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money?”
    â€œBecause of a man who wouldn’t listen,” she said pointedly, her gaze hot and moist. “He said we were getting married and, given the situation I was in, I didn’t have a choice.”

Two
    â€œY ou’re engaged?” Mateo shook himself.
    â€œNo.” In a tight voice, she added, “Not really.”
    â€œCall me old-fashioned, but I thought being betrothed was like being pregnant. You either are or you aren’t.”
    â€œI… was engaged.”
    Slanting his head, he took another look. Her nose was more a button with a sprinkling of freckles but her unusual crystalline eyes were large and, as she stood her ground, her pupils dilated more, making her gaze appear even more pronounced. Or was that scared?
    I didn’t have a choice.
    An image of the degrees decorating his office walls swam up in Mateo’s mind. Time to take a more educated guess as to why Mama might have sent this woman. He set his voice at a different tone, the one he used for patients feeling uncertain.
    â€œBailey, are you having a baby?”
    Her eyes flared, bright with indignation. “No.”
    â€œAre you sure? We can do tests—”
    â€œOf course I’m sure.”
    Backing off, he held up his hands. “Okay. Fine. Given your circumstances, it seemed like a possibility.”
    â€œIt really wasn’t.” Her voice dropped. “We didn’t sleep together. Not even once.”
    She spun to leave, but, hurrying down the steps, she tripped on the toe of her sandal. The next second she was stumbling, keeling forward. Leaping, Mateo caught her before she went down all the way. Gripping her upper arms, he felt her shaking—from shock at almost breaking her neck? Or pique at him? Or was the trembling due to dredging up memories of this engagement business in Italy?
    She was so taken aback, she didn’t object when he helped her sit on a step. Lifting her chin, he set out to check that the dilation in her eyes was even, but with his palm cradling her cheek and his face so close to hers, the pad of his thumb instinctively moved to trace the sweep of her lower lip. Heat, dangerous and swift, flared low in his belly and his head angled a whisper closer.
    But then she blinked. So did he. Spell broken, he cleared his throat and got to his feet while she caught her breath and gathered herself.
    He might be uncertain about some things regarding Bailey Ross, but of one he was sure. The constant yawning, tripping over herself…
    â€œYou need sleep,” he told her.
    â€œI’ll survive.”
    â€œNo doubt you will.”
    But, dammit, he was having a hard time thinking of her walking off alone down that drive and Mama phoning to ask if he’d looked after her little friend who’d apparently had such a hard time in Casa Buona. Given her stumble, her jetlag, Mama would expect him to at least give Bailey time to recuperate before he truly sent her on her way. And that was the only reason he persisted. Why he asked now.
    â€œSo…who’s this fiancé?”
    Closing her eyes, she exhaled as if she was too tired to be defensive anymore.
    â€œI was backpacking around Europe,” she began. “By the time I got to Casa Buona, I’d run out of money. That’s where I met Emilio. I picked up work at the taverna his parents own.”
    Mateo’s muscles locked. “Emilio Conti is your fiancé?”
    â€œWas.” She quizzed his eyes. “Do you know him?”
    â€œCasa Buona’s a small town.” Emilio’s kind only made it feel smaller. Mateo nodded. “Go on.”
    Elbows finding her knees, she cupped her cheeks. “Over the weeks, Emilio and I became close. We spent a lot of time with his family. Time by ourselves. When he said he loved me, I was taken off guard. I didn’t know about loving Emilio, but I’d certainly fallen in love with his parents. His sisters. They made me feel like