Tempted by Her Boss (2 page)

“You’re not cold to me,” Stasia said in her too chipper voice.

“That’s because you’re my sister. You get a free pass,” he answered, his voice droll, making her laugh. Just the reaction he was looking for.

A change of subject. The last thing he wanted to talk about with Stasia was Paige.

“I’m going to call Gavin. Shall we meet in an hour or so?”
 

When he nodded, she rattled off the name of a favorite restaurant where they could go.

“That sounds perfect.” He grabbed hold of his sister’s arm and pulled her in close, offering her another hug. “I’m very happy for you and your husband, Anastasia. I know you both want a baby so very badly.”

A little sniff escaped her as she tightened her arms around him and he felt like an ass. He hadn’t meant to make her cry. “Thank you, Matteo. It means the world to me, your approval.”

“And have you told Mama yet?” he asked once they withdrew from each other.

Stasia laughed, her eyes still watery. “She screamed so loud in my ear I think I might be permanently deaf.”

Matteo chuckled in amusement. After everything she’d endured the last few years, finding out the father she’d always known wasn’t her birth father at all and the fight for her legacies afterward, she’d persevered, determination leading her the entire way. “She’ll want to come out here and be with you when the baby arrives.”

“She’s already looking into flight arrangements. It will be good, though, having her with me. I’ll want her there. I haven’t a clue what to do with a baby.” Stasia shook her head, her expression full of worry.

“You’ll figure it out,” Matteo said quietly. “You’ll be a wonderful mother. You’ve always been a nurturing soul. And you’re strong. We all know that.”

The smile his baby sister shot in his direction had been worth those few carefully chosen words. “Thank you, Matt. I’m going to call Gavin and then we should probably go soon. I’m sure traffic is a nightmare out there.”

Matteo watched her walk away, her phone glued to her ear, her voice going soft when her husband answered. He remained in the foyer of his apartment alone, hands shoved deep in his jeans’ pockets, lost in thought.

And of course, his thoughts were filled with Paige.

They always were. He’d become consumed with her, especially after the night they shared. Which in all reality hadn’t amounted to much. Somehow, some way, his little redheaded nanny had left a mark so deep in him, it was as if she’d scratched his very soul.

He wanted her to gouge it deeper. Wanted her to curl herself up within him and become a part of him. Ridiculous. Foolishness.

Yet here he stood, thinking of her. Could imagine Paige quietly creeping into Matty’s room, sitting on the edge of his bed, reaching out with those tiny, soft hands of hers and touching his son on his shoulder, gently waking him up.

The smile Matty would offer her when he first cracked open his eyes, so full of joy as he beamed like the brightest sun. Indeed, his son was just as enamored of Paige as he was. She’d twisted both men in the Renaldi household around her slender finger and she hadn’t a clue how she simply wrecked them both with a glance. A smile. A touch.

Neither of them wanted to make her escape either.

Loud stomping alerted him that his son was awake and Matteo glanced up, watching as Matty strode toward him, a scowl on his face, his thick, dark hair mussed. A crease wrinkled his cheek from sleeping so hard and Paige followed behind him, her expression completely neutral though he saw the irritation in her pretty blue-green gaze.

So much for his son’s usual good mood—he looked the grumpiest Matteo had ever seen him.

Yet Paige tolerated his son’s sometimes volatile behavior with the patience of a saint, but every once in a while, he saw a hint of determination and fire creep through that cool, calm exterior she kept in place.

Like now.

“Someone wake up on the wrong side of the bed?” Matteo tried his best to keep the amusement out of his voice, but he earned an irritated glare from his son anyway.

“I don’t wanna go to dinner,” Matty protested, flinging his arms around Matteo’s legs in an aggressive hug that nearly toppled Matteo over. “I wanna stay home with Paige.”

“Ah, Matty, it will mean so much to your
zia
if you’re there tonight. You know she would want you to go.” He smoothed a hand over his son’s head.

Matty buried his face in Matteo’s kneecaps. “Don’t make me go, Daddy. I want to stay home.”

Paige shot Matteo a helpless look, one that made him feel like a momentary hero. She wanted his help, which he would gladly offer. He always tried his best to be there for his child, to have a hands-on approach and be present in his son’s life. Especially after Lucia’s death, when he realized he was all Matty had in his life.

More than anything, Matteo refused to be like Lucia. Shut off from the world, so wrapped up in her own warped sense of reality, she couldn’t see her own damn child in front of her face, constantly begging for her attention.

Matty had adored his mother. The more she’d ignored him, the more he’d loved her.

Straightening his son’s tousled hair with his fingers, Matteo looked down at him. “Son, you’ll want to be present at this dinner tonight. It’s a special evening. Your
Zia
Stasia is going to have a baby and she wants everyone in our family with her while we celebrate.”

Matty lifted his head, his wide, dark eyes meeting Matteo’s. “She’s having a baby?”

“I am.” Stasia appeared out of nowhere, a giant smile on her face as she swooped in, captured Matty in her arms and started twirling him around. “You’re going to be a cousin, my friend.”

Matty squealed with laughter. “I hope it’s a boy!”

“You’ll take what you can get,” Stasia teased.

“Should you be doing such a thing? Swinging Matty all around?” Matteo asked, full of concern. After all, this was his pregnant sister and his son. It would probably be best if she took it easy and rested. Matty may be young, but he was solid. And getting heavier by the day, what with the way the child grew. “And did you get a hold of your husband? Is he going to meet us at the restaurant?”

“Yes. My goodness, you’re like a doddering old man. Stop worrying. You sound just like Gavin. Come on, let’s get your shoes on,” Stasia told Matty as she dropped him to his feet and took his hand.

“Oh, I can do that—”

“I’ve got it,” Stasia interrupted Paige. “You want to change before we leave? Here’s your chance.”

Paige glanced down at herself, then lifted her head, her gaze meeting Matteo’s once more. He’d been looking at her like a starved dog and only until she caught his gaze did he realize that he was. “Do I look bad?” she asked, and he could tell she thought he hadn’t liked what he saw. But he had.

You can never look bad,
bella
. Your beauty is far more breathtaking than anything or anyone I’ve ever seen.

“You look…”
Amazing. Gorgeous. Perfect.
“Casual.” He winced the moment the words slipped from his lips. Never had he had such a problem talking with women. Flirting. Flattering them, charming them into his bed—or whatever bed he could find at a discreet hotel so that he wouldn’t have to bring her to his home.

He spent time with Paige and he said something ridiculous, or worse, insulted her. Because he couldn’t go around flattering his son’s nanny, could he? It was unheard of. And awkward, especially in front of his son and his sister.

Paige flushed in obvious embarrassment, a slight frown on her forehead. “I’ll go change, then.”

Yet again feeling like shit, he watched her walk away, his gaze zeroed in on her pert backside, his mind filled with all sorts of perverted thoughts. He was wasting his time, lusting for Paige. She wasn’t interested. Hell, he was too damn old for her. Boring. Consumed with work, a father to a young child, taking care of a family business that needed him at its helm. While she was young and vibrant and so achingly beautiful she made his chest hurt every time he looked at her.

Paige Stewart made his entire body hurt with wanting.

Her.

Frustration ripping through him, he strode down the hall, walked into his bedroom and slammed the door behind him. If he couldn’t have her, then at least he could jack off to visions of her in his head later.

Again.

Chapter Two

The restaurant was small, elegant, crowded. Expensive. The menu was simple, not a price to be seen, and Paige knew if she had to ask she couldn’t afford anything listed. So she did her best to order what she could only assume was the most reasonable dish.

Earning a scowl sent in her direction by Matteo with her choice too. As if he knew what she were about but was too polite to call her out on it in front of his sister and her husband.

Matty was quiet and well-mannered, scribbling pictures with crayons all over the paper the waiter brought to their table to keep him occupied. Stasia positively glowed and her enthusiasm couldn’t be contained. She exuded such joy and warmth Paige found it downright contagious. Soon she was laughing, sipping a glass of wine, enjoying the stories Stasia told of her family’s growing up years, when she was constantly bossed around by three older and very demanding brothers.

And she had three more—the Worth brothers were also her half-brothers. Poor Stasia was surrounded by men in her family life, not that she seemed to mind.

No, she was quite in her element, if truth be told. And Paige envied her that.

Matteo sat next to Paige, quiet and brooding, intimidating the hell out of her every time he so much as looked in her direction. For whatever reason, he set her on edge even more than usual tonight. He seemed…surlier than normal. That it was just the four of them plus Matty accompanying them out to dinner, Paige could almost believe they looked like a couple accompanying Stasia and Gavin. Out on a double date.

Paige hung her head, staring at the pale cream tablecloth. Her thoughts were foolish. She’d fought them for months and was growing weary of going round and round in circles. Wanting him. Denying herself. Confronting him, running away. Pushing herself on him, having him push her away.

Knowing after everything that happened between them, that he still wasn’t interested hurt most of all. Perhaps…

Perhaps it would be smart to find a job somewhere else.

“Are you all right?”

Shivers cascaded all over her skin at first sound of Matteo’s deep, sexy voice near her ear. He sounded concerned, which was worse because then she could believe for a fleeting moment he might actually care about her, when she knew it was the furthest from the truth.

He cared about her like an employer cared about his employee. Nothing more and nothing less.

Glancing in his direction, she found him sitting close. Intimately close. She drank in the details of his beautiful, masculine face, the sharp cheekbones, the hard jaw, the soft mouth. His dark gaze was directed solely on her, his brows lowered in concern. Her breath stalled in her throat as she struggled to find an answer.

“Paige.” His voice deepened, if that was possible, and he reached out to touch her forearm with a gentle press of his fingers. Her skin sizzled at the contact and she wanted to pull away. Wanted to reach out, grab hold of him and never let go. “Are you not feeling well? Would you like me to take you home?”

“I—I’m fine.” She shook her head, offered him a faint smile. She could feel the heated flush creep over her cheeks and silently cursed her fair skin. It tended to reveal all her emotions at the worst possible times. “I’m just tired. And hungry,” she admitted. She’d hardly eaten all day and the scents coming from the restaurant’s kitchen reminded her that she was starving.

“Matty run you ragged today?” He smiled faintly and her heart fluttered.

Stupid, silly heart.

“Matty runs me ragged every day.” She sent a fond smile in the little boy’s direction. “I don’t mind, though. He’s a true joy to take care of.” He was. A bit rambunctious, but what almost four-year-old wasn’t? The boy had a small wild streak in him. Absolutely no fear, which both filled her with terror and reluctant admiration. But that was part of his appeal, what made him so unique and special and so much fun.

Smart. Inquisitive. Adventurous and loving. Matty had many fine qualities that would take him far when he grew up. He was much like his father, everyone said. Claudia, Matteo’s mother, Stasia…they’d all told Paige that Matty was the spitting image, in both looks and personality, of his father.

Yet Paige saw no hint of the adventure in Matteo, not really. He was the calm anchor in the midst of a swirling storm. Quiet, determined, steadfast, sometimes calculating. Some might even say ruthless, not that Paige had ever seen him do anything unethical or underhanded to get ahead.

He was simply a man who knew exactly how to get what he wanted. And for one brief, shining moment, she’d felt all that intensity focused solely on her. The way he’d looked at her that night when she came out of his bathroom wearing only a robe, her skin and hair still damp. His gaze heated, searching, as if he could imagine doing things to her that no man had ever dared before. How he’d kissed her as if she meant everything to him. The touch of his hands on her body, his fingers inside her, and the overwhelming, drive-her-out-of-her-mind pleasure he brought her with those skilled fingers…