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Rocco frowned. ‘Where was your grandmother in this picture?’
‘Sidelined. For whatever reason, my mother refused all help. They fell out over my upbringing and never really healed their relationship. She seemed determined to lay all the blame on the timing of my arrival rather than...’ She stopped, fresh anguish flaying her.
‘Was that why you didn’t want children?’
She tensed. ‘It was why I wanted to wait to have children. I never didn’t want children, Rocco. It was simply a matter of timing.’
Silence pulsed in the room, then he cursed under his breath. ‘None of that matters any longer, sì?’ he said gruffly.
Something weighty shifted inside her. ‘No. The moment he was born, Gianni became my everything,’ she whispered.
They both stopped, absorbed the wonder of their child. From the first, she’d vowed to be a better parent. The way her mother had never been. The way she’d always yearned for.
‘He makes me want to do things differently,’ Rocco said gruffly, echoing her thought so succinctly her heart flipped over again.
Dear God, what was happening to her?
A lump rose in her throat and to combat the emotion, she simply nodded.
Then the plane lurched.
Rocco rolled them over and braced himself on his elbows. He stared down at her, but something told Mia the little heart-to-heart was gone. Certainly, the look in his eyes was no longer bitter, bewildered, or holding that hint of vulnerability she’d spotted as he’d spoken about his parents.
He was back in alpha-male mode, in control of everything around him. Of her. ‘By my reckoning we land in about half an hour. This give us just enough time.’
‘Enough time for what?’
He smiled, a wickedly male smile that reignited the fire in her belly. ‘Let me show you.’
And he did, wringing cries from her throat as the plane started its descent. After another bout of lovemaking, they only had time for a quick shower before the plane landed.
Mia slipped into business mode as if she’d never left her role at Vitelli Constr
uction.
The visit to the building site went off without a hitch, her initial assessments confirmed once she’d walked the ground for herself. The proposal to commence work in four months’ time was signed off. Then she and Rocco headed back to their hotel.
The next three days flew by in a flurry of meetings, dinners with Macau city officials and clients. And to top each night off, mind-melting sex with Rocco. Private video-conferencing sessions with Gianni arranged by Rocco made the searing ache of missing him a little easier to bear.
They were preparing to go out to dinner with another set of clients the night before they were due to leave when Rocco excused himself to take a phone call.
Mia nodded distractedly, her gaze on her reflection in the mirror. Specifically, her dress.
The selection of outfits that had arrived from the exclusive boutique attached to the hotel, courtesy of Rocco’s insistence, had been hard to choose from, each garment a little more perfect than the last.
She’d eventually settled on a sleeveless dark lilac silk sheath. But what struck her more wasn’t the flawless design of the dress, but the renewed glow to her skin, the fuller curve of her hips and the vitality in her cheeks and eyes.
Observing the changes had quietly shocked her. Had it only been two weeks since Rocco charged back into her life? She’d changed inside and out, a realisation that triggered mild panic.
As she had been terrified of that first day, everything was moving too fast. But then hadn’t it always with Rocco? Life with him was like a roller-coaster ride that could either stop at any minute or spin faster until you grew too dizzy to recognise your surroundings.
Was that what she wanted in the long term? She’d already abandoned her one stipulation not to share his bed. And how long would that even last?
Unable to face the questions darting through her brain, she turned away, slid her feet into designer heels that came with the dress and caught up her clutch. Leaving the bedroom of the presidential suite where they were staying, she spotted Rocco pacing the balcony. His phone was glued to his ear—a not unnatural occurrence since their arrival, but even from the distance, she sensed his tension. The sound of her clicking heels on the immaculate hardwood floor caused him to whirl around.
Laser eyes latched onto her, tracking her. When she reached the French doors, he ended the call and strode towards her.
‘Is everything okay?’ she asked.
