One-Night Baby with the Best Man
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Susan Meier
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One wild night at a wedding leads to an unexpected consequence for the bridesmaid and best man in this final installment of The Bridal Party series. THEIR NINE-MONTH SURPRISE Bridesmaid Marietta is attending a fabulous Italian wedding before starting her New York promotion. After fleeing an abusive marriage, she's focused on her career — no dating! But one night with the red-hot best man, Rico — who conveniently lives in faraway London — is incredibly tempting… Yet weeks later when the stick turns pink, Marietta's life suddenly changes. Especially when, having been abandoned as an infant, billionaire Rico demands to be the father his baby needs. They're from completely different worlds, but can Marietta's unexpected pregnancy spark a future they never dared hope for…?
CHAPTER ONE
RICO MENDOZA DROVE his Bentley along the Tuscan road leading to the expansive vineyard owned by his unofficial family, the Salvaggios. Abandoned as an infant, Rico had been raised in various foster homes and group homes. At twenty-eight, he’d met Antonio Salvaggio at a meeting where they were discussing a potential business venture. When it was over, Antonio had insisted he come to the Salvaggio villa for dinner. He’d met Carlos and GiGi, Antonio’s grandparents, and Lorenzo, Antonio’s dad. Ten years later, he gambled with Lorenzo in Monte Carlo, popped in to spend afternoons with GiGi every time he was in Florence and was like a brother to Antonio.
He’d flown in from London two days early for Antonio’s engagement party on Saturday night because he knew there’d be wine and laughter. He hadn’t even been told Antonio was dating someone, but apparently, the whole romance had happened quickly. Antonio had met the woman he now described as his one true love, romanced her a few months, got engaged and was not wasting a minute getting married.
The man was smitten.
Rico snorted when he thought of Antonio calling a woman his one true love. Rico wasn’t a big believer in love. But Antonio was. Though his first marriage hadn’t worked out and he’d been a happy playboy for years, there had always been something wistful about him. He hadn’t been lost—Rico knew exactly what lost looked like—it was more that Antonio seemed to want something different from his future.
The vineyard lane appeared on Rico’s left, and he turned the Bentley onto the long strip of pavement. He’d barely noticed the fields as he’d driven along the road, but heading toward the Salvaggios’ massive vineyard, he saw row upon row of resting grapevines, the huge wine-making facility and the beautiful yellow stucco villa.
He eased his car along the curving driveway and stopped in front of the enormous garage. Though he knew there were plenty of people arriving for the engagement party weekend, there were no other cars parked in the driveway.
Not wanting to leave his Bentley in the way when other vehicles might need to drive up to the portico, he pulled out his phone and texted Lorenzo, asking where he should park his car.
A few minutes later, Antonio’s dad stepped out of the villa. Tall with dark hair and serious brown eyes, he approached the Bentley.
Rico eased out of his car into the crisp December air. Given that Lorenzo wore jeans and a cashmere sweater, Rico was appropriately dressed in a T-shirt and jeans with a black leather jacket. He caught Lorenzo in a big hug.
“Good to see you, old man,” he said, slapping Lorenzo’s back.
Lorenzo snorted. “I’m far from an old man.”
“I know. Rumor has it you have a new lady in town.”
Lorenzo gaped at him. “What?”
“I know. I know. It’s a secret. The way all your relationships are.”
“Not all my relationships are a secret!” He stopped his little rant, shaking his head as he grinned at Rico’s teasing. “Just leave your car and one of the maintenance guys will park it inside. We can text them to get it for you when you’re ready to leave.”
Rico tossed his car starter in the air with a laugh, then set it on the front seat. “Don’t think I didn’t notice you’re evading the question about your mystery woman.”
They walked to the front door, which Lorenzo opened, offering Rico entry first. But Rico laughed. “Age before beauty.”
“You know, you’re so cocky, but you’re going to get old too.”
“I hope so. The alternative isn’t appealing.”
Lorenzo snorted and entered the foyer. Rico followed him. He paused to take in the gorgeous space with its crystal chandelier and curving staircase, then Lorenzo motioned for him to go into the sitting room to the right.
Antonio and a gorgeous brunette sat on a chair catty-corner to the sofa. As Rico and Lorenzo entered, Antonio rose and caught the hand of the brunette, saying, “Riley, that troublemaker with my father is my best man, Rico.”
Riley laughed as they walked over to him. “He doesn’t look like a troublemaker.”
Antonio sniffed. “Give him time.” Stopping in front of Rico, he added, “Rico, this is my fiancée, Riley Morgan.”
Rico hugged Riley. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” It really was. Rico himself might not believe in love and might not want to get married, but Antonio did. It gave him great joy to see his friend happy.
Antonio pointed to the sofa. “And of course you know GiGi.”
He walked over and took her hands. She’d lost Carlos at the beginning of the year and Antonio and Riley’s wedding seemed to be bringing her back to her usual, happy self.
He kissed the back of her hands. “The only sweet one in this family.”
GiGi laughed. “Oh, you love my boys too. Otherwise, you wouldn’t tease so much.”
“Next to her,” Antonio continued, “is Riley’s mom, Juliette Morgan.”
He faced the stunning blonde with the most expressive green eyes Rico had ever seen. “How do you do.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Juliette said.
“And next to her is Riley’s maid of honor, Marietta Fontain.”
Rico eased down another step to be in front of her and said, “It’s nice to meet you.”
She looked up at him. Her soft blue eyes caught his gaze and his heart jerked. Strawberry blond hair to the middle of her back framed a face with high cheekbones and a pert little nose. She looked like a sprite or a pixie. Someone from Celtic folklore.
She smiled and his heart thudded.
“It’s nice to meet you.”
He stared at her. Her voice had the cutest accent, a sort of twang. She was obviously from the American South. “Your voice is beautiful.”
She laughed. “I grew up in Texas.”
She said that as if it explained everything, but unexpected curiosity about her filled him with a million questions. The kind of questions he normally didn’t ask, if only because he didn’t want anyone asking him about who he was. He didn’t know anything about who he was, except that his mom had left him in a train station in Spain and he had the coloring and stature of a Spaniard.
Stifling his curiosity about Marietta Fontain, he sat in the thick chair across from Antonio and Riley. Lorenzo walked behind the bar and got everyone wine.
Through drinks and dinner, Rico joined in the fun, laughing with everyone as they discussed the upcoming engagement ball. Then Antonio and Riley suggested that Marietta and Rico join them in the wine-tasting facility for dancing that night.
As they entered the building, Rico smiled. Most wine-tasting rooms weren’t tricked out the way the Salvaggio Vineyards’ room was. Most had tables and chairs and happy employees pouring samples. But Lorenzo had seen wine-tasting rooms in the United States that had fancy bars, with backlit rows of wine, tables for conversations and a dance floor, and had decided to copy the idea. Tourists didn’t merely sample the Salvaggio wines; they enjoyed the atmosphere and the ambiance of mingling with other tourists and dancing and returned home talking about the experience. As a result, a visit to the Salvaggio Vineyards was on everyone’s not-to-be-missed list.
The band began to play. Antonio smiled at Riley, took her hand and led her to the dance floor.
Anticipation filled Rico. This was his chance to get to know Marietta, away from GiGi’s curiosity and Lorenzo’s teasing. He turned to face her, and she smiled at him.
His chest tightened. He didn’t know what it was about her that made his heart stutter and his brain turn to mush. But he was not letting this opportunity get away. “Would you like to dance?”
She laughed. “Yes and no. Yes, because I love music. But honestly, I’m exhausted.”
The urge to talk her into a dance, just one dance, nudged at him, but the gentleman in him won. He directed her to one of the empty tables. As they walked over, he said, “That’s right. You flew in from the States today.”
“And took a train and drove the last few miles with Juliette in her maiden drive in Tuscany. If she offers you a ride anywhere, politely decline. At least until she knows her way around better.”
He laughed. Not only was it pure joy to hear her Southern drawl, but she seemed to be a good sport about things. “After she held her own with Lorenzo at dinner tonight, I’m not sure Riley’s mom takes no for an answer.”
Marietta snorted. “She doesn’t. She and Riley shared office space and me. I was the receptionist and office manager for both. When she sets her mind to something, she doesn’t back off.”
Even in the dim light of the room, her skin glowed. But it was her eyes that seemed to charm him the most. Pale blue, like the sky on a perfect day.
His lips lifted into a smile. But as he walked to the bar to get glasses of wine for himself and Marietta, he wondered if he was beginning to feel a little bit of what Antonio seemed to feel for Riley.
Smitten.
Good Lord. He could not be smitten. Smitten was for guys like Antonio who wanted to be devoted, to have children, to be selfless and self-indulgent with the same person. Not for people like Rico who liked nightlife, who lived and breathed freedom. What he felt for Marietta was simple attraction. Nothing more.
Still, there was nothing wrong with that. Especially if she was feeling the same thing. If the attraction was mutual, they had a whole weekend to explore it.
The song ended. Antonio and Riley walked over to their table holding hands. Riley looked from Marietta to Rico. “What are you guys talking about?”
Marietta chuckled. “Your mother.”
“Oh! How she and my dad have a thing?” Antonio asked.
Rico set down his wineglass. “Juliette is the woman your dad has in town?”
Riley batted her hands, indicating he should keep his voice down. “We’re not sure yet. We’ve been trying to trap them into admitting it. But my mom is like a vault when she wants to be...”
“And my dad is the king of never giving a straight answer.”
Rico laughed and took a sip of his wine. “That could make this weekend a lot of fun.”
Antonio gasped. “Don’t say anything, Rico. Riley and I have been treading lightly in the way we’re edging them into admitting the truth. We don’t want to do anything that might cause a problem at the engagement party.”
Marietta hid a snicker by taking a drink of her wine. It would be a cold, frosty day in hell before Juliette broke down when challenged. Looking around the room dripping with finery, she took in the tall walnut tables that matched the shiny bar in front of the backlit rows of fancy bottles of Salvaggio wines. They’d made the room bigger than other wine-tasting rooms she’d seen in Texas, but she’d been to plenty of vineyards that had music and dancing to attract customers.
The Salvaggios certainly took the wine-tasting room to the next level, though. Which was probably why their vineyard was a standout in their industry. Of course, Salvaggio Wines was only one of many businesses they owned. The Salvaggios were billionaires. Juliette owned a home nursing agency. Even Riley owned a company.
Of course, she didn’t know Rico’s status—
Except that he was gorgeous. And yummy. Thick, curly dark hair was complemented by a sexy black leather jacket that he wore like a man so accustomed to luxury he could dress casually and still reek elegance. He was probably wealthy too.
No matter how tempting she found him though, she knew she should keep her distance. Stay in her own lane. She was a Texas girl, making a life in Manhattan, who’d barely dated since her divorce. Rico Mendoza was way out of her league.
Even if he did make all her nerve endings shimmy and her chest tighten with longing.
The band began to play again. This time a slow song. Antonio immediately led Riley back onto the dance floor.
Marietta pretended great interest in her wineglass. She’d already told him she was too tired to dance.
“Do you want to get out of here?”
Marietta’s gaze leaped to his. “Out of here?”
“Antonio mentioned that we’re staying in the same hotel. You’re tired. I have a car. We’ll wait for Antonio and Riley to get back from this dance, then say we’re going to our hotel because I understand tomorrow’s a big day.”
She could have gazed into his beautiful dark eyes forever. “A big day for what?”
“I don’t know. Whatever it is people do to get ready for an engagement party.”
“We’re choosing my maid of honor dress tomorrow. Maybe something along the lines of choosing a wedding tux for you?”
“I own a tux.”
Of course he did. No matter how appealing, he was way beyond her. Not somebody she should even consider flirting with.
She changed the subject. “If it was summer, I’d be hoping we were spending tomorrow afternoon at the pool. Did you see that outdoor space? GiGi said she just redid it.”
“I’ve seen it. You’re right. It’s perfect.”
“But not in the winter.”
“No. Not in the winter.”
Silence fell over their small table. She worked to think of something to say. Her instinct was to flirt. But she’d already discounted that. They weren’t merely from two different worlds. They were from two different continents. Best to simply try to make friends and keep it that way.
Except she was really attracted to him. Tall, dark and handsome...and just yum with that mop of curly hair.
But she wasn’t in the market for a guy.
She’d had a bad marriage and didn’t want another—
Maybe that was the answer? She really didn’t want to marry again. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t flirt...or have some fun.
Did it?
Antonio and Riley returned to the tall table, cuddling and happy. Marietta smiled at them, as Rico shoved away from the table. “Marietta is tired from traveling and I need to get back to the hotel to make some calls to the States.”
Riley said, “Oh.”
Antonio said, “Okay. We’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Any special time you need for us to be at the vineyard?”
“No,” Riley said. She squeezed Marietta’s hand. “Sleep in. Have a leisurely breakfast.”
She slid into her jacket. “That sounds like heaven.”
“Especially since you have your own room.”
They headed for the door and walked out into the starry night, taking the cobblestone path that led to the pool area that GiGi had just redone. Instead of turning left toward the pool, Rico went right, through a garden that had a few shrubs but no flowers, given that it was December. Then suddenly they were at the far side of the house.
“I’ll text Lorenzo and see how I get my car out of the garage.”
She stood in the cold night, fighting a shiver.
A garage door suddenly rose.
Rico laughed. “That Lorenzo. Everything’s connected to his phone.”
They walked inside. He eased over to a Bentley and opened the door for her. She slid inside. While he rounded the hood, she glanced around.
Holy cats.
The villa had clued her in that the Salvaggios had more money than everybody she knew put together. But suddenly the sheer volume of wealth around her overwhelmed her. New York City, Manhattan in particular, was filled with beautiful things.
But this was luxury.
She didn’t belong here. And she most certainly did not belong with Rico. Not even to flirt a bit.
Ridiculous disappointment filled her. She knew all about life not turning out the way she thought it should. Not getting what she wanted. She’d learned to temper her wishes and goals into something that fit her life.
But telling herself no tonight felt wrong.
