“But, I’m here now. We can make this work.”
He shook his head.
“Actually,we can’t.”
“I know we can, baby.”
“Isabella, we can’t!”
“Uncle Rafael,” he heard Ariadne’s voice. He turned around and looked at his niece leaning against the door frame.
“Hey, you,” he said smiling. “Did mommy find you?”
Ariadne shook her head.
“Why are you yelling at aunt Isabella?” she asked and Rafael smiled when he got to where she was.
“We were just having a little disagreement, that’s all. Why don’t you run out to your nonno and tell him to come out here and say hello to his son?”
“Okay,” she said in a soft voice.
He waited until Ariadne was out of the room before he turned to look at Isabella who was clearly upset.
“Isabella, there is someone else,” he said as he looked at her.
“Someone else? You mean the loose models you brought to your parties?”
“No, this is someone I met at the last party I had.”
“You mean the one you had earlier this month? That day I was here?” she asked and he nodded.
“The very same one.”
“What is she this time? A model, stripper?” Isabella asked, contempt in her voice.
“A travel journalist. From the States.”
Isabella ran her fingers through her hair before she began taking small steps back.
“Stronzo!” she cried before she ran out of the living room like the truly spoiled brat she was.
“Thank God I no longer have to deal with that,” he said in a soft voice to no one in particular. Just then, he heard his phone vibrate in his hand and a smile played on his lips when he saw Amanda’s text.
I’m here.
*****
Amanda took a long deep breath as she stepped out of the cab. Meeting Rafael’s parents was a big deal. She had not planned on another meet the parents, especially this soon. She felt even more strange about the fact that she was meeting her younger boyfriend’s parents for the first time. It kind of made her feel like Stella in How Stella Got Her Groove Back in every sense. She was the older woman and he was the rich younger guy. Her story was a little too similar to Stella’s and she was scared of how Rafael’s parents would react when she met them.
“Hi, I’m Amanda Pearson, Rafael’s guest,” she said when a man opened the door. Judging by how huge the Imperioli mansion was, she assumed that he must have been the butler.
“Of course,” he said as he stepped aside to let her walk in.
“Good God, Amanda,” she heard Rafael’s voice making her look up. “You look amazing.”
He looked at her strapless floor length nude colored dress that was the perfect contrast to her brown skin. She had decided to go with her natural curls instead of straightening it out
“You think so? Because I am not sure it is meet the parents appropriate,” she said as he approached her. He smiled and shook his head.
“Like I said, you look amazing,” he said again before he slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her close to kiss her. “Amanda, this is Giorgio.”
“Very nice to meet you, Miss Pearson,” Giorgio said.
“Please, Amanda is just fine,” she said and Giorgio looked at Rafael.
“Yeah, that won’t fly with him, “ Rafael said as he began leading her down the hallway.
Just as they approached the living room, they ran into the Benassi family leaving.
“Is this her?” Isabella asked in a rage. “Is this the bitch you are leaving me for?”
“Essere Calmo, Isabella,” her mother said as she draped an arm around her daughter’s shoulders.
“I am not leaving you. I told you, we were never together to begin with,” Rafael said in a calm voice.
Isabella looked at him and then at Amanda before she walked out with her parents.
“Not the best first impression,” Amanda thought as Rafael’s family came into view.
“Rafael, what is going on?” Susanna asked as she looked at her son and then at Amanda. Rafael waited until he walked out of the house before he turned to look at his family. Alberto, Lola and Ariadne had just walked in making the moment even more awkward than it already was. Amanda could feel her heart beating harder and faster and the fact that Rafael had his arm possessively around her waist was not helping.
“Aren’t you going to introduce us to your friend, mio figlio?” Paolo asked as he looked at Rafael.
“Guys, this is Amanda Pearson,” Rafael started. “My girlfriend.”
He turned to look at Amanda.
“Amanda, my father Paolo, my mother Susanna. And this is my brother Alberto and his wife Lola.” He looked at Ariadne who was holding onto Lola’s hand. “And this little princess is my niece Ariadne.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you all,” Amanda said smiling.
There was a long uncomfortable silence before anyone spoke.
“Girlfriend?” his mother asked and he nodded.
“Wow, when did this happen?” Lola asked and Rafael looked into Amanda’s eyes.
“It’s all fairly new,” he said in a soft voice.
“Maybe I should take you into the living room and have some champagne or something,” Lola said sensing the tension in the room. “We should celebrate our boy finally settling down.”
“Uh...no champagne for me. Juice or some water would be nice,” Amanda said. “I can’t really drink right now.”
“I should tell them, right? This is as good a time as any,” Rafael said and his mother shrugged.
“Tell us what?” she asked.
“Besides, it’s not like we can keep it a secret forever,” he said.
“I like secrets,” Ariadne said and Rafael smiled at her.
“What is it that you cannot keep a secret forever?” Alberto asked.
Rafael looked at his family and then at Amanda.
“We are going to have a baby,” he said in a soft voice.
“Mio dio,” he heard his mother say in a low voice.
“Yeah, I think I should get you that juice,” Lola said and Amanda nodded before she led her daughter and Amanda out of the kill zone leaving Rafael alone with his family.
“Un bambino, Rafael? When did this happen?” his mother asked.
“Yeah, just how long have you been with this woman?” Paolo asked and he shrugged.
“A few days...maybe a couple of weeks,” he said.
“And you managed to get her knocked up in those few days?” Alberto asked.
Rafael shook his head.
“Actually, she was pregnant when I met her.”
“So, it is not your baby?” Susanna pressed and Rafael nodded. “Don’t you see what she's trying to do here? She is trying to get to your money.”
“She did not even know who I was,” Rafael pointed out.
“It might have been all an act,” Alberto pointed out.
“You cannot assume the opposite,” Paolo said and Rafael sighed loudly.
“So, let me get this straight. You would rather have someone who lives her life going to parties with rap stars and tycoons be my wife rather than a decent woman...” he started.
“A decent woman who just happens to be pregnant,” Susanna said. “By another man no less.”
“And what does she do anyway?” Paolo asked.
“She is a travel journalist,” Rafael said quickly. “We met because she is here on assignment.”
“Convenient,” Susanna said.
“But wait, Mama,” Alberto said. “This is the first girl Rafael has brought home. Shouldn’t that count for something?”
Susanna shook her head and walked to the bar. She poured herself a drink and looked at Rafael.
“The father of the child,” she started. “Who is he?”
“Her ex. She had been with someone for a long time before things went south....she took the job out here to get aw
ay from everything.”
“Did she tell you about the baby or did you find out?” Paolo asked.
“She told me,” Rafael said.
“Fanculo!” Susanna cursed loudly.
“Per fevore, Mama. My daughter is in the next room,” Alberto said in a loud whisper.
“Si Susanna,” Paolo said as he walked towards the bar. He sat down on one of the bar stools and looked at Rafael. “Figlio, do you love this girl?”
“Paolo!” Susanna said, sounding obviously upset.
“Susanna, he brought her here. He obviously wants to have us involved in this,” Paolo pointed out.
“I think so too, Mama.” This was Alberto.
“But he brought Isabella here,” Susanna pointed out.
“We have always been friendly with the Benassi family, Mama. Isabella has always been around even when I did not want her to be,” Rafael said in a soft voice.
“So son, do you love her?” Paolo asked again and Rafael shrugged.
“I don’t know but I do know that I am falling for her, hard, Papa. And I have never felt like this for anyone. That much I know.” He looked at his mother. “Plus, even though I might not know what I feel for her yet, I know that I want her in my life so much that I am willing to have that child take my name.”
“But the baby will not be an Imperioli,” Susanna said.
“I don’t care and I am no longer an Imperioli heir anyway. He or she will get my oil wells,” Rafael pointed out.
“That should not be a factor, Rafael,” Paolo said before he turned to his wife. “This girl has grounded our son. We have not seen anything in the tabloids lately.”
“Yeah, I was beginning to think the hard partying finally got to you,” Alberto said in a low voice.
Susanna looked at Rafael and realized that her husband and son was right. She had not had a reason to worry about Rafael in a long time and as much as she did not like the idea of her son with a pregnant foreigner, the truth was that Amanda had indeed changed her son.
“She makes you happy?” she asked and Rafael nodded.
“She does,” he said as he looked at Amanda who was sipping on what looked like cranberry juice as she talked with Ariadne. “She really, really does.”
“Then I guess we should have dinner served and get to know Amelia better,” Susanna said.
“Amanda,” Paolo, Rafael and Alberto said in unison before they all walked towards the living room where the girls were. And for the first time in a long time, Rafael was actually at peace in the company of his family.
The end.
If you enjoyed this ebook and want me to keep writing more, please leave a review of it on the Amazon Kindle store (the page where you bought it). By doing so you'll allow me more time to write these books for you as they'll get more exposure. So thank you. :)
Get Another BWWM eBook Free!
Hi there. As a special thank you for buying this ebook, for a limited time I want to send you another one completely free of charge directly to your email! You can get it by clicking the cover below or going here:
Direct link: www.saucyromancebooks.com/love-bwwm-romance-books
This book is so exclusive you can't even buy it. When you download it I'll also send you updates when new books like this are available.
Now, if you enjoyed the book you just read, please leave a positive review of it on Amazon. It'll help get it out there a lot more and mean I can continue writing these books for you. So thank you. :)
More Books By J A Fielding And Friends
If you enjoyed that, you'll love All Or Nothing by Mary Peart (sample and description of what it's about below).
Description:
A complete romance, brought to you by bestselling author Mary Peart.
When billionaire Peter Hamasaki needs his mother's kitchen remodeled, he turns to the people he knows will do the best job: The Faulkner family.
Little did he know he'd be getting more out of the transaction than expected.
Head designer Elise Faulkner is all her could want from a woman: smart, beautiful, and entrepreneurial like himself.
Despite her not wanting to let anyone in too fast, the two soon grow undeniable feelings for each other, and a real future seems far from unrealistic.
But when Elise feels it could be serious and reveals she has a son, how will Peter react?
Will he take her all?
Or will he leave with nothing?
Find out in this heartfelt single parent romance by bestselling author Mary Peart.
Suitable for over 18s only due to sex scenes so hot, you'll want your own Asian billionaire to snuggle up with.
Want to read more? Then click here to get All Or Nothing now.
*
Also available: Her Russian Billionaire's Baby by Cher Etan (sample and description of what it's about below).
Description:
A complete pregnancy romance, brought to you by Steffy Shaw of BWWM Club.
When vet Naomi Kaye gets a job on a local farm, she expects it to be just another 'day at the office'.
What she finds instead is a ranch run by Jack, a handsome and very, very rich cowboy.
Jack recently sold his business for a lot of money in order to concentrate on his passion: farming full time.
The only thing missing in his life?
A loyal and caring woman to share his down time with.
Will Naomi be that caring and hard working soul he's looking for?
And when she gets pregnant with Jack's child, will they be able to overcome the forces trying to split the two apart?
Find out in this sexy cowboy romance by Steffy Shaw of BWWM Club.
Suitable for over 18s only due to sex scenes so hot, you'll want your own cowboy to roll in the hay with.
Want to read more? Then click here to get Her Russian Billionaire's Baby now.
*
Click to get it free now:
Accept My Baby: A Billionaire BWWM Single Parent Pregnancy Romance Page 10