A chill climbed up Raphael’s spine. He’d been so close to kissing her. If Gio had heard of it... “Christo, did you have the staff spying on us?”
Suddenly, the frown cleared. His eyes twinkled, in that satisfactory way that raised every hackle Raphael had. “You were more ruthless than usual. You are attracted to her...” His gruff voice deepened. “You want her.” Raucous laughter burst out of him, and he slapped his thigh hard.
Raphael scowled. He had a feeling this was what Giovanni had waited and watched for. “I’d like to remind you that the woman you’re talking about is your granddaughter.”
“She got behind your...defenses, isn’t that what they say? And you don’t like it. Tell me, Raphael, are you interested in Pia?”
Raphael sat back, something about that question sending a chill wave through him. “You talk as if she were cattle you’re trying to sell,” he evaded.
All he wanted to do was walk away. From this discussion and from that woman.
Of all the people in his life, Giovanni was the one person who could see through his ruthlessness, who’d known Raphael before he’d become hard and cynical. Who knew that Raphael didn’t like even a bit of weakness, any trace of vulnerability. And being attracted to a woman in a way he didn’t understand was a weakness.
But he couldn’t leave. Not until he knew what Giovanni was up to.
“Answer the question.”
“I’m rarely interested in any woman for more than one night.” He made his voice harsh. “And definitely not in a woman who flees if I so much as touch her hand.”
Finally, he saw a flash of his godfather’s infamous temper in his eyes. His mouth lost that arrogant twist that always meant Gio was up to no good. Since he usually reserved that for his parasitic relatives or money-hungry exes, Raphael didn’t much care.
“Do not cheapen her.”
“I’m the one cheapening her?” He took a deep breath, modulated his tone. “Tell me, Giovanni. What does it mean if she’s your granddaughter?”
“It means she already owns a piece of my heart and I will do everything in my power to do right by her. It means she inherits everything I own. Including my stock in VA.”
Dio, he was going to give her the stock in VA?
The stock that Raphael wanted. He could have bought Gio out ten times over in the last few years. Could have established his exclusive ownership of the company.
For reasons he refused to share, Gio had always denied Raphael’s request. Even though Raphael was the only one with executive and operational powers at Vito Automobiles, Gio refused to leave the board. In short, the old man had always loved playing games.
“So now all that stock will rest in the hands of a woman who, by her own admission, was so desperate to be loved, to be wanted, that she fell for the sweet words of a lowlife? Who not only signed away the little money she had but actually racked up a credit card debt because she couldn’t bear to lose him?
“That is the woman who’ll inherit your wealth? Do you know what the jackals will do to her?”
“Which is why I want to ensure her well-being. If I died tomorrow, Pia would be all alone in the world.”
“And so you have advertised her to all of Milan with the size of her inheritance hanging around her neck like a bloody flashing neon sign. By tomorrow morning, the vultures will be circling, determined to get their hands on Pia.”
“I didn’t advertise her, Raphael.” A shadow of pain crossed Gio’s usually animated features. “I celebrated her presence in my life. After years of wondering about Lucia, I finally have someone to call my own. I want to give her everything she could ever want. I want to cherish her, pamper her, protect her.
“That child is... Her innocence, there’s something so fragile about her.
“Would you deny me the chance to right my wrongs? Would you deny me the pleasure of showing off my granddaughter to the world? The chance to find a man worthy of her among the vultures?”
By sheer dint of his will, Raphael kept his shock to himself. He’d been right. Giovanni intended to buy a prince for Pia. And hand her over lock, stock and barrel. Along with his shares.
He couldn’t care. He didn’t.
“That’s up to you. Just...don’t give her any more money. Not until I confirm her claim.”
“You do what you have to do, Raphael. Who knows, maybe she’ll take my seat on the board?”
He wouldn’t, however, watch years of his hard work being thrown away. “She’s an elementary school science teacher and you want to throw her into the shark-infested pool that is the VA board? They’ll pick the meat off her bones.”
“She will have you to advise her and guide her.”
He stood up, and put away his wineglass. “I have neither the time nor the patience to teach that woman anything. I have enough on my plate with Alyssa, with the company, and now I find out that—” he bit off the last part. Giovanni had always had a soft spot for his stepdaughter, who happened to be Raphael’s ex-wife and Alyssa’s mother. He didn’t want Gio sticking his head in Raphael’s business just as he wanted nothing to do with Pia.
“As long as you keep her away from VA, I don’t care if you sign away your entire fortune to her.”
Giovanni watched as his godson walked out. His breath left on a sigh of satisfaction.
By the time he was through, neither Raphael nor Pia would like him very much. But he didn’t care. There was only one man to whom he would trust his granddaughter’s well-being. Just as he had trusted only one man with his precious company.
PIA STOOD OUTSIDE Raphael’s imposing set of offices on the tenth floor of Vito Automobiles in front of his assistants’ desks—apparently Raphael required two assistants—and fought the urge to turn tail and run.
She would have to run a long way though, for the stretch between the bank of elevators to the wide swath of those desks was an ocean of gleaming marble.
Stay away from me.
She cringed at the words she’d thrown at him a mere ten days ago. If only she could somehow manage a semblance of sophistication in his presence. If only her insides didn’t turn to jelly the moment he was near.
But she’d never experienced anything like her attraction to him, and she didn’t know how to control it.
She was still debating whether she should just cut her losses when the door to his office opened and he stepped out.
His suit jacket was gone, and he seemed to have carelessly pushed the sleeves of his white dress shirt back, revealing hair-roughened forearms and a gleaming Rolex. His hair needed a trim, and there were dark shadows under his eyes.
He was so painfully gorgeous that he took her breath away.
“Pia? How long have you been waiting?”
His frown cut through the light-headedness.
The two assistants’ gazes swung to her. They shot to their feet, a torrent of Italian volleying out of their mouths.
Pia forced herself to move toward him. “I just arrived and I... I hadn’t even had the chance to inquire if you were around.”
He scrutinized her, from her wild hair to her summery blouse and her denim shorts—which suddenly seemed far too short—even down