as Bronson reached the first floor, he saw Mia closing the front door, a huge smile spread across her beautiful face.
“I take it from your smile and the aroma that your lessons went well.”
Mia turned to him, still beaming. “Oh, Bronson, that was one of the best experiences of my life.” She closed the space between them and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’ll remember this forever. Thank you.”
Bronson’s cheek rested against her silky hair, and he couldn’t help but smile, too. “You are more than welcome, but I did this for selfish reasons.”
Pulling back, Mia quirked a brow. “Oh, really?”
“I wanted authentic Italian food and I didn’t want to have to leave the castle to get it.”
Mia playfully slapped at his chest and turned back toward the kitchen. And, as always, Bronson followed those swaying hips.
“Grab a plate and see if my lessons paid off,” she told him, removing the lid from the pot of sauce.
“I have a better plan.”
Bronson pulled out some bowls and poured sauce into one and the pasta into another. He grabbed the bread and laid everything on a serving tray. “Get your dessert and follow me.”
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“Trust me.”
Two words that had really come to mean so much in their relationship.
Relationship? He guessed that’s exactly what they had, and he was becoming more and more comfortable with that notion. Actually, the idea had him smiling even more as he led the way to the third-floor bedroom where he’d set up the romantic table on the balcony.
“Bronson,” Mia gasped as she stepped through the doorway. “This is beautiful.”
He set the tray down on the dresser just inside the bedroom. “I thought you might like the view from up here. Besides, we haven’t used this room, yet.”
Mia set her tiramisu on the dinner table and moved into him. “I don’t know what I did to deserve all this. Words cannot express just how thankful I am.”
She slid an arm around his waist, leaned her head on his shoulder and looked out over the view of the rolling green hills and the breathtaking countryside.
“I’m all for your showing me your thanks if words aren’t enough.”
He slid his arms around her waist, encountering that slight belly bump he just couldn’t quite get used to. Each time he saw it, touched it, a lump rose in his throat. He was falling in love with this child, with this woman. But what if something happened to one of them? He couldn’t afford to go through that nightmare again.
“I have to tell you something,” he whispered into her hair. “I know this baby is mine. I know it because I’ve come to know you. You’re genuine, honest. I also believe that you and Anthony are friends—probably better friends than I’d like, but that’s your business.”
Mia looked up at him, her eyes swimming with unshed tears. “Bronson, you can’t know what that means to me. I want us to have trust. I want to be able to give this baby stability.”
“We will,” he assured her.
He couldn’t wait to show her the final surprise he had in store. More than once he’d almost let it slip, but he wanted to see the expression on her face when he revealed the gift he’d been working on.
Mia didn’t want this moment to end. Wrapped in Bronson’s arms, looking on to the Tuscan countryside, feeling the soft flutter of their baby in her belly, nothing else in life mattered right now. There were no problems, no secrets. Nothing to keep her from happiness.
But as he pulled away to assist her with her chair, reality set in. There was a problem and there was a secret. She wanted to tell Bronson, wanted to tell him while they were in this magical place where the outside world couldn’t touch them. But she was bound by loyalty to another man to keep his secret, and no matter how deep the love she had developed for Bronson, she would never go back on her word.
Bronson moved the flower to the side of her plate before dishing out hefty helpings of pasta.
“You okay?” he asked.
She forced a smile. They were in this magical castle, and she refused to think about what would be waiting for them upon their return home.
“I’m fine,” she assured him. “Just nervous about your trying my first authentic Italian meal.”
As he came back with bread, Mia poured a glass of water from the pitcher he’d had on the table. “What’s this?” She tapped on the stainless-steel bowl with lid.
“Open it,” he told her, taking a seat across from her.
Mia lifted the lid, stared at the contents and laughed. “All green M&M’s?”
He shrugged. “Just in case your homemade dessert didn’t turn out, I knew you liked those.”
Mia’s heart swelled even more. There was no question Bronson loved her. How many ways had he shown her? Did she need him to say the words? They would be nice to hear, but she knew he wasn’t ready to say them, and his actions had seriously spoken louder than three simple words could.
But what she prayed for more than anything was that he trusted her. And that he would still trust her when he discovered the truth about Anthony. That he would come to her, let her comfort him and explain why she hadn’t been able to tell him what she knew.
Because if she lost Bronson from her life, she truly doubted that she would ever find love like this again.
“Another surprise, Bronson?” Mia asked as she climbed into the sporty silver rental car.
After a night of passionate lovemaking and testing her scrumptious dessert in bed, Bronson woke her with orders to get dressed and be ready in an hour.
“Trust me,” he told her as he started the engine. “You may love this surprise most.”
“More than a castle getaway, the cooking lessons, my own bowl of green M&M’s?”
He smiled, steering them down the narrow street. “More.”
Now that had her even more intrigued. “Can you tell me what it is?”
Reaching over, he grabbed her hand and laughed. “You have really got to learn some patience, Mia.”
“I will. Tomorrow. Now tell me where you’re taking me.”
The infuriating man merely laughed as he drove. They traveled for nearly an hour before coming to a beautiful little town with bistros and specialty shops.
“What are we doing here?” she asked once he’d parked.
