AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘Madonna mia...’Gianni groaned half under his breath. ‘How could he embarrass himself like that?’
Jo looked past him and saw her father-in-law down on one knee extending a ring box while Sybil stood there frozen between pleasure and terror. ‘He’s asking Auntie Sybil to marry him and I think it’s very romantic. He even brought a photographer to record the moment,’ she explained calmly.
‘Youknewabout this?’ Gianni demanded.
‘He needed my help to choose the ring.’
‘And you didn’t let me in on the secret?’
‘No. He trusted me to keep it quiet.’
She watched Sybil slide the ring onto her finger as a champagne toast was offered to the happy couple.
‘At least she didn’t say no.’ Gianni sighed in relief. ‘Because with Sybil you never quite know. You share that trait for the unexpected.’
‘I think we need to take Gabriele home and tuck him into bed,’ Jo told her husband gently, not wishing to sound critical. ‘And greet our guests at Belvedere while we’re there.’
Gianni stooped to pick up Gabriele, who was already half asleep. ‘I thought he would have more staying power.’
‘He’s still a baby.’
‘If we’re going home, while we’re upstairs,’ Gianni began thickly, ‘we—’
‘No, you’ll have to wait until after the fireworks,’ Jo told him with some satisfaction.
As they drove back to the house, the original gate having developed into a proper roadway to the rear of Ladymead, connecting the two houses, Jo thought blissfully of how happy she was with just her family. She still helped out Sybil, Trixie and her grandmother and took a continued interest in the community but she had bags of time to spend with Gianni. They often went horse riding on the estate. He had bought her a splendid Arab mare for their anniversary. They travelled together and often took weekends away at his other properties.
‘You promised me for ever and ever,’ Gianni reminded her as she tucked Gabriele into bed.
Jo laughed. ‘You couldn’t get rid of me even if you tried!’
His stunning dark golden eyes glittered over her lovely face with intense appreciation. ‘I’m crazy about you too,cara.’
As he caught her to him and kissed her breathless before she could even protest, her body went liquid in his embrace, the sexual heat that only he could awaken sending an arrow of hunger through her. ‘Stop it...we have to go down,’ she scolded him.
‘If I have to wait until after the fireworks, I’ll be expecting quite an experience,’ he warned her with a slow-burning smile of sensual intent.
Jo tilted her head to one side and skimmed a playful forefinger across one high cheekbone. ‘Well, I don’t like to boast—’
He grabbed her at the top of the stairs and held her tight, which was quite an achievement with the voluminous skirts of her costume. ‘I love you so much, Jojo...’
‘And you show me that love every day, which is why I’m insanely, deeply in love with you too,’ she declared with a luminous smile before they went downstairs hand in hand to greet their guests.
