Five Dates with the Billionaire - Alyssa J. Montgomery Page 0,69
But he needed to rein his thoughts in and not rush into anything. He needed more time to sift through and understand his feelings.
‘… hope so. I suppose I’ll be able to judge for myself tonight. I’ll phone her and ask her to come and visit me at home this evening.’
‘No.’ He hadn’t heard the first part of what Gran had been saying, but he’d tuned into the last part. ‘The reason we came home early from Paris was because Mia’s come down with a cold.’
‘A cold in the middle of summer?’
‘Yes. She’s feeling all sorts of miserable with a fever, a blocked nose and a cough.’
‘That came on quickly.’ There was a definite note of suspicion in Gran’s voice.
‘Well… er… she wouldn’t want me to tell you, but I believe you already know how clumsy she is?’
Violet raised the tips of her fingers to her temples. ‘Oh no! Don’t tell me! I’ll bet she—’
‘—fell into the Grand Canal,’ he supplied.
Violet groaned. ‘Oh dear. I guessed it! No wonder she got sick.’ She shook her head. ‘Anyway, she sends her love and will give you a call when she’s recovered, but the last thing she wanted to do was expose you to her bug before you had your procedure.’ He sent her a disgruntled look. ‘Of course, we didn’t know you’d had it. Still, you can’t afford to get sick while you’re recovering either.’
‘That’s true. I’ll ask Nell to make her some chicken soup and get Lucy to take it to her.’
Uh-oh. The last thing they needed was for Gran to find out Mia wasn’t sick at all.
‘I’m sure she’ll appreciate it.’ He’d have to get Carlisle to warn Mia she was going to have a visitor.
She was spending the day at home while the security on her apartment was upgraded and the MI5 bodyguards were assigned. Tomorrow, she’d be back at work.
‘Probably should get Nell to make a big batch so Lucy can drop it around and then leave Mia in peace. Nothing worse than being sick and having to keep getting out of bed to answer the door.’
‘That’s true.’
Connor felt a small degree of satisfaction at having out-manipulated the expert manipulator.
‘Did you at least manage to get through most of my plan for Venice before Mia became sick?’
‘Yes, and Mia will show you the photos to prove it as soon as she’s well.’ All the photos except the ones Peppi took.
Connor closed his eyes and remembered the heaven of his first taste of Mia’s lips.
Had it only been a couple of days ago?
‘I don’t think I ever told you the tale, but your grandfather realised he loved me when we were sitting at the cafe on St Mark’s Square. I was hoping history would repeat itself and you’d both fall in love with each other in Venice.’ She sighed. ‘I’m so disappointed I was wrong, but at least you each found you enjoyed the other’s company. Will you see her again?’
He fought to keep from revealing his disappointment. ‘Only at the office.’
If Gran was still holding out hope their friendship would deepen, she’d be disappointed when she read tomorrow’s paper.
Carlisle had insisted Connor take someone out tonight and ensure the photos were splashed across the social pages tomorrow. To protect Mia, Connor would play the role he’d been assigned and make certain he looked appropriately interested in his date.
He already knew which gorgeous woman he’d be photographed with. Skye was a model and would-be actress who’d be more than willing to go out with him. No doubt the media would speculate that because they were dating again after a few months break, there might be something more serious between them.
A nurse came into Gran’s private room. ‘Time to take your blood pressure again, Mrs Stewart.’
Perfect timing!
Connor stood and gave Gran a kiss on the cheek. ‘Don’t give the nurses any trouble, Gran.’
‘As if!’
He rolled his eyes at her indignation. ‘I’ll call in to see you tonight before I go out.’
‘You’re going out?’
‘A man has to eat.’
Before she could invite him to have dinner with her, Connor made his escape. With one quick phone call to Skye he arranged his date for the evening. Knowing he was going to spend the evening with one of the hottest models in London did nothing to stir his pulse—or any other part of his body.
Skye simply wasn’t Mia.
Chapter Twenty-two
The following day, Connor’s executive assistant popped her head around the door of his office. ‘You’re due at the marketing presentation in five minutes.’