Accept My Baby: A Billionaire BWWM Single Parent Pregnancy Romance (7 page)

“
Well
it is not polite to let a guest drink alone, now, is it?”

Amanda smiled as she
watched him pour lemonade into the two glasses on the tray.

“
It’s
just lemonade. Not cognac or champagne.”

Rafael handed her a
glass.

“
A
drink is a drink and right now, sharing this one with you is so much
more fun than I could be having in there.”

“
Somehow,
I find that hard to believe,” she said, sitting down.

He took a sip of his
lemonade and shook his head.

“
Believe
me. I love throwing parties as much as the next guy but I can only
explain the difference between Stanford and Stamford so many times.”
He took a long deep breath. “It is honestly exasperating.”

“
I
can only imagine,” she said. She took a sip of her lemonade and
leaned back taking in the view. “You have a beautiful home.”

“
Thank
you,” he said. He was looking at her, but she didn’t know
it yet. “But not as beautiful as you are.”

She turned to look at
him, a smile on her face. She was thankful for the cover of the night
otherwise he would have seen her reddened cheeks and known that his
charms were working.

He
was the complete opposite of what Brett was. Sure, he was handsome
and quite the looker but he could not compare to what she was looking
at. Rafael had a full head of naturally shiny black hair and the
warmest eyes she had ever laid eyes on. Even through his linen pants
and shirt, she could see the outline of his well formed muscles. He
was perfect in more ways than one, a god and he did not let it go to
his head like most men would have. She turned away from him and took
another sip of her lemonade.

“
You
did not strike me as a person who would blush,” he went on and
she forced out a laugh.

“
I
am not sure what I have to say to that,” she said in a soft
voice.

“
You
don’t have to say anything. Just sit there and let me
appreciate you.”

She shook her head
and looked at him.

“
You
know, a friend of mine told me that the men in Italy can be pretty
direct,” she said before she took a sip of her lemonade. “I’m
beginning to think she was right.”

“
I
don’t know about the rest of Italy but I like letting the world
know what is on my mind. After all, I didn’t get to where I was
by mincing my words.”

“
I
don’t know,” she said. “Forgive me for not mincing
my words either but in all honesty you kind of look like a trust fund
baby.”

Rafael smiled.

“
No
offense,” she said quickly and he shook his head.

“
Trust
me, none taken. It’s not the first time I’ve heard that.
But maybe I should just point out that a few years ago my parents
thought it would be wise to cut me off...to make me get in line or
something of the sort.”

Amanda raised an
eyebrow.

“
What
are you talking about?”

“
They
have always wanted my brother and I to handle the family business but
I had other plans...I mean, I am not saying I wanted to throw my
hands up in surrender when it came to the family business but I
needed something that would just be my own. That was something I had
always wanted to do since I was a kid and so I got my savings and
bought into some business in the Texan oil fields.”

“
You
invested in the American oil business?” she asked surprised. “I
hear it is a cut throat industry.”

“
Yeah,
it is definitely not for the weak of heart. But it is what I wanted
to do and I was not going to give up on it.”

“
Well,
good on you,” she said. “It is important to follow your
dream.”

“
Speaking
of, you know what I do for a living. What about you?” he asked.
“What is it that keeps you busy?”

“
I
am a travel blogger,” she said.

“
That
must be amazing,” he said smiling. “Going around the
world taking photos and trying out different foods. Must be fun.”

“
It
is...sometimes it can get a little tough with the culture shock and
everything but it is worth it. I think experiencing different
cultures is what makes it worth while,” she said as she leaned
back.

A smile played on her
face when she began recalling all the different countries she had
been to. “You can go from flying high in Brazil to backpacking
around Africa, getting on safaris and everything. Plus seeing how
people live and work...” she took a long deep breath. “It
is just amazing, like you said.”

Rafael smiled at her.

“
You
sound like you really like it.”

“
I
do. I really, really do and honestly right now, being away from
home...it is all that is keeping me sane right now,” she said
in a soft voice.

“
So,
you are not a permanent resident in Italy?” he asked and she
shook her head.

“
I’m
just visiting a friend. She has an apartment in Turin,” she
said in a soft voice.

“
I
know that you are from the States, but where exactly?”

“
New
Jersey,” she said in a soft voice.

“
New
Jersey?” he smiled. “You seem like more of a New York
kind of girl.”

She smiled and
shrugged.

“
I
was...I think I still am. But...” her voice trailed off. “It’s
a long story, one that I don’t want to get into right now.”

“
So
are you here doing a piece on the life and culture of Italy?”
he asked and she nodded.

“
Turin
to be specific. I did a piece on Rome and The Vatican but this time I
am solely focused on Turin.”

“
Sounds
great. You know, if you want I could show you around.”

“
Thanks,
but you don’t have to.”

“
Just
hear me out. I think I can take you to places you wouldn’t be
able to see without my help,” he said and she laughed. This guy
was slowly but surely crossing over from confidence to arrogance and
she was almost sure that he didn’t even realize it.

“
I
still believe that you don’t have to,” she said.

“
Well,
I insist,” he said, smiling. “You never know, I might
just be able to take your mind off whatever it is you are avoiding in
New Jersey.”

Amanda smiled and
took a sip of her lemonade again, wondering how she was going to
respond to that. But she could not think of saying anything that
would ensure she didn’t divulge everything she was running away
from.

“
So
how long do you plan on being here?” he asked and she shrugged.

“
I
don’t know. I’m not sure really...a couple of weeks. A
month maybe?” she said.

“
That’s
barely enough time to see all that Turin has to offer. Maybe you
could extend your trip?”

She smiled and
shrugged.

“
I
don’t know. I’ll see how everything goes.”

Rafael looked at her
for a long time before he finally spoke again.

“
That’s
too bad because I was hoping to see you again. To have you all to
myself away from all this music and people, away from all this
mayhem.”

Her lips were
slightly parted as he looked at her. She did not know what she was
supposed to say to him. She had a million thoughts running through
her mind.

“
What?”
she asked, surprised at what she had heard.

“
You
heard me,” he said as he looked into her eyes. “I would
like to take you out sometime. Dinner maybe.”

“
Dinner?”
she asked.

“
Dinner,”
he echoed. “We could go to a restaurant but I am one hell of a
cook and I would love to show off my culinary prowess.”

She forced out a
laugh.

“
I
literally just met you.”

“
Yes,
it’s been a good half hour and if you say no, you will just be
delaying the inevitable,” he said and she took another sip of
her lemonade.

“
You
sound pretty sure of yourself,” she said.

“
That’s
because I am,” he pointed out. “And I would follow you
out to New Jersey too...or New York. Wherever you decide to go.”

Amanda put her glass
down and stood up. She wanted to say what made her suddenly get up
but her throat was dry. Her glossed lips were slightly parted as she
tried getting the words in her mind out but she couldn’t quite
find her voice.

“
Hey,”
Rafael stood up. He was standing close to her, a little too close for
comfort. She could smell his breezy cologne, that was how close he
was to her at that moment. “Did I say something to upset you?”

“
No,
I just...I think it is just better if I head home...I mean back to my
friend’s apartment,” she said in a low voice.

“
I’ll
take you,” he said but she shook her head.

“
No,
I’m fine. I’m fine.”

“
No,
Amanda.” He took a step closer to her, getting himself right in
front of her. “You are the first person I have met who I can
actually talk to and I know that it has been just a few minutes but
that is enough to make me realize that I want to see you again.”

“
See
me again? Really?” she asked. “I don’t think it
would be a good idea to...”

She never had a
chance to finish what she was saying. He slipped an arm around her
waist and pulled her close to him. She gasped silently as he held her
against his body.

“
I
don’t know what you have heard about me, Amanda. But I can tell
you one thing. I like you. I like how simple you are, how natural you
are, how mature you are.” He pulled away and ran his eyes down
her body before he looked into her eyes. “I haven’t met
anyone like you in a very long time and I want to get to know you
better.”

His arm
was still around her waist and subconsciously, her hands were on his
shoulders.

“
Let
me show you around,” he said in a soft voice. “And let me
wine and dine you like the sophisticated woman you are.”

Amanda was not sure
whether it was his upfront Tony Stark personality that appealed to
her so much or the fact that he seemed to believe in himself more
than anyone she had ever known. There were two conflicting voices in
her head. One screaming to her that she should have pulled away and
just walked off but at the same time, there was something about being
in his arms. Some sort of comfort that she just had not felt in a
long time.

“
Even
if you don’t agree to dinner, then let me take you around
town,” he said, softly.

She did not know how
but the next word out of her mouth surprised even her.

“
Okay.”

“
He
asked you out on a date?” Emilia asked as she looked at Amanda
in surprise. Emilia had insisted on knowing everything as soon as
Amanda walked into the door. She had been staying up late, probably
twiddling her fingers as she waited for her to get home.

It was
almost midnight by the time Amanda finally made it back to the
apartment and a worried Emilia looked up at her, doe eyed, ready to
hear about what she had been up to. Amanda had asked her to come with
but Emilia had adamantly refused saying that the Imperioli parties
were known to get a little ‘out of hand’...whatever that
meant.

“
Yes,
he asked me out on a date,” Amanda said as she looked at
Emilia. “That is exactly what I said two or three seconds ago.”

“
And
you agreed?” Emilia asked.

Amanda looked at her
and wondered what she was supposed to do. She wanted to lie and say
that she had turned him down but to be quite honest, Emilia was like
a bloodhound when she was onto something and there was no way she was
going to hide the fact that she was going to have dinner with Rafael
forever. Plus, she was in Turin for another few weeks. There was no
way she was going to come up with a reasonable excuse for getting
dressed up.

“
Well,
to be honest I am not very sure what I agreed to,” she said as
she looked at Emilia.

“
Okay,
now that makes absolutely no sense,” Emilia pointed out
crossing her arms over her chest. Amanda took a long deep breath and
sighed.

“
He
asked me to go out to dinner with him and he also asked to be my tour
guide and I said yes, just not sure what I said yes to,” she
explained.