Margaret Mayo - The Italian's Ruthless Baby Bargain

Since there was no way she could wrap up her confession in pretty words, she blurted it out. ‘I’m pregnant, Santo.’

The silence that followed was unending, and deafening. Penny avoided looking at him. She didn’t want to see the horror, the disbelief, the shock, the denial.

When he did finally speak there was recrimination in his voice. ‘It’s impossible. You are mistaken.’ His accent was deep and there was nothing but harsh shadow across his face.

‘No, I’m not,’ she declared, trying to keep her voice level. ‘I’m carrying your baby.’

‘But I’ve always taken precautions.’ Dark eyes were still disbelieving.

‘Except once,’ she reminded him. ‘Naturally I won’t deny you access to the baby, but—’

‘The hell you won’t!’ Santo’s roar rent the air and seemed to echo around them.

Penny’s eyes flared a vivid blue. ‘Do you really think I’d let a man who spends more time at work than he does at home bring up my child? Not in your wildest dreams.’

Her heart beat so fiercely that it hurt and, fearing that she had gone too far, Penny stood up with the intention of fleeing again, but Santo unceremoniously pushed her back down.

‘We haven’t finished.’

‘I don’t think there’s anything left to say.’

‘Marry me.’

Margaret Mayowas reading Mills & Boon® romances long before she began to write them. In fact she never had any plans to become a writer. After an idea for a short story popped into her head she was thrilled when it turned into a full-scale novel. Now, over twenty-five years later, she is still happily writing and says she has no intention of stopping.

She lives with her husband Ken in a rural part of Staffordshire, England. She has two children: Adrian, who now lives in America, and Tina. Margaret’s hobbies are reading, photography, and more recently watercolour painting, which she says has honed her observational skills and is a definite advantage when it comes to writing.

Recent titles by the same author:

THE BILLIONAIRE’S BLACKMAIL BARGAIN

BEDDED AT HIS CONVENIENCE

THE RICH MAN’S RELUCTANT MISTRESS

BY

MARGARET MAYO

www.millsandboon.co.uk

CHAPTER ONE

FROM the first moment Penny looked into Santo De Luca’s eyes she knew she was in trouble. They were the deepest, darkest brown she had ever seen, framed by long, silky lashes, set beneath a pair of equally silky black brows. And they appeared to be looking into her soul, trying to find out what sort of a person she was before she had even spoken.

It was impossible to ignore the rivers of sensation that flooded her veins, the way her blood ran hot, and the instant thought that she could be in danger. There was nothing to confirm this, just an impression, a feeling. The man was seriously sexy. ‘Miss Keeling?’

Oh, hell, even his voice was sexy, coming from deep, deep down in his throat. Was there nothing about him that didn’t set off alarm bells, that didn’t stir her deepest emotions; emotions that she’d kept rigidly in check for a long, long time?

Penny nodded, feeling sure that if she dared to speak her voice would give her away. Never in her life had she felt such strong emotions at a first meeting, not when she didn’t even know the man. Not when she was about to work for him. It was insane.

‘You do have a tongue?’ The voice had sharpened, still a low rumble in his throat but with an added edge, and his beautifully sculpted brows drew together over his eyes.

Such gorgeous eyes! Nevertheless his question had the desired effect. She snapped herself back into business mode. ‘Yes, I’m Miss Keeling.’ And she straightened her shoulders, standing that little bit taller. But even at five feet eight she still stood several inches below him.

‘Do you look at all of your employers as though they’re from a different planet?’

Penny wasn’t sure whether he was joking or being serious. But just in case she kept her voice grave. ‘Not as a rule, Mr De Luca.’

‘So I’m the exception. Is there a reason for that?’

Not only did he look gorgeous but he also had a most attractive Italian accent. It raised goose bumps on her skin. And she wondered for a brief moment whether it would be advisable to work for a man who could do this much damage before she’d even got to know him. Perhaps she ought to turn and run?

‘I… You’re not what I expected.’

‘I see,’ he said. ‘I’m not the normal run-of-the-mill father, is that it?’

Penny sucked in a deep breath. ‘Normally it’s the child’s mother who organises a nanny, generally because she needs to go back to work—or whatever else it is she wants to do,’ she couldn’t help adding. She had worked for very rich women who preferred having a social life to bringing up their children.

‘The agency didn’t tell you that there wasn’t a Mrs De Luca?’

‘No.’ She heard the surprise in her voice. Normally she would have been given the background of the family and they would have wanted to see her prior to engaging her, making sure she was suitable. But on this occasion a nanny had been needed urgently.

‘You come highly recommended.’ He raised a brow as he said it, and Penny realised that she was hardly being professional. In fact she was acting completely out of character.

All because he was a strikingly handsome man.

‘Though I’m beginning to have my doubts about whether you’re up to the job,’ he added crisply. ‘Nevertheless I have a very important business meeting that I’m already late for. Come through to the kitchen and I’ll introduce you to my housekeeper. We’ll have a serious talk tonight.’

Up to the job! Penny took umbrage. ‘Mr De Luca,’ she declared, standing at her full height, staring him full in the face, ‘I can assure you that I am more than up to the job, as you put it.’ She thrust an envelope into his face. ‘Here are my references, you’ll see that—’

‘Those aren’t necessary!’ he declared imperiously. ‘I prefer to make my own judgement.’

And at the moment she was sadly lacking, thought Penny. She could hardly blame him; she had stood there like an idiot instead of ignoring his sexuality and being the truly experienced nanny that she was.

She had approached his house this morning with an air of excitement. The agency she worked for had stressed how important this job was. Mr De Luca was the head of the De Luca advertising agency—a global company—and if she pleased him it could work very well for them.

He lived on the outskirts of London in a huge mansion set in an amazing estate—it couldn’t be called anything less, she’d decided, because after the electronically controlled gates had opened she’d driven through acres of woodland and gardens. To say she was impressed would have been an understatement.

And when she’d reached the house, well, she was truly stunned. Three storeys high, eight windows across. How many rooms was that?

‘I understand your last nanny left you rather unexpectedly?’ she questioned as she hurried at his heels through miles of corridors. Anyone would think they were in a race. His long legs were in danger of taking him away from her.

He wore a dark grey suit and white shirt, both Savile Row if she wasn’t mistaken, but they did little to disguise the well-maintained body beneath. This man seriously worked out and she wasn’t surprised, he’d need to be super-fit to work the long hours he did. She’d been told he left by seven every morning, and was always late getting home. It sounded to her as though he didn’t see very much of his daughter.

‘That is correct. And if you’re having any ideas that this job isn’t for you, then I’d be obliged if you would say so right now.’

He stopped so abruptly that Penny cannoned into him, taken aback when his strong arms steadied her and those mesmerising dark eyes locked into hers. She actually stopped breathing for a few seconds and gazed into those magical depths, then realised what she was doing and stepped back a pace.

Her nostrils were invaded by the most irresistible cologne she had ever come across. It was strong like the man himself, though not overpowering. It was subtly pervasive and she knew it would linger long after he had gone. ‘I will naturally do the job to the best of my ability. I’m a conscientious worker, your daughter will be perfectly safe with me and—where is she, by the way? Don’t you think we ought to be—?’

‘Chloe’s still in bed,’ he told her fiercely. ‘I saw no reason to wake her. My office hours are irregular to say the least, but Chloe needs routine, as I’m sure you understand. Emily, my housekeeper, will show you around and then I shall expect you to get Chloe ready and take her to school. I didn’t see any luggage when you arrived, you do know that I expect you to live in?’

Penny inclined her head. ‘It was a rush getting here this early,’ she said, hoping to make her point. ‘I planned on sorting my things out while your daughter’s at school.’ According to the agency his previous nanny had walked out yesterday. Though why he couldn’t have taken a day off and spent time interviewing, Penny didn’t know. At least it was her gain, and the salary she’d been offered was far higher than anything she’d earned before.

He muttered something under his breath in his native language and then resumed his race to the kitchen.

Emily was small and rotund and Penny imagined her to be in her mid-fifties. She had rosy cheeks and short grey hair and, judging by the way she looked at her employer, she clearly adored him.

Penny didn’t realise how much his presence filled the massive room until he had gone. It was only then that she felt able to breathe more easily. Emily saw her relax and smiled. ‘Welcome to the De Luca household. Mr De Luca’s a wonderful man to work for. I hope you’ll be happy here.’

And why was the housekeeper giving her more of a welcome than the big man himself? wondered Penny. ‘Is he always so disagreeable?’ she enquired. ‘I got the impression that he wasn’t sure I’d be any good at the job!’

‘That’s because none of the nannies he’s employed before have lasted more than a few weeks.’

Penny frowned. ‘Is Chloe a difficult child? Or is Mr De Luca the problem?’ He was actually a big problem as far as she was concerned. Far too sexy for her peace of mind. Penny had never met a man who so instantly affected her senses. Even Max hadn’t had this sort of effect on her, and she’d thought he had been the one.

Emily lifted her shoulders and let them drop again, slowly. ‘Mr De Luca’s a very fair man to work for. I should know, I’ve been with him for a very long time. It’s the hours that people don’t like. Most of the nannies before were all young with fancy boyfriends and they didn’t want to be on duty twenty-four hours a day. It’s understandable.’

‘Is that what he expects?’ asked Penny, widening her eyes. No wonder he’d offered her such a good salary. He wanted blood.

‘He doesn’t think, that’s his trouble,’ declared Emily. ‘You just have to tell him if he puts on you too much. I do.’

But she was part of the fixtures, thought Penny. He wouldn’t take it very kindly if she said anything. She was tempted to ask what had happened to his wife but felt it was too soon. Perhaps she too had been unable to put up with the long hours he worked?

‘What time does Chloe normally get up?’ she asked, glancing at the clock on the wall.