’ Matteo’s voice was still cool.

      ‘Really?’ Candice’s eyebrows shot up. ‘I mean, I hope so. We all do.’

      ‘Why would I say it if I didn’t mean it?’

      ‘But,’ Rosie interjected, ‘It’s only been a couple of weeks so…we’re taking each day as it comes.’

      ‘And you were always the impulsive one, Rosie,’ Candice teased. ‘Is love changing you already?’

      ‘Don’t be ridiculous!’ Rosie spluttered. How much deeper could the hole she had dug for herself go?

      ‘I know it’s not wedding bells yet!’ Candice laughed and stood up, her movements graceful as she strode towards the door. ‘But please don’t forget to give me ample warning so that I can start planning my outfit!’

      Rosie managed to stammer out something, grateful that Matteo seemed to be taking it all in his stride, and it was only when the kitchen door was shut and her sister well and truly gone that Rosie looked at him with alarm.

      ‘You should never have encouraged my sister to think that there was more to this than there is!’ was the first thing she said, leaping to her feet, irritated at Matteo’s composure as he helped himself to a bottle of water from the