“Once the pearls are gathered, I’ll have them restrung for you.”
“Don’t you dare,” she said, to fight her physical attraction to Concetta’s father, who suddenly looked frustrated. His baby made him so human, her heart warmed to him. “This is costume jewelry I bought for twenty dollars on sale. We don’t care, do we, Concetta.” She kissed her head and kept walking with her, to put Leon out of her mind. Of course, it didn’t work.
“Let’s watch that boat with the red-and-white sail.” She pointed to it, but by now the baby was staring at her. There were no more tears. “I bet you’re wondering who I am. My name is Belle Donatello. I can’t believe I know my last name. Your generous daddy is letting me stay here for a few days.”
I’m staying at my peril.
She lifted her head to find Leon standing a few feet away. “How do you say daddy in Italian?”
“Papà,” he answered in a husky tone.
Belle turned so Concetta could see him. “There’s your papà.”
All of a sudden his daughter started to whimper, and reached for him. Belle closed the distance and gave her back to him. But the baby quickly looked around and kept staring at Belle in fascination.
Leon’s sharp intake of breath reached her ears. “If I hadn’t witnessed it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed what just happened.”
“What do you mean?”
“She didn’t break into hysterics with you. Anything but.”
Belle’s mouth curved upward. “I learned in the orphanage that all babies have hysterics. It’s normal. The trick is to get their attention before they become uncontrollable. The sisters were lucky, since between their habits and crucifixes, they were able to quiet the babies down fast. My pearls did rather nicely, don’t you think?”
Leon had a very deep, attractive chuckle. “I think the next time you hold her, you’d better keep her hands away from the pearls in your earlobes. Inexpensive as they might be, the rest of you is…irreplaceable.”
A certain nuance in his voice made her realize he’d been remembering what had gone on earlier. It wasn’t something you could forget.
“Did you hear that, Concetta?” She poked the child’s tummy and got a smile out of her. Lifting the hem of the pinafore, she said, “Pink is my favorite color, too. I bet your papà bought this for you because he couldn’t resist seeing you in it.” The gleam in his eyes verified her statement. “Even if you weren’t a real princess, you look like one.”
For the first time since she’d joined him, his features hardened. “There are no titles under this roof and never will be.”
Meaning even after his father died? It followed that, being the elder brother, he would be Count Malatesta one day, but he’d just made it clear he wanted no part of it.
“After what I’ve learned of my mother’s tragic history, I think that’s the wisest decision you could make as her father.”
He switched Concetta to his other compact shoulder. “Before she and my father arrive, this little one needs her dinner. I’ll take her to the kitchen.”
“Can I come, too, and help feed her?”
A quick, white smile transformed him into the kind of man her roommates would say was jaw-dropping gorgeous. He was that, and so much more Belle couldn’t find words. “If you do, you may have to change your outfit.”
She sent him a reciprocal smile, attempting like mad to pretend she hadn’t experienced rapture. “That’ll be no problem.”
Together with the dog, they walked through the dayroom and down another hall. Belle glimpsed a library and an elegant dining room on their way to the kitchen. From one of the windows she could see a swimming pool surrounded by ornamental flowering trees. A vision of the two of them in the water after dark wouldn’t leave her alone.
In the kitchen three women were busily working. Leon introduced her to his housekeeper, Simona, the maid, Carla, and the nanny, Talia, who reached for the baby. If they knew who Belle really was, rather than simply being a guest, they showed no evidence.
After tying a bib around Concetta’s neck, Talia placed her in the high chair next to the table and drew a chair over to feed her.
Belle shot Leon an imploring glance. “Could I give her her dinner?”
He looked surprised. “You really want to? Sometimes she doesn’t cooperate.”
“That’s all right. I’d love it! I moved out of my adoptive parents’ house at eighteen and haven’t tended a baby since.”
To her joy, he said something to Talia in Italian. She smiled at Belle, then brought the baby food jars to the table. Belle opened the lid on the meat.
“Hmm…smells like lamb.” She glanced down at the dog, who sat there begging her with his eyes. “Sorry, this food isn’t for you, Rufo.” The other jar contained squash. “Oh boy, Concetta. This all looks nummy.” Belle took the spoon and dipped it in the vegetable. “Here it comes.”
Slowly, she lifted it in the air and did a few maneuvers. Those black-brown eyes followed the action faithfully. Belle brought the spoon closer to the baby, who’d already opened her mouth, waiting for her food. Belle saw Leon in the shape of his daughter’s mouth and felt an adrenaline rush that almost caused her to drop the utensil.
He burst into laughter. “You’re a natural mother.”
“Not really.” She began feeding Concetta her meat while the women watched. “I fed the babies at the orphanage. This is the only thing I have a natural aptitude for.”
“The CEO at TCCPI has told me otherwise,” he stated.
If she wasn’t careful, she might start wanting to hear more of his compliments. And believing them, Belle?
“When you’re on your own and forced to earn a living, you learn a trade fast.”
A troubled expression entered his eyes. “Your adoptive father never helped you after you left home?”
She shook her head, with its dark, shiny mass of flowing hair, and continued to feed the baby. “But I’d be ungrateful if I didn’t acknowledge that he and Nadine fed and clothed me for eight years while I lived under their roof. Some of my friends in the orphanage never got adopted, and lived their whole lives there until they were old enough to leave. I was one of the luckier ones.”
Concetta hadn’t quite finished her food when she put her hands out as if to say she was full. She was so adorable, Belle could hardly stand it. “I think you’ve had enough.” Without thinking about it, she untied the bib. After wiping Concetta’s mouth with it, she put it on the table and lifted the baby out of the high chair.
“Uh-oh. I can tell you need to be changed. Where’s your bedroom?”
Leon had been lounging against the wall, watching them. “Upstairs.”
Belle darted him a glance. “If you’ll show me, I’ll change her, but only if it’s all right with you.”
One black brow lifted. “Since you’ve got her literally eating out of the palm of your hand, I have a feeling she’d have a meltdown if anyone else dared to interfere at this point.”
“Leon…” The man had lethal charm. It had been getting to her from the first day and had worked its way beneath her skin.
“Follow me.”
The only thing to do was concentrate on the baby. “You have the most beautiful home, Concetta. I always wanted to live in a house with a staircase like this. I wonder how long it will be before you slide down the banister when your papà isn’t looking.”
She