A Forever Family Collection

To her joy, he said something to Talia in Italian. She smiled at Belle, then brought the baby food jars to the table. Belle opened the lid on the meat.

“Hmm…smells like lamb.” She glanced down at the dog, who sat there begging her with his eyes. “Sorry, this food isn’t for you, Rufo.” The other jar contained squash. “Oh boy, Concetta. This all looks nummy.” Belle took the spoon and dipped it in the vegetable. “Here it comes.”

Slowly, she lifted it in the air and did a few maneuvers. Those black-brown eyes followed the action faithfully. Belle brought the spoon closer to the baby, who’d already opened her mouth, waiting for her food. Belle saw Leon in the shape of his daughter’s mouth and felt an adrenaline rush that almost caused her to drop the utensil.

He burst into laughter. “You’re a natural mother.”

“Not really.” She began feeding Concetta her meat while the women watched. “I fed the babies at the orphanage. This is the only thing I have a natural aptitude for.”

“The CEO at TCCPI has told me otherwise,” he stated.

If she wasn’t careful, she might start wanting to hear more of his compliments. And believing them, Belle?

“When you’re on your own and forced to earn a living, you learn a trade fast.”

A troubled expression entered his eyes. “Your adoptive father never helped you after you left home?”

She shook her head, with its dark, shiny mass of flowing hair, and continued to feed the baby. “But I’d be ungrateful if I didn’t acknowledge that he and Nadine fed and clothed me for eight years while I lived under their roof. Some of my friends in the orphanage never got adopted, and lived their whole lives there until they were old enough to leave. I was one of the luckier ones.”

Concetta hadn’t quite finished her food when she put her hands out as if to say she was full. She was so adorable, Belle could hardly stand it. “I think you’ve had enough.” Without thinking about it, she untied the bib. After wiping Concetta’s mouth with it, she put it on the table and lifted the baby out of the high chair.

“Uh-oh. I can tell you need to be changed. Where’s your bedroom?”

Leon had been lounging against the wall, watching them. “Upstairs.”

Belle darted him a glance. “If you’ll show me, I’ll change her, but only if it’s all right with you.”

One black brow lifted. “Since you’ve got her literally eating out of the palm of your hand, I have a feeling she’d have a meltdown if anyone else dared to interfere at this point.”

“Leon…” The man had lethal charm. It had been getting to her from the first day and had worked its way beneath her skin.

“Follow me.”

The only thing to do was concentrate on the baby. “You have the most beautiful home, Concetta. I always wanted to live in a house with a staircase like this. I wonder how long it will be before you slide down the banister when your papà isn’t looking.”

She heard the low chuckles trailing after him, and it was impossible to keep her eyes off his hard-muscled frame. She knew what it was like to be crushed against him, and came close to losing her breath, remembering. In father mode, Leon was completely different from the forbidding male she’d first met. Like this he was irresistible.

Rufo darted ahead of them. They entered the first room at the top of the stairs. “I might have known you’d live in a nursery like this. Your father has spoiled you silly, you lucky little girl.” Belle felt as if she’d entered fairyland. He’d supplied everything a child could ever want.

There was a photograph on the dresser of a lovely, dark blonde woman who had to be Leon’s deceased wife. Concetta would always ache for the mother who hadn’t lived through childbirth. The thought made Belle’s heart constrict. She knew what it felt like to want your mother and never know her.

She carried the baby over to the changing table against the wall and got busy. After powdering, she put a clean diaper on her. Concetta’s cooperation made it an easy operation.

Leon stood next to Belle. The scent of the soap he used in the shower lingered to torment her.

“You’ve mesmerized my daughter.”

“It’s the lime suit.” She picked up the baby. After giving her a kiss on her neck, she placed Concetta in her father’s arms. “I’m wearing a different color than she’s used to seeing.”

“So that’s your secret weapon?”

When Belle raised her head in query, the crystal gray eyes she remembered had morphed to a slate color. Just now she’d detected an edge in his tone, and didn’t understand it. If he hadn’t wanted her to feed or change the baby, he should have told her.

As her spirits plummeted, she heard a male voice, and spun around to discover Leon’s father in the nursery doorway. Rufo had already hurried over to him. She recognized him from the photographs, but since the time those pictures were taken, his dark hair had become streaked with silver.

His presence meant Belle’s mother was here! Her mouth went dry.

Leon saw the shock on his father’s face. Normally, he headed straight for Concetta, but not this time. The count was staring at Belle. Her beauty stopped men in their tracks, but he’d also seen the resemblance to Luciana and was obviously speechless for a moment.

His father wasn’t the only one. Leon had felt out of control since their first meeting. Just now her easy interaction with Concetta, and his daughter’s acceptance of Belle, had caught him unaware. It had to be because Belle reminded her of Luciana. To his chagrin he’d experienced a ridiculous moment of jealousy.

“Papà? May I introduce Belle Peterson. Belle? Meet my father, Sullisto.”

The older man walked over to Belle with suspiciously bright eyes. “It’s like seeing your beautiful mother when she was in her twenties.” He kissed her on both cheeks and grasped her hands. “My wife’s not going to believe it. I’m not sure I do.”

“I don’t believe it, either,” Belle answered in an unsteady voice. “It’s like a dream. I’m so happy to meet you.”

He studied her features for a long moment. “How do you want to do this, my dear?”

Leon appreciated his father’s sensitivity and stepped in. “Where’s Luciana?”

“I left her in the living room, playing the piano.”

“Why don’t you entertain Concetta up here while I take Belle downstairs to meet her?” He kissed the baby and handed her over. “I’ll come back for the two of you in a few minutes and we’ll go down together.”

His father hugged the baby to him before looking at Belle. “Take all the time you need.”

“Are you sure this is the right thing to do, signore?” Her question went straight to Leon’s gut.

“Call me Sullisto. You’re going to make a new person of my wife,” his father reassured her.

A hand went to her throat. “Thank you for being so kind and accepting.”

Leon could only wonder at the emotions gripping her. “Let’s go.”

She followed him out of the room and down the stairs. The sound of the piano grew louder. When they reached the front foyer, he turned to her. “Ready?”

Belle nodded. “I’ve been waiting for this all my life, but I’d like you to go first.”

Taking a deep breath, he opened the French doors. “Good evening, Luciana.”

The playing stopped and she got up from the baby grand piano looking lovely as usual in a draped midriff jersey dress in a blue print. Though her daughter wasn’t wearing Versace, Belle had the same sense of style and good taste as her mother.

She hurried across the Oriental rug toward him. “Thank you for inviting us, Leon. Where’s your precious baby?”

He noticed the two women had the same little tremor in their voices when they were nervous. They were both the same height, but Luciana wore her hair short these days in a stylish cut. After giving her a kiss on both cheeks, he said, “Upstairs with Papà. But before he brings her down, there’s someone I want you to meet.”

“A special woman?”