Celine walked out the room, thinking that one of these days her father would push her a little too far and she would push back more than she’d ever done. And as for Mr. Zion Blackstone, she wasn’t looking forward to spending time with a man who was probably utterly boring. Thanks to him her weekend would be ruined.

  Chapter 2

  Celine returned home at six o’clock, knowing dinner would be served promptly at seven. She had just enough time to shower and change. If her father had hoped she would hang around to greet Zion Blackstone when he arrived from the airport, he’d been disappointed.

  “You’re almost late, Miss C.”

  Celine couldn’t help but grin at the older woman who’d greeted her at the door. Aggie had worked in the Michaels household since Celine’s parents had married, and before that in her maternal grandparents’ employ. She had been her mother’s nanny and had followed her when she’d gotten married. Aggie was one of two in the household who knew Celine’s secrets. The other was James, the limo driver.

  “You have my bathwater ready upstairs, right?”

  The older woman returned her grin. “You know I do. I think your father intended for you to return early to help entertain Mr. Blackstone.”

  Celine rolled her eyes. “I had things to do regarding Second Chances. Where is our houseguest?”

  “In the study with your father. Poor fellow. I’m sure he’s bored stiff with your father talking about himself.”

  Celine wanted to throw her head back and laugh but controlled herself. The last thing she wanted was for her father to hear her and know she was back. “You’re probably right. What sort of man is Mr. Blackstone?” she asked, heading for the spiral staircase.

  Aggie fanned herself. “Wow, missy, he’s a hot one for sure. But I’ll let you be the judge.”

  Celine lifted a brow. She’d never known Aggie to refer to any guy as “hot” before. That included Nikon, who wasn’t bad looking. “Now you have me curious. I’ll be back down soon,” she said, rushing up the stairs.

  “Make sure you look good. It just might be your lucky night.”

  Her lucky night for what? Surely Aggie didn’t think she would be taken in by a nice-looking face. Just like Aggie knew her secrets, the older woman also knew her past pain. The one Jerome Astor had inflicted. Had it been three years ago? Heading into the fourth? She pushed the memories of her mistake with Jerome out of her mind.

  Less than an hour later Celine had showered, dressed and was headed back down the stairs. In good time, she thought, when the study door opened and her father walked out. He was tall, but the man who followed him was even taller. They must have sensed her presence, for they both glanced her way.

  She went still when her gaze locked on the stranger she knew to be Zion Blackstone. Aggie hadn’t exaggerated one iota. The man was definitely hot. Eye candy so sugary she could develop a sweet tooth just looking at him.

  Her heart was pounding hard against her rib cage as her gaze traveled the full length of him. He had a coppery-brown complexion, eyes resembling chocolate chips and lips so striking she couldn’t help but stare at them longer than she should. They were lips any woman would want to run her tongue over in a very indulging lick.

  She drew in a sharp breath, not believing that she, of all people, would think something so bold. Reining back her thoughts, which had temporarily gone haywire, she continued her in-depth perusal of Zion Blackstone. Usually she preferred clean-shaven men, but there was something about his neatly trimmed beard covering a square jaw that made him look scrumptious. Then there was the way the dreadlocks flowed past his shoulders, giving him testosterone-driven appeal.

  Drop-dead gorgeous seemed too inadequate to describe the man, who was dressed in dark slacks and a tweed jacket that covered broad shoulders and a solid chest. Breath-hitching hot was more like it. She actually felt intoxicating sensations rush through her body when she sensed he was undressing her with his eyes.

  But then, he could probably make the same claim about her. Like most females, she appreciated a man with good looks and a fantastic body; however, she refused to let one go to her head.

  There was a self-assurance about him; he was obviously a man comfortable in any environment. There was no doubt in her mind that whatever room he entered, Zion Blackstone would be front and center. Whether he wanted to or not, he would always stand out.

  “Celine. I’m glad you could join us,” her father said.

  Like I had any other choice. She switched her gaze from Zion Blackstone to her father and lifted a brow. “Of course I was going to join you and Mr. Blackstone, Dad,” she said, as she continued walking down the stairs.

  After reaching the bottom, she crossed the floor to give Zion her hand, not missing how his concentrated gaze was fixed on every step she took. “Mr. Blackstone. It’s nice meeting you,” she said, forcing her voice to remain steady.

  “Zion, please. It’s nice meeting you, as well, and I hope I can call you Celine.”

  OMG. Why did he also have such a sexy-sounding voice? Deep and husky, with a sensuous bit of throatiness thrown in for good measure. The kind of voice that could croon a woman to sleep. Except the way he was staring down at her with those eyes sent a jolt of sexual awareness straight through to her bones. “Please do,” she said, extracting her hand from his.

  The brief skin-to-skin encounter had sent even more undefinable sensations rippling through her. She couldn’t help wondering if he had felt it the exact moment their hands had touched like she had.

  “And how was your day of shopping?”

  She forced her attention back to her father. “Great as usual.” He would never know her day hadn’t been spent on Rodeo Drive like he’d assumed, but instead at a meeting with her executive board at Second Chances, trying to see how they could increase the size of their already-filled-to-capacity facilities.

  “My daughter loves spending my money, Zion. And since she’s my only child, I love indulging her,” Levy Michaels said, smiling proudly. “My motto about money is that you might as well spend it since you can’t take any of it with you when you die.”

  “And he will probably outlive all of us,” Celine said, while thinking that although you couldn’t take any with you once you were dead, you could certainly share it with the less fortunate while you lived. However, that concept was as nonsensical to her father as the belief of UFOs out in the universe somewhere.

  Holding her tongue about that, she turned her attention back to Zion and noticed he was still staring at her with those chocolate eyes. Was he seeing through her facade, or like so many others, did he view her as a spoiled, rich woman whose only goal in life was spending her father’s money? A father who happily indulged her to do so. Did it matter what Zion’s opinion of her was? She dismissed the sudden thought that it just might if she allowed it. She wouldn’t.

  “How was your trip, Zion? I understand you came all the way from Rome,” she said.

  “I did and the flight was interesting. It’s not as easy to get through Customs as it used to be, but I managed.”

  She nodded. Why did he have to smell so good? Whatever cologne he was wearing was definitely his signature scent. A woodsy and masculine aroma. “Have you lived in Rome long?”

  “Eight years now.”

  “Aren’t you lucky. I love Rome,” she said, walking beside him as they followed her father to the dining room. “It’s my favorite place in Italy.”

  “I believe she fell in love with Rome when I was filming one of my movies there,” her father interjected. “It was right after her mother died and she was only twelve. I leased a place there for a year.”

  “Where in Rome do you live, Zion?” Celine asked. Otherwise her father would start dominating the conversation, and wrestling it from him wouldn’t be easy.

  “I have a penthouse in the historical center, not far from the Parliament.”

  She smiled. “I bet I know exactly where you are. You’re in the heart of Rome. Walking distance from Piazza Navona and Via Veneto. The Castel Place.”

  “That’s right,” he said, pulling a chair out for her when they reached the dining table. “How did you guess?”

  She smiled again. “Because of your notoriety, I figured you would stay someplace with tight security, and that place is known for having one of the tightest. I knew someone, a girlfriend from college, who lived there for a brief time in those same penthouses. They are to die for. How long have you resided there?”

  “I’ve been living in my penthouse for three years now.”

  She nodded as he took his own seat. “What I enjoy most about the Castel Place are the rooftop terraces.”

  “I enjoy them, as well.”

  * * *

  Zion decided another thing he enjoyed was looking at her. He’d known Celine Michaels was beautiful; he just hadn’t known how jaw-dropping gorgeous she was. Whatever jewelry he designed for her would have to complement that beauty in the most exquisite way. It would have to enhance, not distract. His jewelry could never draw attention from the major subject—her. Instead, it would be used to heighten her stunning features.

  The gemstones he selected would have to blend in with her skin tone, a perfect shade of russet brown. Then there were her features he intended to capitalize on—almond-shaped eyes the color of pure honey, high cheekbones and a luscious pair of lips. She had such a smooth and graceful neck and he could imagine his necklace adorning it.

  She kept her hair in a natural state, with an abundance of curls in a tapered pixie cut. The style embellished her eyes, made them even more noticeable. Even more alluring. No doubt about it, in the looks department Celine Michaels was definitely an attention-getter, and for any man an erection-builder. A high degree of lust would be on any guy’s mind when he encountered her.

  However, for him there had to be more to a woman than looks and lust. There had to be substance, even with women he didn’t intend to keep in his radar for long—which applied to the majority of those he met. Regardless, he couldn’t see himself wasting even a second of his time with a woman who lacked substance. A woman who wasn’t her own person, who made her way in life depending on others.

  Already he was forming an opinion of Celine that wasn’t very flattering. What had Levy said about her goal in life? Spending his money. Did she not have any other ambition? Granted, she was wealthy and probably didn’t need to work, but what did she do with her time? Was she productive in anything other than shopping and jet-setting around the world to parties? In the study, Levy had actually bragged, as if he was proud Celine had no purpose in life other than spending his money and being under her father’s thumb.

  From Zion’s research he knew she had graduated from Harvard with double master’s degrees, in business and psychology. That meant she wasn’t an airhead. She had brains. So why wasn’t she using them?

  His attention was drawn to what she was saying, making another compliment about the place where he lived. In all honesty, what he loved most about the Castel Place was the privacy. What she’d said about the security there was correct. Because of the tight security he didn’t have to worry about being hounded by the media or the paparazzi.

  He glanced over at Celine and again her beauty stunned him. When he had walked out of the study and turned to see her on the staircase, he’d been captivated by her looks. What had taken him aback even more was his reaction to her. Chemistry, stronger than anything he’d ever felt, had stirred him all the way to his loins. And he was astute enough to know she’d felt it, as well. There was no way she could not have when the chemistry had been so magnetic. The question of the hour was what he intended to do about it. Quickly, he knew the answer: not a damn thing. She wasn’t his type and he knew he wouldn’t be hers. Besides, he didn’t do serious involvements, which was one of his biggest rules. That didn’t mean he didn’t do involvements, just not the serious type. He had sexual needs like any other man, but knew the women who would and could take care of those needs. The ones who weren’t looking for a commitment any more than he was. The ones who knew when he wanted to be left alone.

  He would admit there were the fan crazies. Those who figured a night in his bed would get them some trinket or other from Zion. Usually it did. But even with them he was cautious. On his guard against the unexpected. Those with something else up their sleeve—or in most cases, under their dresses—other than a wild night of mind-blowing sex.

  Zion made it clear that was all he was into, and any woman who tried to outsmart him with dirty little tricks got tossed out of the hotel room. One from a few months ago quickly came to mind. She had actually tried drugging him after they’d made love. She’d hoped their next round of sex would produce more than off-the-charts orgasms. She had pregnancy in mind and the generous child support payments she figured she would be entitled to as a result of one.

  “What made you decide to leave the States to live in Rome?”

  He glanced over at Levy. The question had come from him, but out the corner of his eye he could tell Celine was also interested in his response. “A number of reasons,” he said, knowing there was no way he would reveal the main one. “I had visited Rome while in college, on one of these exchange trips. I’d stayed there for a semester while learning Italian. I liked the place and the people. When I got the opportunity to live there, I took it.”

  “But you have family here, right?”

  That question had come from Celine, so he switched his gaze to her. His fingers immediately flexed when he suddenly felt the desire to trace one across the smooth skin of her cheeks. He bet it would be soft to the touch. Then there was the urge to push back a wayward curl that had dropped on her forehead. He wished he could ignore the urge to do both, but was finding it difficult.

  “Yes, I have family in Atlanta,” he finally replied. “My mother died almost nine years ago. It’s just me and my dad now.”

  “So you moved away shortly after your mother passed away?”

  Whether she knew it or not, that fact hit a nerve. Somehow, she’d picked up on the timing, which meant she was good when it came to details. Almost too good. “Yes.” And that was all he would say about that.

  “No other family but your dad?”

  He would let her ask all her questions today, because he would ask his tomorrow during his in-depth interview of her as part of the jewelry design process. “I do have a couple of uncles and aunts and several cousins.” He paused a minute and added, “I also have five godbrothers, godfathers and godmothers that I’m close to.”

  “Five? That’s a lot of godbrothers.”

  He chuckled. “Yes, it is. But my father was part of a group of six close friends in college who wanted to stay in touch when they graduated, forty years ago. They figured being godfather to each other’s children was a surefire way to do it.”

  “Sounds like fun,” Celine said, smiling.

  He liked her smile, too damn much. “It’s fun whenever the six of us get together. There was a time our godparents dreaded it, though. There was no telling what kind of trouble the six of us would get into.”

  “Did you get together often while growing up?”

  Usually, he didn’t talk about his personal life, but for some reason she seemed genuinely interested. “Mostly during the summers and around the holidays. It was on a rotation basis. The goal was to make sure we all got to spend quality time together to build a close relationship with not only each other but our godparents, as well.”

  She smiled and he thought she had a beautiful pair of lips. “That was a wonderful idea. I bet it worked.”

  He couldn’t help but smile back. “Yes, it did.”

  Zion was glad when Levy took over the conversation and began asking him about his work, resulting in him switching his focus from Celine to the older man. He was grateful for that. He was determined that when he and Celine got together tomorrow to discuss her preference for jewelry designs, and for him to get a better idea of her personality, he would have more control of himself where she was concerned.

  The last thing he intended to happen was for any woman to become more than a passing fancy. Besides, he knew better than to mix business with pleasure. That was another one of his rules.

  Chapter 3

  “Flowers for you, Miss C,” Aggie said, holding the huge vase of roses.

  Celine lifted a brow as she came down the stairs, wondering who on earth would be sending her flowers before eight in the morning. When she reached the bottom step she pulled off the card.

  Sorry I will miss our date tonight, but I was called away on business. Nikon.

  She frowned before glancing back at Aggie. “The flowers are from Nikon. He sent them because he has to cancel our date tonight.”

  “I didn’t know the two of you had a date tonight.”

  Aggie kept up with her engagements. “Neither did I.”

  “It was probably an arrangement he and your father made without your input, as usual.”

  Celine let out a breath of frustration. “I hope you’re wrong about that.”

  “I think you know I’m probably right—otherwise you wouldn’t have these flowers. I guess your father forgot to inform you of it.”

  “He had no right to do that.”

  Aggie rolled her eyes. “The way I see it, your father will continue to do what he does as long as you don’t give him any pushback, Celine. At some point you need to. And while you’re at it, you might as well tell him how you’re really spending your free time. You’re not a child. You’ll be twenty-five soon.”

  Celine bent her head close to Aggie’s and said in a low voice, “You know why I handle things the way I do.”

  “I thought I did, but now I’m not so sure.”

  “What do you mean by that?” Celine asked, pulling back and glaring at her.