The Playboy's Fugitive Bride (20 page)

Then there were times Nia had watched her dad staring off into space with a smile on his face.  His brown eyes would light up as if he could see her mother.  It was the same smile she’d seen on his face when she stood at his side and watched him take his last breath.  He was finally at peace with the love of his life—forever.  Now that was a fairy tale that had come true.

Her father’s death was the beginning of a life of difficulty and turmoil for her and Aaron.  Her father didn’t have medical insurance and the hospital had come after her, his next of kin.  To add to her woes, child welfare services had placed Aaron in a foster home because they’d been staying in a homeless shelter when their father died.  The first chance she got, Nia had taken Aaron and fled Maine, leaving child welfare services and that medical bill behind.  She hadn’t known about Eddie until a short while ago.

Taking a deep breath, Nia forced her emotions under control.  If she continued evoking memories of her past, she just might break down and cry and she couldn’t do that in front of Massimo, the man who’d made her an orphan and caused her a lifetime of heartache.

“How old were you when you lost your parents?” Massimo asked, caressing the inside of her wrist with his fingers.

She sucked in her breath at the currents whipping through her body.  “My mother died from a brain aneurysm when I was twelve and my father passed away a few years ago.”  Nia clenched her teeth tightly as she felt her body begin to shake.  She tried, but she could no longer hold back the tears that rolled down her cheeks.

Massimo’s arms immediately circled her and she found herself cradled against his huge frame, her cheek resting on his chest.  She felt as safe and cherished as she used to in her father’s embrace.  She was very much aware of the steady beating of Massimo’s heart beneath her ears as she fought back her grief.  It was soothing.  It made her want to lay down her arms at his feet, end the war, and surrender completely to him.  But she couldn’t. 
He was the enemy
.

Nia gathered the strength to pull herself together and struggled out of Massimo’s arms. She pulled a napkin from a holder close to her and dabbed at her eyes.  She’d ruined her makeup, but that was the least of her problems tonight.  She took a deep steadying breath and straightened her shoulders.  “I’m fine now.”

“Our experiences are very similar,
cara
,” he said taking her hand again.  “We both lost our mothers at very tender ages and were raised by our fathers.”

Nia never thought of them in that way.  She never thought of them in any way, except when she was a doting teenager and thought he was God’s gift to women.

“Was he a loving father to you?  Did you have a good relationship?”

“He was the best,” she said, her mind flooding with happy memories.

His mouth curved with tenderness.  “It’s a frightening feeling being alone in the world.  Perhaps we could find a way to help each other heal.  Alleviate each other’s loneliness?”

Nia’s guard snapped back into place as the grand seducer was unmasked.  She pulled her hand from his.  “You of all people should know that sex doesn’t fill the void in anyone’s life, Massimo.  If it could, you wouldn’t be lonely still.”

Was that why he had so many affairs?  Was he searching for someone or something to fill the void in his life?  Did he move so quickly and frequently between women because he couldn’t find fulfillment from any of them?
  The man’s life seems to be an eternal quest.  She was just another prescription in his search for a cure for whatever ailment he was suffering from.

“You’re wrong,
cara
.  My interest in you is more than sexual.”  His eyes were filled with warmth and passion as he leaned closer to her.  “I will prove it to you one day.”

“How?”

“I don’t know, yet.”

“There’s actually something the omniscient Massimo Andretti doesn’t know?”

He sighed and leaned back into the seat.  “Yes, Nia, there are quite a few things in this life that baffle me.  But,” he added with a note of determination in his voice, “I know that one day, you will grow to like me.”

“What makes you think I don’t already like you?”

His bushy brows arched upward.  “Do you?”

Nia turned her head and gazed out at the dark moving shadows as the limo sped along the highway.  Truth is, she was beginning to like Massimo Andretti—the one she’d spent the afternoon with.  And just now when he shared his pain with her, Nia felt herself warming to him in a very unexpected way.  Instinct told her that she was the first woman with whom he’d talked about his mother.

Knowing that he’d shared an intimate part of himself should give her a sense of empowerment, but instead it had become an awakening experience that left her reeling in an ever-vaster sea of confusion.  When she left Brooklyn to find him, there was only one thing she’d wanted from him: two million dollars.  She had the money and she was just hours away from ridding herself of her nemesis, but the harder she tried to ignore the truth, the more it persisted.

She needed Massimo’s money to save her and Aaron’s life, but deep down in her heart, Nia knew she wanted more from him, had always wanted more from him.  The feelings she thought she had for him for the past six years weren’t anger and hate at all.  She’d been infatuated with him, and now that infatuation was rapidly turning into something else.  Something she dared not put a name to.

“You look very beautiful, Nia.”

At the sound of his husky voice, Nia turned and gazed up into his coral blue eyes—tranquil now.  Blushing under the intensity of his gaze, she glanced down at the black evening dress he’d picked out for her to wear tonight.

It was simply elegant with an off-the-shoulder neckline that was accented with tiny pearls and sparkling sequins.  It had an empire waist that extended into a soft flowing skirt that swept the floor.  Each time she moved, Nia was aware of the soft fabric caressing her legs and ankles.  She ran her hand down the sheer long sleeves and across the bodice that were perfectly detailed with the silkiest black appliques.

The dress was beautiful, and it made her feel feminine and desirable.  Massimo had asked her to wear her hair down and so her long wavy mane cascaded off her bare shoulders and lay against her back like a lustrous satin drape—at least that’s how he’d described it when he saw her.

“The credit is all yours, Massimo,” she said, turning to face him again.

His face lighted into an appreciative smile.  “Ah, I can’t take all the credit.  It probably wouldn’t look half as good on another woman.  It’s perfect for you and on you.  I’ll be the envy of every man tonight.”

Heat warmed the surface under Nia’s skin as she remembered the look of enthrallment on his face when he’d stood at the bottom of the stairs gazing up to where she stood at the top.  She’d felt like a princess and her breath had caught in her throat as Massimo, looking irresistible and devilishly handsome in his black silk suit, snow-white silk shirt and black tie ascended the stairs toward her.  She’d almost fainted from sheer bliss when he took her hand and escorted her downstairs.

She was Cinderella on her way to the ball with her handsome prince, but at the stroke of midnight, she’d be gone.

Things could have been different, she thought, recalling the day Massimo had visited the mill shortly after his father died.  He’d seemed sincere in his promises, especially the one to stop by the mill regularly to keep abreast of its renovations.  His words had given her hope that they would later meet during one of his visits.

Her stilettoes weren’t made of glass, Nia thought, bringing her thoughts back to the present, but she would leave one on Massimo’s nightstand to remind him of the woman who’d duped him.  “You have exceptional taste, Massimo,” she said, giving him a smile, and deciding then to enjoy the rest of the evening until she could vanish quietly into the night.

“In clothes, or women?”

“Both.  I have to give you that,” she answered with a hint of modesty.  “At lunch you briefly mentioned that the meeting tonight had to do with energy production, and a company you and Bryce started together,” she said, to change the subject to something less personal.

The lacy panties Massimo had placed on the bed for her to wear were already wet.  She’d been trying to ignore the spasmodic little tremors and electric bolts of desire that had been crashing through her body since Massimo told her she looked beautiful.  Or perhaps they’d begun an hour ago when she slipped the lacy panties over her hips, knowing full well that Massimo’s hands had been all over them.  Her sex pulsed as if he were stroking his long fingers across her soft flesh.  “You didn’t elaborate, though.”

“I didn’t want to bore you with the details.”

He was probably tired of women falling asleep when he tried to tell them about his business, what he did on a day-by-day basis.  “I wouldn’t be bored and since you demanded that I accompany you, I think I should know a little bit about what’s going on.  I don’t want to seem like a total idiot during light conversation.”

He uttered a short chuckle.  “Ah, Nia, one thing I would never mistake you for is an idiot.”

Nia frowned at his compliment. 
Was it a compliment
?

“But since you asked, Fonandt Energy is the largest and most productive wind farm in the Northeast.  Bryce and I are thinking of expanding nationally and eventually globally, of course.”

“Of course,” Nia concurred with a shrug. 

He absorbed her sarcasm with a smile and continued to hold her gaze steady.  “In a nutshell, something needs to be done about global warming.  Bryce and I, along with several other wind farm owners from the US and around the world are convening to address alternatives to energy.  Dignitaries from several third-world countries will also be attending, mainly to choose a company like Fonandt Energy to service their countries’ needs, whether to build, aid, or takeover the operations of current inefficient and unproductive farms.”

You’d probably want to takeover
.

“In the past year Bryce and I, like our competitors, visited several of these countries to gauge the possibilities for wind energy.  It would be life-changing for people in undeveloped countries to receive the gift of light, indoor plumbing, and clean water—basics of life that are too expensive now.”  His voice rang with enthusiasm and conviction.  “Bottom line: at the end of the evening only one company will have the contracts to service these countries.  Of course, Bryce and I want that company to be none other than Fonandt Energy.”

“That’s a good cause,” Nia said, noting the pale blue rays around his iris brighten. “Global warming is a huge problem and if nothing is done to reverse or at least control its effects on our atmosphere, there won’t be a world to leave to future generations.”

“Precisely.  As you know, Andretti Industries owns numerous factories throughout the world.  I proposed investing in wind farms and geothermal energy to both my father and grandfather, years ago.  I pointed out the benefits for our mill employees working in safer, cleaner environments.  They thought it was too costly to initiate such a project.  I was furious at their lack of concern for the planet, especially when our factories contribute so much to the depleting ozone layer every single day.”

“Not to mention the chemical waste that needs to be disposed of properly on a daily basis.  At the rate we’re going, planet earth will eventually become a giant chemical waste dump if we do nothing to stop the destruction,” Nia supplied. 

“I’m surprised you’re so passionate about the subject,
cara
.  The women with whom I associate—” He stopped and took a deep breath.  “The women with whom I
used
to associate cared only about the latest clothes, hairstyle, and diet and exercise fads.  Although I sense that you far exceed any other woman I’ve known in beauty, brains, and personality—a fact that touches me deeply, I would never have thought of you as an environmentalist.  I’m impressed,” he added on a soft and gentle note.  “Something else we have in common.”

Nia dropped her gaze at both his curiosity about her eco-friendliness and his compliment that placed her above all the other women in his life.  If he only knew he was about to eat those sweet words, he’d have a stroke.

“Well, I’m not a tree-hugger or anything like that,” she said, deliberately avoiding a response to his praises.  “But I’ve always been conscious about waste disposal.”  Wind farm energy had always been of significant interest to her father.  Nia remembered his disappointment when Luciano had crushed the idea during the negotiations between Andretti Industries and West Gate Mills.  “For as far back as I can remember, my family has always recycled.  We drank tap water and my mother never used plastic wrap or aluminum foil.  She sewed her own reusable shopping bags—some of which I still use today.  What you’re doing is admirable.  It’s nice of you to care.”

“And why wouldn’t I care?”

Because you didn’t six years ago.  If you’d only taken the time to speak with my father, you would have found that his concerns about our planet mirror yours.  I could even see you two becoming great business partners, even friends
.  “Most tycoons couldn’t care less about our planet.  I suppose greed and ignorance are what drive their indifference for the welfare of the universe.”

“I think I should give you the floor tonight instead of letting you leave with the other spouses after dinner.  With your—”

Nia put her hands up to silence him.  “Thanks for the vote of confidence, but I’ll stick with the spouses.  You said Bryce’s wife, Kaya, would be there.  I missed the opportunity to meet her and Michelle last night.”

“Unfortunately Kaya will not be present.  One of the twins isn’t feeling well.  When I spoke with her this afternoon, she asked me to pass along her regrets.”

Nia tried to suppress her elation.  She was certain she would have liked meeting Kaya Fontaine, but the fewer people she bonded with, the easier it would be for her to melt into obscurity once she left Granite Falls.

“You’ll meet her on Sunday,” Massimo said.