Page 58 of His Housekeeper's Twin Baby Confession
She sat down again. ‘Well, I guess...materially, yes...’
He was taking off the pretty golden bow and pulling back the paper.
She babbled nervously. ‘I just had an idea...maybe I’m totally off the mark...’
Oh, God. He was going to hate it.
But Massimo had taken off the paper now, and was looking down at the simple silver picture frame. His voice when he spoke was a little hoarse, and he didn’t look at her. ‘Where did you find this picture?’
‘I found it on the internet. I remembered seeing it a long time ago, when I’d just started working here and wanted to find out more about you...my boss. It always struck me as such a happy picture, and I realised I hadn’t seen it anywhere here.’
‘That’s because it was taken by a paparazzo.’
The picture had been taken after a motor race that Ricardo had won. He had his arm around Massimo and they were looking at each other, both smiling. Massimo had an affectionately exasperated expression on his face and Ricardo looked as if he’d just said something cheeky.
It seemed to encapsulate everything Massimo had told her about how he felt about his brother and the great love and bond between them.
Massimo touched the glass with one finger.
Carrie said nervously, ‘Look, if I’ve intruded...’
Massimo glanced at her and said dryly, ‘I think that horse has bolted now, don’t you?’
She blushed. She was sitting here with the evidence of that statement in her belly.
As if hearing her thoughts, Massimo’s gaze travelled down to her midriff.
‘Can you feel anything yet?’
Carrie shook her head. ‘Another couple of weeks.’
He looked back up at her face and put the picture down. He said, ‘Thank you for that...it’s very special.’
‘You’re welcome.’
Carrie didn’t seem to be able to break eye contact with Massimo... Afraid he’d see her desire laid bare in her eyes, on her face, she stood up and said, ‘Thank you for going to all this effort to make Christmas special. It was nice. But I think I’ll head for bed.’
Massimo stood too. Surprising her, he said, ‘Look at your earrings in the mirror.’
The air was charged again. Carrie’s blood felt heavy in her veins. ‘I can do that in my room.’
‘Humour me?’
He took her hand—their first real physical contact since she’d told him she was pregnant. Her legs turned to jelly. He led her over to where there was a mirror on the wall above a small table.
He placed her in front of him. She looked so small with Massimo towering behind her. She couldn’t look at herself.
He said, ‘May I?’
She didn’t even know what he was asking until she felt him draw her hair back. He let his fingers linger, lightly massaging her scalp. It was the most decadent, blissful thing Carrie had ever felt. She wanted to melt like liquid back into Massimo’s strong frame and—
She stiffened and looked at herself in the mirror. Hair down and tousled. Cheeks pink. Eyes too bright. She could see her nipples, hard and thrusting against the material of her dress. The diamonds in her ears glittered.
And Massimo was watching her. Reading all those glaring signs. He was playing with her.
She pulled away and Massimo’s hands dropped. She tried to smooth her hair into some semblance of tidiness.
‘What are you doing?’ she asked.
