VITTORIO'S MISTRESS (The Vittorio Series) by Kimberley Reeves Page A

have feelings for you,” Chantel insisted.
    “Oh, he has plenty of feelings for me, it’s just that none of them have anything to do with his heart.   And stop trying to get my hopes up.   I’m going to soak up everything I can for the next thirty days and then I’m going to get on with my life.”
    Chantel eyed her skeptically.   “You and I both know you’re going to fall to pieces, only it’ll be a lot worse this time.   But for now, I’m going to allow you to live in your little fantasy world because I think you deserve it.   Now, back to business.   We’ve got the weekdays covered but what are we going to do on the weekends?”
    “Sundays will be the easiest to work around because he thinks I have dinner with my parents.   And since he’s already agreed this is just between the two of us, he’ll have to let me come home early so I don’t have to make up any excuses.”
    Chantel nodded thoughtfully.   “So that just leaves Saturdays.”  
    “Which is a huge problem because I can’t think of anything drastic enough that could possibly keep me from staying with him all day.   And if I can’t get out of being with him for at least part of the day, that means I’ll be eaten up with guilt for leaving Daniella in someone else’s care while I’m off playing mistress.”
    “Honestly, Paige, you think Daniella will feel neglected if you’re gone for one day out of the entire week?   She gets to be with you all day, every day, which is a lot more time than most children get with the mothers these days.   Trust me, between Marc and I, we’ll keep her so busy she won’t have time to wonder where you are.”
    Paige cringed.   “You’re not going to tell Marc why I suddenly need you to stay here, are you?”
    “I won’t have to.   He knows how fed up I am with my roommate right now so all I have to do is tell him I begged you to let me camp out here for awhile.   Getting him to take Daniella to the zoo will be a snap because he was complaining that he didn’t get to see her when he stopped by the other night.   So you see,” Chantel gave her an encouraging smile, “we’ve got it covered.”
    “God, I hope so,” Paige sighed.
    “I would like to ask you to do one little favor.”
    “After this over I’m going to owe you for life so whatever it is, I’ll do it.”
    “I’m so glad you said that because I don’t think you’re going to like it much.”
    “It doesn’t have anything to do with my red high heels, does it?”
    Chantel laughed.   “No, I’ll save that one for another time.”
    “Okay, lay it on me.”
    “I want you to promise me something.   When the thirty days is up, I want your word that if there’s any chance Dante could be in love with you, even if it’s just a small chance, you’ll tell him how you feel.”
    Paige shook her head.   “I’d just be setting myself up for a fall.   The only thing Dante is in love with is the mind-blowing sex we have.”
    “If that’s truly what you believe then promise me something else.   If you can’t bring yourself to tell him you’re in love with him, at least tell him about Daniella.   Whether he loves you or not, Dante is still Daniella’s father and he deserves to know about her.”
    Paige wasn’t very happy about the prospect of telling him but in her heart she knew Chantel was right.   Dante may be a little ruthless when it came to getting something he wanted but underneath that tough exterior was a genuinely good man.   It was going to come as quite a shock but once he met his daughter, Paige didn’t see how he could keep from loving Daniella as much as she did.
    “I guess telling him about Daniella will answer both burning questions,” Paige finally conceded.   “If he’s in love with me and wants to be a father, the news should make him deliriously happy.”
    “Not to put a damper on such a lovely scenario, but what do you think he’ll do if he’s not happy about it?”
    After seeing