Cinderella′s Millionaire
Cinderella's Millionaire
Katherine Garbera
JUST ONE NIGHT…That was all Holly Fitzgerald would allow herself with the tall, dark and brooding CFO Joe Barone. Winning Baronessa Gelati's contest paled next to what she felt when the aloof Joe watched her with sexual desire blatant in his shrewd eyes.While Holly had commitments, Joe had sophistication and wealth. He looked better in a business suit than any man had a right to. But his lover's touch freed her, and for the first time made her want something more.Like Cinderella, she'd forget the real world, forget caution and for once, she'd simply enjoy the fantasy. But as the clock neared twelve, Holly knew one night with Joe wouldn't be enough….
July’s menu
BARONESSA GELATERIA
in Boston’s North End
In addition to our regular flavors of gelato, this month we are featuring:
A pool of sinful melted chocolate
Dark-haired, dark-eyed Joe Barone was always the gentleman, always in control. But Holly went to his head faster than 90-proof whiskey. When the heat of his desire finally melted away the family breeding, in its place he was all primal male….
Handmade miniature pastries
In the bakery Holly made masterpieces out of the tiniest desserts. But her safe little life was turned upside down by one meeting with the worldly, wealthy Joe Barone.
Red-hots
As if drawn by fate, Joe and Holly were powerless to resist their attraction. Neither one could cool down the fire burning deep inside, not when the flames had been dormant so long. Now they could be satisfied by nothing less than absolute, total possession.
Buon appetito!
Dear Reader,
Experience passion and power in six brand-new, provocative titles from Silhouette Desire this July!
Begin with Scenes of Passion (#1519) by New York Times bestselling author Suzanne Brockmann. In this scintillating love story, a pretend marriage turned all too real reveals the torrid emotions and secrets of a former bad-boy millionaire and his prim heiress.
DYNASTIES: THE BARONES continues in July with Cinderella’s Millionaire (#1520) by Katherine Garbera, in which a pretty pastry cook’s red-hot passion melts the defenses of a brooding Barone hero. In Bed with the Enemy, (#1521) by rising star Kathie DeNosky, is the second LONE STAR COUNTRY CLUB title in Desire. In this installment, a lady agent and her lone-wolf counterpart bump more than heads during an investigation into a gun-smuggling ring.
What would you do if you were Expecting the Cowboy’s Baby (#1522)? Discover how a plain-Jane bookkeeper deals with this dilemma in this steamy love story, the second Silhouette Desire title by popular Harlequin Historicals author Charlene Sands. Then see how a brokenhearted rancher struggles to forgive the woman who betrayed him, in Cherokee Dad (#1523) by Sheri WhiteFeather. And in The Gentrys: Cal (#1524) by Linda Conrad, a wounded stock-car driver finds healing love in the arms of a sexy, mysterious nurse, and the Gentry siblings at last learn the truth about their parents’ disappearance.
Beat the summer heat with these six new love stories from Silhouette Desire.
Enjoy!
Melissa Jeglinski
Senior Editor, Silhouette Desire
Cinderella’s Millionaire
Katherine Garbera
To my Italian family, for making me proud of where we came from and challenging me to go in new directions. Especially my uncle, Pat Nappi, for showing me the beauty inside, and my mom, Charlotte Smith, for showing me how to carry on our traditions.
Acknowledgments:
Thanks to Eve Gaddy for taking time from her busy schedule to help critique. I’m so glad fate put us in each other’s paths and made us friends!
KATHERINE GARBERA
comes from a large Italian family. Being part of the Barones gave her a chance to once again visit with characters who share her background. She lives in the suburbs of Chicago with her husband and their two children. Writing romance is a dream come true for the author who says that happy endings should be a part of everyone’s life.
Meet the Barones of Boston—
An elite clan caught in a web of danger,
deceit…and desire!
Who’s Who in
CINDERELLA’S MILLIONAIRE
Joe Barone—He’s the practical, aloof one of the multimillion-dollar Barone clan. A widower for five years, he’s had his heart on ice for so long, he fears it’s forever frozen. Until he meets a woman who dares to melt it…
Holly Fitzgerald—For this hardworking pastry chef, life is all about responsibilities—to her job, to her father and brothers who need her. Until she meets Joe and finds need replaced by desire…
Gina Barone Kingman—A PR maven, she knows what people want even before they do. And she can see it clearly in her brother’s eyes….
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Epilogue
One
There were times when it didn’t pay to be a part of a big Italian family, Joseph Barone thought as he listened to his sister Gina give him last-minute instructions on how to handle the press today. She was the VP of PR, and in his opinion the one who should be escorting the contest winner—Holly Fitzgerald—around. But Gina and her husband, Flint, a noted spin doctor, thought it would be better if a top executive did the honors. And somehow he—the CFO—was the only one who could get up at five in the morning to handle this latest volley in Baronessa’s PR plan.
“If anyone brings up the passion fruit gelato debacle, acknowledge that it was a mistake and one that Baronessa won’t make again. Then use the fact sheet I gave you on the new flavor.”
“Got it,” he said.
Gina smiled at him. “Thanks for doing this.”
“As if I had any choice.” Joe had tried arguing but it was hard to win with his mother or sisters. Italian women never fought fair, and in the end, guilt and familial duty had won out.
“Mom thought you’d be the best one.”
“Yeah, once you convinced her of it. You owe me, Gina.”
She ignored his remark and consulted the schedule in her hand. “I’m going to check and see if the contest winner is here yet.”
Joe watched his sister walk away. Gina was tall compared to other women, but she’d always be his little sister. She had changed in the last few months since her marriage to Flint Kingman. She now wore her curly light brown hair down instead of pinning it up. But then, finding the love of your life could do that to a person. She radiated a glow that only a woman in love had, and he was a little scared to see her so much in love with her new husband.
He’d changed after he’d met Mary. And then changed again after she’d died. But some things were better left in the past—and Mary was one of them.
Though it was only a little after seven, he knew his entire day was shot. He resigned himself to working half the night to make sure the forecasts they’d done for this new gelato flavor were correct. Baronessa needed a shot in the arm, and this contest, as harebrained as he’d thought it was at first, might be the answer.
He sat in one of the first-floor conference rooms in the five-story building that housed the executive offices, patiently having makeup put on for the television interviews he was doing this morning. He had an inkling of why neither his dad, the CEO, or brother Nicholas, the COO, had been unable to free their schedule today.
But Baronessa was worth a few sacrifices and certainly worth the ribbing he’d have to endure if any of his siblings wandered in while he was in the makeup chair.
To distract himself, he glanced around the room. A sense of well-being assailed him as it always did when he realized he was a part of something that had grown from a small family business into an international company. There was something about knowing exactly where you came from.
And there was something about being surrounded by his family history every day that soothed his wounded heart. Most of the time.
The gelateria had grown into more than an ice-cream shop founded in the forties by his grandparents Marco and Angelica and was now a Fortune 500 company. One Joe was proud to work for. He loved his job as CFO and had cut his teeth working for a large entertainment company in California before coming back to Boston and taking his place in the family business.
“Here she is,” Gina said, entering the conference room with another woman.
Joe’s breath caught in his chest. The woman walking toward him bore an uncanny resemblance to his deceased wife. Slim and petite, she had auburn hair that fell in waves around her shoulders. Mary’s hair had been shorter, he thought. But her features were similar. Heart-shaped face, full lips and a nose that curved the slightest bit to the right at the end.
Joe prided himself on his resilience. He’d survived things that would have destroyed a lesser man. But he didn’t want to tour the company’s headquarters with the doppelgänger of his deceased wife. Gina would just have to do it.
“Holly Fitzgerald, this is my brother and Baronessa’s chief financial officer, Joseph Barone.”
“Pleased to meet you, Ms. Fitzgerald,” Joe said, shaking her hand. Her hand in his felt soft, small, fragile. Damn. It had been a long time—five years to be exact—since he’d held a hand that delicate.
“Please call me Holly.”
He nodded. He’d survived by keeping himself aloof from women, by letting no one but family close to him, and he didn’t intend to let this contest winner rock the secure moorings of his world. “Gina, can I speak to you privately for a minute?”
“Of course. Holly, why don’t you see our makeup artist. There’s coffee, tea and juice on the sideboard. We’ll be right back.”
Joe didn’t wait for his sister but walked out of the conference room. His brother-in-law was tall with chocolate brown hair and, according to his sisters, drop-dead gorgeous.
“Where’s Holly?” Flint asked as soon as Joe stepped into the hallway.
“In makeup.”
“Damn. How long do you think it’ll take?” Flint asked.
“I don’t know. Go check on her.”
“I will. Joe, don’t go anywhere. The satellite uplink is ready and we have about ten minutes before the first interview.”
Gina came out of the room and the look on her face let him know she wasn’t pleased with him. “What’s up?”
“I can’t do this,” Joe said.
“Joe, we’ve been over this. There is no one else,” Gina said.
When Gina talked to him like that, he felt like a four-year-old who wasn’t getting his way. But there was not a chance he was going to spend the day with a woman who reminded him of things he didn’t want to remember.
“Okay, she’s almost ready,” Flint said, coming back out.
“He isn’t,” Gina said, pointing at her brother.
“We don’t have time for this,” Flint said. “You both have to be out in the garden now so that we can get on the morning-news segments on the East Coast.”
Gina tried reassuring him again. “Joe, you’ll do fine. Stick with the script I gave you.”
“I’m not nervous about the interview. I just don’t want to spend the day with her.”
“Joe—”
“I don’t want to spend the day with him, either,” Holly said from the doorway. “In fact, I just want my check and then I’ll be happy to go.”
Of course, he didn’t want to spend the day with her, Holly thought. She probably looked as if she spent too much time in the kitchen, which of course she did. In fact, this morning she’d gotten to the bakery at 3:00 a.m. because of her obligation to Mrs. Kirkpatrick, the owner of the small downtown bakery where Holly worked.
She felt out of place in this old-money office building and wanted nothing more than to get back into her chef’s uniform and back into her pastry kitchen.
She hated the spotlight. She wouldn’t have entered the Baronessa contest except for the thousand-dollar prize. She needed that money to pay her father’s hospital bills. HMOs had pretty much alienated small businessmen from affordable health care, and her mechanic father was no exception.
But that didn’t explain why Joseph Barone wanted nothing to do with her. He was attractive in a way that made her uncomfortable. She’d grown up around men, having helped to raise her three brothers, but something about this Barone made everything feminine in her spring to life.
He watched her the way a panther watches prey. Not afraid of her, exactly, but ready to pounce if she did anything threatening. Was he afraid she’d embarrass Baronessa?
Damn. She should have checked her appearance in the mirror before she’d come in. Maybe she still had flour on her face or in her hair.
Gina Barone-Kingman took her arm. “Holly, we can’t do that. Baronessa needs the publicity your gelato will bring.”
“I’m willing to do my part,” Holly said. And she was. She’d never shrunk from her responsibilities and didn’t intend to now. Even if there was something she couldn’t identify in Joseph’s eyes….
“Listen, Gina, we need to talk,” Joseph said, stepping forward.
Flint Kingman took control. “Not now.”
Holly had met the man earlier. She could tell he worked in public relations by the way he moved and talked. He had a quick smile and a confident, take-charge attitude. She liked him, but had the feeling he could charm just about anyone.
“Outside, both of you,” Flint ordered.
Flint took Joe’s arm and herded them all out the front doors into a beautiful garden awash with colorful flowers. A camera crew stood ready, while the makeup team put some finishing touches on Holly.
Suddenly she didn’t know if she was going to be able to talk intelligently with a camera on her. She’d never really been proficient at public speaking. She’d made it her practice to blend into the background, and she was very good at it.
“Until I arrived this morning, I didn’t know we were doing television interviews,” she said softly.
“Relax, you’ll do just fine,” Flint said, patting her shoulder. His touch and tone made her believe his words.
Although he was kind, he was steely in his determination. She made a note to read the fine print before entering another contest. In fact, the only thing she hated more than speaking in public was seeing herself speaking in public. She only hoped none of the Boston stations would pick up this satellite feed and use it.
Flint gestured for her and Joe to sit in some director’s chairs that were set up in front of a screen with the Baronessa logo on it. Holly’s hands shook so badly that she had to clench them together.
Joseph reached over and covered her hands with his. His touch surprised her. She glanced up to see if his expression had changed, but his eyes were still guarded. His hand on hers was big and warm, his nails neatly manicured. Not at all like the masculine hands she was used to seeing. Hands with dirt under the nails and calluses on their palms.
“Don’t worry. I might not like this but I know what I’m doing,” Joseph said.
“That’s reassuring.” She meant it. She needed his experience to navigate this. She’d have to make sure to someday return the favor.
He removed his hand. “I thought it might be.”
Around them stage techs bustled, making adjustments to mikes and cameras. Flint and Gina both gave them last-minute tips, and then everyone backed away. Through it all, Holly wondered why Joseph didn’t want to spend the day with her. If it were the press, she could understand. She too, was reluctant to be interviewed all day long.
But it couldn’t be, because he said he knew how to handle them. It must be her. This was a new record for Holly. She’d never had a man detest her on sight before.
“Can I ask you something, Joseph?”
“Sure, and call me Joe.”
“Why don’t you want to spend the day with me?” she asked. She knew she shouldn’t voice the question, but couldn’t help herself.
Maybe she hadn’t gotten enough sleep the night before. Maybe the closer you got to thirty the less control you had over your mouth. Maybe…maybe she just needed to feel as if she was sitting by a friend in the glare of the spotlight, instead of next to a man who didn’t want her near him.
“It isn’t anything personal.”
Let it go, Hol. Just smile at the camera, talk about cooking, collect your check and get out of here.
“It kind of sounded like it,” she said. What was her deal today? Definitely not enough sleep, she decided.
Joe shrugged. “You remind me of someone.”
Though he didn’t say it was a woman, she sensed it was. She knew men. Knew the way they thought and acted.
So she should have known better than to ask the question that was on the tip of her tongue. Her dad and brothers would never admit a woman had broken their hearts. “Did she break your heart?”
Joe stared at her in a way that made her feel like she had a spotlight shining on her.
“Sorry, that was way too personal,” Holly said quickly. But she knew by his reaction that she’d struck a chord, and she wanted to know more.
“Yes, it was.” The look he gave her made her squirm in her chair. Not in embarrassment, though. It was a male look that made her blood flow a little faster. This man had a presence of sophistication that made her feel like an inexperienced prep-chef in the kitchen of a world-renowned master.
She looked around but couldn’t stand the suspense. “Well, are you going to answer?”
He laughed and the sound surprised her. It was a warm sound from a very cold-looking man. A man she sensed didn’t find much humor in life.
“No.”
Fair enough, she thought. The stage director came over and gave them some directions, and when he left, Holly glanced over at Joe. He didn’t look nervous, but she was.
“Is it my hair?” she asked after a few minutes. Men had some strange illusions about redheads.
“Is what your hair?” he asked.
“The thing that reminds you of the other person.”
“Yes.”
“She’s not Orphan Annie, is she? Because I thought all the makeup I’m wearing covered my freckles.”
He didn’t smile but she sensed his amusement. “No.”
“No to freckles or to Annie?”
“Annie. I can still see your freckles.”
“I knew it. I’m covered with them.”
“Everywhere?” he asked in an intimate voice.
“Yes,” she said, meeting his clear brown eyes. There was something sensual in his gaze and she couldn’t look away.
Joe Barone was more than she’d expected him to be and that unnerved her. She felt safe flirting with him, for some reason. Well, safe wasn’t really how she felt, but it was fun. It was weird to realize she didn’t understand him—he didn’t fit with what she’d come to expect from men—and even stranger to realize that she wanted to.
Her freckles weren’t the only things about Holly Fitzgerald that lingered in his mind. Her sweet scent lingered on the air—something homey that reminded him of his mom’s kitchen at the holidays and something else more elusive. An aroma distinct to Holly and no other woman.
She’s in your life for a day, he told himself. He’d best ignore it.
But he couldn’t. His groin was tight and his blood ran heavy whenever he thought about those damn freckles on her creamy skin. He wanted to strip that professional-looking suit from her body and find each and every freckle. To caress it first with his fingers, then with his tongue.
Whoa, boy. Obviously it was past time to start dating again. But he’d never been into casual sex. Even before Mary, he’d slept with only two other women and no one since her death five years ago. He’d completely shut off that part of his nature—until today when it roared back to life, demanding his attention.
The stage techs broke down the equipment, and the garden was slowly returning to its beauty. This place had long been one of Joe’s favorites. He’d found solace here more than once, but not today.
The July sun beat down on him, but that wasn’t the source of the heat running through his veins. No, a certain redhead was responsible. “No redheads” had been more of a safety precaution than a rule. Still, he knew better.
Why wasn’t his body getting the message?
Holly laughed at something his sister said, and his groin tingled to life. He needed to get away, but for once his pager was silent. Giving in to the pull he felt from her, he joined her and Gina at the coffee and pastry table.
“So, are you over your fit?” his sister asked.
Only family treated him as if he was a defanged tiger. Everyone else in his world trod lightly around him, treating him like a loose cannon. He wished he understood why because then maybe he could wield that cannon against his sister. “Gina, I’m trying to remember why I tolerate you.”
“Familial duty.” Gina smiled up at him.
“Right now I wouldn’t mind being disinherited.”
Gina laughed. “Joe, you know we’re Italian. There’s no escaping the family.”
He smiled at his sister. He knew she always had Baronessa’s success at heart and that she’d worked hard to prove herself to the family. “Sorry I tried to back out.”
“Hey, it’s okay. Flint’s ideas are always bigger than he makes them out to be.”
Gina left to join her husband, and an awkward silence fell between him and Holly. Joe wasn’t an open and gregarious man. Never really had been. But the past few years he’d fallen deeper and deeper into a silence he found comforting.
Holly lifted her hair off the back of her neck as the sun rose in the sky. She had to be hot in that suit she wore. A few tendrils of curling red hair clung to her nape. The skin there was covered with those freckles she seemed worried about. He took a sip from the Evian bottle in his hand to keep from leaning down and blowing on her overheated skin.
“So…” she said.
He raised one eyebrow at her. If she had an inkling of the direction his thoughts had been heading, he was in deep water.
“Are you ready to confess all?” she asked with a gamine grin.
“No. But I am curious about you.” Joe decided to go on the offensive and drive her back into hiding. He’d been called brooding more than once by the women he’d dated. Why was it so hard to keep Holly at arm’s length?
“I’m an open book,” she said.
Her blue eyes said otherwise. Interesting. He’d really like to delve beneath her depths and uncover her secrets. But he didn’t think he could do that and still keep her at arm’s length.
“Yes. I already know you’re a pastry chef,” he said.
She took a bottle of water from the refreshment table. “In fact, I was at work this morning before I came down here.”
“You must really love baking,” he said. Though his family had made its name in the gelato business, Joe had never taken to baking or cooking. He could heat frozen dinners and reheat the casseroles that his mom sometimes sent to her kids’ houses. But beyond that he wasn’t even interested in trying.
She put the water down and stepped closer to him. Again her scent assailed him. It was time to end this conversation and get on with the rest of the day’s activities. As soon as she answered, he’d say something vague and move away from her.
“I do. The kitchen is the only place where I’m totally in control. Totally alone. There’s a…peace to it.”
“Why aren’t you ever alone?” he asked.
“Family,” she said. That one word summed up the way he sometimes felt about his.
He patted her shoulder trying for a brotherly touch, but knew he failed. Her arm under his hand was soft and he couldn’t help sliding his hand down to her tiny wrist. She wore a charm bracelet there with a tiny gold rolling pin on it. “I know what you mean.”
Who had given her the bracelet? A lover? Jealousy took him by surprise and he ran his finger under the fine gold chain, resting his finger on her pulse. It threaded steadily.
“Joe?”
Ah, hell, he thought. He knew better. Why was he even looking at her this way? “Did a man give you this?”
“Yes,” she said huskily.
“A lover?”
Her pulse doubled. “No.”
Her pupils had dilated and he saw more than awareness in them. He saw the same hunger that was coursing through his veins. Her lips parted and the air around them seemed to stop moving.
He leaned forward. “Would anyone object if I kissed you?”
“Are you going to kiss me?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“There’s no man in my life,” she said. Holly watched him with feminine speculation in her eyes, and Joe knew he’d never be the same.
Two
Joe lifted her wrist slowly. Her heart beat so hard she thought it would jump out of her chest. Sensation trembled through her body, but she was helpless to stop it.
His breath brushed against her wrist, warming the gold chain her dad had given to her for her twenty-first birthday. Though Joe’s mouth didn’t touch her, she felt the humid warmth, and a sensual beating started deep in her center.
Holly’s experience with men outside her family had been limited. She’d worked during high school, which had left her little time to date. Then she’d skipped college and went instead to the Culinary Institute.
But that didn’t explain why she hadn’t dated in the past six months. The truth was, few guys wanted to wait for her to finish working two shifts at the bakery, and drive to her dad’s house to fix dinner for him and her brothers before getting to her place to get ready for a date. The men she had dated tended to be career-minded as she was, and ultimately more interested in their jobs than in her. None of them had had a tenth of the raw sexuality she sensed in Joe Barone.
His dark eyes blazed with a passion she’d read about but never experienced. His mouth on her inner wrist started a chain reaction that ended deep inside her. His hand on her arm forced her to remember she was more than a sister and chef.
Joe reminded her that she was a woman in every sense of the word. He called to her femininity and made her want to reach under the civilized facade and bring the elemental man to the surface. A man she sensed needed more than the solace he could find in her body.
Instincts she’d spent years ignoring forced her to take notice. Damn, she wasn’t sure she wanted him to wake her up now. There wasn’t time in her life for a man. Sure, this could be a little harmless flirting, but it felt like more.
She curled her fingers around his jaw. He was clean-shaven but she felt the fine stubble under her fingers. He turned his head in her palm and dropped one kiss in the center of it.
He nipped the fleshy part of her hand before lifting his head. He looked up into her eyes and she felt the world drop away. She wasn’t aware of where she was or what she was doing. She only knew that she wanted to bask in the intensity of his gaze for a long time.
Standing on tiptoe, she brought her face closer to his. His scent was spicy and outdoorsy. She shut her eyes and inhaled deeply, then leaned just the tiniest bit toward him.
His suit and hers should have provided a better barrier but didn’t. His heat and strength still surrounded her. His grip on her wrist changed and his hand slid around her waist, resting on the small of her back.
“Holly?” His voice was husky and deep.
She opened her eyes.
“I want more.”
She shivered, afraid to ask for what she wanted. But she’d always lived by the rule that honesty was the best policy. “Me too.”
“This could be complicated,” he said.
“It doesn’t have to be,” she said. She’d learned enough about life to know that you took what you wanted when it was offered because it seldom was presented to you again.
“I thought you were going to kiss me,” she said.
“I was.”
“Changed your mind?”
He shook his head.
“Then what?”
“We need privacy for the kind of kiss I want to give you.”
Holly forgot all about everything at his words. He’d shocked her. Not what he’d said but that she’d inspired it. She wasn’t really a lust-at-first-sight kind of girl. But he made her feel like one.
“Mr. Barone?” a woman called from the open doorway.
“Yes, Stella,” Joe said, turning toward the woman but not letting go of Holly.
Holly stood there watching him. The sound of his deep voice rushed over her. She didn’t listen to his words, just wondered what it would be like to curl up next to him in bed, her head resting on his shoulder while he murmured words in that baritone voice of his.
“I’ll meet you in the foyer for your building tour in ten minutes,” he said to Holly.
“What?” she asked.
“Stella needs me to sign a few papers upstairs,” he said.
“Oh. I wasn’t listening,” she said.
“What were you doing?” he asked, that teasing note back in his voice.
“Dreaming,” she said, which was the truth. Reality was that this man would probably never be in her bed letting her rest on his shoulder no matter how much passion was between them. Because that dream was one she’d sought for a long time and had never found. No matter whose shoulder she’d lain on, it had never made her feel safe the way she’d imagined it would.
“Dreaming about what?”
“Being someplace more private,” she said, then stepped away from him.
“Damn, if it wasn’t for my family, I’d sweep you off to my place.”
Ditto, she thought. Family obligations kept them both here when they’d rather be elsewhere. But Holly knew deep in her soul that family obligations would also keep them apart.
“Go do your business, Joe.”
“This conversation isn’t over.”
“It would be better if it was,” she said.
“Do you always do what’s best?” he asked.
“Don’t you?”
“You’ll have to try me and see,” he said, then pivoted and walked away.
Joe Barone was too sexy by half. A long time ago she’d promised herself that she’d live each moment to the fullest. For the first time she trod lightly on that vow because something in Joe made her doubt she could protect herself and remember her own rule. The rule that was more a vow she’d made to protect her heart from loss: Men were off-limits because she had her family to take care of.
Joe couldn’t believe how fast the day had gone. The day that had promised to be endless was flying by. Already they’d toured the warehouse, done a lunchtime give-away of Holly’s winning gelato at Faneuil Hall and granted interviews to the print media. The YMCA kids’ summer day camp was their second-to-last stop.
Holly looked cute with her apron and chef’s hat on. Too cute. He’d tried to retreat behind his wall of silence, but she’d seemed to sense what he was doing and hadn’t let him. She’d kept the conversation going all day and he’d realized he liked the person Holly was. She was a hard worker, which didn’t surprise him. Her days were as long as his, and her family loyalty couldn’t be questioned. She’d taken three calls from her brothers on her cell phone at various points during the day.
He thought more about what he had to offer a woman and realized that he didn’t want to hurt Holly. At best he could give her one night. That was all he had in him. All he’d allow himself to indulge in. And she deserved more.
He forced his thoughts back to the present. The kids at the day camp all got a kick out of asking her questions about baking. She was better with the kids than she’d been with the media.
“How did you come up with the winning flavor?” one of the teachers asked.
The reporters had asked Holly many times over, but still he was interested in hearing about how she’d devised Heavenly Berry.
“I just experimented with different combinations of fruit and chocolate until I found one I liked. Then I gave it to my harshest critics,” she said.
“What’s a critic?” asked a little girl in ponytails. He didn’t know many kids, so he wasn’t sure of her age, but she looked to be maybe five. Holly put her ice-cream scoop down and knelt in front of the child.
“Someone who gives you his opinion on something you’ve done.”
“Like a teacher?” the little girl asked.
“Kind of. In this case it was my brothers.”
“My brothers never like anything I do,” the girl said.
Holly brushed her hand over the child’s head. She wasn’t shy about touching others, except for him. She hadn’t touched him at all since their morning encounter. He wondered why.
“Brothers are like that. But mine are very honest about my cooking. So I welcome their comments,” Holly said.
“What’d your brothers say?” Joe asked. What would he have to do to get her to touch him again?
He wanted to know more about her family. Wanted to know details of her life so he could stop looking at her and seeing a feminine mystery and instead see someone whom he knew and understood. He doubted the questions would bring him that knowledge but at least they took his mind off the way her skirt pulled tight around her hips when she’d bent to talk to the child.
Holly glanced up at him. “That I’d found the right combination.”
“Really?” the girl asked.
“Yes,” Holly said, standing. She handed the child a cone Joe had scooped.
The line moved quickly and soon the children were gone. The empty gym felt strange with only him and Holly. Joe’s mind wasn’t on the sticky ice cream on his fingers but on the smudge of gelato on Holly’s cheek.
Ignore it, he advised himself, but he knew he wasn’t listening. He reached over and rubbed his thumb lightly over her cheek. She shivered.
Damn, it wasn’t fair that life should put in front of him this woman who reacted so quickly to his touch. Because though he’d lived a solitary life for a long time, he’d never been any good at denying himself. And it had been a long time since he’d seen a woman he’d wanted as much as he wanted Holly.
“Why are you staring at me like that?” she asked as they cleaned up the gelato containers.
“Like what?” he asked, removing his apron and folding it with exaggerated precision. Somehow he couldn’t look into those clear blue eyes of hers for another minute without taking the kiss he’d wanted all day.
“Like you’re wondering if I’ll taste as good as the gelato,” she said.
“Because that’s what I’m thinking,” he said, taking a step toward her. He should be backing away but he was tired of living his life in solitary confinement. Even if he’d placed himself there. Holly reminded him what he was missing, and for this one day he wanted to wallow in it.
“Dangerous thoughts, Barone,” she said, knitting her fingers together.
“I know, Fitzgerald.” He wished he could banter with Holly the way he did with Gina, but he’d never once had the white-hot burning desire to kiss his sister.
A long minute passed and he knew he should just grab his suit jacket and walk out the door. Gina and Flint had already left to go ahead and get the press ready for the check presentation.
But he also knew Holly awakened something deep inside him that he couldn’t silence. “You’re a very touchy person.”
“Easily offended?” she asked.
“No, demonstrative. You’ve touched Flint’s arm every time you talk to him and Gina’s, as well,” he said.
“It’s part of how I communicate.”
“Why haven’t you touched me?”
Stark silence followed his question. He heard a car horn outside and the kids laughing on the playground. Even the sound of Holly’s breathing seemed loud.
“I hadn’t noticed I wasn’t.”
He knew the fine art of evasion when he saw it, and Holly Fitzgerald was doing her best to tap-dance out of his reach. He should let her go. Would if he had a lick of sense. But for some reason sense had deserted him. His body said he wouldn’t miss it. But experience promised he would. “I did.”
She shrugged. She tilted her head to one side and nibbled at that full lower lip of hers. “I’m not myself around you.”
“How’s that?” he asked.
She shook her head and looked away. “I can’t explain it.”
“Can’t or won’t?”
She glanced back and shrugged again. Why was she running scared? What had he done that had made her put up her shields and hide?
“All right, won’t,” she admitted.
She removed her chef’s hat and apron and picked up her purse. “If memory serves, our last stop is at the gelateria.”
“Yes,” he said.
“I’ll meet you there,” she said, pivoting on her heel.
“Holly?”
She glanced back at him, her red hair reflecting the late-afternoon sun that streamed in through the high windows.
“I don’t want you to be uncomfortable,” he said.
“I know. It’s not a bad thing. It’s just that…” She walked back to him. “You make me feel too much, and I’m not sure how to handle it.” She reached up and brushed her fingers against his jaw. “Does this make you feel better?”
“In a hundred ways,” he said.
“But we have someplace to be,” she said.
He nodded. She turned again and this time he let her go. He watched the sway of her hips with each step she took. He watched her leaving and knew deep in his soul that he should remember this picture of her. That he shouldn’t let himself get involved because she wasn’t going to stay in his life.
Holly had never been in the flagship Baronessa Gelateria. She had a pint of Baronessa’s Rocky Guava in her freezer at home. It was the one constant in her kitchen aside from cooking and baking staples.
Gina and Flint had the press stationed in one area and a few customers at the tables. Off to the side was a group of people clustered together. There had to be at least twenty-five of them looking on.
In came Joe. He had his suit jacket on and looked polished and professional. Holly wondered if that was the barrier he used to keep people at a distance.
She was relieved the day was over but she wished she’d had more time with Joe. Alone time.
But that was something she’d be better off without. He made her feel that human spontaneous combustion might be possible. He made her want things that she was used to living without. He made her ache with the knowledge that who she was and who she wanted to be still weren’t the same person.
She sighed.
“Hang in there. We’re almost through,” Joe said.
She smiled up at him. The drive to the gelateria had been in rush-hour traffic, which had been good. It had forced her mind off of this disturbing man.
But here he was filling the crowded room and making her want things she knew better than to ask for. The press had been trying, but his company had made it a nice day. Tonight when she went home she’d dream of him and what might have been.
“It has been a long day,” she said. Great, she’d gone from flirting to inane. He’d knocked her off balance and she was having a hard time finding her footing.
He reached for her and then dropped his hand, cursing under his breath.
“What’s the matter?” she asked.
She didn’t understand why but she needed to know more about him. To probe those depths that he kept hidden. Though he’d been flirtatious and teasing with her most of the day, he’d protected himself carefully from her. She knew there was more to him than his civilized exterior showed her.
He was a tall, dark and brooding man who watched her with that keen sexual desire that made her ultra-aware of him. Yet he didn’t want to give her anything but the sexual awareness. She didn’t have to be a genius to figure that out. The part she didn’t understand was if it was only her or all women that he reacted to in that way.
He rubbed his jaw where a faint five o’clock shadow could be seen making him look rougher than he had earlier. It was as if the real man under the facade was starting to come to the surface. Her palms tingled and she wanted to cup his face in her hands and feel the roughness of his skin against hers.
“My family is here,” he said at last, nodding toward the large group she’d noticed earlier.
“How many siblings do you have?”
“Three brothers and four sisters, plus four cousins. It looks like most of them decided to put in an appearance.”
“And that’s bad?” she asked. She’d be flattered if her father and brothers ever showed up at something she did.
“Hell, yes,” he said.
“I think it’s sweet.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
She should have kept her mouth shut because there was no way to tell him why without revealing her vulnerability. She could only hope he wouldn’t notice. “Because it shows how much they care about you.”
He flushed at little. “Well, it might not mean that. This is a big Baronessa deal, and my dad is the CEO and Nick is the COO. So technically they have to be here.”
Holly glanced again at the group of Joe’s family. They were a city unto themselves, talking and laughing. And he had sisters. And maybe sisters-in-law. She’d always wanted a sister. And she envied him not only the support of his family but also his sisters.
“Why is it so hard to believe they’d want to be here for you?” she asked.
“It’s not. Except the last few years I haven’t been the easiest person to get along with.”
“You?” she asked, surprised.
“You don’t think so.”
“You’ve been… I’m afraid to say it in case you take it the wrong way.”
“You’ll have to take your chances,” he said, moving closer to her. Barely an inch of space separated them.
“I’m not a risk taker,” she admitted, taking a half step back.
“I am,” he said, and the words seemed to surprise him.
She didn’t want to be the only one revealing a weakness. Why didn’t she just make something up? She didn’t have to tell him that he reminded her of a fairy-tale prince. A white knight on a charger who’d ride to her rescue. She didn’t have to say the words out loud. Wouldn’t have to hear them and cringe. Wouldn’t have to acknowledge that he awakened dreams she’d buried deep and hoped to forget about for the rest of her life.
“If I tell you, you owe me an explanation about who I remind you of.”
“Stop stalling,” he said.
She glanced up at him and found him waiting patiently.
“You have been my white knight today,” she said softly.
Before he could speak, Gina came over. “Okay, you two, this is it. Joe, you’ll present the check. Holly, you’ll accept it. Then you’re free to go.”
Holly followed Gina to the front of the store, while Joe stood there. She knew he wanted to say something to her. Maybe it was for the best that he hadn’t. That way she could keep him hidden in her memory as a dream of what could have been.
Three
Holly placed the check from Baronessa carefully in her wallet. Joe’s family had been a little intimidating, almost more than the press, but now everything was over. She could return to being regular old Holly.
Tomorrow morning she’d be back in the bakery and Joe would be back to his life. She’d miss the feminine excitement that Joe had sparked, but apparently fate had given them only this one day.
She hadn’t even had a chance to try her winning flavor, which the Barones had decided to call Heavenly Berry. Holly was impressed with Baronessa’s savvy marketing and PR team. It was easy to see why they were the number one gelato company in the U.S.
She adjusted the strap on her purse and headed toward the door. Leaving without saying goodbye to Joe seemed weird to her, but, then, saying goodbye would be awkward.
She wondered if she could get to the bank before the drive-up teller closed. She glanced at her watch. Not unless traffic was light.
“Got a date?” Joe asked from behind her.
She turned and noticed the crowd had dispersed.
“No. Nothing that exciting. I was trying to decide if I could make it to the bank before it closed.”
His gaze met hers. She’d always thought brown eyes were kind of average, not very exciting, but something about Joe’s eyes made her react. Made her think of deep pools of rich warm chocolate. She licked her lips, sure he’d be just as yummy as the decadent dessert.
“What did you decide?” he asked.
“That the chances are slim.”
“Good.”
“Good?” she asked. Damn, he liked to tease her and she enjoyed it. Too much, she thought, because he made her want to be reckless.
He arched one eyebrow at her. “That’s what I said.”
“Why?” She smiled at him.
“I hoped you’d join me for dinner.”
She swallowed. “You move fast.”
“I wish we could move even faster.”
She didn’t know why, but that line of questioning seemed even more dangerous than his touch. A couple brushed by them to be seated. “We should get out of the way.”
Joe took her arm and led her outside. The late-summer evening was warm and the street traffic in the North End wasn’t too bad considering the hour. The sun lay low on the horizon.
His touch made her remember all the reasons she’d enjoyed his company. And all the reasons she’d been careful not to touch him all day. She didn’t want to have to feel alive in the way only he made her feel.
She took a tiny step away from him, to give herself some breathing room, but he just stepped closer. Damn, he smelled good.
“About dinner,” he said.
“What about it?” she asked, not trusting the excitement building inside her.
“Are you available?”
She had to choose whether she was going to take the chance of getting to know him better or return to her normal life without knowing what those lips of his felt like on hers. “Yes.”
“Great. We can go to the best Italian kitchen in Boston.”
“Antonio’s?”
“No. My place.”
“Your place? Do I look naive?”
“No, you look tempting.”
“Tempting? Not bad. But I’m still not going to your place on our first date.”
“Which number does it have to be?”
“I don’t know. Let me check my Dating in the New Millennium book.”
Pretending to withdraw a book from her purse, she studied the imaginary pages for a minute. “There’s no firm answer. It depends on the guy.”
Joe scooted even closer to her and she closed her eyes, afraid he’d see that she wasn’t the sophisticated, witty woman she’d been pretending to be.
“What are you looking for, Holly?”
“Tonight?”
He nodded.
“A nice dinner with a good-looking Italian.”
“I can get you the nice dinner. Would a surly Italian do?”
“I have yet to see surly but if he shows up, we’ll renegotiate.”
“Deal.”
“There’s a nice quiet little deli around the corner. Does that sound good?”
“Yes,” she said. They walked next to each other. His heat enveloped her and she wished she’d worn a blouse under her suit jacket so she could take it off and feel his touch on her skin.
“Do you have big plans for your money?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“What are you buying?”
She just shook her head. She didn’t want to talk about her father and his health problems.
“My sisters would spend it on clothes or shoes.”
“I’d love to spend it on shoes,” Holly said. In fact, she’d had her eye on a pair of strappy sandals since spring, but she didn’t really need them since she spent most of her time at the bakery or home.
“What is it with women and shoes?” he asked, but there was a teasing note in his voice.
His gaze skimmed down her legs, stopping at the Enzo pumps she’d bought on sale last summer. “Those look nice, by the way.”
“My legs or shoes?”
“Your legs,” he said.
“Thanks. I’d return the compliment but I haven’t seen yours yet.”
He laughed and it made her feel good deep inside. She wanted this day to never end. She thought maybe she’d been too hasty in telling him she couldn’t go to his place tonight, because suddenly she wanted to—very badly.
Marino’s reminded him of being a kid again. Until he walked in the front door he’d forgotten that it had been five years since he’d been in there. He’d suggested the Italian deli because it made sense and he was a logical guy most of the time.
But suddenly logic had flown out the door. He remembered why he’d avoided the place. He’d met Mary here. It had been the summer before he started college. They’d met near the end-cap with the homemade Italian cookies. Mary had been from New Jersey and missing home. Joe had brought her to his family, and the rest had been history.
The smell overwhelmed him—spicy oregano, pepperoni and garlic. They were the scents of his boyhood and brought with them dreams he’d done his best to forget. He paused in the doorway, doubts penetrating the desire that had been motivating him since he’d met Holly. What the hell was he doing?
Holly bumped into him. “Is it too crowded?” she asked.
Joe shook his head. Only in his mind was it crowded—with two women who looked the same. Actually, there was only a couple of teenage boys at one of the tables in the front and Robert behind the deli counter.
“Joseph, it’s been a long time since we’ve seen you. Mama, come out here and see who is in the shop,” Robert said in his heavily accented English.
Joe embraced the shorter older man with true fondness. Robert and Lena were a part of his past. For the first time he was cognizant that he’d quit living when Mary died. His mom had tried to tell him but he hadn’t wanted to believe her.
“Robert, how’s it going?”
“Today, it’s good, Joseph. For you too, eh?” Robert looked right at Holly and then winked at Joe.
“Today is good,” Joe said. Though he wasn’t sure. Days that passed with numbing quickness were what he usually wanted. Today had gone quickly but he’d started to feel again and it was painful. Frostbite wearing off was painful.
He turned to the source of his reawakening. “Robert Marino, this is Holly Fitzgerald. Holly, this is Robert, the proprietor of the finest Italian deli in Boston.”
“Nice to meet you, Miss Fitzgerald.”
“Likewise,” Holly said.
Lena came out of the back and let out a little shriek of joy, ran over to Joe and embraced him. Holly was watching him with a smile in her eyes, and he realized she knew he was uncomfortable and was amused because of it. He arched his eyebrows to let her know he’d get her back later.
After they ordered their sandwiches, they made their way to one of the tables in the front. Joe felt awkward. Sexual awareness he was comfortable with, but sitting at this small table in the crowded market felt too intimate to him.
He hated being irrational and exploring his emotions, so he forced his attention to the sandwich put in front of him. He’d eat dinner with Holly and then say good-night. It had been a day out of time, but he wasn’t interested in getting involved with a woman again for the long term. Sex was fine but Holly made him want more, so he wasn’t going to pursue her.
“This is a really nice place. It reminds me of the bakery where I work,” Holly said, shifting on her seat. Her legs rubbed against his under the table. An image of them swam in his brain, and he knew he was going down.
“You work in a bakery?” he asked. Right now he couldn’t remember anything except that she had incredibly long legs for a petite woman. And all those tempting freckles on her skin.
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Katherine Garbera
JUST ONE NIGHT…That was all Holly Fitzgerald would allow herself with the tall, dark and brooding CFO Joe Barone. Winning Baronessa Gelati's contest paled next to what she felt when the aloof Joe watched her with sexual desire blatant in his shrewd eyes.While Holly had commitments, Joe had sophistication and wealth. He looked better in a business suit than any man had a right to. But his lover's touch freed her, and for the first time made her want something more.Like Cinderella, she'd forget the real world, forget caution and for once, she'd simply enjoy the fantasy. But as the clock neared twelve, Holly knew one night with Joe wouldn't be enough….
July’s menu
BARONESSA GELATERIA
in Boston’s North End
In addition to our regular flavors of gelato, this month we are featuring:
A pool of sinful melted chocolate
Dark-haired, dark-eyed Joe Barone was always the gentleman, always in control. But Holly went to his head faster than 90-proof whiskey. When the heat of his desire finally melted away the family breeding, in its place he was all primal male….
Handmade miniature pastries
In the bakery Holly made masterpieces out of the tiniest desserts. But her safe little life was turned upside down by one meeting with the worldly, wealthy Joe Barone.
Red-hots
As if drawn by fate, Joe and Holly were powerless to resist their attraction. Neither one could cool down the fire burning deep inside, not when the flames had been dormant so long. Now they could be satisfied by nothing less than absolute, total possession.
Buon appetito!
Dear Reader,
Experience passion and power in six brand-new, provocative titles from Silhouette Desire this July!
Begin with Scenes of Passion (#1519) by New York Times bestselling author Suzanne Brockmann. In this scintillating love story, a pretend marriage turned all too real reveals the torrid emotions and secrets of a former bad-boy millionaire and his prim heiress.
DYNASTIES: THE BARONES continues in July with Cinderella’s Millionaire (#1520) by Katherine Garbera, in which a pretty pastry cook’s red-hot passion melts the defenses of a brooding Barone hero. In Bed with the Enemy, (#1521) by rising star Kathie DeNosky, is the second LONE STAR COUNTRY CLUB title in Desire. In this installment, a lady agent and her lone-wolf counterpart bump more than heads during an investigation into a gun-smuggling ring.
What would you do if you were Expecting the Cowboy’s Baby (#1522)? Discover how a plain-Jane bookkeeper deals with this dilemma in this steamy love story, the second Silhouette Desire title by popular Harlequin Historicals author Charlene Sands. Then see how a brokenhearted rancher struggles to forgive the woman who betrayed him, in Cherokee Dad (#1523) by Sheri WhiteFeather. And in The Gentrys: Cal (#1524) by Linda Conrad, a wounded stock-car driver finds healing love in the arms of a sexy, mysterious nurse, and the Gentry siblings at last learn the truth about their parents’ disappearance.
Beat the summer heat with these six new love stories from Silhouette Desire.
Enjoy!
Melissa Jeglinski
Senior Editor, Silhouette Desire
Cinderella’s Millionaire
Katherine Garbera
To my Italian family, for making me proud of where we came from and challenging me to go in new directions. Especially my uncle, Pat Nappi, for showing me the beauty inside, and my mom, Charlotte Smith, for showing me how to carry on our traditions.
Acknowledgments:
Thanks to Eve Gaddy for taking time from her busy schedule to help critique. I’m so glad fate put us in each other’s paths and made us friends!
KATHERINE GARBERA
comes from a large Italian family. Being part of the Barones gave her a chance to once again visit with characters who share her background. She lives in the suburbs of Chicago with her husband and their two children. Writing romance is a dream come true for the author who says that happy endings should be a part of everyone’s life.
Meet the Barones of Boston—
An elite clan caught in a web of danger,
deceit…and desire!
Who’s Who in
CINDERELLA’S MILLIONAIRE
Joe Barone—He’s the practical, aloof one of the multimillion-dollar Barone clan. A widower for five years, he’s had his heart on ice for so long, he fears it’s forever frozen. Until he meets a woman who dares to melt it…
Holly Fitzgerald—For this hardworking pastry chef, life is all about responsibilities—to her job, to her father and brothers who need her. Until she meets Joe and finds need replaced by desire…
Gina Barone Kingman—A PR maven, she knows what people want even before they do. And she can see it clearly in her brother’s eyes….
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Epilogue
One
There were times when it didn’t pay to be a part of a big Italian family, Joseph Barone thought as he listened to his sister Gina give him last-minute instructions on how to handle the press today. She was the VP of PR, and in his opinion the one who should be escorting the contest winner—Holly Fitzgerald—around. But Gina and her husband, Flint, a noted spin doctor, thought it would be better if a top executive did the honors. And somehow he—the CFO—was the only one who could get up at five in the morning to handle this latest volley in Baronessa’s PR plan.
“If anyone brings up the passion fruit gelato debacle, acknowledge that it was a mistake and one that Baronessa won’t make again. Then use the fact sheet I gave you on the new flavor.”
“Got it,” he said.
Gina smiled at him. “Thanks for doing this.”
“As if I had any choice.” Joe had tried arguing but it was hard to win with his mother or sisters. Italian women never fought fair, and in the end, guilt and familial duty had won out.
“Mom thought you’d be the best one.”
“Yeah, once you convinced her of it. You owe me, Gina.”
She ignored his remark and consulted the schedule in her hand. “I’m going to check and see if the contest winner is here yet.”
Joe watched his sister walk away. Gina was tall compared to other women, but she’d always be his little sister. She had changed in the last few months since her marriage to Flint Kingman. She now wore her curly light brown hair down instead of pinning it up. But then, finding the love of your life could do that to a person. She radiated a glow that only a woman in love had, and he was a little scared to see her so much in love with her new husband.
He’d changed after he’d met Mary. And then changed again after she’d died. But some things were better left in the past—and Mary was one of them.
Though it was only a little after seven, he knew his entire day was shot. He resigned himself to working half the night to make sure the forecasts they’d done for this new gelato flavor were correct. Baronessa needed a shot in the arm, and this contest, as harebrained as he’d thought it was at first, might be the answer.
He sat in one of the first-floor conference rooms in the five-story building that housed the executive offices, patiently having makeup put on for the television interviews he was doing this morning. He had an inkling of why neither his dad, the CEO, or brother Nicholas, the COO, had been unable to free their schedule today.
But Baronessa was worth a few sacrifices and certainly worth the ribbing he’d have to endure if any of his siblings wandered in while he was in the makeup chair.
To distract himself, he glanced around the room. A sense of well-being assailed him as it always did when he realized he was a part of something that had grown from a small family business into an international company. There was something about knowing exactly where you came from.
And there was something about being surrounded by his family history every day that soothed his wounded heart. Most of the time.
The gelateria had grown into more than an ice-cream shop founded in the forties by his grandparents Marco and Angelica and was now a Fortune 500 company. One Joe was proud to work for. He loved his job as CFO and had cut his teeth working for a large entertainment company in California before coming back to Boston and taking his place in the family business.
“Here she is,” Gina said, entering the conference room with another woman.
Joe’s breath caught in his chest. The woman walking toward him bore an uncanny resemblance to his deceased wife. Slim and petite, she had auburn hair that fell in waves around her shoulders. Mary’s hair had been shorter, he thought. But her features were similar. Heart-shaped face, full lips and a nose that curved the slightest bit to the right at the end.
Joe prided himself on his resilience. He’d survived things that would have destroyed a lesser man. But he didn’t want to tour the company’s headquarters with the doppelgänger of his deceased wife. Gina would just have to do it.
“Holly Fitzgerald, this is my brother and Baronessa’s chief financial officer, Joseph Barone.”
“Pleased to meet you, Ms. Fitzgerald,” Joe said, shaking her hand. Her hand in his felt soft, small, fragile. Damn. It had been a long time—five years to be exact—since he’d held a hand that delicate.
“Please call me Holly.”
He nodded. He’d survived by keeping himself aloof from women, by letting no one but family close to him, and he didn’t intend to let this contest winner rock the secure moorings of his world. “Gina, can I speak to you privately for a minute?”
“Of course. Holly, why don’t you see our makeup artist. There’s coffee, tea and juice on the sideboard. We’ll be right back.”
Joe didn’t wait for his sister but walked out of the conference room. His brother-in-law was tall with chocolate brown hair and, according to his sisters, drop-dead gorgeous.
“Where’s Holly?” Flint asked as soon as Joe stepped into the hallway.
“In makeup.”
“Damn. How long do you think it’ll take?” Flint asked.
“I don’t know. Go check on her.”
“I will. Joe, don’t go anywhere. The satellite uplink is ready and we have about ten minutes before the first interview.”
Gina came out of the room and the look on her face let him know she wasn’t pleased with him. “What’s up?”
“I can’t do this,” Joe said.
“Joe, we’ve been over this. There is no one else,” Gina said.
When Gina talked to him like that, he felt like a four-year-old who wasn’t getting his way. But there was not a chance he was going to spend the day with a woman who reminded him of things he didn’t want to remember.
“Okay, she’s almost ready,” Flint said, coming back out.
“He isn’t,” Gina said, pointing at her brother.
“We don’t have time for this,” Flint said. “You both have to be out in the garden now so that we can get on the morning-news segments on the East Coast.”
Gina tried reassuring him again. “Joe, you’ll do fine. Stick with the script I gave you.”
“I’m not nervous about the interview. I just don’t want to spend the day with her.”
“Joe—”
“I don’t want to spend the day with him, either,” Holly said from the doorway. “In fact, I just want my check and then I’ll be happy to go.”
Of course, he didn’t want to spend the day with her, Holly thought. She probably looked as if she spent too much time in the kitchen, which of course she did. In fact, this morning she’d gotten to the bakery at 3:00 a.m. because of her obligation to Mrs. Kirkpatrick, the owner of the small downtown bakery where Holly worked.
She felt out of place in this old-money office building and wanted nothing more than to get back into her chef’s uniform and back into her pastry kitchen.
She hated the spotlight. She wouldn’t have entered the Baronessa contest except for the thousand-dollar prize. She needed that money to pay her father’s hospital bills. HMOs had pretty much alienated small businessmen from affordable health care, and her mechanic father was no exception.
But that didn’t explain why Joseph Barone wanted nothing to do with her. He was attractive in a way that made her uncomfortable. She’d grown up around men, having helped to raise her three brothers, but something about this Barone made everything feminine in her spring to life.
He watched her the way a panther watches prey. Not afraid of her, exactly, but ready to pounce if she did anything threatening. Was he afraid she’d embarrass Baronessa?
Damn. She should have checked her appearance in the mirror before she’d come in. Maybe she still had flour on her face or in her hair.
Gina Barone-Kingman took her arm. “Holly, we can’t do that. Baronessa needs the publicity your gelato will bring.”
“I’m willing to do my part,” Holly said. And she was. She’d never shrunk from her responsibilities and didn’t intend to now. Even if there was something she couldn’t identify in Joseph’s eyes….
“Listen, Gina, we need to talk,” Joseph said, stepping forward.
Flint Kingman took control. “Not now.”
Holly had met the man earlier. She could tell he worked in public relations by the way he moved and talked. He had a quick smile and a confident, take-charge attitude. She liked him, but had the feeling he could charm just about anyone.
“Outside, both of you,” Flint ordered.
Flint took Joe’s arm and herded them all out the front doors into a beautiful garden awash with colorful flowers. A camera crew stood ready, while the makeup team put some finishing touches on Holly.
Suddenly she didn’t know if she was going to be able to talk intelligently with a camera on her. She’d never really been proficient at public speaking. She’d made it her practice to blend into the background, and she was very good at it.
“Until I arrived this morning, I didn’t know we were doing television interviews,” she said softly.
“Relax, you’ll do just fine,” Flint said, patting her shoulder. His touch and tone made her believe his words.
Although he was kind, he was steely in his determination. She made a note to read the fine print before entering another contest. In fact, the only thing she hated more than speaking in public was seeing herself speaking in public. She only hoped none of the Boston stations would pick up this satellite feed and use it.
Flint gestured for her and Joe to sit in some director’s chairs that were set up in front of a screen with the Baronessa logo on it. Holly’s hands shook so badly that she had to clench them together.
Joseph reached over and covered her hands with his. His touch surprised her. She glanced up to see if his expression had changed, but his eyes were still guarded. His hand on hers was big and warm, his nails neatly manicured. Not at all like the masculine hands she was used to seeing. Hands with dirt under the nails and calluses on their palms.
“Don’t worry. I might not like this but I know what I’m doing,” Joseph said.
“That’s reassuring.” She meant it. She needed his experience to navigate this. She’d have to make sure to someday return the favor.
He removed his hand. “I thought it might be.”
Around them stage techs bustled, making adjustments to mikes and cameras. Flint and Gina both gave them last-minute tips, and then everyone backed away. Through it all, Holly wondered why Joseph didn’t want to spend the day with her. If it were the press, she could understand. She too, was reluctant to be interviewed all day long.
But it couldn’t be, because he said he knew how to handle them. It must be her. This was a new record for Holly. She’d never had a man detest her on sight before.
“Can I ask you something, Joseph?”
“Sure, and call me Joe.”
“Why don’t you want to spend the day with me?” she asked. She knew she shouldn’t voice the question, but couldn’t help herself.
Maybe she hadn’t gotten enough sleep the night before. Maybe the closer you got to thirty the less control you had over your mouth. Maybe…maybe she just needed to feel as if she was sitting by a friend in the glare of the spotlight, instead of next to a man who didn’t want her near him.
“It isn’t anything personal.”
Let it go, Hol. Just smile at the camera, talk about cooking, collect your check and get out of here.
“It kind of sounded like it,” she said. What was her deal today? Definitely not enough sleep, she decided.
Joe shrugged. “You remind me of someone.”
Though he didn’t say it was a woman, she sensed it was. She knew men. Knew the way they thought and acted.
So she should have known better than to ask the question that was on the tip of her tongue. Her dad and brothers would never admit a woman had broken their hearts. “Did she break your heart?”
Joe stared at her in a way that made her feel like she had a spotlight shining on her.
“Sorry, that was way too personal,” Holly said quickly. But she knew by his reaction that she’d struck a chord, and she wanted to know more.
“Yes, it was.” The look he gave her made her squirm in her chair. Not in embarrassment, though. It was a male look that made her blood flow a little faster. This man had a presence of sophistication that made her feel like an inexperienced prep-chef in the kitchen of a world-renowned master.
She looked around but couldn’t stand the suspense. “Well, are you going to answer?”
He laughed and the sound surprised her. It was a warm sound from a very cold-looking man. A man she sensed didn’t find much humor in life.
“No.”
Fair enough, she thought. The stage director came over and gave them some directions, and when he left, Holly glanced over at Joe. He didn’t look nervous, but she was.
“Is it my hair?” she asked after a few minutes. Men had some strange illusions about redheads.
“Is what your hair?” he asked.
“The thing that reminds you of the other person.”
“Yes.”
“She’s not Orphan Annie, is she? Because I thought all the makeup I’m wearing covered my freckles.”
He didn’t smile but she sensed his amusement. “No.”
“No to freckles or to Annie?”
“Annie. I can still see your freckles.”
“I knew it. I’m covered with them.”
“Everywhere?” he asked in an intimate voice.
“Yes,” she said, meeting his clear brown eyes. There was something sensual in his gaze and she couldn’t look away.
Joe Barone was more than she’d expected him to be and that unnerved her. She felt safe flirting with him, for some reason. Well, safe wasn’t really how she felt, but it was fun. It was weird to realize she didn’t understand him—he didn’t fit with what she’d come to expect from men—and even stranger to realize that she wanted to.
Her freckles weren’t the only things about Holly Fitzgerald that lingered in his mind. Her sweet scent lingered on the air—something homey that reminded him of his mom’s kitchen at the holidays and something else more elusive. An aroma distinct to Holly and no other woman.
She’s in your life for a day, he told himself. He’d best ignore it.
But he couldn’t. His groin was tight and his blood ran heavy whenever he thought about those damn freckles on her creamy skin. He wanted to strip that professional-looking suit from her body and find each and every freckle. To caress it first with his fingers, then with his tongue.
Whoa, boy. Obviously it was past time to start dating again. But he’d never been into casual sex. Even before Mary, he’d slept with only two other women and no one since her death five years ago. He’d completely shut off that part of his nature—until today when it roared back to life, demanding his attention.
The stage techs broke down the equipment, and the garden was slowly returning to its beauty. This place had long been one of Joe’s favorites. He’d found solace here more than once, but not today.
The July sun beat down on him, but that wasn’t the source of the heat running through his veins. No, a certain redhead was responsible. “No redheads” had been more of a safety precaution than a rule. Still, he knew better.
Why wasn’t his body getting the message?
Holly laughed at something his sister said, and his groin tingled to life. He needed to get away, but for once his pager was silent. Giving in to the pull he felt from her, he joined her and Gina at the coffee and pastry table.
“So, are you over your fit?” his sister asked.
Only family treated him as if he was a defanged tiger. Everyone else in his world trod lightly around him, treating him like a loose cannon. He wished he understood why because then maybe he could wield that cannon against his sister. “Gina, I’m trying to remember why I tolerate you.”
“Familial duty.” Gina smiled up at him.
“Right now I wouldn’t mind being disinherited.”
Gina laughed. “Joe, you know we’re Italian. There’s no escaping the family.”
He smiled at his sister. He knew she always had Baronessa’s success at heart and that she’d worked hard to prove herself to the family. “Sorry I tried to back out.”
“Hey, it’s okay. Flint’s ideas are always bigger than he makes them out to be.”
Gina left to join her husband, and an awkward silence fell between him and Holly. Joe wasn’t an open and gregarious man. Never really had been. But the past few years he’d fallen deeper and deeper into a silence he found comforting.
Holly lifted her hair off the back of her neck as the sun rose in the sky. She had to be hot in that suit she wore. A few tendrils of curling red hair clung to her nape. The skin there was covered with those freckles she seemed worried about. He took a sip from the Evian bottle in his hand to keep from leaning down and blowing on her overheated skin.
“So…” she said.
He raised one eyebrow at her. If she had an inkling of the direction his thoughts had been heading, he was in deep water.
“Are you ready to confess all?” she asked with a gamine grin.
“No. But I am curious about you.” Joe decided to go on the offensive and drive her back into hiding. He’d been called brooding more than once by the women he’d dated. Why was it so hard to keep Holly at arm’s length?
“I’m an open book,” she said.
Her blue eyes said otherwise. Interesting. He’d really like to delve beneath her depths and uncover her secrets. But he didn’t think he could do that and still keep her at arm’s length.
“Yes. I already know you’re a pastry chef,” he said.
She took a bottle of water from the refreshment table. “In fact, I was at work this morning before I came down here.”
“You must really love baking,” he said. Though his family had made its name in the gelato business, Joe had never taken to baking or cooking. He could heat frozen dinners and reheat the casseroles that his mom sometimes sent to her kids’ houses. But beyond that he wasn’t even interested in trying.
She put the water down and stepped closer to him. Again her scent assailed him. It was time to end this conversation and get on with the rest of the day’s activities. As soon as she answered, he’d say something vague and move away from her.
“I do. The kitchen is the only place where I’m totally in control. Totally alone. There’s a…peace to it.”
“Why aren’t you ever alone?” he asked.
“Family,” she said. That one word summed up the way he sometimes felt about his.
He patted her shoulder trying for a brotherly touch, but knew he failed. Her arm under his hand was soft and he couldn’t help sliding his hand down to her tiny wrist. She wore a charm bracelet there with a tiny gold rolling pin on it. “I know what you mean.”
Who had given her the bracelet? A lover? Jealousy took him by surprise and he ran his finger under the fine gold chain, resting his finger on her pulse. It threaded steadily.
“Joe?”
Ah, hell, he thought. He knew better. Why was he even looking at her this way? “Did a man give you this?”
“Yes,” she said huskily.
“A lover?”
Her pulse doubled. “No.”
Her pupils had dilated and he saw more than awareness in them. He saw the same hunger that was coursing through his veins. Her lips parted and the air around them seemed to stop moving.
He leaned forward. “Would anyone object if I kissed you?”
“Are you going to kiss me?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“There’s no man in my life,” she said. Holly watched him with feminine speculation in her eyes, and Joe knew he’d never be the same.
Two
Joe lifted her wrist slowly. Her heart beat so hard she thought it would jump out of her chest. Sensation trembled through her body, but she was helpless to stop it.
His breath brushed against her wrist, warming the gold chain her dad had given to her for her twenty-first birthday. Though Joe’s mouth didn’t touch her, she felt the humid warmth, and a sensual beating started deep in her center.
Holly’s experience with men outside her family had been limited. She’d worked during high school, which had left her little time to date. Then she’d skipped college and went instead to the Culinary Institute.
But that didn’t explain why she hadn’t dated in the past six months. The truth was, few guys wanted to wait for her to finish working two shifts at the bakery, and drive to her dad’s house to fix dinner for him and her brothers before getting to her place to get ready for a date. The men she had dated tended to be career-minded as she was, and ultimately more interested in their jobs than in her. None of them had had a tenth of the raw sexuality she sensed in Joe Barone.
His dark eyes blazed with a passion she’d read about but never experienced. His mouth on her inner wrist started a chain reaction that ended deep inside her. His hand on her arm forced her to remember she was more than a sister and chef.
Joe reminded her that she was a woman in every sense of the word. He called to her femininity and made her want to reach under the civilized facade and bring the elemental man to the surface. A man she sensed needed more than the solace he could find in her body.
Instincts she’d spent years ignoring forced her to take notice. Damn, she wasn’t sure she wanted him to wake her up now. There wasn’t time in her life for a man. Sure, this could be a little harmless flirting, but it felt like more.
She curled her fingers around his jaw. He was clean-shaven but she felt the fine stubble under her fingers. He turned his head in her palm and dropped one kiss in the center of it.
He nipped the fleshy part of her hand before lifting his head. He looked up into her eyes and she felt the world drop away. She wasn’t aware of where she was or what she was doing. She only knew that she wanted to bask in the intensity of his gaze for a long time.
Standing on tiptoe, she brought her face closer to his. His scent was spicy and outdoorsy. She shut her eyes and inhaled deeply, then leaned just the tiniest bit toward him.
His suit and hers should have provided a better barrier but didn’t. His heat and strength still surrounded her. His grip on her wrist changed and his hand slid around her waist, resting on the small of her back.
“Holly?” His voice was husky and deep.
She opened her eyes.
“I want more.”
She shivered, afraid to ask for what she wanted. But she’d always lived by the rule that honesty was the best policy. “Me too.”
“This could be complicated,” he said.
“It doesn’t have to be,” she said. She’d learned enough about life to know that you took what you wanted when it was offered because it seldom was presented to you again.
“I thought you were going to kiss me,” she said.
“I was.”
“Changed your mind?”
He shook his head.
“Then what?”
“We need privacy for the kind of kiss I want to give you.”
Holly forgot all about everything at his words. He’d shocked her. Not what he’d said but that she’d inspired it. She wasn’t really a lust-at-first-sight kind of girl. But he made her feel like one.
“Mr. Barone?” a woman called from the open doorway.
“Yes, Stella,” Joe said, turning toward the woman but not letting go of Holly.
Holly stood there watching him. The sound of his deep voice rushed over her. She didn’t listen to his words, just wondered what it would be like to curl up next to him in bed, her head resting on his shoulder while he murmured words in that baritone voice of his.
“I’ll meet you in the foyer for your building tour in ten minutes,” he said to Holly.
“What?” she asked.
“Stella needs me to sign a few papers upstairs,” he said.
“Oh. I wasn’t listening,” she said.
“What were you doing?” he asked, that teasing note back in his voice.
“Dreaming,” she said, which was the truth. Reality was that this man would probably never be in her bed letting her rest on his shoulder no matter how much passion was between them. Because that dream was one she’d sought for a long time and had never found. No matter whose shoulder she’d lain on, it had never made her feel safe the way she’d imagined it would.
“Dreaming about what?”
“Being someplace more private,” she said, then stepped away from him.
“Damn, if it wasn’t for my family, I’d sweep you off to my place.”
Ditto, she thought. Family obligations kept them both here when they’d rather be elsewhere. But Holly knew deep in her soul that family obligations would also keep them apart.
“Go do your business, Joe.”
“This conversation isn’t over.”
“It would be better if it was,” she said.
“Do you always do what’s best?” he asked.
“Don’t you?”
“You’ll have to try me and see,” he said, then pivoted and walked away.
Joe Barone was too sexy by half. A long time ago she’d promised herself that she’d live each moment to the fullest. For the first time she trod lightly on that vow because something in Joe made her doubt she could protect herself and remember her own rule. The rule that was more a vow she’d made to protect her heart from loss: Men were off-limits because she had her family to take care of.
Joe couldn’t believe how fast the day had gone. The day that had promised to be endless was flying by. Already they’d toured the warehouse, done a lunchtime give-away of Holly’s winning gelato at Faneuil Hall and granted interviews to the print media. The YMCA kids’ summer day camp was their second-to-last stop.
Holly looked cute with her apron and chef’s hat on. Too cute. He’d tried to retreat behind his wall of silence, but she’d seemed to sense what he was doing and hadn’t let him. She’d kept the conversation going all day and he’d realized he liked the person Holly was. She was a hard worker, which didn’t surprise him. Her days were as long as his, and her family loyalty couldn’t be questioned. She’d taken three calls from her brothers on her cell phone at various points during the day.
He thought more about what he had to offer a woman and realized that he didn’t want to hurt Holly. At best he could give her one night. That was all he had in him. All he’d allow himself to indulge in. And she deserved more.
He forced his thoughts back to the present. The kids at the day camp all got a kick out of asking her questions about baking. She was better with the kids than she’d been with the media.
“How did you come up with the winning flavor?” one of the teachers asked.
The reporters had asked Holly many times over, but still he was interested in hearing about how she’d devised Heavenly Berry.
“I just experimented with different combinations of fruit and chocolate until I found one I liked. Then I gave it to my harshest critics,” she said.
“What’s a critic?” asked a little girl in ponytails. He didn’t know many kids, so he wasn’t sure of her age, but she looked to be maybe five. Holly put her ice-cream scoop down and knelt in front of the child.
“Someone who gives you his opinion on something you’ve done.”
“Like a teacher?” the little girl asked.
“Kind of. In this case it was my brothers.”
“My brothers never like anything I do,” the girl said.
Holly brushed her hand over the child’s head. She wasn’t shy about touching others, except for him. She hadn’t touched him at all since their morning encounter. He wondered why.
“Brothers are like that. But mine are very honest about my cooking. So I welcome their comments,” Holly said.
“What’d your brothers say?” Joe asked. What would he have to do to get her to touch him again?
He wanted to know more about her family. Wanted to know details of her life so he could stop looking at her and seeing a feminine mystery and instead see someone whom he knew and understood. He doubted the questions would bring him that knowledge but at least they took his mind off the way her skirt pulled tight around her hips when she’d bent to talk to the child.
Holly glanced up at him. “That I’d found the right combination.”
“Really?” the girl asked.
“Yes,” Holly said, standing. She handed the child a cone Joe had scooped.
The line moved quickly and soon the children were gone. The empty gym felt strange with only him and Holly. Joe’s mind wasn’t on the sticky ice cream on his fingers but on the smudge of gelato on Holly’s cheek.
Ignore it, he advised himself, but he knew he wasn’t listening. He reached over and rubbed his thumb lightly over her cheek. She shivered.
Damn, it wasn’t fair that life should put in front of him this woman who reacted so quickly to his touch. Because though he’d lived a solitary life for a long time, he’d never been any good at denying himself. And it had been a long time since he’d seen a woman he’d wanted as much as he wanted Holly.
“Why are you staring at me like that?” she asked as they cleaned up the gelato containers.
“Like what?” he asked, removing his apron and folding it with exaggerated precision. Somehow he couldn’t look into those clear blue eyes of hers for another minute without taking the kiss he’d wanted all day.
“Like you’re wondering if I’ll taste as good as the gelato,” she said.
“Because that’s what I’m thinking,” he said, taking a step toward her. He should be backing away but he was tired of living his life in solitary confinement. Even if he’d placed himself there. Holly reminded him what he was missing, and for this one day he wanted to wallow in it.
“Dangerous thoughts, Barone,” she said, knitting her fingers together.
“I know, Fitzgerald.” He wished he could banter with Holly the way he did with Gina, but he’d never once had the white-hot burning desire to kiss his sister.
A long minute passed and he knew he should just grab his suit jacket and walk out the door. Gina and Flint had already left to go ahead and get the press ready for the check presentation.
But he also knew Holly awakened something deep inside him that he couldn’t silence. “You’re a very touchy person.”
“Easily offended?” she asked.
“No, demonstrative. You’ve touched Flint’s arm every time you talk to him and Gina’s, as well,” he said.
“It’s part of how I communicate.”
“Why haven’t you touched me?”
Stark silence followed his question. He heard a car horn outside and the kids laughing on the playground. Even the sound of Holly’s breathing seemed loud.
“I hadn’t noticed I wasn’t.”
He knew the fine art of evasion when he saw it, and Holly Fitzgerald was doing her best to tap-dance out of his reach. He should let her go. Would if he had a lick of sense. But for some reason sense had deserted him. His body said he wouldn’t miss it. But experience promised he would. “I did.”
She shrugged. She tilted her head to one side and nibbled at that full lower lip of hers. “I’m not myself around you.”
“How’s that?” he asked.
She shook her head and looked away. “I can’t explain it.”
“Can’t or won’t?”
She glanced back and shrugged again. Why was she running scared? What had he done that had made her put up her shields and hide?
“All right, won’t,” she admitted.
She removed her chef’s hat and apron and picked up her purse. “If memory serves, our last stop is at the gelateria.”
“Yes,” he said.
“I’ll meet you there,” she said, pivoting on her heel.
“Holly?”
She glanced back at him, her red hair reflecting the late-afternoon sun that streamed in through the high windows.
“I don’t want you to be uncomfortable,” he said.
“I know. It’s not a bad thing. It’s just that…” She walked back to him. “You make me feel too much, and I’m not sure how to handle it.” She reached up and brushed her fingers against his jaw. “Does this make you feel better?”
“In a hundred ways,” he said.
“But we have someplace to be,” she said.
He nodded. She turned again and this time he let her go. He watched the sway of her hips with each step she took. He watched her leaving and knew deep in his soul that he should remember this picture of her. That he shouldn’t let himself get involved because she wasn’t going to stay in his life.
Holly had never been in the flagship Baronessa Gelateria. She had a pint of Baronessa’s Rocky Guava in her freezer at home. It was the one constant in her kitchen aside from cooking and baking staples.
Gina and Flint had the press stationed in one area and a few customers at the tables. Off to the side was a group of people clustered together. There had to be at least twenty-five of them looking on.
In came Joe. He had his suit jacket on and looked polished and professional. Holly wondered if that was the barrier he used to keep people at a distance.
She was relieved the day was over but she wished she’d had more time with Joe. Alone time.
But that was something she’d be better off without. He made her feel that human spontaneous combustion might be possible. He made her want things that she was used to living without. He made her ache with the knowledge that who she was and who she wanted to be still weren’t the same person.
She sighed.
“Hang in there. We’re almost through,” Joe said.
She smiled up at him. The drive to the gelateria had been in rush-hour traffic, which had been good. It had forced her mind off of this disturbing man.
But here he was filling the crowded room and making her want things she knew better than to ask for. The press had been trying, but his company had made it a nice day. Tonight when she went home she’d dream of him and what might have been.
“It has been a long day,” she said. Great, she’d gone from flirting to inane. He’d knocked her off balance and she was having a hard time finding her footing.
He reached for her and then dropped his hand, cursing under his breath.
“What’s the matter?” she asked.
She didn’t understand why but she needed to know more about him. To probe those depths that he kept hidden. Though he’d been flirtatious and teasing with her most of the day, he’d protected himself carefully from her. She knew there was more to him than his civilized exterior showed her.
He was a tall, dark and brooding man who watched her with that keen sexual desire that made her ultra-aware of him. Yet he didn’t want to give her anything but the sexual awareness. She didn’t have to be a genius to figure that out. The part she didn’t understand was if it was only her or all women that he reacted to in that way.
He rubbed his jaw where a faint five o’clock shadow could be seen making him look rougher than he had earlier. It was as if the real man under the facade was starting to come to the surface. Her palms tingled and she wanted to cup his face in her hands and feel the roughness of his skin against hers.
“My family is here,” he said at last, nodding toward the large group she’d noticed earlier.
“How many siblings do you have?”
“Three brothers and four sisters, plus four cousins. It looks like most of them decided to put in an appearance.”
“And that’s bad?” she asked. She’d be flattered if her father and brothers ever showed up at something she did.
“Hell, yes,” he said.
“I think it’s sweet.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
She should have kept her mouth shut because there was no way to tell him why without revealing her vulnerability. She could only hope he wouldn’t notice. “Because it shows how much they care about you.”
He flushed at little. “Well, it might not mean that. This is a big Baronessa deal, and my dad is the CEO and Nick is the COO. So technically they have to be here.”
Holly glanced again at the group of Joe’s family. They were a city unto themselves, talking and laughing. And he had sisters. And maybe sisters-in-law. She’d always wanted a sister. And she envied him not only the support of his family but also his sisters.
“Why is it so hard to believe they’d want to be here for you?” she asked.
“It’s not. Except the last few years I haven’t been the easiest person to get along with.”
“You?” she asked, surprised.
“You don’t think so.”
“You’ve been… I’m afraid to say it in case you take it the wrong way.”
“You’ll have to take your chances,” he said, moving closer to her. Barely an inch of space separated them.
“I’m not a risk taker,” she admitted, taking a half step back.
“I am,” he said, and the words seemed to surprise him.
She didn’t want to be the only one revealing a weakness. Why didn’t she just make something up? She didn’t have to tell him that he reminded her of a fairy-tale prince. A white knight on a charger who’d ride to her rescue. She didn’t have to say the words out loud. Wouldn’t have to hear them and cringe. Wouldn’t have to acknowledge that he awakened dreams she’d buried deep and hoped to forget about for the rest of her life.
“If I tell you, you owe me an explanation about who I remind you of.”
“Stop stalling,” he said.
She glanced up at him and found him waiting patiently.
“You have been my white knight today,” she said softly.
Before he could speak, Gina came over. “Okay, you two, this is it. Joe, you’ll present the check. Holly, you’ll accept it. Then you’re free to go.”
Holly followed Gina to the front of the store, while Joe stood there. She knew he wanted to say something to her. Maybe it was for the best that he hadn’t. That way she could keep him hidden in her memory as a dream of what could have been.
Three
Holly placed the check from Baronessa carefully in her wallet. Joe’s family had been a little intimidating, almost more than the press, but now everything was over. She could return to being regular old Holly.
Tomorrow morning she’d be back in the bakery and Joe would be back to his life. She’d miss the feminine excitement that Joe had sparked, but apparently fate had given them only this one day.
She hadn’t even had a chance to try her winning flavor, which the Barones had decided to call Heavenly Berry. Holly was impressed with Baronessa’s savvy marketing and PR team. It was easy to see why they were the number one gelato company in the U.S.
She adjusted the strap on her purse and headed toward the door. Leaving without saying goodbye to Joe seemed weird to her, but, then, saying goodbye would be awkward.
She wondered if she could get to the bank before the drive-up teller closed. She glanced at her watch. Not unless traffic was light.
“Got a date?” Joe asked from behind her.
She turned and noticed the crowd had dispersed.
“No. Nothing that exciting. I was trying to decide if I could make it to the bank before it closed.”
His gaze met hers. She’d always thought brown eyes were kind of average, not very exciting, but something about Joe’s eyes made her react. Made her think of deep pools of rich warm chocolate. She licked her lips, sure he’d be just as yummy as the decadent dessert.
“What did you decide?” he asked.
“That the chances are slim.”
“Good.”
“Good?” she asked. Damn, he liked to tease her and she enjoyed it. Too much, she thought, because he made her want to be reckless.
He arched one eyebrow at her. “That’s what I said.”
“Why?” She smiled at him.
“I hoped you’d join me for dinner.”
She swallowed. “You move fast.”
“I wish we could move even faster.”
She didn’t know why, but that line of questioning seemed even more dangerous than his touch. A couple brushed by them to be seated. “We should get out of the way.”
Joe took her arm and led her outside. The late-summer evening was warm and the street traffic in the North End wasn’t too bad considering the hour. The sun lay low on the horizon.
His touch made her remember all the reasons she’d enjoyed his company. And all the reasons she’d been careful not to touch him all day. She didn’t want to have to feel alive in the way only he made her feel.
She took a tiny step away from him, to give herself some breathing room, but he just stepped closer. Damn, he smelled good.
“About dinner,” he said.
“What about it?” she asked, not trusting the excitement building inside her.
“Are you available?”
She had to choose whether she was going to take the chance of getting to know him better or return to her normal life without knowing what those lips of his felt like on hers. “Yes.”
“Great. We can go to the best Italian kitchen in Boston.”
“Antonio’s?”
“No. My place.”
“Your place? Do I look naive?”
“No, you look tempting.”
“Tempting? Not bad. But I’m still not going to your place on our first date.”
“Which number does it have to be?”
“I don’t know. Let me check my Dating in the New Millennium book.”
Pretending to withdraw a book from her purse, she studied the imaginary pages for a minute. “There’s no firm answer. It depends on the guy.”
Joe scooted even closer to her and she closed her eyes, afraid he’d see that she wasn’t the sophisticated, witty woman she’d been pretending to be.
“What are you looking for, Holly?”
“Tonight?”
He nodded.
“A nice dinner with a good-looking Italian.”
“I can get you the nice dinner. Would a surly Italian do?”
“I have yet to see surly but if he shows up, we’ll renegotiate.”
“Deal.”
“There’s a nice quiet little deli around the corner. Does that sound good?”
“Yes,” she said. They walked next to each other. His heat enveloped her and she wished she’d worn a blouse under her suit jacket so she could take it off and feel his touch on her skin.
“Do you have big plans for your money?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“What are you buying?”
She just shook her head. She didn’t want to talk about her father and his health problems.
“My sisters would spend it on clothes or shoes.”
“I’d love to spend it on shoes,” Holly said. In fact, she’d had her eye on a pair of strappy sandals since spring, but she didn’t really need them since she spent most of her time at the bakery or home.
“What is it with women and shoes?” he asked, but there was a teasing note in his voice.
His gaze skimmed down her legs, stopping at the Enzo pumps she’d bought on sale last summer. “Those look nice, by the way.”
“My legs or shoes?”
“Your legs,” he said.
“Thanks. I’d return the compliment but I haven’t seen yours yet.”
He laughed and it made her feel good deep inside. She wanted this day to never end. She thought maybe she’d been too hasty in telling him she couldn’t go to his place tonight, because suddenly she wanted to—very badly.
Marino’s reminded him of being a kid again. Until he walked in the front door he’d forgotten that it had been five years since he’d been in there. He’d suggested the Italian deli because it made sense and he was a logical guy most of the time.
But suddenly logic had flown out the door. He remembered why he’d avoided the place. He’d met Mary here. It had been the summer before he started college. They’d met near the end-cap with the homemade Italian cookies. Mary had been from New Jersey and missing home. Joe had brought her to his family, and the rest had been history.
The smell overwhelmed him—spicy oregano, pepperoni and garlic. They were the scents of his boyhood and brought with them dreams he’d done his best to forget. He paused in the doorway, doubts penetrating the desire that had been motivating him since he’d met Holly. What the hell was he doing?
Holly bumped into him. “Is it too crowded?” she asked.
Joe shook his head. Only in his mind was it crowded—with two women who looked the same. Actually, there was only a couple of teenage boys at one of the tables in the front and Robert behind the deli counter.
“Joseph, it’s been a long time since we’ve seen you. Mama, come out here and see who is in the shop,” Robert said in his heavily accented English.
Joe embraced the shorter older man with true fondness. Robert and Lena were a part of his past. For the first time he was cognizant that he’d quit living when Mary died. His mom had tried to tell him but he hadn’t wanted to believe her.
“Robert, how’s it going?”
“Today, it’s good, Joseph. For you too, eh?” Robert looked right at Holly and then winked at Joe.
“Today is good,” Joe said. Though he wasn’t sure. Days that passed with numbing quickness were what he usually wanted. Today had gone quickly but he’d started to feel again and it was painful. Frostbite wearing off was painful.
He turned to the source of his reawakening. “Robert Marino, this is Holly Fitzgerald. Holly, this is Robert, the proprietor of the finest Italian deli in Boston.”
“Nice to meet you, Miss Fitzgerald.”
“Likewise,” Holly said.
Lena came out of the back and let out a little shriek of joy, ran over to Joe and embraced him. Holly was watching him with a smile in her eyes, and he realized she knew he was uncomfortable and was amused because of it. He arched his eyebrows to let her know he’d get her back later.
After they ordered their sandwiches, they made their way to one of the tables in the front. Joe felt awkward. Sexual awareness he was comfortable with, but sitting at this small table in the crowded market felt too intimate to him.
He hated being irrational and exploring his emotions, so he forced his attention to the sandwich put in front of him. He’d eat dinner with Holly and then say good-night. It had been a day out of time, but he wasn’t interested in getting involved with a woman again for the long term. Sex was fine but Holly made him want more, so he wasn’t going to pursue her.
“This is a really nice place. It reminds me of the bakery where I work,” Holly said, shifting on her seat. Her legs rubbed against his under the table. An image of them swam in his brain, and he knew he was going down.
“You work in a bakery?” he asked. Right now he couldn’t remember anything except that she had incredibly long legs for a petite woman. And all those tempting freckles on her skin.
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Katherine Garbera
Тип: электронная книга
Жанр: Современные любовные романы
Язык: на английском языке
Издательство: HarperCollins
Дата публикации: 16.04.2024
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О книге: JUST ONE NIGHT…That was all Holly Fitzgerald would allow herself with the tall, dark and brooding CFO Joe Barone. Winning Baronessa Gelati′s contest paled next to what she felt when the aloof Joe watched her with sexual desire blatant in his shrewd eyes.While Holly had commitments, Joe had sophistication and wealth. He looked better in a business suit than any man had a right to. But his lover′s touch freed her, and for the first time made her want something more.Like Cinderella, she′d forget the real world, forget caution and for once, she′d simply enjoy the fantasy. But as the clock neared twelve, Holly knew one night with Joe wouldn′t be enough….