Loe raamatut: «One Passionate Night»

CHAPTER ONE

LAURA BETH MATTHEWS sat on the rim of the old porcelain tub in the New York City apartment she had to vacate by the next morning. Her long brown hair had been swirled into a sophisticated French twist. Her lilac organza bridesmaid gown was an original Eloise Vaughn design. A pregnancy test shook in her right hand.

Tears pooled in her eyes. There was no question now. She was going to have a baby.

“Laura Beth! Come on!” Eloise called from the hall as she knocked on the bathroom door. “I’m the bride! I should at least get ten minutes in the bathroom to check my makeup.”

“Sorry!” She swiped at her tears and quickly examined her face in the medicine cabinet mirror. No real mascara smudges yet, but the day was young.

For the first time since she, Eloise and their third original roommate, Olivia Prentiss Engle, had decided to spend the night before Eloise’s wedding together and dress together, Laura Beth regretted it. She was pregnant. The father of her child, one of Olivia’s husband’s vice presidents, had called her a slut when she’d told him she was late and they might be parents. And now she didn’t just have to smile her way through a wedding; she had to hide a pregnancy test in a tiny bathroom.

She glanced around. “I’ll be two more seconds.” Out of time, she wrapped the stick in toilet paper and tossed it in the little wastebasket. Satisfied neither Olivia nor Eloise would rummage through the trash, she sucked in a breath, pasted on a happy smile and opened the door.

Eloise stood before her, glowing, a vision in her original Artie Best gown, designed specifically by her boss, the one and only Artie Best. Smooth silk rode Eloise’s feminine curves. Rhinestones sparkled across the sweetheart neckline. And real diamonds—enough to support the population of a third-world country for a decade—glittered at her throat.

Tears pooled in Laura Beth’s eyes again, but this time they were tears of joy for her friend. Eloise, Olivia and Laura Beth had moved to New York City with stars in their eyes. Now Olivia was a married mom. Eloise would be married in a few hours. And Laura Beth was pregnant, with a deadbeat for her child’s father and twenty-four hours to vacate her apartment.

She was in deep trouble.

* * *

Antonio Bartulocci studied his shoulder-length curly black hair in the mirror. He’d gotten it cut for Ricky and Eloise’s wedding, but he still debated tying it back, out of the way. He looked to the left, then the right, and decided he was worrying over nothing. Eloise and Ricky were his friends because they liked him just as he was. They didn’t care that he was a tad bohemian. Most artists were.

He straightened his silver tie one last time before he walked out of the bedroom of his suite in his father’s Park Avenue penthouse and headed for the main room.

Comfortable aqua sofas faced each other atop a pale gray area rug, flanked by white Queen Anne chairs. A gray stone fireplace took up the back wall, and a dark walnut wet bar sat in the corner. The view of the New York City skyline from the wall of windows in the back had taken Antonio’s breath away when he first saw it. Since his wife’s death, it barely registered.

“Hurry up, Antonio,” his father called from the bar as he poured bourbon into a crystal glass. He wore a simple black suit, a white shirt and yellow striped tie that would be replaced by a tuxedo for the reception later that night. Though he was well into his seventies and a few pounds overweight, Italian billionaire Constanzo Bartulocci was a dashing man. A man whose looks spoke of money and power, who lived not in an ordinary world, but in one he could control. Unlike Antonio’s world, where passion, inspiration and luck ruled.

“I’m right behind you.”

Constanzo jumped and faced his son, his right hand over his heart. “You scare me.”

Antonio laughed. “I’ll bet I do.”

After downing his drink in one long swallow, Constanzo pointed at the door. “Let’s get going. I don’t want to end up in a crush of reporters like we did the last time we went somewhere.”

Antonio straightened his tie one more time. “Hey, you made me the paparazzi monster I am today.”

“You are not a monster.” The lilt of an Italian accent warmed his father’s voice. “You could be one of the most important painters of the twenty-first century. You are a talent.”

He knew that, of course. But having talent wasn’t what most people imagined. He didn’t put his gift away in a shiny box and take it out when he needed it. Talent, the need to paint, the breathtaking yearning to explore life on a canvas, were what drove him. But for the past two years he hadn’t even been able to pick up a brush. Forget about painting, accepting commissions, having a purpose in life. Now, he ate, drank, slept—but didn’t really live. Because he’d made millions on his art in the past few years, and, with his savvy businessman father’s help, he’d parlayed those millions into hundreds of millions through investments, money wasn’t an issue. He had the freedom and the resources to ignore his calling.

The private elevator door silently opened. Antonio and his father stepped inside. Constanzo sighed. “If you had a personal assistant, this wouldn’t have happened.”

Antonio worked to hide a wince. He didn’t have to ask what his father meant. He knew. “I’m sorry.”

“I wanted you to be the artist who did the murals for Tucker’s new building. Those works would have been seen by thousands of people. Ordinary people. You would have brought art to the masses in a concrete way. But you missed the deadline.”

“I don’t have a brain for remembering dates.”

“Which is exactly why you need a personal assistant.”

Antonio fought the urge to squeeze his eyes shut. What he needed was to be left alone. Or maybe to roll back the clock so far that he hadn’t married the woman who’d betrayed him. But that wasn’t going to happen. He was stuck in a combination of grief and guilt that paralyzed him.

Constanzo’s limousine awaited them on the street. They walked under the building portico without speaking. Antonio motioned for his father to enter first.

When he slid in behind him, soft white leather greeted him. A discreet minibar sat near the media controls. His father hit a few buttons and classical music quietly entered the space.

The driver closed the door and in less than a minute the limo pulled onto the street.

“A PA could also handle some of the Gisella problems that remain.”

Antonio’s jaw twitched.

Constanzo sighed. “Well, you don’t seem to want to handle them.” He sighed again, more deeply this time. “Antonio, it’s been two years. You cannot grieve forever.”

Antonio glanced at his father. He let his lips lift into a small smile. Pretending he was grieving had been the only way he’d survived the years since his wife’s death. Beautiful Gisella had burst into his life like a whirlwind. Twenty-four hours after they’d met they’d been in bed. Twenty-four weeks after that they were married. He’d been so smitten, so hopelessly in love, that days, weeks, months hadn’t mattered. But looking back, he recognized the signs he should have seen. Her modeling career hadn’t tanked, but it had been teetering, and marriage to the newly famous Italian painter had put her in the limelight again. Her sudden interest in international causes hadn’t cropped up until she found a way to use them to keep herself, her name, in the papers and on everybody’s lips. She’d even spoken at the UN. He’d been so proud...so stupid.

“My son, I know adult children don’t like nagging, meddling parents, but this time I am correct. You must move on.”

Without replying, he looked out the window at the hustle and bustle of New York City in the spring. Bumper-to-bumper traffic, most of it taxicabs. Optimistic residents walking up and down the sidewalk in lightweight coats. The sun glittering off the glass of towering buildings. At one time he’d loved this city more than he’d loved the Italian countryside that was his home. But she’d even ruined that for him.

“Please do not spoil Ricky and Eloise’s day with your sadness.”

“I’m not sad, Dad. I’m fine.”

The limo stopped. They exited and headed into the enormous gray stone cathedral.

The ceremony was long and Antonio’s mind wandered to his own wedding, in this same church, to a woman who hadn’t really loved him.

No, he wasn’t sad. He was angry, so furious some days his heart beat slow and heavy with it. But he couldn’t ruin the reputation of a woman who’d used him to become a cultural icon any more than he could pretend she’d been the perfect wife she’d portrayed.

Which meant he couldn’t have a PA digging through papers in his office or documents on his computer.

The ceremony ended. The priest said, “I now introduce Mr. and Mrs. Richard Langley.”

His best friend, Ricky, and his beautiful new wife, Eloise, turned and faced the crowd of friends and relatives sitting in the pews. A round of applause burst through the church and Ricky and Eloise headed down the aisle. Matron of honor Olivia Engle and best man Tucker Engle, also husband and wife, followed them out of the church. Antonio walked to the center aisle to meet his partner, Laura Beth Matthews.

Laura Beth was a sweet young woman he’d met and had gotten to know fairly well over the years when she’d visited Olivia and Tucker at their Italian villa, and every time there was a baptism, birthday or holiday party at the Engle penthouse on Park Avenue. Unfortunately, she had usually been with an annoying boyfriend, someone who didn’t fit into Tucker Engle’s world or Ricky Langley’s, but who desperately tried to.

Laura Beth slid her hand to Antonio’s elbow and he smiled at her before they walked down the aisle and out of the church.

As Ricky and Eloise greeted the long line of guests filing through the vestibule, Antonio turned to Laura Beth. “You look lovely.”

She glanced down at the pale purple dress. “Eloise designs the most beautiful gowns.”

“Ah, so she did this herself.”

Laura Beth nodded. When she brought her gaze back to his, though, her green eyes were dull. Not sad for the change in her life that the marriage of her last roommate would bring, but lifeless.

He caught her forearm to bring her attention to him. “Are you okay?”

She suddenly brightened. “Sure. Yes. I’m fine. Wonderful. It was just a stressful morning.”

“Tell me about it. Have you ever tried traveling with a billionaire who expects everybody and everything to be at his fingertips?”

Laura Beth laughed. “Oh, come on. I love your father! He’s not a prima donna.”

“You’ve only dealt with him when you were on vacation or at a party for one of Tucker and Olivia’s kids. Just try flying across the Atlantic with him.”

She laughed again and something lightened in Antonio’s chest. With her dark brown hair and bright green eyes, Laura Beth was much too pretty to be so—

He paused, not able to put a label on her mood. Nervous didn’t quite hit the mark. Unhappy wasn’t it either. She seemed more like distant. As if she were preoccupied.

Seeing Ricky and Eloise still had a line of guests filing out of the church, he said, “So what’s up?”

Her head snapped in his direction. “Up?”

“You’re here one minute, but your mind is gone the next. You’re obviously mulling something over. Or trying to figure something out.”

“I...um...well, I have to be out of my apartment tomorrow before noon.”

His eyebrows rose. “And you’re not packed?”

“No, I’m packed. I just don’t have anywhere to go.”

“You could stay at Constanzo’s penthouse. We leave tomorrow morning.”

She blushed. “Yeah, I could stay at Tucker and Olivia’s, too.” The red of her face deepened. “I’m always taking advantage of other people’s goodwill.”

The greeting line for wedding guests suddenly ended. Ricky and Eloise headed outside. Antonio caught Laura Beth’s hand and led her to the side door. “Let’s go. We want to be outside to toss confetti when they come out.”

* * *

When Antonio took her hand and guided her out into the warm spring day, Laura Beth’s heart tugged. With his shoulder-length curly black hair and penetrating dark eyes, he was the epitome of the sexy artist. But that wasn’t why her heart skipped a beat. His very casual way of making her feel a part of things, when her brain kept dragging her away, lifted her spirits. He was a good man, with a big heart and so much talent she almost couldn’t fathom it.

She’d had a crush on him from the day she’d met him. But she’d been dating Bruce. Then Antonio had gotten married, and two short years after that he was mourning the loss of his beautiful, equally talented, dedicated wife. So though she’d crushed on him, she’d never even let the thought of flirting with him fully form. And now, pregnant, she only let the thought flit through her brain. She absolutely wouldn’t act on it.

She should just get off her self-pity train and help Antonio enjoy the wedding, not expect him to help her.

So she made light, happy conversation while they posed for pictures as members of the wedding party, and hours later in the ballroom of the Waldorf, while they ate dinner. Antonio laughed in all the right places, but Laura Beth could see the glimmer of sadness in his eyes. As much as she wanted to be able to entertain him, she was failing. Her own troubles weighed her down, just as his dampened his mood. They’d both run out of jokes and neutral topics and even fun-filled facts. Worse, every time he turned his dark, brooding eyes on her, she wanted to flirt. Flirt! He had troubles. She had troubles. And she wanted to flirt? Ridiculous. So after the wedding party dance, she shuffled off to the ladies’ room.

She sat on the cushioned sofa along the back wall and took several deep breaths. She might be able to hide out in her apartment one more night, but then she seriously had to decide where she’d sleep tomorrow. In Tucker and Olivia’s penthouse? Or Constanzo Bartulocci’s? Once again accepting charity.

How long could she live like this? She did not have a home. She did not have a full-time job. She was pregnant by a man who thought her a slut. She was a failure.

Tears filled her eyes.

Oh, great. Now she’d upset herself.

She sucked in a breath, brushed away her tears and rose from the comfortable sofa. She might not be able to pretend she wasn’t in financial trouble, but for the next few hours she still had to feign happiness and fulfill her bridesmaid responsibilities.

In the plush hall outside the ladies’ room, she straightened her shoulders and drank in another fortifying breath. She could do this.

The first person she saw as she entered the ballroom was Antonio, so she walked in the other direction. The pull of her attraction to him was so strong today she could have melted in his arms when they danced, and that was just wrong. He was grieving a wonderful woman whom he’d adored. And Laura Beth herself had problems to solve before she could even consider flirting with someone, let alone melting into his arms.

Walking past laughing entrepreneurs, happy socialites and waiters serving champagne, she had a strange epiphany, or maybe a rush of reality. She was only here because of her roommates. In the four years since she’d been invited into this rarified world by Olivia and Eloise, they had not only found their true callings, but they had fallen for the loves of their lives—while she hadn’t found squat. Rubbing elbows with executives, she hadn’t been able to prove herself enough to anyone to get a full-time job. And despite being in front of all these gorgeous eligible bachelors, she hadn’t yet found a man who wanted her.

Maybe her problem wasn’t that there was something wrong with her. Maybe she was in the wrong class of people. After all, she’d grown up blue-collar. Why did she believe that just because her friends fit into the glitzy, glamorous world of billionaires, she should fit in, too?

Maybe this whole mess—her inability to get a full-time job, her inability to keep her apartment and her pregnancy—was a wake-up call from the universe. Hey, Laura Beth, you’re in the wrong crowd. That’s why you’re failing!

It made so much sense that she stopped short, not quite at the open bar.

The answer was so obvious it stunned her. Though she would always be friends with Olivia and Eloise, she didn’t belong in this part of their world. She was common. Normal. Not that there was anything wrong with that. It was more that a common person, someone who didn’t fit in this world, would always come up short. But if she were to jump off her high horse and get a normal job, she would probably be very happy right now.

If only because she would get to be herself.

* * *

Antonio almost groaned when his dad sidled up to him at the bar. “So have you given any thought to my suggestion about a personal assistant?”

As much as Antonio loved his dad, he did have moments when he wished the old billionaire would just get lost.

“Dad, how about letting this go?”

“I think it’s the answer to your problems.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his partner for the wedding, Laura Beth, walk up beside him and order a ginger ale from the bartender. He would only have to tap her arm and snag her attention to get himself out of this conversation. But how fair was that? Not only did he need to put his foot down with his dad, but Laura Beth obviously wanted to be left alone. It wouldn’t be right to drag her into his drama.

He sucked in a breath and smiled at his dad. There was only one way to stop Constanzo—pretend to agree. Albeit temporarily. “You know what? I will think about the PA.” It really wasn’t a lie. He would think about hiring a PA, but that was as far as it would go. There was no way he wanted a stranger in his house. No way he wanted someone going through his things. No way he wanted a stranger to accidentally stumble upon any of his wife’s deceit when rummaging through papers or files or phone records while trying to organize him.

Constanzo’s face lit. “You will?”

“Sure.”

“And maybe start painting again?”

He stole a glance at Laura Beth, suddenly wishing he could capture that faraway look in her eyes, the expression that was half-wistful, half-sad. She was so naturally beautiful. High cheekbones gave her face a sculpted look that would serve her well as she aged. And her bounty of hair? He could see himself undoing that fancy hairdo and fanning his fingers through the silken strands to loosen it, right before he kissed her.

What? Where had that come from?

He shook his head to clear it, deciding it was time to get away from his dad before he had any more crazy thoughts.

He faced Constanzo. “I’ll paint when I paint. Now, I need to get mingling again.”

As he walked away from the bar, he noticed his dad bridging the gap between himself and Laura Beth and sighed with relief. This meant his dad wouldn’t follow him. Besides which, it would help Laura Beth get her mind off her troubles. When he wasn’t hounding Antonio about something or another in his life, Constanzo Bartulocci could be a very funny guy.

* * *

Laura Beth glanced at Constanzo and pasted a smile on her face. Now that she recognized she didn’t belong in this crowd, that she was pretending to be someone she wasn’t, she knew exactly what to do: enjoy the rest of the wedding, then get busy finding a normal job and some new roommates. Whoever she chose couldn’t ever replace Olivia and Eloise—no one would ever replace her two best friends—but she’d make it work.

“You seem sad tonight.”

Laura Beth nodded and smiled at Constanzo. He was like everybody’s rich uncle. But he didn’t flaunt his money. He made people laugh. He’d made her laugh at more than one of Olivia and Tucker’s family events. It wasn’t unusual or out of line for her to confide. She simply wouldn’t tell him everything.

“My second roommate got married today,” she said, taking advantage of the obvious. “I’m not exactly an old maid, but I’m on the road.”

Constanzo laughed. “You Americans. What is this old maid thing? Can’t a woman mature and enjoy life without being married?”

She laughed lightly. That was exactly the attitude she needed to cultivate. “Actually, yes, she can.”

“Good. A woman doesn’t need a man. She should want a man in her life. But he should complement her, not define her.”

She toasted him with her glass of ginger ale. “Wise words.”

“So, now that we’ve settled the old maid issue, what else has made you sad?”

“I’m fine.”

He studied her face, then shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

“Jeez. You’re as perceptive as Antonio.”

“Where do you think he gets it?”

“I thought it was the artist in him.”

Constanzo shook his head sadly. “Unfortunately, since his wife’s death, I think the artist in my son is withering and dying.”

His gaze drifted to Antonio, and Laura Beth followed his line of sight. Antonio was stunning in his tuxedo, with his hair a little wild. Every woman he passed eyed him with interest. The spark of her crush lit again, the desire to walk over and suggest another dance rising up in her. But that was wrong. Not only did she have troubles she had to solve before she got involved with another man, but as every woman around him drooled, Antonio didn’t seem to see anybody.

“The death of a spouse is difficult.”

Constanzo accepted that with a slight nod of his head. “I don’t want him to lose his entire life over this.”

“He’ll come around.”

“He needs a nudge.”

Laura Beth laughed. “A nudge?”

Constanzo sucked in a breath. “Yes, he needs to hire help. An assistant. Somebody who can live with him and get him on track.”

“Sounds like a tall order.”

“I don’t think so. We’ve been talking about him hiring a personal assistant, and he’s finally agreeable, which means he’s finally ready to heal and get back into life. I think once an assistant gets rid of the two years of junk he’s let accumulate in his office, Antonio will be able to see his future—not his past.”

Laura Beth mulled that over for a second. “Oddly, Constanzo, that actually makes sense.”

Constanzo laughed. “I like that you understand us. It’s part of why I find you to chat to at parties.”

She smiled. “There’s not much to understand. You’re a dad who loves his son. He’s a son who appreciates having a dad. All the rest is just stuff.”

He laughed again. “I wish I could hire you to be his PA.”

Laura Beth paused her ginger ale halfway to her lips.

“But I’m sure you wouldn’t want to live in Italy. And then there’s matter of the job itself. I’m sure you’re accustomed to much loftier employment.”

She sniffed a laugh. “My degree has gotten me nothing but temp jobs.”

His eyebrows rose. “So you’re interested?”

She thought that through. A real full-time job, that came with room and board? In a country away from her family and friends, so she could think through what to do about her pregnancy before she announced it?

“Yes. I’m interested.”