wasnât necessary? And this way she would get the worst over with, she told herself bracingly. She would let him see Connor and find out exactly what he wanted. She was dealing with a very rich and powerful male, who was already hostile towards her. At this point, antagonising him without good reason would be foolish.
An hour later, Faith drew into the car park. There was no limo, so Gianni hadnât arrived yet. In fact there were no other cars parked at all. With Connor holding her hand, Faith walked down the sloping path that ran between the steeply banked wildflower meadows towards the playground and the artificial lake. Her heart was now beating so fast she pressed a hand against her breast.
She rounded a corner and saw a man in a dark suit talking into a radio. She tensed, wondering what he was doing, suddenly appreciating that she had come to a very lonely place at an hour when it was likely to be deserted. The man fell silent as she moved past. Connor pulled free of her hold and ran ahead into the playground, his sturdy little legs carrying him towards the slide he loved at a steady rate of knots.
âSee me, Mummy!â he shouted breathlessly as he reached the final step, his face ablaze with achievement.
And at that exact moment Gianni appeared, striding down the path she had just emerged from. Something disturbingly akin to excitement flashed through Faith, freezing her in her tracks. The man with the radio spoke to him, but Gianni slashed a silencing hand through the air. Gianniâs entire attention was already fixed on the little boy carefully settling himself to the top of the slide, tiny hands holding the toddler grips tight.
The whole atmosphere seemed to charge up. Faith couldnât take her eyes off Gianni. She watched him swallow, slowly shake his gleaming dark head in an almost vulnerable movement, and suddenly ram his hands into the pockets of his exquisitely tailored trousers. He stared at Connor as if he was the Holy Grail, and he did it with a raw intensity of emotional response that shook Faith to her innermost depths.
Did he ever look at me like that? she found herself wondering. She wouldnât have credited that Gianni DâAngelo had that much emotion in him. But the stark prominence of his superb bone structure, the shimmering brilliance of his ferociously intent eyes and the hands that he didnât seem to know what to do with any more as he jerked them back out of his pockets again all spoke for him.
Her throat thickened. Suddenly she felt on the outside, looking in. She had picked a guy who loved children but she had run away with his child. Why had she done that? He had known she was pregnant before she left him. Why had she left him? Hadnât she realised that he might feel like this about their baby?
Without the slightest warning or expectation, Faith was beginning to feel guilty.
He had known her by another name. Clearly she had lied to him and given him that false name. Why had she done that? Had she been ashamed of the life she was leading with him? Had she been trying to ensure that nobody could ever connect Faith Jennings with Gianni DâAngeloâs mistress? Well, her lies must have hampered his every attempt to find them again. He couldnât possibly have known where her parents lived, or indeed anything about them.
âWhee!â Connor screeched as he whooshed down the slide, scrambling off at the foot to race back round to the steps to do it again, totally uninterested in the adults watching him.
âHeâs blondâ¦â Gianni breathed gruffly from his stance several feet away, still not sparing her an actual glance. âSomehow I never thought of that.â
Faithâs breath feathered in her tightening throat. âHe has dark eyes and dark brows and he takes a tremendous tan,â she squeezed out unevenly. âAnd heâs pretty tall for his age, which he certainly didnât get from
An hour later, Faith drew into the car park. There was no limo, so Gianni hadnât arrived yet. In fact there were no other cars parked at all. With Connor holding her hand, Faith walked down the sloping path that ran between the steeply banked wildflower meadows towards the playground and the artificial lake. Her heart was now beating so fast she pressed a hand against her breast.
She rounded a corner and saw a man in a dark suit talking into a radio. She tensed, wondering what he was doing, suddenly appreciating that she had come to a very lonely place at an hour when it was likely to be deserted. The man fell silent as she moved past. Connor pulled free of her hold and ran ahead into the playground, his sturdy little legs carrying him towards the slide he loved at a steady rate of knots.
âSee me, Mummy!â he shouted breathlessly as he reached the final step, his face ablaze with achievement.
And at that exact moment Gianni appeared, striding down the path she had just emerged from. Something disturbingly akin to excitement flashed through Faith, freezing her in her tracks. The man with the radio spoke to him, but Gianni slashed a silencing hand through the air. Gianniâs entire attention was already fixed on the little boy carefully settling himself to the top of the slide, tiny hands holding the toddler grips tight.
The whole atmosphere seemed to charge up. Faith couldnât take her eyes off Gianni. She watched him swallow, slowly shake his gleaming dark head in an almost vulnerable movement, and suddenly ram his hands into the pockets of his exquisitely tailored trousers. He stared at Connor as if he was the Holy Grail, and he did it with a raw intensity of emotional response that shook Faith to her innermost depths.
Did he ever look at me like that? she found herself wondering. She wouldnât have credited that Gianni DâAngelo had that much emotion in him. But the stark prominence of his superb bone structure, the shimmering brilliance of his ferociously intent eyes and the hands that he didnât seem to know what to do with any more as he jerked them back out of his pockets again all spoke for him.
Her throat thickened. Suddenly she felt on the outside, looking in. She had picked a guy who loved children but she had run away with his child. Why had she done that? He had known she was pregnant before she left him. Why had she left him? Hadnât she realised that he might feel like this about their baby?
Without the slightest warning or expectation, Faith was beginning to feel guilty.
He had known her by another name. Clearly she had lied to him and given him that false name. Why had she done that? Had she been ashamed of the life she was leading with him? Had she been trying to ensure that nobody could ever connect Faith Jennings with Gianni DâAngeloâs mistress? Well, her lies must have hampered his every attempt to find them again. He couldnât possibly have known where her parents lived, or indeed anything about them.
âWhee!â Connor screeched as he whooshed down the slide, scrambling off at the foot to race back round to the steps to do it again, totally uninterested in the adults watching him.
âHeâs blondâ¦â Gianni breathed gruffly from his stance several feet away, still not sparing her an actual glance. âSomehow I never thought of that.â
Faithâs breath feathered in her tightening throat. âHe has dark eyes and dark brows and he takes a tremendous tan,â she squeezed out unevenly. âAnd heâs pretty tall for his age, which he certainly didnât get from
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