Italian Marriage: In Name Only Read Online Free PDF Page B

slightly as the child in her arms turned to regard him with steady dark eyes.
    ‘Do you mind telling me why?’ She whispered the question numbly as she transferred her son to her other hip.
    For a moment the shapeless jacket was twisted to one side, revealing a glimpse of what appeared to be a very shapely body.
    Antonio felt a dart of surprise and his eyes drifted over her more slowly, deliberately assessing her again—but the jacket was back in place now and it was hard to tell what her body was like under its baggy shape.
    Realizing what he was doing, he stopped suddenly. This was about business, he reminded himself angrily, nothing else.
    ‘I was getting around to my reasons.’ He nodded towards the chair. ‘Sit down, Victoria.’
    Their eyes clashed and he realized she had noticed his momentary interest and that she was blushing. He cursed himself.
    ‘Sit down, Victoria,’ he said again, and this time his tone was even more briskly businesslike.
    Victoria did as she was told, her legs shaking. Had she just imagined that second bold assessment of her body? Her eyes met with his and the flame of heat inside her intensified.
    How mortifying! She knew damn well that Antonio Cavelli was not remotely interested in her—that he was so arrogantly sure of himself that he probably looked at every woman in the same way. Yet here she was, blushing like a school girl! She needed to get a grip!
    ‘Have you read my business plan?’ she asked suddenly, angling her chin upwards again and meeting his gaze.
    She was still blushing. Antonio found it quite amusing. He was used to sophisticated women of the world and her reaction to him intrigued him.
    His gaze drifted over her face. And he found himself wondering abstractedly what she would look like without the glasses that were still perched on her nose—they completely dominated her face and did nothing for her.
    ‘Business plan?’ For a second he couldn’t remember what she was talking about. Then he remembered the folder her receptionist had handed to him earlier today. ‘Oh, that—no. I thought I made it clear this morning. Your idea isn’t something I would consider.’
    ‘But—’
    ‘Victoria, I have a plan that could bail you out with the restaurant but I’m on limited time here. I have an important meeting in twenty minutes so if we could press on.’ He leaned forward impatiently and she shrank back into her chair.
    There was an aura of power about him that unnerved her completely, or was it that raw sensuality that seemed to blaze from his dark eyes? He was everything a man should be and more. The clothes he wore were expensive and sophisticated, his features chiselled in a ruggedly handsome way, the square jaw accentuating his masculinity. He made her achingly aware of her own femininity and inadequacies.
    ‘Tell me, are you married?’ he asked abruptly.
    ‘Married?’ The question took her completely aback. She shook her head in confusion. ‘No, why are you asking me that?’
    ‘And you live alone? There’s no man in your life?’ he pressed on.
    ‘That’s…really none of your business!’ she stammered. ‘What’s all this about?’
    ‘I’ll take that as a no, shall I?’ He brushed aside her question and then held up a hand as she started to interrupt him. ‘You’re right, it’s none of my business.’ He conceded the point easily. ‘The thing is, I have a proposition for you.’
    She could feel her heart thudding unevenly against her chest. ‘What kind of a proposition?’
    He caught the nervous look in her wide eyes and his lips twitched with amusement. ‘A strictly business proposition, I assure you.’
    The dry note in his voice made her skin start to heat with embarrassed colour again. But she managed to hold his gaze defiantly. OK, he was making it clear that he wasn’t interested in her sexually—but she wasn’t interested in him either. All she cared about was her business. ‘Good, so perhaps you’d better make yourself