The Exiled Jeweler: a contemporary romance novel (The Rosa Legacy Book 2) by Susie Warren Page A
Authors: Susie Warren
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than keep it hidden.
“Why do they call you Lia? Is that a childhood nickname?”
She looked as if she didn’t have a friend in the world as she looked out into the ocean. “I guess.”
He stepped closer to her and ran his hands lightly down her back until he spanned her hips with his fingers. He could feel her resistance to him in the rigidness of her spine. It took enormous effort not to pull her back into his body and kiss her neck.
Emilia said, “I’ve no hope of changing your mind so I’ll tell them. But it makes me resent you for forcing me to do something that I don’t agree with.”
He turned her toward him. “I’m sorry this is hard for you.”
Looking at her sad expression, he almost caved. But the truth needed to be told. It wasn’t ethical to invest into Berceto without the family understanding his role in the scandal.
Moving his hand behind her head, he brought his mouth within an inch of hers. He gazed into her eyes and watched in fascination, her eyes went sending him angry sparks to being curious, almost inviting.
“I want to devour you, Emilia Berceto. I want to forget where my body ends and yours begins.”
“Please, Alex.” She offered herself to him.
“We can’t move forward until you reveal the truth.”
His hand moved from her neck and he explored the shape of her hips. He could feel her hands gently touching his chest and he decided to end the encounter while he could.
Stepping away, he said, “You need to solve this.”
He kept himself busy until it was time to escort her to her car. Holding her hand, they exited the yacht. She was unusually quiet as they walked through the night air. He wanted to take her in his arms and reassure her that it would work out, but she needed to stand up for herself. A relationship based on deception was destined to fail.
Emilia stopped walking. “My car is a short walk. I’ll be fine.”
Facing her, he said, “We need to get rid of the secret separating us. And you need my help with Berceto. Why are you being so stubborn?”
“I’ve no interest in getting involved with you.”
“Your body tells a different story, cara .”
“Goodnight, Alex.”
He waited for her to make it to her car before turning back to the yacht. He had a long night ahead of him, his body ached for her. Why was it so difficult for her to tell her family? Why couldn’t she tell the truth about the past? He remembered the weight and burden of carrying his family’s secrets and wanted no part of that in his life.
His grandfather had passed more than a decade ago and he was still dealing with the fallout of his deceptive ways. There were gambling debts, women who thought he would marry them, and backroom deals. It had taken his entire working life to turn around the Armati reputation, but it drove fear into his heart any time someone mentioned his grandfather. Did they know something that he didn’t? Would they try and force a settlement from him? He knew of two younger uncles that were growing up without the Armati name to protect them. He helped their families financially but didn’t know what to do beyond that.
Alex decided to head back to his house alone. Attempting to banish thoughts of her, he called his contact in Venezuela to discuss negotiations in process for new mining opportunities. He drove through Los Angeles traffic, discussing the intricacies of the Venezuelan market on his speaker phone until he could bare it no longer. Abruptly ending the call, he allowed his thoughts to return to her. He wanted her badly enough that he was almost willing to forget about the truth.
Chapter 7
Pushing thoughts of the gala out of her mind, Emilia worked closely with her designers on the concept for the launch. She held closed meetings and even had the windows of the conference room covered in brown paper so the designs remained secret.
Meeting around the clock with her team of four designers and Liv, they came up with a plan to roll out the
“Why do they call you Lia? Is that a childhood nickname?”
She looked as if she didn’t have a friend in the world as she looked out into the ocean. “I guess.”
He stepped closer to her and ran his hands lightly down her back until he spanned her hips with his fingers. He could feel her resistance to him in the rigidness of her spine. It took enormous effort not to pull her back into his body and kiss her neck.
Emilia said, “I’ve no hope of changing your mind so I’ll tell them. But it makes me resent you for forcing me to do something that I don’t agree with.”
He turned her toward him. “I’m sorry this is hard for you.”
Looking at her sad expression, he almost caved. But the truth needed to be told. It wasn’t ethical to invest into Berceto without the family understanding his role in the scandal.
Moving his hand behind her head, he brought his mouth within an inch of hers. He gazed into her eyes and watched in fascination, her eyes went sending him angry sparks to being curious, almost inviting.
“I want to devour you, Emilia Berceto. I want to forget where my body ends and yours begins.”
“Please, Alex.” She offered herself to him.
“We can’t move forward until you reveal the truth.”
His hand moved from her neck and he explored the shape of her hips. He could feel her hands gently touching his chest and he decided to end the encounter while he could.
Stepping away, he said, “You need to solve this.”
He kept himself busy until it was time to escort her to her car. Holding her hand, they exited the yacht. She was unusually quiet as they walked through the night air. He wanted to take her in his arms and reassure her that it would work out, but she needed to stand up for herself. A relationship based on deception was destined to fail.
Emilia stopped walking. “My car is a short walk. I’ll be fine.”
Facing her, he said, “We need to get rid of the secret separating us. And you need my help with Berceto. Why are you being so stubborn?”
“I’ve no interest in getting involved with you.”
“Your body tells a different story, cara .”
“Goodnight, Alex.”
He waited for her to make it to her car before turning back to the yacht. He had a long night ahead of him, his body ached for her. Why was it so difficult for her to tell her family? Why couldn’t she tell the truth about the past? He remembered the weight and burden of carrying his family’s secrets and wanted no part of that in his life.
His grandfather had passed more than a decade ago and he was still dealing with the fallout of his deceptive ways. There were gambling debts, women who thought he would marry them, and backroom deals. It had taken his entire working life to turn around the Armati reputation, but it drove fear into his heart any time someone mentioned his grandfather. Did they know something that he didn’t? Would they try and force a settlement from him? He knew of two younger uncles that were growing up without the Armati name to protect them. He helped their families financially but didn’t know what to do beyond that.
Alex decided to head back to his house alone. Attempting to banish thoughts of her, he called his contact in Venezuela to discuss negotiations in process for new mining opportunities. He drove through Los Angeles traffic, discussing the intricacies of the Venezuelan market on his speaker phone until he could bare it no longer. Abruptly ending the call, he allowed his thoughts to return to her. He wanted her badly enough that he was almost willing to forget about the truth.
Chapter 7
Pushing thoughts of the gala out of her mind, Emilia worked closely with her designers on the concept for the launch. She held closed meetings and even had the windows of the conference room covered in brown paper so the designs remained secret.
Meeting around the clock with her team of four designers and Liv, they came up with a plan to roll out the
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