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'When did he learn to do that?' Rio demanded.
"That's the first time he's managed it.'
Clasping the cot bars, big blue eyes very wide, looking as surprised as
a baby could be at finding himself fully vertical, Timothy gave them a
huge grin. But then he made the strategic error of letting go of the top
bar and he fell back onto his bottom with a howl of disappointment.
With a husky laugh of amusement, Rio lifted Timothy up into his arms.
'You were brilliant...Mum and I were really impressed!'
After that excitement, it took a while to persuade Timothy back into the
notion of going to sleep but eventually tiredness won the day.
'Mum and Dad will be home soon,' Holly told Rio at
the top of the stairs.
'No, they won't be. They're spending the night in a local
hotel-'
Holly blinked in confusion. 'I beg your pardon?'
'I made my first visit here yesterday afternoon while you were out
shopping with Timothy,' Rio confided rather tautly. 'Your parents
invited me in and gave me the third degree. They suggested I visit this
evening when they would be out, but they were worried that that wouldn't
give us long enough to talk over our differences-'
'I don't believe this...Mum and Dad didn't breathe a word to me!' Holly
gasped.
'It was spelt out to me that I was going to have a battle persuading you
to come back to me, so I came up with the
hotel idea-'
'Putting them out of their own home?' Holly exclaimed in dismay.
'They've never stayed in a hotel in their lives!'
'I know...they told me.' Rio smiled down at her with considerable
amusement. 'And your mother was thrilled at
the prospect.'
'You are so sneaky. You got them on your side-'
'We're quits. You've got my mother on yours.' Rio
traded wryly.
'Like heck I have-'
'Is this your bedroom? Oh, I love all the flowers and the frills,' Rio
teased, grasping her hand and tugging her inch by Inch over the
threshold and closing the door.
He meshed his fingers slowly into her bronze ringlets, beautiful dark
golden eyes bright with adoring intensity as he gazed down at her. He
brought his mouth down with immense tenderness on hers and she trembled.
Less patient, she pushed forward into the sleek, hard, familiar strength
of his muscular frame. It felt so good just to be held but
180
even more glorious to know that she was truly loved and to feel the
unmistakable shudder of response that went through him as she kissed him
back.
'You are so beautiful and I love you so much it hurts,' he husked
against her reddened lips, his breath fanning her cheekbone. 'And every
time I think that I might never have met you it terrifies the life out
of me, amore.'
'I love you too,' she moaned, shamelessly eager to express that love,
hands sliding beneath his sweater to glide over his hard ribcage, making
him jerk against her and haul her even closer.
And then the excitement took over and clothes were shed with breathless
energy between frantic bouts of kissing. There was a whole extra
dimension to their loving, for they had spent three utterly miserable
weeks apart, and being together again felt like a very special gift. In
the aftermath of the passion, they lay locked together, full of peace
and contentment.
Holly struggled to recall what they had been talking about earlier and
blushed at the ease with which she had forgotten that conversation.
'What was that you said about your mother being on my side?' she
whispered curiously.
'She came up to London because she was upset about the way she'd treated
you, and that's how I found out that you'd met Christabel,' Rio
explained lazily, propping himself up on one elbow to gaze down at her.
'So, when my parent discovered that you'd already walked out on me, all
I got was a very humiliating lecture about how she wasn't at all
surprised. How could you tell her that I said I might get fond of you?'
Helpless amusement filtered through Holly, for she was now remembering
that Alice Lombardi had said that the only explanation for her son's
behaviour was that he had fallen madly in love with her. 'Serves you right.'
Rio dealt her a rueful scrutiny. 'I never did apologise for letting you
go down to the Priory alone. It's just that my mother does rather
dramatise events, bella mia-'
'You told her nothing about me-'
'I told her everything in London. She had the smelling salts out, but
you now stand high in her estimation as the female who rescued me from a
scarlet woman and saved the family name from scandal,' he told her with
a wicked grin. 'When she heard you'd been taking Italian lessons she was
even more convinced I didn't deserve you-'
'How did you find out about them?' Holly gasped and then she groaned.
'Oh, no, I forgot to cancel them!'
'Relax. Your teacher phoned and I used the same excuse with her that I
used for our nanny's benefit. Family emergency. I couldn't tell anyone
that you might not be returning because I couldn't face that
possibility,' Rio confided.
'If you'd told me the truth about your broken engagement it would never
have happened...'
His darkly handsome features tensed. 'I didn't want you thinking less of
me,' he muttered tautly.
'Think less of you? How?'
Dark colour now scored his superb cheekbones. 'I just thought you'd
think less of me if you knew the truth. My fiancée turning to another
woman... It may sound stupid to you, but I was afraid it might take the
stars out of your eyes when you looked at me,' he finally completed in a
distinct tone of embarrassment.
'And you liked the stars?'
Rio nodded in serious and steady confirmation.
'I still have the stars.' Holly linked her arms round him and loved him
more than she had ever loved him for admitting that to her. So there he
was, totally gorgeous and sexy and everything she had ever dreamt of,
and yet he could suffer from insecurity too.
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'I'm crazy about you, tesoro mio. You be sure to tell me if you ever
find those stars blinking out.'
'You'll have to spoil me rotten...'
'No problem. Spoiling you usually means spoiling me too.' Rio gav
e her
his husky, sexy laugh and eased her back into more intimate connection
with him again.
Holly was entirely hooked on the message of loving intent in his
possessive gaze. Just as well he didn't know how many stars there
were...enough to last two lifetimes, she thought happily. And then he
kissed her and the stars turned into fireworks again and she thought no
more.
Eighteen months later, Holly glanced into the nursery at the town house
to see Alice Lombardi literally swamped with young children. Seated
between the twins' cots with Timothy on her knee, her mother-in-law was
reading a story out loud.
Timothy was almost two and a half years old and, only the day before,
Holly and Rio's dearest wish had come true. Jeff had not contested their
application and the court had granted the adoption order. Alice had
flown over from Florence simply to attend the hearing. Rio was now
officially Timothy's adoptive father and Timothy had the same right to
the Lombardi name as his baby sisters, Amalia and Battista. They had all
celebrated with a special dinner the night before.
