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“You’ve made me so happy, cara mia,” he whispered, kissing her forehead, her cheeks. The sweet intoxication of her lips. He started to lift her in his arms, intending to seal the deal immediately in his bedroom.
Then his baby son gave a low whimper.
“Jack,” Hallie said immediately, and the sensual spell was broken. Looking at each other, they both gave a rueful laugh. Moving back, he let her get off the sofa.
After hurrying across the room, she scooped Jack up from his play gym. The baby immediately brightened in his mother’s arms. “But I’m being greedy.” Walking with him back to where Cristiano stood, she gave him a shy smile. “Do you want to hold him?”
He shook his head. To be honest, the baby seemed happier with his mother. And he couldn’t blame Jack for preferring her. What experience did Cristiano have with children? He couldn’t bear the thought of his son crying. What if he held him wrong again and Hallie scorned him for being a clumsy fool?
“Are you sure?” Hallie said, looking disappointed. But she didn’t wait for an answer. She just smiled down at her son, crooning, “How are you, sweet boy?”
Cristiano’s heart expanded as he looked at them, his tiny baby son with the chubby cheeks, held by his incredibly loving, sexy bride-to-be. Reaching out, he put his hand on his son’s soft, downy hair. His eyes locked with Hallie’s and he felt a current of emotion.
It was too much. Feeling his heart in his throat, he abruptly turned away. “We’ve been stuck in this penthouse long enough. I want to buy you an engagement ring.”
“It’s not necessary.”
“But it is.” He’d buy her the most obscenely huge diamond that the world had ever seen. “And our wedding must be arranged quickly, before I leave for Italy.”
“You’re going to Italy?”
“Tomorrow night.”
“So soon!”
He turned to her with a frown. “I will visit my hotel in Rome. Also I’m building a new hotel on the Amalfi Coast and want to supervise the final preparations before the grand opening next month.”
“How long will you be gone?”
“It doesn’t matter, because you’re both coming with me.”
Hallie’s eyes became round as saucers. “You want to take me and Jack to Italy?”
“Is that a problem?”
“I don’t have a passport.”
“Something we’ll fix today, after we go to the jewelry store—and get our wedding license.”
“You want us to be married in Italy?”
“That would take too long. The laws there are complicated.”
Her lips parted. “You want us to be married before we leave?”
“Yes,” he said roughly.
“A wedding? In two days?”
“Tomorrow,” he said.
Hallie looked shocked. Coming forward, he took her in his arms and kissed her. “Everything will be perfect,” he whispered, cupping her cheek. “I swear to you.”
“All right.” Looking dazed, she gave him a crooked smile. “I’ll take your word for it. After all, you were right about the room service.”
He returned her grin. “I’ll go get dressed.” His body protested at the thought of putting on clothes instead of taking Hallie’s clothes off. Still, he could wait the few hours until they were alone, until they weren’t being watched so keenly by their three-month-old chaperone. Glancing down at his pajama pants, he turned toward his bedroom, intending to find a shirt and trousers. “We’ll leave in five minutes.”
Behind him, Hallie gave a laugh that came straight from her belly, deeper and more heartfelt than he’d ever heard from her before. “Oh, we will, will we?”
