Free Valentino's Pregnancy Bombshell by Amy Andrews Page B

wished she was wearing something different. More…feminine. But a spurt of irritation overrode it. She wasn’t dressing to please him. And if he was goingto keep turning up on her doorstep unannounced then he could take her as he found her. At least she had showered. She yanked open the door.
    Valentino smiled down at her. ‘Minestrone!’ he announced with a flourish.
    Her irritation dissipated instantly. She couldn’t be cranky with him. Not after today. And he was wearing blue jeans and a snug-fitting T-shirt, his damp hair curling on his nape. ‘Are you trying to make me fat?’ she grouched.
    He lifted the lid off the bowl and brought it close to her face. Mouth-watering aromas wafted her way. ‘Yes, tesoro . That’s exactly what I’m trying to do.’
    Paige’s stomach grumbled as the smell enveloped her in a warm cocoon. Every day for the last three weeks some sumptuous dish or other had been delivered to her doorstep. It seemed tonight was to be no different.
    Except for the personal delivery.
    â€˜Let me guess. Mrs Agostino at the deli?’
    Valentino gasped and clutched at his chest, feigning injured pride. ‘Made it myself. One of my mamma’s recipes.’
    A man who could cook? Arnie had been the laziest man on the planet. Charming but utterly useless. She hadn’t noticed it in the beginning but then their lives had taken a dive and Arnie had not risen to the occasion.
    Just when she thought he was like her ex, Valentino went and did something that surprised her. Paige opened the door wider. ‘Come in, then.’
    She led him to the kitchen, reaching up for twobowls. She heard the scrape of glass against marble and turned to see him pouring two glasses of red wine the colour of ripe mulberries.
    He held it out to her and she almost refused. McKenzie would no doubt wake at some stage during the night, as was her usual pattern, and be up early, as bright as a button. And she was really out of practice with drinking wine. But today he’d performed a miracle and she would have drunk out of a poisoned chalice right now if he’d offered it to her. So she took it.
    Valentino smiled and lifted his glass. ‘To McKenzie.’
    Paige shook her head. ‘To you.’ And she clinked her glass against his.
    They ate their bowls of soup sitting on the lounge. She only half filled hers, giving Valentino the lion’s share. But when she’d finished she’d wished she’d kept a little more for herself.
    Valentino had been tempting her palate so much these last few weeks she was actually noticing flavours and textures again. Her appetite was hardly normal but instead of ignoring her stomach when it grumbled she actually went looking for something to put in it. Lucky for her, with Valentino’s edible gifts hanging around, there was plenty of choice.
    She looked longingly at Valentino’s bowl. He lifted his eyes from his food and looked at her and she quickly dropped her gaze. But then she noticed how his jeans moulded to powerful quads and she remembered how they’d felt beneath her fingers and she quickly looked away. Thank God she’d had the sense to sit on thecushion furthest away from him on the three-seater after he’d chosen the single lounge chair.
    â€˜Would you like some, bella ?’
    Startled, Paige glanced at him. The look on his face was one of pure innocence, the soup bowl thrust towards her. But his eyes and the slight lift of his mouth told her he was perfectly aware of the double meaning.
    â€˜No. I’m really full.’ Her stomach growled at her loudly as if in protest and she blushed as he chuckled, placing her hand on it to calm the recalcitrant beast.
    She was never hungry. Or at least hunger was so inconsequential in her life; she never paid it any heed.
    She grabbed her barely touched wine and took a sip. ‘So, this is your mother’s recipe? What’s that herb I can taste?