around the small house. “This is what makes you happy?”
Brianna crossed her arms in front of her chest. She didn’t know how to answer that. No, she wasn’t happy. Things hadn’t worked out at all the way they were supposed to since she’d moved back to New York. Mostly, and to her utter horror, her son had so far not adjusted well at all.
But those last months in Italy, things had just been getting colder and colder between them. In fact, they weren’t even pretending to be an actual married couple anymore. Simply two people living under the same roof. That was what happened when one tried to force a family into existence. She should have known better.
Still, she hadn’t expected to miss Marco as much as she did.
He looked at her expectantly. His next words made her wonder if he’d somehow read her mind about missing him. “So tell me what makes you happy, cara.” His dark, smoldering eyes fell to her lips.
He stepped closer. Brianna forced herself to look away. If she wasn’t careful, she could so easily fall into the Marco Dirici trap again. His voice, that look.
“Do you remember being happy at least at first?” he asked.
And what kind of a question was that?
As if she could forget. Her mind automatically recalled the first time he’d kissed her. They’d met only hours before. Yet, she couldn’t resist his charm and sheer magnetism. She hardly recognized herself that night and the following week after meeting him.
A small wailing sound from the monitor jarred her back and she glanced at the wall. “Now see what you’ve done? He’s awake. It’s at least an hour until his usual wake-up time.”
Marco sighed then stepped away from her. Was that a hint of disappointment she detected in his eyes? Probably not.
“I’d like to see my son.”
Brianna took a steadying breath and waited a beat for the pounding in her chest to slow. Then she made her way toward the stairs.
* * *
Marco watched her walk away and cursed himself. After six months without laying eyes on her, the second he’d seen her again he’d felt like a damn hormonal teenager. The same way he had close to three years ago. And just like back then, it had only taken one look at her. Her emerald-green eyes still blazed, just as he remembered. And her lips. Heavens, those lips reminded him of sin. Her nightwear left little to the imagination. But he already knew every inch of her. She was exquisite, she was stunning. And for a while, she had been his.
But never completely.
What was it about this woman that made him lose such control? The last thing he’d had on his mind when he’d walked in here was to travel down memory lane and reminisce about the first time he’d laid eyes on her.
He rubbed his brow. He couldn’t let his attraction to her complicate matters on this trip. The attraction was merely physical. Same as always. He needed more from her than she was willing to give. He’d never begged a woman for anything.
He certainly wasn’t going to start with his soon-to-be ex-wife. And certainly not to delay the inevitable.
He had only two reasons to be here: to tell Brianna she could have the divorce she so wanted and, most importantly, to work out final custody of Enzo. His son was all that mattered now. He’d never really expected Brianna to stay around. Women came and women went. But familia... He would fight to keep his blood.
He looked around the house he knew she rented. The kitchen was tidy, with a small round table in the center. Through an arched doorway he could see a living room with a center sitting area. A bay window overlooked the street. The house was small, modest.
There was nothing overtly wrong with the place, but it certainly didn’t compare to the expansive mansion Brianna had lived in as his wife.
She preferred it here.
Not that he was surprised. His arrival in her life three years ago had served to totally derail it. At that time she had just landed a new job, was working hard to make a name for herself in the New York culinary world. Then he’d come along and disrupted it all. Before they knew it and to their combined utter shock, they found themselves unwed and expecting. He’d asked her to marry him and join him in Italy. For a while it seemed as if the union might work. But it quickly became obvious they were headed down a rocky road.
For one, Brianna had a difficult pregnancy. Passion, the one thing that bound them, had to be put on hold. And the expansion of Dirici Foods had hit snag after snag, taking him away from home consistently.
Still, Marco had hoped she would fall in love with her new home. That she would try to acclimate and settle into the new life she found herself in, regardless of how unexpectedly it had come about. But that had not happened. He never should have expected it. Foolish, really.
Something tightened in his gut. The time had simply come to cut his losses.
He had to finalize things with her in New York quickly, and then he had to get out of her life as best he could.
* * *
The hard children’s book hurtling toward Brianna missed her head by mere inches. She rose from her ducked position as the book bounced against the wall with a thud and landed on the floor.
“Now! Now! Now!”
“Enzo, we don’t throw things at Mama,” Brianna scolded. A teddy bear hit her on the chest.
“Do you want me to start taking your favorite toys out of your crib?”
“Out! Now!”
Brianna picked up the screaming child and held him close, hoping to calm him down. Enzo smelled of baby shampoo and the delicate scent of talc.
Even during moments like this, Brianna couldn’t believe the sheer wave of emotion that holding her child brought forth. She’d never expected to have a child at this stage of her life. But she was grateful beyond words to have him. Especially considering the terrifying touch-and-go moments that plagued her pregnancy. She’d prayed daily that her precious little boy would be born full term and healthy, so thankful finally when he had.
“Keech!” Enzo shouted in her ear.
“We’ll go down to the kitchen in a moment,” Brianna said. “But first I need to tell you something.” She set him down.
Enzo ran toward the stairs, not listening at all. She followed close behind. He hadn’t quite mastered going down the steps yet but that never slowed him down.
“Enzo, wait.”
He was already pulling open the unlocked safety gate at the top of the stairs when Brianna caught up to him.
“Keech! Keech!”
“All right, all right.” Brianna took his hand and slowly, carefully walked him down the stairs. “We’re going down there now. There’s someone here to see you.”
As soon as they reached the first-floor landing, he ran to the kitchen.
“Joos!”
