deep, warm chairs, while the room had cool tile flooring and seagrass-textured walls. A covered porch ran the length of the swimming pool, which could be seen from the open doors, adding to the peaceful feeling Vittorio always got around water.
In the shade provided by the covered porch, several chairs and tables sat near an outdoor kitchen and barbecue combination for alfresco cooking. Before she sat down, Grace went straight to the open glass doors to take in the view. He stood behind her looking as well. The pool stretched out in a long, blue invitation, and beyond it was a rolling grass hill, scattered ornamental trees and the lake. The sun shone down on the surface, turning it into a crystal-blue jewel nestled among the trees.
“This is beautiful. I can see why you love this place. I can’t help but feel relaxed and happy just looking at this view and hearing the sound of water.”
He liked that he had added the hot tub above the pool so that water spilled in a series of small falls into the pool. The sound was soothing, and when he was working on learning not to burn everything he grilled, that constant song kept him centered.
“This is one of my favorite spots. I spend quite a bit of time here.” He settled his fingers on the nape of her neck. Touching her and feeling her relax beneath his hand made him happy.
She tipped her head up, looking at him over her shoulder. “Can you barbecue?”
He leaned down to brush a kiss over the smirk on her face. “I have some skills with the grill, but I have to admit, cooking is not my forte. What about you?”
“I had plenty of time to get interested in various subjects when I was afraid to leave my home in case Haydon followed me and went after anyone I talked to. Cooking was one of them. Am I any good? Absolutely not, but I can bake.”
“So, you’re telling me we’ll have to live on cookies?” He’d never thought he would have this—teasing with a woman, stripping himself bare and being accepted for who he was. She hadn’t committed fully, but he could sense she wanted to.
“Something like that, yes.”
The laughter in her voice warmed him. He led her outside, and she stopped to admire the gable and pillars all painted white. “Vittorio, your home is really incredible.”
That was another point in his favor—she liked the house. “It’s a house right now, Grace, but it has the potential to be a home.” He wanted her to make it a home for him, for both of them.
She glanced up at him and then, at the urging of his hand pressing against the small of her back, made for one of the very wide, comfortable-looking chairs. He helped her into it and then pulled out her cell phone. “I thought you might want to call your boss.”
Grace took her phone from him, but her gaze shifted just slightly from his. Instantly, he knew she was uncomfortable with something he’d said.
“Gattina, I took your cell phone because I didn’t want the police to confiscate it. As no one could find it and they didn’t ask me about it, I didn’t have to lie. I did see messages from Katie Branscomb pop up, but I tried not to read them.” He’d wanted to give her privacy. It was important that she learned he could be trusted. He didn’t want to take over her life, he wanted her to surrender it to him. Invading her privacy was far different from her volunteering to tell him what was going on in her life.
“Katie is my partner, not my boss,” Grace blurted out. “We both own the company equally.”
Vittorio was silent, studying her averted face. The fingers of her good hand twisted into the material of her shirt nervously. He wanted to cover her hand to reassure her. He also wanted to strangle his mother. She would have known. She would have investigated both women before using the company. She might pretend she didn’t know, but she could have told them quite a few things about Grace. She’d just chosen not to.
“I wasn’t trying to lie to you, it’s just that when we went into business, I knew that if Haydon found out, he would force me to take out loans against KB Events. It was my idea to name it that. Katie is the face of the business. She’s really good with people and