‘You’re desperate?’
‘Do you doubt it? Soon I will be ready to give Max the keys to my Ferrari in exchange for an hour alone with you. It’s Christmas in three days’ time and neither of us is working.’ His eyes dropped to her mouth. ‘I’m taking you to Italy. We’ll spend the holiday at the chalet. I want to take you to meet my family.’
He wanted her to meet his family?
Joy, hope and excitement mingled together in a dizzying cocktail that made her head spin.
Would he take her to meet his family if their relationship meant nothing more to him than sex? Suddenly
her mind was full of questions, but she had no opportunity to ask any of them because Stefano cast an impatient glance at his watch.
‘I have a meeting with the chief executive in ten minutes and I need to talk to Greg.’ He looked back at her. ‘Go shopping. Use the card I gave you and buy plenty of warm clothes. Max is going to have snow for Christmas.’
CHAPTER TEN
‘YOU’RE going to Italy to stay with his family?’ Anna handed a set of notes to a nurse who was passing. ‘Well that sounds like happily ever after if ever I heard it.’
‘Not really.’ Liv was trying to keep a lid on her excitement. ‘I mean, he can hardly leave us alone in his flashy apartment, can he? We’d set off all the alarms.’
‘And you think that’s the reason he’s taking you home to meet his dad and sister at Christmas? I don’t think so. Don’t you remember that interview with the actress? She said that he’d never taken a woman to meet his family.’
‘Stop it, Anna.’ Liv covered her ears with her hands. ‘Stop making me hope.’
‘What’s wrong with hope? Hope is what stops us all from jumping on the tracks. Trust me.’ Anna lowered her voice. ‘When a rich, good-looking guy takes you to meet his family, you’re home and dry. I smell diamonds for Christmas. Except he’s already given you diamonds. More diamonds, then. Have I told you lately how much I hate you?’
Liv was laughing. ‘Enough!’ She walked away from her friend, but her imagination was already working overtime, as it had been since he’d issued the invitation.
Actually it had been more of a command than an invitation, she thought wryly, which was typical of Stefano. But command or invitation, it held meaning.
It wasn’t even as if he was taking her to some anonymous hotel somewhere. He was taking her to meet his family and obviously that wasn’t something he did with every woman he met.
They hadn’t actually spoken about their feelings, that was true, but wasn’t it true that actions spoke louder than words? Surely the fact that he was taking her home to meet his family must mean something?
Excitement bubbled up inside her and she tried desperately to squash it down.
* * *
‘How does it stay in the sky? Where are all the other passengers?’ Max bounced in his seat, so excited that he was finding it impossible to sit still. ‘Are we in Italy yet?’
Stefano watched him with amusement. ‘There are no other passengers because this plane is owned by my family, we’re not in Italy yet and we stay in the sky because—’ He broke off and exhaled slowly. ‘I don’t know what level of explanation is suitable for a seven-year-old.’
‘Just tell me,’ Max said earnestly. ‘If it’s too complicated, I’ll say so.’
Listening to Stefano talk about thrust and lift, Liv smiled to herself. It was utter bliss to allow someone else the privilege of delivering simple answers to complicated questions.
Max was transfixed. ‘And what happens if—?’
‘That’s enough, Max.’ Liv intervened finally. ‘You’ve been firing questions at Stefano since we took off from the airport. Aren’t you tired? Wouldn’t you like a nap?’
‘Babies nap. I’m seven, Mum.’ Max gave her a pitying look and then slipped his hand into Stefano’s. ‘What are we going to do when we land? Are we going to the mountains straight away? Will there be enough snow to build a snowman? Can I go sledging?’
‘You can do all those things.’ Stefano glanced at his watch. ‘Providing that we are not delayed.’ He stretched his legs out in front of him and Liv quickly looked away, wishing that every movement he made didn’t remind her of the night of the ball.
She really needed to get herself under control before she met his family, otherwise she was going to embarrass both of them.
* * *
As Stefano drove the last few kilometres towards the chalet, Max was bouncing in his seat.