VITTORIO'S RUNAWAY BRIDE (The Vittorio Series) (12 page)

“No, that’s not what I’m saying at all.
 
It’s just that you’re away all day and most of the time our evenings are spent in the company of others.
 
I miss being alone with you, Logan.”

“We were alone every night in our bed,
carissima
.”

The husky tone of his voice brought back vivid memories of those incredible nights; bodies entwined beneath a tangle of sheets, the heat, the passion, the…

“Stop trying to distract me,” Shelby chided, even as her heart leapt when Logan pulled her back into his arms.
 
“We…we need to talk about this,” she said faintly.
 

“Later,” he murmured against her lips.

Shelby tried to resist him, she really did, and for all of two or three seconds she was a pillar of strength.
 
But when Logan slanted his head and deepened the kiss, his arms crushing her to his magnificent chest, that pillar crumbled like sawdust and was swept away in a whirlwind of ravaging desire.
 
 
All those cruel months when her senses had been deprived of anything but pain and sorrow melted into oblivion as he continued to plunder her mouth, and if it hadn’t been for Grady’s untimely intrusion she probably would have blindly followed Logan to his car without finishing their conversation.

Grady bounded into the room.
 
“I think that’s everything so if…oops, sorry about the interruption,” he grinned sheepishly.

Logan lifted his head but kept Shelby imprisoned in his arms.
 
“There are two more suitcases in the bedroom but we will put them in my car.
 
Go ahead and take off, we will not be far behind you.”

“Grady wait,” Shelby managed to squeak out just as he turned to go.
 

The look of displeasure from Logan made her stomach churn, but there was too much at stake to let him whisk her away before she was ready.
 

Grady cast an uncertain glance at Logan before asking,
 
 
“Was there something else you needed me to take?”

The tension in Logan’s body would have been obvious even if she hadn’t still been locked in his arms.
 
Pressed as close as she was, Shelby could feel every taut muscle from shoulder to thigh, but it was the glacial expression on his face more than anything that revealed the emotions he was so staunchly trying to hide.
 
It hit her hard because until this moment, she had never even considered that Logan might be feeling just as vulnerable and scared as she was.
 
Shelby smiled up at him before answering Grady.

“No, I just wanted to thank you for all your help.
 
Logan and I have a few things to discuss before we leave, but like he said, we won’t be far behind you.”

Logan didn’t say anything for several minutes after Grady left.
 
He stared into those fathomless green eyes trying to discern what was going on in that pretty head of hers.
 
His stomach was still in knots, although the pain wasn’t nearly as intense as it had been when she asked Grady to wait.
 
Somehow he’d known what she was about to say; that she wasn’t going with him after all.
 
He’d been floored.
 
No, worse than that, it was if he had been hurled back in time to that God awful moment when he first realized Shelby had left him and wasn’t coming back.

“Please don’t look at me like that,” Shelby finally broke the silence.
 
“I didn’t mean it to sound so ominous, and if I hurt you, I’m sorry.
 
It’s just that…I think there are some issues we need to resolve first.”

“I was under the impression we had already done that.”

“You know we haven’t, Logan.
 
We set the record straight about Alicia, but it made me wonder.
 
Would I have handled the situation differently if things had been right between us?”

Logan’s scowl deepened.
 
“I was not aware there was anything wrong between us.
 
Did I not give you everything your heart desired,
cara
?”

Shelby framed his face in her hands.
 
“You gave me all the material things a woman could want and then some, but you didn’t give me my heart’s desire.
 
It’s
you
, Logan.
 
All I ever needed was you.”

“You talk as if I was never around, as if I tried to make up for it by placating you with jewelry and clothes you apparently never even wanted.”

He looked so much like a petulant little boy at that moment, Shelby couldn’t help but smile.
 
“I didn’t mean to infer the gifts you gave me weren’t appreciated because they were.
 
I know it was a way of expressing your affection for me and I adored you for taking the time to pick out something you thought I would like.
 
But what I really wanted, what I
needed
was to hear you say you loved me and to prove it by spending time alone with me.”

“You think I do not regret the time I have to be away from you?
 
Mio Dio
, I would like nothing better than to shirk my duty and leave work whenever I wished or shoo my family off without regard to their feelings, but I cannot.”

Shelby’s smile faded.
 
“You make me sound selfish for wanting to be with my husband.”
 
She tried to pull away from him, but Logan would have none of it.

“No,
mio bello
,” he kissed her lightly on the lips, “you do not have it in you to be selfish, but you are perhaps a little naïve when it comes to marriage and all it entails.
 
There are certain sacrifices that must be made…”

“No,” she said with a stubborn lift of her chin, “I don’t believe that for a minute.
 
Compromise is inevitable, but sacrificing means giving up something that’s important to one or both of us.
 
I won’t do it, Logan, so I suggest you come up with a
compromise
we can both live with.”

“Compromise,” he said as if he’d never heard of the word before.

“Negotiate, give and take, find the middle ground…”

“I know what it means,” he cut her off, “but I am at a loss as to how I can negotiate time I do not have to spare.”

Shelby’s eyes misted with tears.
 
“If it was important enough, you would find a way.”

Logan crushed her to his chest.
 
“Make no mistake,
mia
moglie
,” he said fiercely, “nothing is more important to me than you are.
 
I will do whatever it takes to make you happy.”

“Promise me,” she pleaded.

His head dipped so they were cheek to cheek.
 
“I promise,
mio amore
, I promise.”

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                        
 
***

Logan glanced at his wife before turning his attention back to the road.
 
Her cheeks were flushed with color, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she tossed out one idea after another in a tone that relayed with vivid clarity just how happy she was.
 
He couldn’t help getting caught up in her enthusiasm and in truth, he was thrilled to death at the prospect of stealing even a few extra minutes a day with her.

“I am sorry I did not think of it myself,” he told her when she stopped to catch her breath.

Shelby stretched her arm across the seat
 
and slipped her hand
 
into his.
 
“I’m just happy you’re listening and agreeing with some of my suggestions.
 
You really like the idea of setting up an art studio in the Penthouse suites?”

The Penthouse was on the top floor of Vittorio Enterprises and Logan used it whenever he needed a place to change clothes for a dinner appointment or just wanted to get away from the office for awhile.
 
He visualized taking a few leisurely lunch hours during the week with Shelby, although sharing a meal with her wasn’t the only thing he had in mind.
 
What better way to relieve the tension of the day than to bury himself in his wife’s delectable body?
 
A slow smile spread across his face as he pictured her lying naked and waiting for him in the king size bed.

“I know that look, Logan Vittorio,” Shelby chastised, “and if you think this is all about sex you’re wrong.”

Logan chuckled and raised her hand to his lips.
 
“Do not worry,
carissima
, I will make sure you are fed afterwards.”

“Oh, you’re impossible,” she snatched her hand away.

“Are you saying you have not imagined a stolen hour of intimacy with me in the middle of the day?”

Her cheeks burned a glorious shade of scarlet.
 
“It never crossed my mind.”
 
His laughter brought a smile to her lips.
 
“Okay, so maybe I did think of it briefly, but that’s not all I want to do whenever you manage to slip away to see me.”

“You will not be disappointed when there are days I cannot get away at all?”

“Of course I’ll be disappointed, but I won’t be unhappy because it will make those days you can see me so much more special.
 
I’ll have my painting to keep me busy and without Alba around to scowl at me whenever I invade her kitchen, I’ll be able to make lunch for you.
 
And if you have to stay late I can bring you dinner or maybe even help you with your work.”

“Shelby…”

“Please don’t say no before you even give me a chance to prove I can be useful.
 
I know you think I have my head in the clouds because the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do is paint, but I’m very good with computers and I can type seventy words per minute. And you forget, I took business courses in college so I know how to keep my own books, and I do
so
want to be involved with your work so I’m not completely lost when you talk about your ventures…”

“Okay, okay,” he laughed, “I will give you a chance to prove yourself.
 
If you like, I can have my Personal Assistant, Margaret, train you.
 
If things work out, perhaps you can fill in for her when she takes time off.”

“Oh, Logan, that would be wonderful!”

“I warn you, I am not going to be easy on you.
 
Margaret’s job is very demanding and the only reason she has lasted as long as she has is because she does not let my moods affect her.
 
She knows I can be abrupt and does not take it personally.
 
I cannot have you falling to pieces if I seem harsh at times.”

“I wouldn’t expect any favoritism and I promise you can fire me on the spot if I don’t measure up to your standards.”

“I can trust you not to be angry with me if I find it necessary to fire you?”

“No tantrums, I swear.”

“We will give it a trial run then, but if Margaret does not think you can handle it, I will have to accept her opinion and expect no argument from you.”

Shelby’s high spirits took a slight dip.
 
“You don’t think I can do it, do you?”

“
Innamorato
…”

“Don’t you
sweetheart
me, Logan Vittorio,” she admonished, “you think I’m going to fail.”

Logan chose his words carefully.
 
“I am confident you will do your best, but it is a tough job and I do not want you to be upset if it does not work out.”

“I’m not as fragile as you think I am.”

“Perhaps not, but I am worried about the strain it may put on our relationship.”
 

He turned onto the private road leading to their house, not at all happy with the path their conversation had taken.
 
He shouldn’t have given in so easily or at least tried harder to talk her out of working with him.
 
Logan was under no illusions about how difficult he could be, and though he considered himself to be a fair and generous boss, he was also extremely demanding and often sounded rather abrupt, especially when he was up against a tight deadline.
 
He waited until they passed through the wrought iron security gates and were halfway to the house before stopping the car.