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CHAPTER ONE
PEPE MASTRANGELO HELPED hi maid and downed it in one His aunt Carlotta, who had taken it upon herself to shadow hi on in his ear about so her favourite inanities about when he, Pepe, was going to follow in his older brother’s footsteps and settle down Naet married and have babies?
Aunt Carlotta was not the only guilty party in thiswith the Loht his private life was a matter of public consu they rin, a wink and a quip about how there were so many beautiful women in the world he couldn’t possibly choose just one Or words to that effect Anything but admit he would rather swim in a pool of electric eels than marry
Marriage was for martyrs and fools, and he was neither
He’d al and foolish His childhood sweetheart The woman who’d ripped his heart out, torn it into shreds and left an empty shell
Now he considered that he’d had a lucky escape Once bitten, twice shy Only co of pain if it could be avoided
Not that he ever shared that little titbit of information with people Heaven forbid They’d probably try to talk hi ridiculous like therapy
Today though, his usually quick repartee had deserted hi these questions with a pair of al his every move To make it even harder to concentrate, those sa
Cara Delaney
He and Cara had been appointed his niece’s godparents He’d been forced to sit next to her in the church He’d been forced to stand by her side at the font
He’d forgotten how pretty she ith her large eyes, tiny nose and seisha Although ginger was the wrong word to describe the red fla a red crushed-velvet dress that showcased her curvy figure yet barely displayed an inch of flesh, she looked more than pretty She looked incredibly sexy Under nor the day in her co if a repeat performance could be on the cards
Being in the presence of his ex-lovers was not usually a problem, especially as his ‘emotionally needy’ detector was so acute As a rule, he could spot a ‘looking for e and babies’ wo up with an ex-lover was usually no big deal
This time was different Under normal circumstances he hadn’t last seen the the in the very bed they’d just made love in And usually he hadn’t stolen their phone
As soon as the date for the christening had been set a ain It was inconceivable that she wouldn’t be there She was his sister-in-law’s best friend
He’d expected the loathing that would be pointed his way He really couldn’t blame her for that What he hadn’t expected was to feel so The word that would explain the strange sickness churning in his stomach wouldn’t come Whatever the word, he did not like it at all
A quick glance at his watch confirlare for another hour before he could leave for the airport To a tour of a profitable vineyard in the Loire Valley that he’d heard through the grapevine—pun intended—was being considered for sale He wanted to get in there and, if viable,around
‘I said, she’s beautiful, isn’t she?’ Aunt Carlotta’s voice had taken a distinctly frosty tone Soed to acquire Lily without hi She held the baby aloft for his perusal
He peered down at the chubby face with the black eyes staring up at him, and all he could think was how like a little dark-haired piglet she looked ‘Yes, beautiful,’ he lied, forcing a wide smile
Seriously, how could anyone think babies were beautiful? Cute at a push maybe, but beautiful? Why anyone raved about the of creatures He quite liked toddlers though Especially when they were getting up to mischief