A Promise of Forever (7 page)

Gianfranco took her in his arms and listened intently as she described her meeting with Jack Taylor through her tears.
He felt nothing but extreme loathing for both Taylor men.
He had no respect for the elder of the two for all the pain he was causing Katelyn and only too happy to take his company from him.

As far as Adam was concerned, he saw him as a complete waste, a man without a purpose, a man with very little regard for women and one who had absolutely no business sense.
He was glad that Katelyn had never had to learn that truth about Adam from him.
He detested the man and his fetish for cruelty toward women.
When the research came across his desk about
Glitz
he was shocked at the skeletons in Adam’s closet.
The younger of the Taylor men was into some very kinky stuff.
He was only too happy to protect and save Katelyn from that man.

Gianfranco continued to listen compassionately but he couldn’t help the jealousy he felt at the mention of Jenny’s father in their conversation, even if it was indirectly.
It was this unknown man’s ghost that he would have to fight perpetually if he were to attempt to have a future with Katelyn.

The kiss they shared earlier in the afternoon and her reaction to him told him she wasn’t immune to him.
He missed her and she felt right in his arms.
Was he the only one who recognized that they belonged together?
The question for him was whether what they felt for each other was enough to hold the ugly thoughts he was having of Jenny’s father at bay.
He didn’t know if he could look at her beautiful little girl everyday and not be reminded of the man Katelyn betrayed him with.
Every time he thought about how quickly she betrayed him, he cringed.
How could he promise her and her child a future if he couldn’t let go of the past?

Gianfranco wondered for years how Katelyn could have thought so little of what they shared that she went so willingly and so quickly into the arms of another man.
It nearly destroyed him to think that he had readied her body for someone else.
Was she as compliant in the other man’s arms as she was and continued to be in mine
?

“Are you listening to a word I’m saying?” she asked him as he looked lost in thought.
“Gianfranco…” Katelyn repeated before he finally shook out of the trance he was in.
What was he thinking about?

“I’m sorry, my mind keeps drifting.”
Their eyes met and it wasn’t his imagination this time; he definitely saw her lips quivering, anxiously.
She thought he had been ignoring her, that his thoughts were not about her.
How wrong she would have been if she were able to read his mind.
His thoughts were always of her.
He wanted to take her in his arms and brand her, ruin her for any other man.
It was taking all his might to keep himself focused and not to think about the man who might steal his future happiness from him.
He wanted Katelyn and he wanted to erase any memory of him from her head, once and for all.

“Did you love him so much that you wanted to share a child with him, Katelyn?” he murmured.

“I told you before, I don’t love Adam.”
She knew they weren’t talking about Adam anymore.
He had meant Jenny’s biological father.
A subject that was not open for discussion.
He was getting too close to the truth and she wasn’t ready to deal with that truth herself, not yet.
In her state of mind, the slightest slip would be all he needed to put two and two together.
Gianfranco was a brilliant man and one mistake on her part and her secret would be revealed.

“As you well know, I meant Jenny’s father. Did you love him?”
He watched carefully as Katelyn struggled with her answer.
He could see the pain the subject caused her.
It was written all over her beautiful face.
She looked away to avoid eye contact or to avoid talking about him at all.
He couldn’t decide which.

“I’d rather we not talk about him.
But, for the record, I think you know me well enough to know that question does not require an answer.
Let’s clean up and I’ll go get you another drink.”
Katelyn wanted to change the subject and talk about something a little less threatening so she left the room.
She could hear him moving around in the other room as she washed the salsa and chips bowl.
It was obvious, from the way his voice carried, that he was now in the hall looking at the pictures hanging on the wall.

“Kevin tells me that you’re back in the states for good this time.
What prompted you to change your mind?” she asked nervously.
She knew he was studying the pictures and the faces in them.
She knew as sure as she was breathing that her secret was at risk.

He followed her voice after glimpsing the photos hanging on the wall.
There was something about the lack of certain photos that puzzled him.
He couldn’t quite put his finger on it but something was just not right.
He glanced over at them again and studied the various snapshots.
There were many pictures of Katelyn with Jenny, along with pictures of her parents, some of Sylvia and Kevin and there was even some of himself and Jake and a few female friends but not one picture of the mystery man.
He surmised that perhaps she might not want Jenny to know who her father was and might have put those aside.

“There’s not a lot to tell.
I’ve been planning this move for years.
I’ve been progressively transferring our main hub of GFB Enterprises to the States to make my eventual move here less hectic when the time was right.
I’m finally at that point where the majority of my business can be handled directly from our home office based here in New York.
I’ll still have to travel around the world but not nearly as often.
I have excellent staff strategically placed in satellite offices all around the world who can handle things as they come up, just as well as I can myself,” Gianfranco stated.

“Sounds like you’ve been busy.
If you’ve been planning this move for years, why haven’t I heard anything before now?
I would think Kevin or Jake would have mentioned your return to me?” she asked as she joined him in the living room with fresh drinks.
Katelyn placed a drink in his hand and waited for his answer.

He hesitated for a moment and then decided to be frank with her.
“I postponed my own personal move because of you…” he answered softly.
Her choking sound of disbelief made him laugh.
“I’m serious; my company has been changing for years.
I personally would have been back here in the States a long time ago but I delayed my return, which is why you hadn’t heard anything.
I’m sure you’ve heard of us, GFB Enterprises?
I’ve been known to dabble in many different interests.
One of the vast holdings is in publication,” he said, knowing she would put the two together within minutes.

He was intrigued by her response.
“I guess that look in your eyes means you’re a little surprised?”
A little surprised, isn’t the word
.
His company just took over
Glitz
magazine.
The magazine she worked for.
Was it a coincidence?
Just five years ago, the same company had acquired
Intrigue
Magazine and made it into one of the hottest magazines on the open market.
Perhaps, she was jumping to conclusions.
Katelyn couldn’t understand how he had hidden behind such an obvious corporation for this long.

“I had no idea.
I’m not even sure what to say in response,” she added, completely shocked.

“You could start by rescinding your notice of resignation to my magazine.
I want you to stay.
Please?”
He moved past her and the scent of his cologne overwhelmed her.
She remembered how he had searched for cologne that she could tolerate with her allergies.
The smell of his cologne, one he eventually had a designer create, made specifically with her in mind, was still as titillating now as it was years ago.
She was surprised that he still wore it.
She tried to resist him but he was closer now and drawing circles on her wrists while bringing her hands forward until they rested against his chest.
Her breathing was becoming irregular and labored from his touch.

“We shouldn’t be having this conversation.
I don’t need you to protect me, Gianfranco,” she whispered, barely audible.
She couldn’t let him do this to her as she fought to control her breathing.
He couldn’t be allowed to see just how much she craved his touch, not if she knew what was good for her.

“You mentioned visiting Kevin.
Are you still going?” he asked curiously.

She could tell he was up to something, but what?
She simply nodded and waited for the next shoe to drop.

“Is Jenny going with you to see Kevin and Sylvia?” he asked.

“Of course, I don’t go anywhere without her.
How could you ask such a silly question?”
The devil himself was no match for Gianfranco Broccolini.
It was his smile that affected her most.
His smile was electrifying and when he smiled you were hauled into his world, a world in which you had little or no control.
She felt that he was up to something; maybe it was paranoia but she couldn’t shake the possibility that he was putting things together in his head.
He wanted a specific scenario and he was working to assure its execution.

There is more to her story than she is telling me
.
But rather than push her for the information, he would find out the information himself, his way.
There was something she didn’t want him to know.
If there was one thing he knew for certain, it was that Katelyn; was a terrible liar.
What is she hiding from me?

“I was thinking about going out to see Kevin again myself.
Perhaps we could make the trip together?” he suggested considerately.

Katelyn managed to hide her discomfort.
All she could think of was how close he would be to his own child.
If I agree, how will I avoid the inevitable?
He will never forgive me if he finds out about Jenny and I will be the target of his wrath, truth be told.
He would never forgive her for keeping his child from him for so many years.
She found herself questioning why she had come to make that fateful decision.

“Cancel your reservations if you’ve already made them.
Let’s all fly there in my jet.
It’ll be fun for Jenny and you won’t have to deal with airport hassle,” he added as an afterthought, as though it would make a difference.

Warily, she scrambled to come up with an excuse, one that he’d believe.
“I get very nervous on small planes.
Thank you for the offer anyway,” she said the only thing that popped into her head.

“You sound more afraid of me than you are of the smaller planes, Katelyn.
Besides, my small plane is not so small at all; it’s a Boeing 727.
I assure you that it’s big enough for all three of us,” he said wanting to put her at ease, suspecting that her reluctance had little to do with closed quarters and more to do with being alone with him.

Katelyn lightheartedly smiled; she couldn’t help seeing images of the three of them on that plane together.
Not even a plane that size would keep his child’s eyes from looking back into his own.
“I’m sure you’re much too busy to chauffeur us around.”

“Katelyn, I didn’t make the suggestion out of friendship.
I was making the trip myself anyway; I wasn’t going out of my way.”
He glanced past her toward the bedrooms and let out a deep discernible breath.
“I don’t know much about her and for that, I’m sorry.
Is she much like her mother?
How old is she?” he added disappointedly.
He wanted her to be like her mother.
He couldn’t take it if she were more like her father.
If she looked more like him, then little, innocent Jenny would be a constant reminder of how little Katelyn valued what they shared together.

“Why the twenty questions?” she asked, trying to keep her anxiety under wraps. Suddenly, she realized her anxious response seemed just a little peculiar.
“I guess I’m a little overprotective,” she added to distract him.

Gianfranco knew something wasn’t right about this whole situation.
His sharp business sense warned him when someone was trying to put one over on him; he was getting that distinct impression while speaking to her.
It was obvious from the way she spoke and if that wasn’t enough to convince him, he saw it in her eyes.

Katelyn felt terribly guilty that their child slept only a few feet away.
With tears threatening, she moved against the wall for added support.
Once he found out the truth, there was no telling what he’d do.
She knew one thing for certain and that was that the truth had to come from her first.
There might be a very different outcome if he heard it from her.
“I have something I need to tell you,” she whispered.
“I’m not sure where to begin.”