VITTORIO'S RUNAWAY BRIDE (The Vittorio Series) (22 page)

“Oh
,
Logan,” her voice was tinged with sadness, “haven’t I proven yet that I trust you?”

“I suppose you have,” he agreed, “but I want you to understand something, Shelby.
 
When you left before, it almost killed me and I cannot go through that again.
 
As much as I love you and need you in my life, if you run away from me a second time
…
I will not go after you.”
 
Logan took her hand when he saw her eyes misting with tears.
 
“I do love you,
cara mia
, with all of my heart and soul
,
but if we cannot trust one another then we have nothing.
 
I know it hurts to hear me say this but it must be said.
 
I will not spend my life chasing after a woman who is so unsure of my love for her that she bolts without giving me the chance to waylay her fears.”

“But isn’t that what I did today, Logan?
 
Didn’t I push past my fear of losing you and see things for what they really were?
 
I’m still here,” she said softly.
 
“After finding you alone with Alicia and getting next to no explanation as to why,
I’m still here
.
 
Doesn’t that tell you how much I love you and that I’ll never make the mistake of leaving you again?”

Logan lifted her hand to his lips.
 
“Yes it does, my love, and now I owe you an apology as well as an explanation.
 
The reason I asked Alicia to come here was because I discovered she has been following you.”

“
Me
?
 
Why on earth would she want to follow me?”

“That is precisely what I intended to find out.
 
Unfortunately, we had not gotten that far into our conversation when you arrived.”

“I wanted to tear her heart out when I saw the way she was cozying up to you,” Shelby said venomously.
 
“
I’ll take what I can get
,” she mimicked.
 
“She deliberately misconstrued what you said as an excuse to press up against you.”

“I am sorry you had to see that,
cara
.
 
If any man had done that to you…” his eyes blazed with the very idea of another man putting his hands on Shelby.

“Maybe now she’ll leave us alone,” she offered hopefully.

“Who knows what a woman like that will do?
 
She is unbalanced to say the least
.  U
ntil I am sure she is going to maintain her distance, I will continue to have her watched.”

“Continue?
 
But you said…oh, I see.
 
That’s how you knew she was following me.”
 
Shelby tilted her head.
 
“Wait…why were having someone watching her?”

“Simon hired a private investigator.
 
I know this is confusing,” he said before she could ask any more questions, “but there is no time to explain everything right now.
 
Just promise you will go straight home and stay there until I get off work.”

Shelby’s eyes widened.
 
“You think she might try something?”

“I do not know, just…promise me.”

“Okay, I promise.”

“Good.
 
I could not conduct a conference if I did not know you were safe at home.
 
And now,” he leaned over and kissed her, “I must go,
tesoro
.”

Bitter disappointed washed over her in droves when he got up and headed for the door.
 
The worry lines were still evident, although her promise to go straight home had alleviated some of them, and the smile he gave her just before he left the room was tinged with concern.
 
Would telling him about the baby make it better or worse?
 
She rose to her feet, uncertain as to what she was going to do until the slap of her purse against her thigh reminded her of the small box inside.
 
Gripping the shoulder strap to keep it from flying off, Shelby raced after Logan as fast as her high heels would allow.

“Logan, wait,” she shouted, then expelled a soft whoosh when their bodies collided.
 
Strong arms held her close as she lifted an exalted face to his.
 
“You were coming back,” she breathed.

“For this,” he said, before slanting his head and giving her a passionate kiss.
 
“I could not leave without telling you how much I love you.”
 

Shelby’s smile was radiant.
 
“And I couldn’t let you leave without telling you…”

“Tell me what?”
 
He eyed her curiously when she pulled away from him and dug a small gift box from her purse.
 
“You bought me a present?”
 

It didn’t even matter what it was, the thrill he got from knowing she
had
been thinking of him when she purchased it was enough.
 
He bought her things all the time, not just because he enjoyed showering his wife with gifts that expressed his love, but because he was rewarded with an adoring look that made his heart swell each time he surprised her with something new.
 
Whether it was an expensive piece of jewelry or a book he thought she might like to read, she loved them all simply because they came from him.
 
But Shelby’s gifts to him had been given sparingly
.  A
fter all
,
what do you give a man who has the money to buy whatever he wants and never hesitates to do so?

Logan held the box in his hand for a moment, relishing her obvious anticipation almost as much as his own.
 
He teased her by inching the lid back slowly, his heart slamming against his rib cage when the lid fell away and he saw what was inside.
 
His fingers were shaking as he lifted the snow white booties out and let the box drop to the floor.
 
Logan held them in the palm of his hand, a maelstrom of emotions hitting him all at once because now he truly had everything he
had
ever wanted.

His fingers curled around the knitted booties, his gaze shifting to his beautiful wife.
 
She was gnawing at her bottom lip, her slender body trembling as her troubled eyes met his.
 
Dios
, she was worried that he wouldn’t be pleased?
 
How could she think otherwise, he berated himself, when he’d been standing there gaping at the booties and no doubt looking as if he
had
been sucker punched.
 
Indeed, it did feel as if the wind had been knocked out
of
him because even now he couldn’t seem to force any words out.
 
So he showed her instead.

Logan grabbed her around the waist and twirled her around, showering her face with kisses, his joyous laughter half muffled because he couldn’t stop kissing her long enough to let it all out.
 
When he finally set Shelby back on her feet, she cupped his face in her hands and drew him down for a much longer, thorough kiss that had him panting and aching to strip her naked right where they stood.
 
Somewhere in the back of his mind, responsibility beckoned
,
but it was drowned out by the thunderous beating of his heart and the throbbing ache deep in his belly.

“I do not have much time,
cara mia
,” he whispered.

“I know,” Shelby rasped out even as she reached to loosen his tie.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                      
***

All four of Logan’s brothers cornered him outside the conference room where Jameson Lombardi waited with his executives and
attorneys
.
 
With only three minutes to spare, he’d shown up looking a little disheveled and had to stop and put his briefcase down so he could make himself presentable.
 
His brothers emerged from the conference room just as he was attempting to straighten the tie that had been hastily draped around his neck by a giggling Shelby while his trembling fingers had fumbled with the buttons on his shirt.

“I take it your talk with Shelby went well after we left,” Dante said with a knowing grin.

Logan responded with a grin of his own.
 
“I managed to give her a brief account of what was going on before more…urgent matters needed to be dealt with.”

Luca, who spared little time for anything but business, fixed his brother with a reproving stare.
 
“You seem to have forgotten that you are leading this conference and should have been here before Lombardi arrived.
 
As for Shelby, perhaps you should have been more concerned about her emotional state of mind rather than your own physical needs.”

Logan raked his fingers through his hair and grabbed up his briefcase before replying.
 
“Believe me, little brother, I left my wife with a smile on her face and a mind that was blissfully blank of all worries.”

Luca snorted but the other three were chuckling as they followed Logan into the conference room.
 
He managed to keep the silly grin off his face during the introductions and even maintained his focus during the first thirty minutes of the presentation.
 
It was only when Jameson interrupted to ask a question that Logan’s train of thought derailed.
 
Absently shoving his hands into his pockets, his fingers brushed against something soft and fuzzy.
 
Without thinking, he pulled the foreign object out and once again found himself gaping in wonder at the baby booties.

“Logan?
 
Logan, are you okay?”

He lifted his head, glancing from one concerned face to another because
,
in truth, he wasn’t quite sure who had spoken to him.
 
He should have been disturbed by his lack of professionalism, and perhaps later when he recalled how silent the room had grown and the way Jameson looked to his brothers for an explanation he would admonish himself for it.
 
But right now, Logan couldn’t feel anything but an overwhelming desire to be with his wife.
 
He wanted to climb into bed with her and run his hand over Shelby’s flat belly while he basked in the knowledge that his child was growing inside the warmth of her body.

“My apologies, gentlemen, I cannot seem to keep my mind from wandering.
 
You see,” he held the booties up, “my wife gave me these just before the meeting and
told me that I
…
” he swallowed hard as he was once again swamped with emotion.  “
M
adre di Dio
,
” he said weakly, “
I am going to be a father
.
”

Logan was suddenly surrounded by a dozen men offering their congratulations and shaking his hand while he puffed up his chest like a proud rooster.
 
It seemed easier to conduct the meeting now that he’d had the opportunity to share the joy of his impending fatherhood.
 
Not that his voice didn’t falter now and then, but everyone took it in stride and ribbed him for being so awestruck he couldn’t stayed focused.
 

They closed the deal, as he knew they would.
 
How could they fail with all the Vittorio brothers banding together to get the job done?
 
Once he returned to his office, Logan immediately called Margaret back so he could dictate a few letters and have her get started on the contracts for Lombardi before she left for the day.
 
As soon as they were finished, Logan reached for the phone to call Shelby and couldn’t quite hide his irritation when Dante came barging into his office without so much as a courtesy tap on the door.

“Make it quick,” he said sharply.
 
“It has been a long day and I want to go home and celebrate with my wife.”