Propositioning the Rich Italian (4 page)

Chapter 3

Antonio took a deep breath as he experienced a first in his life. He felt nervous, and rightfully so, he determined as he made his way into his parents’ house. His mother loved to cook and served breakfast every morning. He tried to come often as he could, and after the passion he experienced with Tierra the night before, he knew he had no choice but to come to breakfast this morning. In order for the plan he’d come up with to work, he dreaded the upcoming discussion with his family. As he neared the dining room, the voices of his family reached his ears, a lot lower in volume than usual, but he knew that would change as soon as he made his announcement. Continuing into the dining room, he saw family seated around the table already, but no one began to eat yet. He greeted his parents and siblings.

Being the oldest of six tended to be the bane of his existence. Even though he and his siblings grew up in the same household raised by the same people, their personalities and attitudes different as night and day.

 
He made himself a plate before taking a deep breath. “I need to take two weeks off.”

It took a lot longer for the outburst to occur than he expected it to. He actually took three bites of food before rapid conversation began to fly around the table. To make matters even worse, he continued to eat calmly without answering any questions. Once it was silent, he again he continued to speak.

“Last night I met a very intriguing woman. One I want to get to know a lot better.”

As expected, his family erupted once again excitedly. At the end of the table, Macéo smiled. “So that is why you were so upset when I called you last night?”

The youngest of the Carabelli siblings, Macéo could be absent-minded at times, but he was a genius. In all fairness, when distracted, it typically involved fixing a problem concerning the hotel. With the exception of last night, rarely did Antonio get upset with Macéo. Last night Antonio had good motivation to be upset at the interruption. The disturbance being the reason he was getting ready to suffer at the hands of his family.

Tierra.

He nodded at his younger brother. “Yes, little brother, and I meant no offense.”

Macéo smiled the characteristic Carabelli smile. “I know the reason behind it, so none taken.”

Amalía arched her dark brows in his direction. “Call me ignorant, but what does meeting a woman have to do with needing the next two weeks off?”

Amalía, his only sister, had a very unique way about her. She was also just as outspoken as any of her brothers. Amalía also left a trail of broken hearts, or at least she had until she suffered her own heartbreak. Even so, Amalía could probably get a man to swallow poison if necessary. He smiled at the thought, thinking about the few times he’d been tempted to pour poison down her throat.

He steeled himself for the reaction to what he was about to reveal. “She is from the States and only here on vacation for two weeks.”

Leonardo smiled. “It makes perfect sense to me.”

Leonardo left behind a trail of disappointed women, but the women didn’t stay mad at him for long because he had a high level of sincerity in the way he dealt with them. He never led anyone on without them knowing what the end result would be.

“It would,” Carlo grumbled.

His gaze went to Carlo, the third in line when it came to birth order being born after Amalía. The accident that almost took Carlos life four years before changed his brother for the worse. Antonio had to admit his world had been knocked off balance when he’d thought he’d lost Carlo’s after the car accident four years ago. Luckily, he hadn’t.

Antonio shook his head as his mother stood and wondered if his she might be on the verge of cardiac arrest in all of her excitement. She rained kisses on his cheeks as if he set the date for a wedding tomorrow. He wanted to roll his eyes but refrained from doing so, knowing he could be in mortal danger if he did.

Giovanni shrugged. “You having two weeks off from work is fine with me.”

Fourth in birth order, Giovanni, the perpetual bad boy of the Carabelli siblings, always one to question authority. His ears received several cuffs from their mother often over the years. Fortunately, none of it led to any sort of criminal record. Leonardo, the fifth child and just as dangerous as Giovanni,
 
rightfully nicknamed “the charmer.”

Antonio’s eyes narrowed. His family seemed to be too accepting of the whole situation. He knew he had to lay down the rules, or everything could get out of hand quickly.

“Does anyone object to me having two weeks off from work?”

After a few moments of silence, all of his siblings concluded they didn’t have a problem with it.

“Good. Now none of you are to go near her without my permission. If you do, there will be much hell to pay.”

A few words of protest reached his ears, but he cut them off. “All of you will meet her soon enough since I plan on bringing her to dinner tomorrow night.”

He smiled when a few mouths dropped open. Carlo looked at him as if he’d lost his mind.

“You are serious about this, aren’t you?”

He nodded. As soon as he felt his lips touch Tierra’s last night he’d known something was different about her. Halfway through his sleepless night, he figured it out. Tierra might be the woman for him. The one he recently started to look for. His mother demanded to know more about the woman who captured her son’s attention, but he refused to say any more until they agreed not to approach Tierra without his permission. With her staying in the hotel and with him being with her, they were bound to find out her identity. The last thing he needed his family members to do was come across as their normal, overwhelming selves. Based on the way she reacted to him last night, Tierra wasn’t used to it. He didn’t need any assistance scaring her off, which would probably happen when she found out what he had planned.

Reluctantly, his family members agreed not to approach her, and he began to tell them the general information about Tierra. He intentionally left out
 
her reason for being on a two week vacation. If Tierra wanted his family to know the reason, he would let her tell them. She suffered enough embarrassment in his opinion. Half an hour later, he said goodbye to his family. He had plans with Tierra today, and he wanted to be on time so they could enjoy the maximum amount of time they had together. Luckily, he’d come prepared for his family to say yes to his two week vacation request.

However, he hadn’t expected it to be so easy. He brought a bag with a few nights’ worth of clothes in it. When he told her last night he expected for her to spend the nights in his arms for the next two weeks, he meant it. He also expected her to spend a few of those nights in his home. As selfish and possessive as it sounded, he wanted her in his bed. He already planned to reimburse her for every penny she spent on the hotel. He wanted to make sure she never forgot him, even if she did decide to leave him at the end of the two weeks. He slid behind the wheel of his car and glanced down at his watch. His mouth spread into a huge smile. He was right on time.

* * * *

Tierra stirred slowly when a knock sounded at the door. It took her a moment to realize she lay in her hotel room. And a few more to remember she was indeed in the bed by herself and another to realize she could still smell Antonio’s scent on her. Now she knew what it felt like to feel branded.

The knock sounded again. A smile came to her face at the thought it could be him. Stopping to grab her robe, she put it on and cinched it tightly around her waist. As wonderful an experience as she had with him, she wasn’t ready for a repeat session. A glance out of the peephole surprised her. It wasn’t Antonio on the other side of the door. Taking the safety latch off the door, she opened it for the hotel employee standing there with a food cart.

The woman smiled warmly at her. “
Buongiorno
, I have a special delivery for you from Mr. Carabelli.”

Tierra smiled. She didn’t have to ask to which Carabelli the employee referred. The employee rolled the cart out onto the balcony and set up everything before disappearing. A glance at the setup made her wish Antonio was
 
there to join her. Evidently, he thought the same thing because he’d written her a personalized note and sealed it. She opened it, hoping it would inform her he would be joining her for breakfast. Unfortunately, it didn’t. However, it wasn’t completely disappointing.

Buongiorno cara mio,

My deepest regrets at not being able to join you for breakfast, but hopefully I can make it up to you during lunch and dinner. Enjoy your breakfast and relish the view. See you at eleven, and dress casually yet comfortably.
Antonio.

His handwriting reminded her of him—charming, exciting and thorough. All three were attractive features to her. Refolding the note, she stuck it in the pocket of her robe before glancing out over the balcony. She wasn’t sure which view she enjoyed better. It could only be described as breathtaking, and she looked forward to seeing more of it.

Leaning down, she inhaled the scent of the single red rose. Quincy always showered her with flowers, but they’d normally been an apology of some sort. Now she wondered just how many of their cancelled plans were because of him wanting to spend time with Shannon. Instead of dwelling on it, she took a seat at the table before uncovering each of the three plates.

She inhaled the aroma of the food appreciatively. There was a plate of toast, croissants and English muffins. The next plate held fluffy scrambled eggs, bacon and sausage. The last held an assortment of fruit. Reaching for the strawberry preserves, she spread it on a croissant before taking a bite. The delicate bread melted in her mouth, letting her know she would never be able to eat another one once she went back home.

Amazingly, she devoured everything with the exception of the toast. She felt a little gluttonous for doing it, but she hadn’t eaten since her trip to the bar last night, and it had only been a bite to keep from getting intoxicated. She wasn’t much of a drinker. Also, being sick with an upset stomach or hangover wasn’t her idea of fun. Covering the plates back up, she took her rose inside and placed it on the table inside the room. It would serve as a reminder to her for the rest of the day.
  

Taking one last look at the rose, she headed into the bathroom and began to prepare for the bath she intended to take last night. Not that she was complaining. Missing her bath had been well worth it. A moment later, she lay back in the tub of warm water. She relaxed for a few moments before bathing. Antonio would be there shortly, and she didn’t have a lot of time to get ready. She hadn’t expected to sleep so late. The only thing she could figure was a combination of jet lag, lack of sleep and stress were to blame, not to mention a heated exchange of foreplay between Antonio and her. She didn't mind the latter. Pulling the plug out of the drain, she climbed out of the tub and wrapped a towel around her body. She had no idea what to wear, but he told her to dress casually. She opened the door and looked at the outfits she paired together. For some reason, old habits died hard.

Ever since she been in high school, she paired her outfits together a week at a time. The most extreme instance being the time she paired her clothes together for a month. Giving her clothes another once over, she reached inside and pulled out her outfit.

She chose a purple tank top and a pair of khaki shorts. Laying the outfit on the bed, she chose a pair of white canvas sneakers. She didn’t know what Antonio had in mind, but if it had anything to do with walking, she wanted to be as comfortable as possible. It didn’t take her long to get dressed. Once she had, she went back out to balcony to wait for Antonio. What scared her was how much she looked forward to spending the next two weeks getting to know him—making her question a lot, starting with how much she’d really been in love with Quincy. Right now, it seemed like she never had.

Chapter 4

Tierra took a deep breath when a knock sounded on her door. She made her way back into the hotel room, closing the door to the balcony. After locking it, walked to the door, took a deep breath, and then opened it. She knew Antonio stood on the other side of it. Her mouth went dry the second he came into view. Beyond praise was definitely the way she would describe the man standing in front of her, the man who learned her body more intimately than anyone else, including herself.

His intense stare made her squirm. She quickly averted her gaze. Big mistake. Everything about this man screamed sexy—every delicious inch of him. A pair of masculine flip-flops covered his feet. Her eyes continued upward, and a pair of long, stonewashed denim covered legs led to a very impressive bulge between them, one she’d become familiar with in the short while she’d known him. A rich green polo shirt was tucked into the jeans sitting low on his narrow waist. The fit of the shirt gave her the ability to make out washboard abs, a perfectly sculpted chest and wide, muscled shoulders.

He was so handsome she wanted to hate him for it, but she couldn’t. One corner of his mouth curled up into the lazy grin she’d seen a few times now. Fashionable shades sat on top of his wavy black hair. She didn’t know if the man looked sexier dressed up or as he stood before her. She quickly decided she liked both.