Free The Surprise Conti Child by Tara Pammi

his wealth, all she’d been able to think of was what it said about him that he’d readily believed that she wasn’t after his money.
    He’d claimed to believe her seven years ago, too. Then why dismiss her so cruelly? Why hadn’t he returned a single phone call?
    I have to work , he’d told her once they had taken off, his mind clearly on other matters. He’d been on several calls since then, his attention on his laptop, Alex easily dismissed.
    As always , a small resentful voice whispered. But then, there had never been anything remarkable about her, had there?
    But once she’d settled in for the long flight, unease fluttered down her spine like a line of ants. It was clear that he’d postponed or canceled several meetings for this trip. Not to mention leaving his new fiancée behind, whose name she’d heard him mention more than once on his phone calls.
    His actions didn’t speak of a man who wanted to get an unwanted, distasteful complication out of the way so that he could go back to his pleasant life. Even as he’d claimed that was exactly why.
    The continual, round-and-round, inconclusive thoughts all focused on the one man who’d always remained hurtfully elusive to her understanding on the heels of another sleepless night and the stress of the past few weeks made Alex’s head pound in earnest.
    Leaning her head back, she pressed her fingers onto her temples.
    â€œAlexis, are you unwell?”
    â€œI’m fine.” Prickly, defensive and far too revealing than she wanted.
    â€œAre we at war, bella ? Because if so, I would like some notice.”
    The crisp scent of the ocean filled her nostrils and her eyes flicked open. He stood behind her seat, tall and broad, filling her vision. The stark, intensely masculine lines of his face were a sensual feast.
    Before she could say no, his long fingers descended on her temples. “Here?”
    His touch was cold.
    Or was her skin unbearably hot?
    With feathery lightness, he traced the width and length of the scar and the rucked tissue, again and again.
    â€œDid they say if this would heal completely?”
    â€œYears for the scar to disappear. I could have a skin graft, they said.” She closed her eyes. “But I decided against it.”
    â€œYou would rather bear the scar to remind you what you almost lost?”
    Heart thudding at his perceptiveness, Alexis nodded weakly.
    Her parents, even her friend Emma thought she should have the graft done. Put the accident behind her and move on. Count her blessings, they’d said.
    She did count her blessings, but she wasn’t the same person anymore. Whether in a good way or not, she didn’t know.
    Yet Leandro understood her so easily. “My mom thought it ruined my face,” she said, hating herself for the insecurity she couldn’t seem to squash.
    Fingers resting on her chin, he tilted her up to face him. Amusement glittered in his eyes. Yet Alex didn’t think he was laughing at her. “I didn’t think you were the type to angle for a compliment.”
    â€œI’m not angling. I’m asking,” she said, cursing the stubborn man.
    Fingers tracing her cheekbones up and down, he tilted her face up so that she looked right into his eyes. His gaze touched her forehead, her brows, eyes, nose, mouth, chin, and swept upward again. “The scar detracts nothing from what beauty you possess, Alexis.”
    A curse flew from her mouth then. God, the man couldn’t even hand out a pity compliment, could he?
    â€œI hope you don’t speak like that in front of Isabella.”
    â€œDid anyone tell you you’re an arrogant jackass, Leandro?”
    Amusement sharpened those cheeks of his. “Luca does, quite frequently. Although I have to say it feels especially satisfactory to hear it from your mouth, Alexis.”
    She was still struggling with that when his fingers moved over her forehead again, quick and