The Broken One (Corisi Billionaires, #1)(17)

“Isn’t it?”

Erica called out. “Teri, can you see if you can find anything online about a Sebastian Romano? Tall. Black hair. Gray eyes. Successful. You’ll know him if you see him. Drop-dead gorgeous. Kinda broody.”

“That’s not going to work.”

“Everything is online now. Everything. Just wait.”

A moment later, Teri called out, “I think I found him. Yee—ow—za. If you don’t want him, could you give him my number?”

Erica stood. “Let’s go see if this hunk is married.”

Shaking my head, I went with her to stand behind Teri at her desk.

There were pages of photos of him, both from groundbreakings for new Romano Superstores and nightclubs with different women hanging on him. Erica nudged Teri’s chair. “Stop drooling and find out if he’s single.”

“Oh no,” Teri said as she clicked on a link. “He was married, but his wife died in a car accident five years ago.” She covered her mouth with one hand. “And she was four months pregnant. The baby didn’t survive either.”

“That’s horrible.” My eyes filled with tears. Well, that explained the look in his eyes.

“Are there photos of him with her?” Erica asked.

Their search brought up photos of a much-younger version of him on his honeymoon. Laughing. Carefree. Totally in love. Not much after that.

“Doesn’t look like he was as successful before she died,” Teri said quietly. “There isn’t much on him from then.”

Erica touched my arm. “Classic. He threw himself into work. He must have loved her very much.”

Wiping tears from the corners of my eyes, I said, “What a sad story.”

“It’s actually good news.”

I sniffed. “How could it be?”

Erica pointed to the photo of him smiling down at his wife. “That’s a man who knows how to love. Some don’t.”

I hugged my arms around my waist. “Or maybe she was his soul mate, and he has nothing left for anyone else.”

“Really?” Erica asked in a sarcastic tone. “One day Ava will move out, and you’re going to find yourself alone. It doesn’t have to be that way. Five years, Heather. He’s had time to heal. A man like that is not going to stay single forever. You’re the one who always tells me the secret to happiness is envisioning what you want and going after it. This is your chance to prove that’s not just bullshit you spout to make yourself feel better.”

“I found his office address if you want it,” Teri offered tentatively.

“I don’t want to bring negativity into my life,” I said.

Erica tilted her head at me. “Right now you’re the only negative one in the room. Teri and I think you can land this guy. Don’t we, Teri?”

“Sure,” Teri said, then smiled. “I could even babysit for you when you go out. I adore Ava.”

It was crazy.

It was pointless.

“What’s in the wrapped box?” I asked.

“Homemade cookies,” Erica said, clapping her hands together. She knew she was near victory.

“And you think that would be all it would take for him to ask me out?”

Crossing her arms in front of her, Erica said, “Men are not as complicated as you think. He’s back in his office probably kicking himself for what he said. Wondering if you liked him.”

“I slammed the door in his face.” When they both gave me an odd look, I became defensive. “You would have too if you’d heard what he’d said.”

“Now I’m sure he’s thinking about you. So open that door a little. Just a crack. Nothing softens a man’s heart like my Nanna’s chocolate chip cookies. I still make them for Bob when he gets grumpy—that and oral sex always cheers him up. Write this Sebastian a nice message, nothing too deep. Send him Ava’s note and the cookies. Then go get your nails done, because an invite is a done deal.”

I couldn’t believe I was considering doing it. “What do you think, Teri?”

Teri spun in her chair to face me. “Was there a spark? Did you zing when you saw him?”

I bit my bottom lip briefly. “Oh yes.”

“Then I’ll line up a courier. Let’s get him these cookies today.”





CHAPTER NINE



* * *



SEBASTIAN

I emerged from back-to-back meetings early in the afternoon and closed myself off in my office to set the next phase in our acquisition of Bhatt Markets. None of the snags that had surfaced since our purchase went public were out of the ordinary. Our competition had gone for an injunction to block any construction, completely expected. They’d rained letters from their lawyers on our office—so predictable I almost felt sorry for them. Their resistance would be a speed bump on our way to replacing their chain with our own, and in a year the community would actually appreciate the change. We were bigger. Our prices were lower. And we didn’t mind taking a short-term loss as long as the outcome was the dissolution of our competition. Small businesses couldn’t weather the storms we were willing to create and could afford to ride out.

Winning was one of the few things that brought me satisfaction. My father liked to say money didn’t equate to happiness, but even before the company had taken off . . . it wasn’t love that had gotten us where we were. I’d worked at the family store and at as many side jobs as necessary to keep our family afloat. My family had moved from Italy to the US so we would have more opportunity, but my father had struggled for a while to break into the market. He thought small, and his relaxed business plans didn’t work in the land of corporate sharks. Before I’d joined, Romano Superstores had been one neighborhood convenience store that had been teetering near bankruptcy. There hadn’t been money for college—for me or for my brothers. I took out loans for my degree, then paid for my siblings via our family’s store. Straight out of college, I’d taken over the business and expanded it from one store to a chain—even when doing so hadn’t made sense on paper.