Second Chance with the Millionaire(30)

'Quite simply, my dear sister, it's called love.'

The way he looked at her made her body tremble and wish they were still  alone, but then one of the children piped up shrilly, and the spell was  broken; Sophy came forward to lead Lucy to a comfortable chair, Saul  went over to talk to Harry and his brothers-in-law.

So began the pattern of her new life, Lucy thought as she sat down, and  from it she would weave a warm and protective cloth, but the strongest  thread would always be the one linking her to Saul; the thread that  represented their love.

'Tell us all about this Manor,' Christie invited. 'We're all dying to go over and see it.'

Obediently she began to talk, and then, as though responding to  something she alone could hear, she turned her head. Saul was smiling at  her. She smiled back, knowing that like her he was waiting for the time  when they could be alone.

'Come on you two love birds,' Christie teased. 'Break it up, otherwise you'll be making us old married folks jealous.'

Across the sunlit space Lucy's eyes met Saul's, her body quivering in  response to the memory of his hands touching it. She loved and was loved  in return. Life could hold no gift she would cherish more.





Now, read on for a tantalizing excerpt of USA Today bestselling author

Carol Marinelli's next book,

BOUND BY THE SULTAN'S BABY

The second in her Billionaires & One-Night Heirs trilogy!

Sultan Alim spent one forbidden night with Gabi-when he encounters her  again, she refuses to name her child's father. Alim will seduce the  truth out of Gabi, even if he has to lure her under false pretenses.  Alim knows he craves her, but does he desire her as his mistress or  bride?

Read on to get a glimpse of

BOUND BY THE SULTAN'S BABY



CHAPTER ONE


GABI DERAMO HAD never been a bridesmaid, let alone a bride.

However, weddings were her life and she thought about them during most of the minutes of her day.

From way back she had lived and breathed weddings.

Gabi was a dreamer.

As a little girl, her dolls would regularly be lined up in a bridal  procession. Once, to her mother's fury, Gabi had poured two whole bags  of sugar and one of flour over them to create a winter wedding effect.

'Essere nerre nuvole,' her mother, Carmel, had scolded, telling her that she lived in the clouds.

What Gabi didn't tell her was that at each wedding she made with her  dolls, she pretended it was her mother. As if somehow she could conjure  her father's presence and make it so that he had not left a pregnant  Carmel to struggle alone.

And while Gabi had never been so much as kissed, as an assistant wedding  planner she had played her part in many a romantic escape.

She dreamt of the same most nights.

And she dreamt of Alim.

Now Gabi sat, flicking through the to-do list on her tablet and curling  her long black hair around her finger, trying to work out how on earth  she could possibly organise, from scratch, an extremely rushed but very  exclusive winter wedding in Rome.

Mona, the bride-to-be, stepped out of the changing area on her third attempt at trying on a gown not of Gabi's choice.

It didn't suit Mona in the least-the antique lace made her olive skin  look sallow and the heavy fabric did nothing to accentuate her delicate  frame.                       
       
           



       

'What do you think?' Mona asked Gabi as she turned around to look in the mirror and examined herself from behind.

Gabi knew from experience how to deal with a bride who stood in completely the wrong choice of gown. 'What do you think, Mona?'

'I don't know,' Mona sighed. 'I quite like it.'

'Then it isn't the gown for you,' Gabi said. 'Because you have to love it.'

Mona had resisted the boutique owner's guidance and had completely  dismissed Gabi's suggestion for a bright, white, column gown with subtle  embroidery. In fact, Mona hadn't even tried it on.

Gabi's suggestions were dismissed rather a lot.

She was curvy and dressed in the severe, shapeless dark suit that her  boss, Bernadetta, insisted she wear, so brides-to-be tended to assume  that Gabi had no clue where fashion was concerned.

Oh, but she did.

Not for herself, of course, but Gabi could pick out the right wedding gown for a bride at fifty paces.

And they needed this to be sorted today!

Bernadetta was on leave and so it had fallen to Gabi to sort.

It always did.

The bigger the budget, the trickier the brief, the more likely it was to  have been put into the 'Too Hard' basket and left for Gabi to pick up.

They were in the lull between Christmas and New Year. The wedding  boutique was, in fact, closed today, but Gabi had many contacts and had  called in a favour from Rosa, the owner, who had opened up just for  them.

Rosa would not push them out, but they had to meet Marianna, the functions co-ordinator, at the Grande Lucia at four.

'Why don't you try Gabi's suggestion?' Fleur, the mother of the groom, said.

It was a little odd.

Usually this trip would be taken with the mother of the bride or her  sister or friends, but it would seem that it was Fleur who had first and  last say in things.

Fleur was also English, which meant that, in order to be polite, Gabi and Mona did not speak in Italian.

Yes, it was proving to be a long, tiring day.

And they would be back tomorrow with the bridesmaids!

Reluctantly, very reluctantly, Mona agreed to try on Gabi's suggestion and then disappeared with the dresser.

As Rosa hung up the failed gown she saw that Gabi was looking at another dress.

Silver-grey, it was elegant and simple and in a larger size, and when  Gabi held it up she saw the luxurious fall of the fabric. Rosa was a  talented seamstress indeed.

'It would fit you,' Rosa said.

'I doubt it.' Gabi sighed wistfully. 'It's beautiful, though.'

'The order was cancelled,' Rosa said. 'Why don't you go and try it on? It would look stunning, I am sure.'

'Not while I'm working.' Gabi shook her head. 'Anyway, even if it did  fit, when would I get a chance to wear it?' Her question went unanswered  as the curtains parted and a smiling Mona walked out.

'Oh, Mona!' Gabi breathed.

The dress was perfect.

It showed off Mona's slender figure, and the bright white was indeed the perfect shade against her olive skin.

'If only she had listened to you in the first place,' Fleur muttered. 'We are going to be late for the hotel.'

'It's all taken care of,' Gabi assured her, checking her list on her tablet. 'We're right on schedule.'

Ahead of it, in fact, because now that the dress had been chosen, everything else, Gabi knew, would fall more easily into place.

Measurements had already been taken but fitting dates could not yet be  made. Gabi assured Rosa she would call her just as soon as they had  finalised the wedding date.

They climbed back into the car and were driven through the wet streets  of Rome towards the Grande Lucia but, again, Mona wasn't happy. 'I went  to a wedding at the Grande Lucia a few years ago and it was so … ' Mona  faltered for a moment as she struggled with a word to describe it.  'Tired-looking.'

'Not now it isn't.' Gabi shook her head. 'It's under new management,  well, Alim has been … ' It was Gabi who now faltered but she quickly  recovered. 'Alim has been the owner for a couple of years and there have  been considerable renovations; the hotel is looking magnificent.'                       
       
           



       

Even saying his name made her stumble a little and blush.

Gabi saw Alim only occasionally but she thought about him a lot.

Their paths rarely crossed but if Gabi was organising a wedding at the  Grande Lucia and Alim happened to be in residence at the time then her  heart would get a rare treat, and she was secretly hoping for one today.

'Let's just see how you feel once you've actually seen the Grande Lucia  for yourself.' Gabi suggested. 'Remember, though, that it's terribly  hard to get a booking there, especially at such short notice.'

'Fleur doesn't seem to think it will be a problem,' Mona said with a  distinct edge to her voice, and Gabi watched as she shot a look towards  the mother of the groom. From all Gabi had gleaned, Fleur had agreed to  finance the wedding on the condition that it was held there.

'It won't be,' Fleur responded.

Gabi wasn't so sure.

Marianna, the co-ordinator, was rather inflexible at the best of times  and they wanted this wedding to be held in just over two weeks!

They made good time as the streets were comparatively empty. The rush of  Christmas was over and even the Colosseum was closed to visitors.

Gabi stifled a yawn, wishing that she could put up her own Do not disturb sign to the world for a while.

She had hoped to spend the Christmas break going over the plans for  starting her own business. Instead, she had again been called in to work  through her leave. She was tired.

Almost too tired to keep alive the dream of one day owning her own business.

She had started working for Matrimoni di Bernadetta when she was  eighteen and had hoped that it would provide the experience she needed  to one day go it alone.