Bound to the Tuscan Billionaire by Susan Stephens Page B

‘Take that occasion at your charity function in Rome when you barely spoke to me. And then, as soon as everyone left—’
    â€˜You leapt on me,’ he remembered, finding it hard to suppress a grin as he thought back.
    â€˜I did not leap on you.’
    â€˜You did,’ he argued with a shrug. ‘We leapt on each other.’
    She tightened her mouth and her face went red, but she didn’t deny it.
    â€˜Can I get you something to drink?’ she asked, avoiding his gaze.
    â€˜Why don’t I get you a glass of water while you sit down?’
    â€˜I should get you a drink,’ she insisted. ‘Your journey—’ She stopped when she saw the expression on his face.
    â€˜Sit.’
    Reluctantly, she did so. She had no option. She was swaying and looked on the point of collapse. This was so much worse than he had imagined. Turning to the sink, he ran the tap and filled a glass with cold water. ‘This isn’t a social call, Cassandra. I’ve come to take you home with me, back to Rome.’
    â€˜I beg your pardon?’ she demanded.
    â€˜You can’t stay here.’ He glanced around, and by the time his assessing stare had returned to her face it was to see her cheeks flaming with the knowledge that he was right. She wasn’t finding this pregnancy easy. She was sick and weak, and he doubted she could work in her current condition. How was she supposed to support herself, let alone a baby? A baby that might be his child. If there was even the smallest chance of that he couldn’t leave her here— Dio! He couldn’t leave her here anyway. With her godmother away, Cassandra had no one else but him to turn to.
    â€˜Pack a small case,’ he said. ‘We can buy anything else you need in Rome. We’ll leave as soon as you’re ready.’
    â€˜I haven’t agreed to go with you yet,’ she pointed out, raising her chin to stare at him with defiance.
    â€˜But you will,’ he said. ‘If you care for your baby at all, you will.’
    She followed Marco’s glance to her wilting plants and wondered if he could be right. She felt just like them, but it wasn’t in her to give up without a fight. She was carrying his child—a child he didn’t want—but she had to give her baby every chance. Should she go with Marco for the sake of their child, as he suggested? Was she being selfish, staying here?
    â€˜Do you need some help packing your case?’
    â€˜No, thank you.’ She frowned. She refused to be rushed into this. She had always dreamed of having a family—but a family very different from her own. She supposed now that this perfect dream was yet another example of her naivety. Life wasn’t simple, and there was no such thing as an ideal family. The only thing she did know was that she would fight like a lioness for her child. And if living in the lap of luxury in Italy turned out not to be the best thing for her baby, she’d come home.
    â€˜Where were you planning to take me?’ she asked Marco, blaming pregnancy hormones for the vision of his home in Tuscany swimming in front of her eyes. She even allowed the daydream to progress... That wouldn’t be so bad, would it? Tending that beautiful garden as she waited for her baby to arrive? The sunshine would do both of them good—
    â€˜To Rome, as I said,’ he repeated briskly. Her illusion was instantly shattered as he added, ‘That’s where the best doctors are, so that’s where you’ll be going. You’ll live in my penthouse, of course. What?’ he asked seeing her expression change from frowning to downright refusal. ‘Where did you think I would take you?’
    â€˜Rome,’ she murmured distractedly. He’d said Rome, and she knew that to many people Rome would seem to be a dream destination, but Marco was so different in Rome, and he expected her to act differently too. What sort of life