Cleopatra Knight never expected to sleep with her handsome boss, Dante Damaso, during a trip to Tokyo. Their passionate nights lead to unexpected consequences, turning Cleo’s life upside down. Despite Dante’s jet-setting lifestyle and reluctance to settle down, he can’t forget Cleo. Living together, they both discover deeper feelings, and Cleo wonders if her heart’s desire is within reach.
“What emotions? What you felt for the baby is unrelated to your relationship with Cleo, so you can let her move on with her life now, while you move on with yours.” Dante stared at him mutely, not sure how to respond, not sure how he felt but knowing one thing with absolute certainty. “There…
She became very much aware of that fact moments later when she stood staring up at Dante. “Oh,” she whispered as his eyes ran over her body wordlessly. His face was grim, and his lips thinned. “What are you doing here?” He said nothing, just pushed his way past her and into the house. That…
“I have competent people to run things in my absence. I took compassionate leave.” He unbuttoned his shirt and kicked off his shoes while he spoke, and Cleo turned her back to give him some privacy, while nervously rearranging the myriad decorative perfume atomizers on her dresser. “You did?” She wouldn’t let the fact that…
She didn’t want to deal with him too; she was in too much agony to have to think about him, consider him . . . it was all too much! “I can’t do this alone and neither can you,” he muttered as he pressed his lips to her forehead, but she barely felt the kiss;…
“We don’t have to be together to do that.” She kept her face and voice remote and cold. “I want you to leave. Go home. Please.” “I don’t want you to be alone,” he protested, his face clenching in frustration. “I’ll be fine. Your being here makes this worse; don’t you get that?” Her voice…
“Fine. I have a huge bruise on my chest from the airbag, and the entire area is a bit tender, but it’s nothing serious.” It actually hurt more than she was letting on because of her already sensitive breasts, but there was no point in complaining since there wasn’t any pain medication she’d feel comfortable…
She walked over to the crib while he examined its lines and tested its durability with a keen masculine eye. He asked Kate about the toxicity of the varnish they used and other technical questions that wouldn’t have occurred to Cleo. The girl’s answers seemed to satisfy him, because he nodded approvingly with each of…
“I hope you’re hungry,” he said, and she sat down at the island to watch him. The scene was reminiscent of that first night he’d cooked for her. “I could eat.” “I made some paella, my second stepmother’s recipe. That woman was a genius in the kitchen, which was great, since none of the old…
It was the equivalent of a white flag, since Star Trek had become kind of an in-joke between them, but she didn’t think she could face him again tonight. No thanks. Tired. Going to sleep. Good night. She decided not to respond to his “Good night” and curled up on her bed, her hand on…
“He’s bleeding,” she told the paramedics as soon as they crouched down in front of them. “And she’s pregnant,” Dante informed them, as one of the men applied pressure to the bleeding wound above his right eyebrow, where a shard of the shattered window had narrowly missed his eye. Her hand went to her bump…