Amedeo, Her Italian Billionaire(31)

Tory coming around wouldn’t help that. Besides, Violet had a job to do. Amedeo didn’t want her distracted.

Tory lived in a cottage on her parents’ estate outside of Princeton. They’d met at a Christmas party three years ago. Her parents and his mother had nudged them. He’d been attracted to her, but it took him awhile to really get to know her.

Tory worked at a public relations firm her father had started fifteen years earlier. She’d never had a job that her father hadn’t gotten for her. That fact had never bothered Amedeo until now.

Violet got through life on her own. Tory didn’t know how to stand by herself. The woman had done him a favor when she broke the engagement. She might have been too clingy. She might never have appreciated how much he worked.

She’d talked about quitting her job and he hadn’t been able to talk her out of it. What would she do all day? She would shrug her shoulders. “Take care of you.”

He didn’t know how much of that he really needed. Meals and that was it. He could cook so even those weren’t crucial. He had a cleaning person and someone to stock his refrigerator. Where would Tory have fit in?

He didn’t know and it didn’t matter. Violet had fit seamlessly into his life. She would probably leave a hole when she left, but he couldn’t think about that. Her leaving was inevitable.

They hadn’t resolved the issue of custody of the baby, but they had time.

Amedeo’s driver took him past the main house on the estate. He hoped no one was looking out the window. He didn’t want Tory’s parents to know that he was visiting her. They might get their hopes up. They’d lobbied on their daughter’s behalf for him to take her back.

He figured they wanted to be rid of her. A grown woman, living that close to her parents. He didn’t understand it. He loved his mother and he did see her once a month, but they had separate lives

That’s how it was supposed to be.

He knocked on Tory’s front door. She opened the doors dressed as if she’d just come from the office. She probably hadn’t, but that was how she looked. All. The. Time. She’d get up after sex and brush her hair.

No snuggling. No afterglow. Just primping. As if having sex with him had been a chore. He hadn’t looked at it that way until his night with Violet. She’d stayed in his bed. She hadn’t seemed to care what she looked like.

Of course, at that point, she hadn’t expected to see him again. Then again, she wasn’t self-conscious having sex with him.

Her smile didn’t reach her eyes.

“Amedeo. Come in.”

She moved aside so he could enter. This wasn’t going to take long. He hoped at least. “We need to talk.”

She grabbed his arm with both hands. “I’ve been hoping you would say that. I’ve been waiting for this.”

He tugged his arm from her grip. “I’m sure I’m not going to say what you want to hear.”

The smile fell off her face. “Why? Aren’t you coming back to me?”

“No, Tory. I’m not. Please leave me alone.”

“I think you still love me, Amedeo. I’m sure of it.”

“I’ve already moved on, Tory.”

She clenched her hands, then stamped her foot. She looked like a tall toddler. “You have not. I forbid it.”

Damn. He’d forgotten how she insisted on getting her way. Always. If he didn’t give in, his life would have been Hell. What had he seen in her? Why had he wanted to marry her? Had he just been giving into pressure from her and her family?

Never again. He wouldn’t marry. He wouldn’t love. No one. He’d lived so much of his life on his terms. Why had he stopped?

Must have been the blow jobs. Tory was phenomenal at them. She’d managed to never mess up her hair when she did them.

He sighed. “I have, Tory.”

Should he tell her about Violet? Might get Tory off of his back. She’d be pissed.

“I already have a new lover, Tory,” he said.

Her eyes widened and tears moistened them. Were they real? He doubted it. Tory didn’t do anything unless it benefited her. Now would be no different.

“That woman I saw at your house? I bet she didn’t even graduate from college.”

Violet’s education, or lack of, was not a concern for him or Tory. It was none of Tory’s business.

“Yes. Violet is her name.”

“Bitch.”

“No, she isn’t a bitch. In fact, she is the mother of my child.”

Tory gasped. “She’s pregnant?”

“Yes, she is, Tory. And I’m happy about it. I’m looking forward to being a father.”

“Don’t you see, Amedeo? She’s a gold digger.”