One Passionate Night: Her Brooding Italian Boss / The Heiress's Secret Baby / Best Friend to Wife and Mother?

“Wow. She looked happy, huh?”

Antonio faced Olivia. “Happy?”

“Yeah. Lately she’s been a little glum.” She slid her hand into his elbow and turned him toward the crowd again. “I guessed she was a bit upset about being roommateless, but she wouldn’t talk about it. She won’t take a thing from me or Tucker. Not even a job offer. She wants to make her own way in the world.” She paused and frowned. “How’d Constanzo talk her into working for you?”

He blinked. Obviously, she didn’t know Laura Beth was pregnant. So he shrugged. “I think losing her apartment really brought home the fact that she couldn’t be choosy about who offered her a job.”

“Yeah, well, if you really don’t want her, Tucker does. He has an opening for an IT person who would work directly with him, somebody he can trust with his secrets.”

“Sounds perfect for her.”

“It is perfect for her. He was going to make the offer after the wedding, but she disappeared. Now at least we know where she went.”

“Yes, you do.” And Tucker wanting to hire Laura Beth was like a blessing from heaven. A relief.

Really.

There was no reason for the odd feeling in his stomach, the fear of losing her, the reminder of how empty his house was without her.

He peered around into the crowd but couldn’t see Laura Beth. Then he caught a fleeting glimpse of her as she moved between two conversation circles. The men in each cluster smiled at her and she innocently smiled back.

Jealousy catapulted through him.

“Ready to mingle?”

Thanking God for a reason to take his eyes and his attention off Laura Beth, he smiled at Olivia. “Desperately.”

He spent an hour with Olivia introducing him to gallery owners, art dealers and collectors. His former charm came back to him as if he hadn’t lost it. If he’d had anything new to display or sell, he would have made a killing.

But he didn’t have anything new to display or sell, and he wasn’t yet entertaining commissions, so everyone drifted away. The futility of his situation roared through him, frustrating him, making him wonder why the hell he was even here.

He faced Olivia. “I’m going to get a drink. Would you like one?”

“I think I better find Tucker.”

Perfect. He could go to the bar, drink himself stupid with scotch and be driven back to the penthouse, where he could pass out and forget he was a has-been.

Shifting to the side, he slid through the throng of happy people and to the discreet glass-and-marble bar set up in a corner.

“Scotch.” The bartender turned to go and he caught his arm. “Three of them.”

The young man nodded, apparently thinking he was getting drinks for friends, and that was just fine with Antonio. He angled himself against the marble, but when he did he saw Laura Beth, standing alone, staring at a painting.

He studied the tilt of her head, the way it clearly displayed her interest in the picture, saw the light and shadows he’d use if he painted her, so everyone would see what he saw. A newcomer falling in love.

Damn it! What was he doing imagining painting her again!

“Here you are, sir.”

The bartender set three crystal glasses of scotch on the bar. Antonio took the first one and downed it. He set the empty glass on the bar, then dug through his pockets for a good tip.

He walked away with a scotch in each hand, deliberately heading away from Laura Beth, but apparently she’d moved too, because there she stood, in front of another display. This one she seemed to like about as much as she liked the Picassos.

Watching her, he sipped the second scotch. The desire to capture her slithered through him again, just as Jason Ashbury stopped in front of him.

“I wanted to give you a card.”

Antonio set his second scotch on an available tray with a wince. “Sorry.”

Jason laughed. “Never apologize for enjoying a good scotch.” He handed the card to Antonio. “I know you’re accustomed to bigger galleries, but we’d love to have you in Arizona.”

And he’d love to be in a gallery in Arizona. He’d love to have a showing anywhere. If he could just freaking paint again.

His gaze strolled to Laura Beth.

Jason shook his hand. “Come visit us. Maybe we’ll inspire you.”

He walked away and Antonio’s eyes sought Laura Beth again. She all but shimmered in the sophisticated dress, but she couldn’t hide that innocence. And maybe that’s what drew him. She was his deceased wife’s polar opposite. And if her innocence was the medicine he needed to paint again, maybe he shouldn’t fight it.

He strolled over. “Are you okay?”

“What? You think a woman can’t be on her own in a gallery?”

“No. You’re pregnant and it’s been a long night and you still have a bit of a drive home.”

She winced. “Saw me in the car, did you?”

He took a step closer. “Saw you getting out of the car.”

This time she laughed. “That was fun.”

“You looked like you were enjoying it.”

“Oh, I was.” She took a long drink of air. “I’m going to miss this.”

“Barcelona?”

“No. The dressing up tonight and playacting.”

He raised one eyebrow in question. “Why? You’ve got a few more weeks in Italy. You can do all the dressing up and playacting you want.”

She shook her head. “No. I can’t. Walking around here tonight, I remembered something I’d thought at the wedding. I took what I believed was a real job because I’m not an executive or a trust-fund baby or even employable in New York City.” She faced him. “But you don’t want me and I don’t really belong here. It’s time for me to go home.”

Panic swirled through him. “Home New York or home Kentucky?”

“Kentucky.” She raised her gaze to meet his. “I know there’s not much work for an IT person there, but I’m going to have a baby. I need my mom for moral support.” She sucked in a breath. “But looking at one of the pictures, I also realized I had a pretty good childhood.”

He frowned. “Which picture?”