Page 55 of Hidden Heir, Italian Wife

“You’re sexy as hell in that,” he said of her new bikini when she joined him in the pool one afternoon.

“Are you doing that on purpose?”

“What?”

“Complimenting me. I feel like we’re back in Como. You know I’m a sure thing now, right?” She held up her left hand and wiggled her fingers to indicate the rings.

“I never say anything to you that I don’t mean.” He grabbed her wrist and dragged her through the water into his arms. “You are sexy as hell with or without a bathing suit, but the color suits you. It’s titillating to see you in it and know your tan lines as well as I know the rest of your body.”

She looked down at the neon blue bandeau and the way he was arranging her legs to wrap his waist.

“If I haven’t been complimenting you enough since we married, that is my bad. I’ve had a lot of distractions, but I notice how beautiful you are all the time. I notice what a caring mother you are and that you bring a lot to Eve’s team. Anytime you walk into a room, I know I’m the luckiest man alive to call you my wife.”

She chuckled and shook her head, only half believing him. Maybe a little more than half because he did make her feel beautiful. And smart. And cherished.

She felt like the luckiest woman alive and, as their bond strengthened, she found it easier and easier to ease her grip on the old, frayed line that tethered her to the past. The one that had left blisters and calluses on her soul.

On their last day, she spent an hour composing an email that was only ten words.

I’m unable to arrange a discount or attend the wedding.

She hit Send and braced herself for a painful inner schism or a sensation of being cast adrift. Instead, she felt as though a tremendous weight was no longer dragging at her. She was a sea creature freed from a thousand pounds of tangled net. She was lighter. She had never really been part of her father’s family so she wasn’t losing anything by stepping away from it.

Rising from the lounger as though rising from ashes, she went inside to find Jax at the desk in the office. He was frowning at his laptop.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Nico’s asking when I’ll be back in New York.” He closed it, expression pensive. “I told him we’re leaving in a few hours.”

“Can we still visit with Mom?” They were planning to fly overnight to Virginia Beach and stay the weekend before working out of New York next week.

“We should head straight to New York.”

“That’s too bad. I’ll text her in a minute. But first, um, I took your advice. I sent my regrets to the wedding and said I couldn’t help with costs. Then I blocked Laura’s number. If she reaches out to you, you can ignore it.”

“Wow.” He rose and held out his arms in an offering of an embrace. “Good for you. I know that wasn’t an easy decision.”

“It wasn’t as hard as I expected it to be.” She stepped into his arms feeling as though the last of her inner walls had also fallen away, painlessly. They had nothing but a bright future ahead of them. “Can I show you something?”

“Sure.” His expression altered to curiosity as he followed her up to the bedroom.

She walked into the bathroom and held up her birth control pills, then dramatically dropped them into the wastebasket.

His brows went up. “Really.”

“It’s a day for big decisions. Unless—”

“Oh, I’m very sure.” He gathered her close and kissed her with such breathtaking thoroughness, her heart was pounding by the time he let her up for air. “Shall we get started on trying?”

“It was one and done last time, champ. I probably got pregnant by tossing them.”

“Let’s make sure.” He drew her to the bed, then tumbled her onto the mattress.

If his goal this trip had been to build her up with flattery and seduction, it had worked. She was pure confidence as they kissed and caressed and peeled away clothing. She rained kisses on his throat and chest and shoulders and stomach and the thrilling hardness of his erection.

He groaned and ran his fingers into her hair and said, “Much as I love that, it’s not going to get the job done.”

He rolled her beneath him and gave her the same treatment, seeming to worship every inch of her until she glowed with more than arousal. Joy.Love.

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