Rome for Always (The BAD BOY BILLIONAIRES Collection)

ROME FOR ALWAYS

JUDY ANGELO

The
BAD BOY BILLIONAIRES Series

Volume
14

Copyright
© 2014 Judy Angelo

Phoenix
Publishing Limited

All rights reserved. No part of this book
may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, electronic or otherwise (mechanical,
photocopying, recording or stored in a retrieval system) without the prior
written consent of the Publisher. Such action is an infringement of the
copyright law.

This book is a work of fiction. The names,
characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or
have been used fictitiously. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is
entirely coincidental.

Author
contact: 

[email protected]

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with me on Facebook: 

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Cover Artist: Alchemy Book Covers

BAD BOY BILLIONAIRES

Judy Angelo

Volume 1 -
Tamed by the Billionaire

Volume 2 -
Maid in the USA

Volume 3 -
Billionaire's Island Bride

Volume 4 -
Dangerous Deception

Volume 5 -
To Tame a Tycoon

Volume 6 -
Sweet Seduction

Volume 7 -
Daddy by December

Volume 8 -
To Catch a Man (in 30 Days or Less)

Volume 9 –
Bedding Her Billionaire Boss

Volume 10 -
Her Indecent Proposal

Volume 11 -
So Much Trouble When She Walked In

Volume 12 –
Married by Midnight

Volume 13 -
The Billionaire Next Door

Volume 14 -
Rome
for Always

BAD BOY BILLIONAIRES, Coll. I - Vols. 1 - 4

BAD BOY BILLIONAIRES, Coll. II - Vols. 5 - 8

 
BAD BOY BILLIONAIRES, Coll. III - Vols. 9 - 12

*Purchase collections and save*

The
NAUGHTY AND NICE Series

Volume
1
-
Naughty
by Nature

COMING SOON

Volume
15 - Billionaire's Blackmail Bride

ROME FOR ALWAYS

Sequel to the novella,
Rome for the
Holidays,
in the collection, 'Hot, Sexy & Bad'

SHE
HAD ROME FOR THE HOLIDAYS, BUT WILL SHE HAVE HIM FOR ALWAYS?

Arie Angelis
is on top of the world. She's engaged to the
man of her dreams, the super-handsome and successful CEO of Belitalia, Rome
Milano.  She could not believe it when he proposed on Christmas Day.  Of
course, she said yes! But then, only a month into their engagement there's a
turn of events that threatens to steal her newfound happiness. In the past she'd
made a life-altering choice. Now it's time to stand by that decision.  The only
question is, will Rome stand with her or will it send him running?

Rome Milano
knows a good thing when he sees it and when he
meets Arie he has no doubt that she's the one for him. He falls so swiftly in
love with her that within weeks of meeting her he's proposing. He can't be any
happier when she accepts.

But there's just one
problem - how to convince the important people in his life that this is for
real.  Now that he's found happiness will he be forced to choose between love
and loyalty?

It's decision time on both sides.  Through it
all, will love prevail?

CHAPTER ONE

It was one of those picture-perfect days in New Orleans,
a brilliantly beautiful January day with the sun shining super-bright and the
clouds racing one another across a radiant blue sky. It was a postcard-pretty
day…and Arie was miserable.

She could not believe what she’d done. Seriously, what
kind of fool had she been to think this would work? A marriage proposal from
super-handsome billionaire, Rome Milano? She’d been over the moon. But now, one
month into their engagement, she was having second thoughts.

And, unfortunately, it was for good reason because when
Rome found out she’d kept something this serious from him she didn’t know if he
would ever forgive her.

She shook her head, trying desperately to clear her mind
of a thought that was both depressing and exciting at the same time. Goodness,
she felt like she was being torn in two. With a hiss of frustration she hopped
up off the concrete bench and pulled her jacket closer around her. She’d had
enough of gazing into the murky waters of her backyard pond. If she sat there
one minute longer she’d go mad.

She was heading back toward the house when her cell
phone rang. She dug it out of her pocket and glanced at the screen. Lena. Arie
almost sighed. She wasn’t in the mood for a chat but when her business partner
called she knew she’d better answer. This could be important.

“Hey, Lena. What’s up?” She forced a note of
cheerfulness into her voice even though she was feeling anything but.

“Hey, girl,” Lena said, sounding cheery enough for both
of them. “What are you doing on this beautiful Sunday morning?”

Arie grimaced. As she’d told herself earlier, she wasn’t
in the mood for chit-chat. Apparently, Lena was. Still, this was her long-time
partner and friend. She had to at least try. “Oh, nothing,” she said. “I’ll
probably just catch up on my reading.”

“What? On a lovely day like this?” Lena sounded appalled.
“I thought for sure you and Rome would be doing something special. Or is he
away? Off to Italy, is he?”

“No, he’s in Sydney right now. Remember I told you about
the launch of his men’s formal wear line?”

“Oh, yeah. I forgot it was this weekend.” Lena clucked
her tongue. “Now don’t you be sitting there, moping around the house, missing
him. Do you want me to come over?”

“No, it’s okay.” Arie was quick to respond. The last
thing she needed was to have to put on a happy face when all she wanted to do
was cry. “I’ll be all right. I’ll call him later. He’ll be back in a few days,
anyway.” 

“Well, all right. If you’re sure.” Lena sounded
doubtful, almost like she could sense that all was not well on the other end of
the line. “I’ll give you a buzz later, okay?”

“Okay,” Arie said meekly, knowing that her friend would
do as she’d promised no matter what reassurance she tried to give her. No-nonsense
and stubborn, that was Lena.

Arie did spend the rest of the morning moping around the
house, the very thing Lena had warned her not to do. And she was missing Rome. Terribly.
But on top of all that she was consumed with guilt for what she’d done and for
what she was about to do.

The really sad thing was, she didn’t want to lose what
she and Rome had. It was too precious, too perfect. How could she give up on
the love she’d found? How could she say goodbye to Rome?

As her thoughts homed in on the man who filled her every
waking thought Arie’s mind went back to the first day she saw him, so
commanding and so sinfully sexy she couldn’t tear her eyes away. Then when he’d
practically commanded her to his office the following week she’d gone, never
once imagining that a little over a month later she would be accepting his
proposal to become his wife.

But not anymore. Today that would all come to an end because
of the biggest dilemma of all.

How could she suddenly bring a baby into his life, one
that wasn’t even his? 

***

“Rome, this is wonderful. It’s the best show I’ve ever
seen.” Of anyone watching the grand finale, Iyana was clapping loudest of all. “Thanks
for inviting me.”

Rome smiled, pleased that his personal assistant was
having so much fun. “My pleasure,” he said with a nod and he meant it.

In the year and a half she’d been working for him Iyana
had been a hard worker, efficient and organized, one of the best he’d had. It
hadn’t been a hard decision to surprise her with a trip to Sydney to accompany
him to the Australia launch of his men’s formal line. These past few months
she’d been busy with the behind-the-scenes preparation for the launch so why
not reward her by letting her see it all come to life on the runway?

“You deserve it,” he said honestly and when she turned
and gave him a huge smile of gratitude, he laughed. He’d certainly made the
right decision when he’d invited her to come along.

But even as he stared into the wide brown-eyed gaze of
the woman sitting beside him, the sounds of applause faded away and the brown
eyes morphed into brilliant blue ones, the eyes of the woman who had the power
to dominate his thoughts and transport him away, no matter where he was or what
he was doing.

Arie Angelis, the love of his life…what was she doing
now? Was she consumed with thoughts of him as he was with thoughts of her? Did
everything remind her of him like they reminded him of her? His lovely little
Arie had turned him into a love-sick sap and he didn’t give a damn.

As Rome sat there in the middle of a crowd of thousands
his thoughts flew back to the first time he’d laid eyes on Arie, a petite
blonde with brilliant blue eyes that drew you in, wrapped you in a web of
intrigue and never let you go. He’d come up with a ruse to get her to come to
his office but it was only because he’d been dying to see her again and then,
before he knew what was happening, he’d fallen in love with the enchanting
little pixie. By the time Christmas came around he was professing his love and
asking her to marry him.

That Christmas day had been the best he’d ever had. To
his relief she’d said yes and they’d spent a wonderful Christmas together,
knowing that they’d be together at Christmas for the rest of their lives.

And then it was time to think about the wedding. For
him, the ideal would be an escape to an island resort where they’d tie the knot
in front of a local official. She wasn't as enthusiastic about the island
escape but, thankfully, she was on board with the idea of a small wedding.  She
wasn't fussy, she told him.  As long as, at the end of the day she was his
wife, she was happy.

“They’re calling you on stage.”

Rome snapped back to the present when he felt Iyana’s
hand on his arm. He nodded and rose then headed for the stage. This was the
part he could do without. Somehow he never got used to being in the spotlight. As
owner and CEO of Belitalia it was part of what he had to do, part of who he was.
Nobody cared that he’d much rather sit in the shadows and let his
second-in-command take the stage. No, the audience was waiting and he was the
one they wanted to see.

As Rome climbed the steps by the runway the crowd
erupted in applause. Damn, it was like he was a celebrity. Not that he felt
like one.

As he walked to the middle of the stage he raised his
hand, silencing the whoops and cheers. “Thank you, everyone,” he said, his
voice booming around the hall as the stage director pinned a microphone to his
lapel. “You are the ones who have made the launch of the Belitalia men’s
collection a resounding success. I had nothing to do with it.” The fans,
reporters and well wishers burst into laughter. “I’m dead serious about that,”
he said, “and that’s why I’ve arranged for every one of you to receive a
signature silk tie, compliments of Belitalia. Don’t worry. It’s nothing gaudy. Perfect
for that power meeting when you want to dress to impress.”

He had to raise his hands again when the audience broke
out in appreciative applause. “And ladies,” he said with a smile, “you’ll get
your ties, too. Just don’t tell me what you plan to do with them.” That got him
more laughter and more than a few whoops and catcalls. Some of the women in the
audience even called out his name, making him laugh. They'd have some
explaining to do when they got home.