Bidding on the Billionaire (Bad Boys Billionaire Bachelors Club) by Rachel Angel Page B

comfortable lying to her.  She was saved in a nick of time. 
“Surprise,” a lively voice boomed out from behind her.  Mandi turned around and
saw Sergio standing there with Marcel, Frederic, and Angelica behind him.
    “We
decided to come and join you all for lunch.  The maitre de is preparing a
larger table.  Hopefully we’re not intruding,” Sergio said.
    Mandi didn’t
wait for Diedre to say anything and smiled grandly, truly feeling excited about
it.  “What a great surprise.  Lucky us!”  So, we’re a couple, are we.  I
like it.
    “Wonderful,”
Sergio said. 
    “If
you’ll all excuse me for a moment.  I need to use the restroom,” Mandi said. 
She went to the rest room and pulled out her cell phone.  She suddenly had the
urge to hear Sophia’s voice and acknowledge that she’d arrived safely.
    “Mandi,
I’m so glad to hear from you,” Sophia said when she picked up the phone.  “I
take it you arrived safe.”
    “I
have and your family home, as well as your family, is just lovely.  They are
amazing.”
    “Sergio
isn’t shoving you off on them to work, is he?” Sophia asked.  She is too
perceptive at times, Mandi thought.
    “We’ve
only been here for a day and a half.  I can tell you that many people are
demanding of his time, but that makes sense since he is the CEO of a major
international fashion company.”
    “Blah,
blah, blah.  Mandi, I need you to do me a favor and really make an effort for
Sergio to have some fun.  He cannot obsess about business and he needs to get
some spark back in his life.  And frankly, you do to.  I know you’ve had a
rough go of it lately, but before your mom got sick and you had to take over
the gallery you used to be the most positive person I’d ever met, letting
nothing hold you back from the joy of life.  You need this as much as Sergio
does.”
     “Have
I changed that much?”
    “It’s
getting there, but I still see the real you in there,” Sophia commented.
    “I’ll
do my best.  It’s hard to compete with a factory, a town, and an anniversary
celebration.”
    “You
can do it.  Well, I’ve got to go.  Andre and I have an appointment with a
customer at the gallery in a few minutes and have got to prepare.”
    “Okay,
love ya’.”
    “Back
at you, Mandi.  Arrivederci.”
    “Ciao,”
Mandi shot back, showing her limited grasp of the Italian language.
    Just
like that Sophia had hung up, but her words lingered with Mandi. Sergio had
surprised her for lunch. Yes, his family was there, but it was still something
and a chance to be by Sergio, and hopefully alone with him by day’s end.
    The
words that Sophia planted in Mandi’s ear helped her make one determination. 
This trip was a gift, one that welcomed her to go wild and go for it.  It
wasn’t the time to hold anything back because action was what was needed.  If
it didn’t work out at least she tried.  It wasn’t like she ran into Sergio on a
daily basis anyways. 
    A
fantastic lunch of Italian style pizzas came and Mandi was having a wonderful
time. Mandi had always loved a great slice of za in New York, but Italian pizza
was so different. It was equally scrumptious but seemed more like something
besides pizza, maybe a flat bread or something.
    Marcel
and Diedre opened up, sharing stories of Sergio’s youth, and even some funny
things that Sophia had done over the years. They really helped Mandi get to
know more about the Sergio that he didn’t easily show anyone else. It turned
out that Sergio and Sophia were the first descendents of the Leon family to be
born and raised in the States.  That fascinated Mandi, who really didn’t know
anything about her heritage. Her mom had once told her they were fourth
generation removed Germans, but there was no real documented history from back
in Germany available. Here, talking with this family, showed that they embraced
their history and it was a part of who they were through and through. She loved
it.
    However,
when