Kiwi was so different from any woman he’d ever dated or been involved with. He braced as she grabbed his arms like she wanted him to say something more. “What do you want me to say? I want you to marry me but you said no.”
She nibbled on her lower lip. “I said, not yet.”
“What else do I need to do then?” He hoped she’d give him some clear direction on how to win her trust and her heart because he needed a clue on how to keep her. She challenged him and he liked it.
She nodded and said, “First, let’s clear up the past so it doesn’t come knocking on our door.”
He tapped his fingers on his neckline. He could absolutely speak to Piper and ensure she never called him again. He’d tell her he found another. Last year was a distant memory, and to top it all off, Piper had been the one to leave him. His lawyers could handle making sure the tape was destroyed, and a team could be hired to squelch the video. He nodded like Kiwi had given him an order and said, “I will.”
“Good.” She smiled with belief in him.
Her smile made him warm on the inside and desire for her boiled over.
He ran his hand up her side, feeling her curves as he gently pulled her closer to him. Her eyes fluttered closed as he moved his lips over hers.
And her kiss still set off fireworks. He just needed to prove himself to her. He pressed his hands on her arms. “Kiwi, I need to go see Piper.”
Her gaze narrowed, and her mouth thinned as she clutched his shirt.
“Why?”
His mind didn’t understand her question. She’d just told him to fix this situation. “You told me to clear up the past. I want to do that.”
Her eyes widened. “Right now though?”
“Yeah.” He wasn’t sure why this was an issue. He rested his forehead against hers. “I just want to focus on us and our future, with our daughter.”
She hugged his waist. “Me too.”
“So I should go?” He released her, though her warmth sent a thrill down his spine.
He turned to leave the bedroom and placed his hand on her lower back to walk beside Kiwi.
Next to her, the world seemed sweeter. As they walked to the top of the stairs, she tugged at his belt loop and he stopped. Her lips were pursed as she said, “Wait. The world press is probably at her house right now.”
If she wanted him to ignore Piper and the tape, she’d have said that. But she wanted it cleared up and the fastest way was to confront Piper and find out why. Gio saw Kiwi’s nervousness and kissed her hand.
“Okay, let’s get the company heads together,” he said. “We need to talk about the sex tape and how it affects business and how best to handle the PR.”
She frowned but took a step forward which meant they both walked down the stairs. “You want to talk to your sister?”
He and Kiwi kept misunderstanding each other. He rubbed her back slightly and said, “You run the shoe department, Kiwi, and your opinion matters, far more than any of them.”
She stayed silent as they headed back outside to the terrace. Near the door she stopped chewing her lip and said, “We’ll need to hire a kick butt marketing and PR firm to clean this up.”
“Sounds logical.”
They walked outside where his siblings were all still chatting with each other over glasses of wine without heading out to their private plans yet. Gio said, “Caro, Victoria, are you both free for a fast business meeting?”
Victoria pointed toward the vineyard and stalled, “We were just going…”
“Okay.” Caro tugged Victoria forward.
Both of the women joined them. Kiwi stalled before following him. What did she need to hear? He held the door to the library open for them and as they all came inside, Kiwi said, “Gio wants to clear up the sex tape so it doesn’t affect your business, and he thinks he should do it right now. I don’t think he should go to see Piperright now.”
He closed the door.
Caro’s lips formed an o and she quickly waved her finger. “Oh. This should probably be worked out between the two of you and not us.”
