Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 118245 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 591(@200wpm)___ 473(@250wpm)___ 394(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 118245 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 591(@200wpm)___ 473(@250wpm)___ 394(@300wpm)
Shifting my head left to right down the hall, I strained to hear any signs of life.
All was still silent.
This was a terrible idea.
Absolutely terrible.
The worst idea ever.
Don’t do it, my mind raged.
After another nervous glance, I stepped over the threshold. The space was clearly an office. Maybe if I glanced through the files enough to sound knowledgeable about Cavalieri’s business the next time I met with Fino, he would leave me alone about spying on them further.
I headed to the messier of the two desks.
The other desk was clearly that of a neat and organized female. Someone like that would be smart enough to file away anything incriminating. The other desk looked like controlled chaos. It would be much more likely that a piece of paper or file that was supposed to be hidden would get overlooked in the mess.
My fingertips slid over the disjointed edges of the closest pile of files as I forced air into my lungs. Fear made my chest tight. With one eye on the door, I tried to scan through the file tabs.
Invoices. Shipping orders. Website updates. Purity tests. Maintenance records. Payroll.
Maybe the payroll file would prove informative.
As if criminals put other criminals on the formal payroll.
Still, it was a place to start.
My right hand shook as I attempted to steady the unruly pile to slide the file out from the middle.
I was so focused on my task, I didn’t hear him enter.
“Can I help you?”
With a small shriek, my hand jerked, destabilizing the whole pile. I cried out as I bent my knees and surged forward to capture as many of the slipping files in my outstretched arms as I could before they tumbled to the floor.
I wasn’t successful.
Most of the papers slipped between my arms to crash in a guilty pile at my feet. I fell to my knees to gather them up. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry!”
The handsome older man stepped forward. He placed his espresso cup on the edge of the desk and went down on his haunches before me. His large, warm hands pressed down on the tops of mine. “Stop.”
His voice was soft but firm.
I slowly tilted my head back to look at him. After moistening my lips, I said again, “I’m very sorry.”
He gripped my hands and rose, lifting me off my knees. There was no doubt he was a Cavalieri. He had the same dark eyes, firm jaw, broad shoulders, and imposing height as Matteo.
My eyes widened as I took in his salt and pepper hair.
Oh no.
Oh no.
Oh, please if there is a God, no.
It couldn’t be…
Life isn’t this cruel.
The corner of the man’s mouth lifted as he stared down at me. “I’m Barone Cavalieri. And who might you be?”
Nope.
I was wrong. Life is this cruel.
Of course, it would be Barone Cavalieri.
My lips opened to speak, but no sound came out.
Just then, a soft, female voice interrupted. “Barone, you’re scaring her.”
I turned to see a pretty woman who looked close to my age enter. Her dark hair hung in thick waves over her shoulders as she entered the office casually dressed in an outfit I would have killed to be wearing at this moment: a heather-gray cashmere sweater over a pair of capri pants, with a simple strand of pearls around her neck.
My arms slipped to my sides, where I pulled on the short hem of my borrowed dress.
The woman held her hand out. “Hi, I’m Amara. You must be Antonia.”
Her smile was so genuine and warm, I had to stop myself from cringing away from her touch, worried I would sully her with my craven, guilty lie. “Yes,” I forced out through tight teeth, pushing my lips into a false smile.
Barone lifted his espresso cup off the desk. “Well, Antonia. It is nice to finally meet you. I apologize for our rudeness in not greeting you last night. We weren’t expecting you so soon.”
My cheeks burned. “Please, it was my fault for not announcing my arrival. My departure from Sicily was… unplanned.”
He raised a single eyebrow as he raised the cup to his mouth, then paused. “Interesting. Can I ask what you were looking for on my desk?”
Amara swiped the cup from his grasp. “Caffeine pulls fluids from your body and impedes wound healing.” She then fixed her dark, sharp gaze on me as she ignored his resigned sigh. “And I’m sure she has a perfectly good reason for being in our office.”
Barone wrapped his arm around her lower back and pulled her close. He then kissed the corner of her mouth. “Fine. You’re responsible for coming up with another way to get a rise out of me in the morning, then.”
Amara blushed prettily. “The doctor said no to that as well.”
He nuzzled her hair. “No. He changed his mind and agreed with me it was just the kind of exercise I needed to heal.”