Million Dollar Christmas Proposal Page 11
“And your father is here without your mother because…?” Audrey prompted, knowing full well Enzu could shut her down at any moment.
“Giovannu ran out of money and reached the limit on his credit cards.”
“I didn’t know that was possible for a billionaire.”
“My father is no billionaire. He has no income but the one from our family’s bank.”
Definitely a touchy subject.
“He wasn’t interested in striking out on his own like you did?” she asked carefully.
Enzu gave a bitter laugh. “Not a chance. That would have required the willingness to work. His income from the bank’s profits is only a few million a year, which he is required per their prenuptial agreement to split evenly with my mother.”
“He’s used up this year’s dividends?” she guessed.
“And then some.”
“So he’s here to mooch?”
Enzu laughed, the sound harsh. “He would be severely offended to hear you say so.”
“But he is looking for a loan?”
Enzu’s blue gaze burned with emotions she doubted he realized were there and wouldn’t be happy if he did. “I do not extend credit to my father, but he knows he is welcome to stay here.”
“And maybe he wants to see you and his grandchildren,” she offered gently.
“He wants to avoid my mother after his spectacular breakup with his latest mistress.”
“Oh.”
“Sì.” Enzu let out a frustrated breath. “My parents took no responsibility for their children and take even less for their own lives now.”
“You support them?”
“Not directly. His shares at the bank provide Giovannu’s income.”
“But only because you keep the bank running in the black?”
“Sì.”
“You’re a good man, Enzu.”
He shook his head, but then he didn’t see himself the way she did. He was a driven businessman. No doubt about it. But Enzu was also an adult man who provided financially for his parents even though they never gave him a reason to do so.
He’d taken responsibility for his niece and nephew when other men in his position would have foisted them off on other family. He had an entire cache of cousins, aunts and uncles back in Sicily.
“Will your mother be showing up to cause your father difficulty?”
His weekend at the mansion was seeming less and less like a retreat and more like a war zone by the minute.
“It is a possibility,” Enzu admitted.
“Really?” Audrey asked, not sure she wanted to deal with both of the older Tomasis.
“If he does not come crawling home, tail between his legs, soon enough for her you can count on it.”
That didn’t sound like imminent threat, though. Audrey let her tense shoulders droop in relief. “Will he? Go home, I mean?”
“Oh, sì. Frances has income from her parents as well as her half of the bank dividends. She can provide a much more entertaining lifestyle than he will experience here.”
Man. Audrey had always known money was no panacea, but who said it was easy to be a billionaire with parents like that?
“Want to go for a swim?” she asked on sudden inspiration.
“My father is expecting us to share dinner.”
“Are you hungry?” They’d had chili dogs at the game.
“Not particularly.”
“You did buy me a swimsuit?”
Blue fire from his gaze licked over her body like she was already wearing it. “Sì. It is in your room.”
“The one I’m not sharing with you,” she teased.
“Your brother is very protective. It is clearly a family trait. I am impressed.”
“We watch out for each other, but I have to admit his efforts to play big brother can be a little embarrassing.”
“Oh? Have you experienced that very often?”
“Not ever before, actually.”
Enzu laughed, the sound free of the bitterness that had been hanging over him like a cloud. “Let’s go swimming, biddùzza. I find I am very keen to see you in swimwear.”
“It had better be a one-piece,” she warned.
His eyes taunted her. “And if it is not?”
“I’ll wear a T-shirt over it.”
“That T-shirt?” he asked, referring to the white one she wore under her bright pink sweater.
“Unless you had your personal shopper buy me another one?”
His lips tilted on one side in an enigmatic smile. “Fine.”
“What do you know that I don’t?”
“Nothing, I am sure.”
“Innocent does not look believable on you.”
There was that laugh again, and her heart warmed to hear it.
“Come, I will show you to your room and have Devon inform my father we will not be joining him for dinner.”
She should feel guilty at the snub to the older man, but Audrey would do almost anything to dispel the pall that had come over Vincenzo after only talking to his father for a couple of short minutes.
The swimsuit turned out to be a bikini.
It wasn’t scandalous. The bottoms covered Audrey’s butt cheeks, the triangles of the top covered her breasts, and for that she was grateful. However, the smooth expanse of her belly was naked—as was her entire back. She wasn’t comfortable with that much skin on display.
So she put the T-shirt on and then donned the bright white thick Turkish robe she’d found on the back of her en-suite bathroom’s door. Whoever had bought her clothes had even provided a pair of spa shoes in her size.
Audrey slipped them on before leaving her room, only realizing that she didn’t know which way to go for the pool when she was in the corridor.
Enzu pushed off from the wall opposite her door, where he’d been leaning and waiting. “I forgot to tell you the pool is on the basement level.”
He wore a robe like hers, except his was embroidered with his initials and he had not tied it, revealing his olive-skinned, muscle-layered physique.
Heat flushed up her body, sending urgent electric messages to her core. Audrey had thought her reaction to him was bad before, but right now she just wanted to jump him.
Shoving extremely inappropriate thoughts deep into her psyche, she said, “I probably would have figured that out, but I’m glad you didn’t make me go searching.”
If her voice was a little breathy she could hardly be blamed. Not in the face of provocation like an only partially dressed Vincenzo Tomasi.
“The thought of you stumbling in on my father at his dinner while you are dressed or rather undressed as you are is enough to send chills down my spine.”
“I’m perfectly covered.” Her robe was tied.
“How long would you manage to keep that Turkish cotton around your body in his presence, I wonder?”
“You don’t think he would try…?” No. Vincenzo could not have meant that. She for sure wasn’t going to say it.
“Seduce you?” His lips twisted with distaste. “I would guarantee it.”
Assuming Vincenzo knew his father best, she didn’t deny the possibility. “Trust me, my robe would stay firmly tied.”
“You think so? My father can be very charming.”
“I may be ridiculously susceptible to you, Enzu, but I’m not usually a pushover with men.”
“No, I don’t suppose you are.”
The fact she was a twenty-seven-year-old virgin did not need to be said out loud.
CHAPTER TEN
HER FIRST STEP into the basement paradise had Audrey gasping.
Located through a set of sliding glass doors opened with Vincenzo’s palm print, the indoor tropical jungle was beyond magical.
Lush foliage flourished under a wall-to-wall ceiling of full-spectrum light panels. The air was warm and humid, but comfortably so. A path of mosaic tiles the colors of sand and earth wound through the tropical plants.
“This is incredible, Enzu,” she breath
ed in awe.
“It is one of my favorite places to retreat.”
“I can even hear birds.”
“That is the sound system.”
The fragrance of exotic flowers teased at her senses. “Don’t tell me the flowers aren’t real?”
“Most of the plant life is genuine.”
It took her a moment to realize the area was untinged by the smell of bleach. “No chlorine in the pool?”
“Salt water and minerals.”
The sound of rushing water reached her ears. “Is that a waterfall?”
“Sì.”
“May I see?”
He smiled, openly pleased by her response to his small piece of paradise. “I will give you the full tour before we take advantage of the pool.”
“I would love that.”
The walk to the waterfall was short.
It cascaded over an outcropping of rocks, splashing into a pool that looked at first glance like a natural body of water. Closer inspection revealed the tiled walls and base done in colors to emulate the dark brown silt found in a lake. Muted lighting glowed along the bottom to make swimming safe.
Bamboo loungers covered with thick cushions the color of caramel sat to one side of the pool. One looked like it could be used as a double bed, it was so wide.
“Fantastic,” Audrey breathed.
Vincenzo took her hand. “There is more.”
He led her along the meandering path to a wild garden of hibiscus, orchids and lilies in vibrant colors. A dining set that complemented the loungers by the pool sat in the center.
Audrey could imagine both very romantic and relaxed family meals shared here. “It’s idyllic.”
“Sì.”
“Would it be possible to have lunch down here tomorrow with the children? I think they would enjoy it.” The baby’s highchair could easily be brought down.
“That is an excellent idea, biddùzza. Speak to Devon and he will see to it.” Vincenzo tugged on Audrey’s hand. “Come. We are not finished with our tour.”
What more could there be?
The more turned out to be a grotto, its manmade cave walls covered in moss, the ground around the small bubbling pool spongy with it as well. More flowers and abundant foliage grew to either side of the cave opening.
“It’s a hot tub?” she asked, tempted to skip the swimming altogether when she saw it.
“Yes, but we keep the temperature at ninety-eight degrees now that the children make use of the pool room.”
“Pool paradise, more like.”
“Even workaholics have to have their indulgences.”
She grinned, looking around at the amazing underground jungle. “This is some indulgence.”
“Are you ready for our swim?” Vincenzo asked.
After a last longing look at the hot tub grotto, Audrey nodded. “You bet.”
The path looped around to come out on the other side of the pool from where they’d begun.
Vincenzo pressed something on the bark of a tree trunk and a small panel popped open. One of the not natural plant life, then. A moment later the bright daylight turned to the gentle orange glow of sunset. The bird sounds grew quieter and were joined by soothing music.
He hung his robe on a hook she hadn’t noticed. The sight of the billionaire in European swim trunks was not for the faint of heart. The snug, dark fabric accented his incredible body and did nothing to hide an enviable endowment.
Audrey could not look away. “You’re beautiful,” she blurted out and wasn’t even embarrassed by the proclamation.
There was no shame in such an inescapable truth.
He laughed, the sound strained, his eyes darkened with desire. “Men are not beautiful, amore.”
“A masterpiece is beautiful, whatever the art form.”
“You would compare me to a work of art?”
“What else?”
“A flesh-and-blood man who will not make it to the pool if you do not stop looking at me like that.”
“We’re going swimming.” That was the plan, right?
“Sì.” He put his hand out. “Now, come here, biddùzza. You can hang your robe with mine.”
She walked toward him, not conscious of telling her legs to move, and stopped a foot away, but made no effort to remove the robe.
His hands dropped to the tied sash, olive skin dark against the white, even in the softened light. “May I?”
“Yes.” It came out a mere whisper, but he heard.
“You have nothing to fear, Audrey. It is just a swim.”
“Is it?” she wondered, not really asking him.
He tugged the belt loose so the robe parted to reveal her T-shirt and swimsuit-clad body. Delighted masculine laughter made her smile.
He pushed the robe off her shoulders. “You decided to wear it?”
“My T-shirt?”
“Sì, your cotton armor.”
She shrugged. “I don’t wear bikinis. I never did. Not even when I was a teenager.”
Humor continued to glow in his gaze, like he had a joke he wasn’t sharing, but he didn’t say anything more as he dealt with the robe. Her gaze skimmed his body—she could not help it—and snagged on the growing bulge in Vincenzo’s trunks.
Whatever amused him was also turning him on.
In an unexpected explosion of movement Vincenzo ran and dove into the pool, barely making a splash on entry.
His head broke the surface, dark hair slicked to his skull with water, rivulets of it running down his face, neck and broad shoulders. He grinned at her, his expression less guarded than she’d ever seen it. “Are you coming in, Audrey?”
“Not biddùzza?” she teased, moving closer to the side of the pool, one small step at a time.
“Always you are beautiful. No more so than you will be in the pool in your T-shirt, I think.”
She did not know what he found so eternally funny about her top. “Is it warm enough?”
“It is a very comfortable ninety-two degrees.”
Warm enough for the children to swim comfortably. “Too warm for laps?”
“The heating system is on a schedule. The temperature begins dropping at midnight and is cool enough for exercise at five-thirty in the morning. The heater goes to a higher temperature at eight and it’s comfortable enough for play by lunchtime.”
“That’s nice.”
His mouth curved in a knowing smile. “Sì, but it will be even nicer when you are in the water.”
She nodded, but made no move to slide out of her spa shoes and join him.
“Audrey?”
“Uh-huh?”
“Are you coming in?”
“I want to.”
“So…?”
“What am I doing here?” she asked him.
“Swimming?”
“I mean, why me…not one of the other candidates?”
“No more meaningful discussions, amore, not right now. We are going to play.”
She sighed. “Why do I think you don’t mean Marco Polo?”
“We could play that if you like,” he said, dark promise in his voice.
The image of Vincenzo reaching out to find Audrey after she called Polo burned into her brain. “Uh…maybe not.”
“As you wish.” But there was laughter lacing his tone.
And she liked that. Too much.
“Are there steps?” She looked around the pool and spied a handrail on the far side, near the waterfall, the top obscured by drooping vegetation.
Vincenzo moved toward the side where she stood and put his arms out in unmistakable invitation. “Jump, amore, I will catch you.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” But she was slipping out of her shoes, wasn’t she?
“You know you want to. You are not the cautious one.”
No, she really wasn’t. No matter how hard she tried to be “the responsible parent” for Toby’s sake.
She jumped.
Vincenzo caught her with a carefree laugh that lodge
d in her heart, bringing their bodies together in the water.
She laid her hands on his wet shoulders, reveling in the feeling of powerful muscle beneath her fingers. “It is warm.”
“I told you.”
“You did.”
“I will not lie to you, Audrey.” His expression and tone said this wasn’t part of the lighthearted play.
Or maybe it had not been play all along. Leaping into his arms had taken trust. Something Audrey did not easily extend to others. Not after her parents and Thad’s betrayals.
“I know, Enzu.”
“You trust too easily.”
She laughed. “That just proves you can’t read my mind. Believe me, I don’t.”
“Then I am honored.”
“And I am wet.”
“Sì.” He looked down her body, the air around them suddenly, inexplicably crackling with sensual electricity. “Very much so. You are extremely tempting, biddùzza.”
“No more tempting than you.” She didn’t have to be experienced to know she wanted to do things with this man that did not include paddling through the water.
“I am very glad to hear you say so.”
“Are you?”
“Sì. While my ardor is unmistakable and easy to see, I cannot be certain the tempting peaks of your nipples have drawn into tight buds from desire or the water.”
“My…?” She glanced down between them and realized suddenly why he found her wearing the white T-shirt so amusing.
Neither it nor the bikini top hid her tingling nipples, but the T-shirt itself didn’t hide anything else, either.
“White fabric goes transparent in the water,” he pointed out unnecessarily.
“I knew that.”
“But you forgot?”
“I wasn’t thinking.”
“I take it you never entered a wet T-shirt contest at university?”
“No! Barnard wasn’t co-ed.” And she never would have entered such a thing with her no more than average curves anyway.
“There is no competition now, just a very alluring woman in an extremely provocative swimming costume.”
“I didn’t mean to make it provocative.”
“I think that might be what makes it even more so. Your innocence, the hidden body no longer hidden, wet fabric that keeps me from feeling silken skin.” His words were a husky whisper against her ear and ended with his tongue flicking out to tease her.