Page 17 of Secret Match

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Her mother then pushed a financial article forward on her coffee table as she sat down and picked up her teacup. The front page was about the House of Morgan merger and how everyone assumed the merger was a done deal. Gio’s picture was profiled right next to Victoria. Her mother sipped her tea while Kiwi sank into a side chair. “You didn’t mention he was a Morgan from the family you’ve worked for years with, or that he’d been dating that actress.”

Fair enough. But the truth was she hadn’t known. Kiwi probably should have looked up the competition, at least once, because then she’d have known the company he kept. Keeping her nose out of the House of Morgan drama had seemed a safer bet. She wrung her hands together. “I didn’t know his last name, until recently.”

“I see,” her mother said while holding that cup up like she was the Queen of England.

Gio coughed and entered the conversation. “I stopped seeing Piper last year, long before I met your beautiful daughter, who clearly took after you.” Her mother put her cup down as Gio motioned toward the sofa between her and her mother and asked, “Mrs. Washington, may I join you on the couch?”

Her mother nodded and waved him toward her as she said, “Of course. I’m sorry I lost my manners, Your Highness.”

And that sarcastic wit her mother had, presented itself—it was why they weren’t closer, Kiwi thought with a pang.

Gio slipped expertly between Kiwi and the coffee table. She really should have moved faster, but he was focused on her mother as he took the seat. “I’m not royal, ma’am, though I wanted to assure you that I intend to treat your daughter like a princess.”

Kiwi’s entire body became aware of him and her knees turned toward him as her mother asked, “So you’re not just going to ignore her or her unborn baby, leaving her to fend for herself and that child of hers?”

Her mother made her six-figure salary sound like she worked at a convenience store with that sentence. Gio didn’t say a word about that and instead took her mother’s hand. “Absolutely not. I’d marry her today if she accepted.”

Marry? This sounded like some sort of joke. Her heart beat faster and heat grew in her cheeks as she said, “Mom, don’t-”

Her mother interrupted and ignored her as she kept her brown eyes on Gio. “Your world is very different than ours. Can you protect my daughter and grandbaby from people who would hate her just because of how she looks?”

Protect? This wasn’t slavery days though the world could still be ugly at times. For the most part Kiwi stayed out of the ugly parts and focused on her work.

Her head whipped around as Gio said, “Your daughter is the most gorgeous woman on the planet,signora, and it would be my honor to keep her safe at my villa.”

Gorgeous? Her face heated and she fanned her cheeks with a paper napkin.

Her mother finally turned her attention back toward Kiwi, though she held Gio’s hand tight. “I hear Italians are different than our men here, sweetheart.”

Kiwi’s hand floated to her stomach and she wished her unborn baby moved even a little though all she felt were butterflies. “Mama, I thought you hated that I was pregnant.”

Her mother made atisksound and shook her head while squeezing Gio’s hand again like they were best friends. “I hated that you were alone and that you’d bring a child into this world without its father in your life. But Gio has promised me more than I could hope for with you. Kiwi, we discussed that I want more for you than I could give.”

By that Mom meant that money was always a bottom line. They needed to ensure the family prospered because “no Washington will ever be poor again” had been her grandmother’s motto—she must have stolen it from Scarlett O’Hara inGone with the Windyears ago, ignoring the whole happy slave mythology. Kiwi jumped to her feet, not wanting to argue. She signaled to Gio that he needed to join her as she said, “Mom, we should go.”

Her mother rose from the sofa acting like she was in total control. “Yes, go and talk to this lovely man.”

Gio then kissed her mother’s cheek when they arrived at the door and promised to call.

Oh goodness. They’d even exchanged numbers. Kiwi pressed her hand to her forehead.

Outside the humidity inched up from steam to sticky sweat and she could hardly breathe until the cool air conditioner inside the car blew against her skin. Gio winked at her and said, “That wasn’t that hard.”

“For you.” He backed out of the driveway. “It’s because you’re a Morgan—but not an American. My mom worked as a loan officer in banking though never at one of the corporate owned ones your family controls.”

He gripped the steering wheel. “I see. Then my father wasn’t the smartest man in the financial world, like he said he was.”

“Why would you say that?”

“Because he’d have hired that woman in there. I want to go back and ask your mother to run my accounting department.”

“She’s retired.” Kiwi saw how he turned to go east, toward the ocean, and not the highway, but she didn’t ask his plan. “Mom only knows your name by what is in the media, but it’s enough that you assured her that you would be around.”

He tilted his head toward her but kept his gaze on the road. “I promised her I’d marry you.”

Everything stilled around her. She wasn’t sure what to do, but she quickly hugged her waist. She wasn’t ready to get married. “Whoa, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Why?” He turned into a marina and parked, shutting down the engine.