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‘I’ll get it organised,’ Ari told her cheerfully and rang off.
‘Ari wants us to get married on the island,’ Leah told Gio with a frown, unsure how well that interference would be received.
‘I would’ve preferred to make our own arrangements but that’s acceptable,’ Gio assured her. ‘I can understand that your brother wants to host his sister’s wedding.’
The noise of the outboard motor checked any further conversation. Leah’s head was in a whirl. As the breeze blew her hair into a whipping spiral of curls, she put her hand up to restrain it and Gio shot her an amused smile as if to say that she was wasting her time. He was drop-dead gorgeous when he smiled and her heart speeded up. Excitement shimmied through her as he handed her up onto the yacht and ushered her into a lift. ‘This is a very big and fancy boat,’ Leah remarked and then, with a look of sudden comprehension, she exclaimed, ‘Virgowas the name of the app you designed that made you famous!’
‘And very rich,’ Gio conceded. ‘I had money to burn, hence the yacht. I often live onboard and work though so it hasn’t proven to be the youthful extravagance I once feared.’
They emerged into a corridor and moments later Gio swept her through double doors into a massive contemporary bedroom. He bent down to peer beneath the wide divan bed. ‘He’s still under there,’ he groaned in disbelief.
‘Spike?’Leah murmured uncertainly.
The little dog shot out of hiding like a rocket and crashed into her legs. Laughing, Leah sank down on the side of the bed to receive his enthusiastic welcome. When she lifted him he gambolled round the bed in mad excitement, finally throwing himself down by her side to loll with his tongue hanging out.
‘You’re a daft animal,’ she told him fondly, stroking his back and smothering a yawn that had crept up on her out of nowhere. ‘Sorry, I’m so sleepy these days.’
‘I was planning to offer you a tour of the yacht but that can wait. Would you like anything to eat?’
Her brows pleated as she realised that she was really hungry. ‘Just a snack... I slept through lunch earlier. I don’t sleep well at night and it catches up with me during the day.’
‘I’ll order something.’
‘Thank you for reuniting me with Spike,’ Leah murmured appreciatively. ‘I can’t believe, though, that Sally didn’t tell me that his new home had fallen through—’
Gio laughed. ‘He was chased out by the cat. He’ll never live that down. I asked your foster mum not to mention that I had him until after I had arrived.’
‘Neat,’ Leah mumbled drowsily, studying him with heavy wondering eyes, committing his bronzed and beautiful lean features to memory. ‘You played a blinder with Spike.’
‘I play to win,’ Gio murmured softly. ‘But I’m not playing right now.’
Of course, he wasn’t playing, Leah reflected ruefully. Gio was driven by a stubborn ruthless temperament that was very much goal-orientated. Right now, she and the twins she carried were his goal. But once they were actually married, would he retain the same enthusiasm?
A stewardess brought her a light meal and she ate it where she sat. Spike was removed to his ‘exercise area’ and then returned to her. Leah intended to go off and look for Gio, but a full tummy and growing exhaustion were overwhelming her. She lay back on the gloriously comfortable bed and stretched her toes, kicking off her sandals. She would close her eyes for just five minutes, she promised herself, and then knew no more.
Gio returned to keep Leah company and found her fast asleep, Spike dozing at her hip. Shadows lay like bruises below her eyes in the sunlight and he frowned, quietly slid her sandals off the bed and flung a throw over her. Beside her, her phone emanated an angry buzz and he scooped it up before it could disturb her, striding out to the corridor to answer it, grimacing when Ari Stefanos spoke.
‘Leah’s asleep. I’m not waking her up. Yes, I do understand that you’re entertaining this evening,’ he confirmed. ‘Thank you for the invitation. Send her outfit out to the yacht and she can get ready here. I’ll make sure we’re in time for dinner.’
Gio rolled his eyes as Leah’s brother grudgingly agreed to his suggestion. He would have to make more of an effort to overcome the hostility between him and Leah’s sibling, he conceded ruefully. Whether he liked it or not, Ari was family, Leah’s family. Unfortunately accepting and trusting such a connection was a challenge for Gio, who had never had a proper family and who, after his own childhood experience, was especially wary of relatives. Furthermore, Ari had already offended him, pulling the Castello Zanetti like a white rabbit out of a hat in an effort to persuade him into marrying Leah. For Leah’s sake, however, he would have to get over his ire and forgive and forget...not something Gio was good at doing.
When Gio wakened Leah it was dark and she was disorientated, unable to credit that she could have slept so long in an unfamiliar place. ‘Gosh, I was great company, wasn’t I?’ she groaned and then, seeing the time on her watch, she slid off the bed in dismay. ‘For goodness’ sake, I’m going to be late for dinner!’
‘Your maid is here with your clothes to help you get ready,’ Gio told her soothingly. ‘You have plenty of time and I’m joining you for dinner.’
Belatedly, Leah noticed that he was wearing a dinner jacket and narrow black trousers, tall, dark and impossibly sophisticated, the tanned planes of his stunning face smooth and freshly shaven. By the time she was showered, had done her make-up and had donned the full-length aqua-coloured gown, which did a masterly job of concealing her pregnancy, she felt much better. Gio swiped the pale fringed pashmina lying on the bed and draped it round her narrow shoulders to keep her warm and she stared down at the ruby ring on her finger. Her future had form and focus now. She was going to make a success of their marriage, she promised herself fiercely. He had made a major effort to turn their relationship around and so would she.
A formal dinner was served in the big dining room. Fulsome congratulations were offered and although Leah could see the hints of dissonance between her brother and her future husband, she could also see that both of them were striving to overcome what appeared to be a mutual wariness. Two alpha males, she thought wryly as they stayed up for an after-dinner drink in Ari’s study when his other guests had retired to bed for the night, alpha males knocking heads over nothing in particular.
‘My legal reps are drawing up a prenuptial agreement,’ Ari announced, startling her.
Leah frowned and winced. ‘That’s not necessary—’
‘It is. You are a considerable heiress now that I have...shall we say made the disposition of my father’s estate a little more fair to you and your sister?’ Ari declared. ‘Legal safeguards should be in place.’
‘That’s only sensible,’ Gio chipped in, disconcerting her with his easy acceptance of such an agreement. ‘I will alert my team to prepare for a meeting.’
As Gio took his leave, Leah accompanied him out onto the veranda that extended the length of the beach house. ‘We don’t need a prenup,’ she told him awkwardly, afraid that Ari might have offended him with that request. ‘I don’t know what Ari was talking about when he mentioned our father’s estate, but I’ll find out.’
