With a short nod of dismissal, he moved back into his office and closed the door, so that he didn’t hear Agnes ask if she should continue mopping the floor or not.
Antonio hadn’t felt like himself since learning of his mother’s deceit.
His reaction to Elizabeth was just another example of how off-base he was at the moment.
There was only one course of action to clear his mind.
He needed to open his Ferrari up on the track.
But even the feel of the powerful beast of an engine throttling beneath him, moments later, didn’t shake the strange sense of regret at having been so quick to judge the woman. He revved the car, as always feeling a spike of heavenly adrenalin as it tore through a corner and wound around the inside leg of the custom designed course. The engine sounded like a hungry lion on the prowl as he sped past the starting line and began the second lap.
It was a passion that should have become a career. But his father, or the man he had believed to be his father, had staunchly disapproved. While Antonio didn’t cow tow to many, he had always sought Umberto’s approval, and actively run from his disapproval. So he’d agreed to keep the pursuit as a part-time hobby. But it was his life’s passion, and it wasn’t a conceit to admit that he could have become a champion, had he pursued it fully.
Instead, he’d bought a team, and contented himself with the business machinations of a racing group, instead of the actual victory on the track.
Days later, when the gnawing sense of regret hadn’t eased, he ran his fingers over the business card she’d given him. It was a flatter rectangle than most, lending it an elegance that was appropriate for a woman such as Elizabeth Sanderson. The card itself was a good quality cream, recycled, he’d guess, with silver and turquoise print. There was something beautiful about the card, though he wondered if it was simply that it reminded him of her.
He punched her number into his phone, hard, then switched the speaker phone on and reclined in his chair. To an onlooker, he seemed relaxed and nonchalant, but there was an odd sense of excitement inside of him. It forced him to acknowledge, to himself at least, that he wanted her. Really wanted her.
ALL SHE WANTS FOR CHRISTMAS is available now!
BOOKS BY CLARE CONNELLY
HARLEQUIN TITLES
Bought for the Billionaire’s Revenge
Innocent in the Billionaire’s Bed
Off Limits
Her Wedding Night Surrender
Burn Me Once
Hands On (online only)
Secrets of the A-list Episode 2
Bound by the Billionaire’s Vows
SINGLE TITLES
Stolen by the Desert King
In the Hands of the Sheikh
His Nine Month Seduction
The Sheikh’s Contract Bride
Seduced by the Vengeful Tycoon
The Sheikh’s Stolen Bride
The Sheikh’s Secret Baby
The Sheikh’s Million Dollar Bride
The Tycoon’s Virgin Mistress
The Sheikh’s Virgin Hostage
Bartered to the Sheikh
The Sheikh’s Arranged Marriage
Marrying for his Royal Heir
The Greek’s Marriage Revenge
The Velasco Love Child
The Sultan’s Virgin Bride
Bound to the Sheikh
The Medici Mistress
His Loving Deception
The Sheikh’s Convenient Mistress
The Princess’s Forbidden Lover
Rakanti’s Indecent Proposition
Seducing the Spaniard
The Italian’s Innocent Bride
The Greek Tycoon’s Forbidden Affair
The Terms of their Affair
A Second Chance at Love
The Sheikh’s Christmas Mistress
At the Sheikh’s Command
The Billionaire’s Christmas Revenge
Seduced by the Italian Tycoon
Raising the Soldier’s Son
Warming the Sheikh’s Bed
The Tycoon’s Christmas Captive
The Brazilian’s Forgotten Lover
Betrayed by the CEO
The Billionaire’s Ruthless Revenge
The Italian Billionaire’s Betrayal
The Sultan’s Reluctant Princess
Love in the Fast Lane
Bought by the Sheikh
The Tycoon’s Summer Seduction
One Night with the Sheikh
A Bed of Broken Promises
Tempted by the Billionaire
The Sheikh’s Christmas Wish
To the Highest Bidder
Her Guardian’s Christmas Seduction
COMPENDIUMS
Casacelli Brides
Mediterranean Tycoons
Desert Rulers
Billionaire Bad Boys
Too Hot to Handle
Desert Kings
Happily Ever After
The Darling Buds of May Café
The Hendersons