Caroselli's Baby Chase Read online

  “You can’t start the New Year without a kiss.”

  When those words lead to a delicious one-night stand, consultant Caroline Taylor’s fate is sealed. Because she soon finds out her seducer is Caroselli Chocolate’s marketing director—and her new job is to overhaul his division. It leaves a bad taste in her mouth—and what if she’s pregnant with Robert Caroselli’s baby?

  If necessary, Rob will do right and make his dreamy corporate nemesis his wife. He might even inherit millions if he produces a male heir. But his marriage plan will never succeed without the secret ingredient—true love.

  “Sorry I’m Late.”

  Something about that deep voice made the hair on the back of her neck shiver. She’d definitely heard it before. But where…

  The breath she had just inhaled backed up in her lungs. Oh no, it couldn’t be.

  She glanced up at him out of the corner of her eye as he approached the table…and swiftly looked away, heart pounding. He had the same smoldering black eyes, the solid, square jaw, the full lips that had kissed her senseless. But it couldn’t be him. Could it? Her mind must be playing tricks on her.

  She had a strict rule of never sleeping with a coworker. Especially one she would be working with directly. And definitely not one whose work she would be putting under the microscope.

  “Rob,” Demitrio said. “This is Caroline Taylor. Caroline, this is my son, Rob, our director of marketing.”

  She had no choice but to look up, to meet his eyes.…

  Dear Reader,

  Life, I have learned, is very short.

  Keep the ones you love close,

  Leave the past where it belongs,

  Forgive or seek forgiveness,

  Be happy.

  Michelle

  Michelle Celmer

  Caroselli’s Baby Chase

  Books by Michelle Celmer

  Harlequin Desire

  Exposed: Her Undercover Millionaire #2084

  †One Month with the Magnate #2099

  †A Clandestine Corporate Affair #2106

  †Much More Than a Mistress #2111

  The Nanny Bombshell #2133

  Princess in the Making #2175

  §Caroselli’s Christmas Baby #2194

  Bedroom Diplomacy #2210

  §Caroselli’s Baby Chase #2226

  Silhouette Desire

  The Secretary’s Secret #1774

  Best Man’s Conquest #1799

  *The King’s Convenient Bride #1876

  *The Illegitimate Prince’s Baby #1877

  *An Affair with the Princess #1900

  *The Duke’s Boardroom Affair #1919

  Royal Seducer #1951

  The Oilman’s Baby Bargain #1970

  *Christmas with the Prince #1979

  Money Man’s Fiancée Negotiation #2006

  *Virgin Princess, Tycoon’s Temptation #2026

  *Expectant Princess, Unexpected Affair #2032

  †The Tycoon’s Paternity Agenda #2053

  Harlequin Superromance

  Nanny Next Door #1685

  Harlequin Special Edition

  No Ordinary Joe #2196

  Silhouette Special Edition

  Accidentally Expecting #1847

  †Black Gold Billionaires

  *Royal Seductions

  §The Caroselli Inheritance

  Other titles by this author available in ebook format.

  MICHELLE CELMER

  is a bestselling author of more than thirty books. When she’s not writing, she likes to spend time with her husband, kids, grandchildren and a menagerie of animals.

  Michelle loves to hear from readers. Visit her website, www.michellecelmer.com, like her on Facebook or write her at P.O. Box 300, Clawson, MI 48017.

  In memory of my nephew Devon, who in seventeen years touched more lives than most people manage in a lifetime

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Excerpt

  Prologue

  Once a year since her death, on the day of her birth, December thirtieth, Giuseppe Caroselli honored Angelica, his wife of sixty-eight years and mother of his three sons, by making her favorite cake, raspberry walnut torte with dark chocolate frosting.

  Caroselli chocolate, of course.

  In less than an hour his family would be there to celebrate with him. To pass photos and share memories. On his request, his grandsons Rob and Tony had arrived early. They each sat on a barstool at the kitchen island, watching him carefully measure the ingredients and mix them together, the way they had when they were boys.

  From birth, his three grandsons—Robert, Anthony Jr. and Nicholas—had been groomed to someday take over Caroselli Chocolate, the business Giuseppe had built from the ground up, after emigrating from Italy.

  What he hadn’t counted on was their being so resistant to carrying on the Caroselli name. And if they didn’t settle down and have sons of their own, the Carosellis would be no more. At least Nicholas now had the marriage part taken care of.

  “As I’m sure you already know, Nicholas has forfeited his portion of the thirty-million dollars.”

  “He told us,” Tony said, a perpetual frown on his face. So serious, that one. He needed to learn to take life in stride. Have fun.

  “That means fifteen million each to you boys if you marry and produce a male heir,” he told them.

  “That’s a lot of money,” Rob said. He was the most driven of the three, the one who would no doubt take his father Demitrio’s place as CEO one day. If Demitrio would only put aside his doubts and trust his son.

  “It is a lot of money,” Giuseppe agreed. Money that he had no intention of actually giving them. What sort of man would he be if he singled out only two of his seven grandchildren? And as he had suspected, Nick was so happy to be married, so content with his life, he had turned down his share.

  One down, two to go.

  And Giuseppe didn’t doubt that like their cousin, in the end, Tony and Rob would make the right decision and do him proud.

  In fact, he was counting on it.

  One

  As he watched his date leave the hotel bar wrapped around another man, Robert Caroselli wanted to feel angry or put out, or even mildly annoyed, but he couldn’t work up the steam. He hadn’t wanted to come to this party, but he’d let Olivia, a woman he’d been seeing casually, talk him into it last minute.

  “I don’t really feel like celebrating,” he’d told her when she called him around nine. He had already turned off the television and was planning to crawl into bed and with any luck sleep away the next three months or so. It was that or face daily the fact that his family, the owners of Caroselli Chocolate, had lost complete faith in him as a marketing director.

  Yes, sales for the last quarter were down, but they were in a recession for Christ’s sake. Hiring Caroline Taylor, a so-called marketing genius from Los Angeles, was not only an insult, but also total overkill as far as he was concerned. But against the entire family, his objections carried little weight.

  On top of that he had the added pressure of finding a wife. A woman to give him a male heir. By thirty-one most of his cousins, and the majority of his college buddies, were already married. It wasn’t as if he’d made a conscious
decision to stay single. His dedication to the family business had kept him too busy to settle down. He couldn’t deny that ten-million dollars had been a tempting incentive, but fifteen million? That was difficult to pass up. Especially when it meant that if he didn’t get his cut, his cousin Tony would walk away with the entire thirty million. He would never hear the end of it.

  But if he was going to find a woman to be his wife and bear his children, it wouldn’t be in a bar. And it definitely wouldn’t be Olivia. Which was why he’d planned to stay home.

  “You can’t stay home alone on New Year’s Eve!” Olivia had said. “Who will you kiss? You can’t start the New Year without a kiss at midnight. It’s…un-American!”

  She hadn’t seemed too concerned with whom he would kiss when she walked out the door with someone else. Not that he blamed her for bailing on him. He hadn’t exactly been the life of the party. When they arrived around ten, he scoped out a counter-height table with two vacant barstools near the back corner, claimed it and hadn’t moved since. Now he was on his—he counted the empty glasses in front of him—third Scotch and feeling a hell of a lot more relaxed than when he got there.

  Alcohol flowed freely at every Caroselli family function—hell, his family would use any excuse to get together, drink and gossip—but Rob rarely indulged. He never much cared for the out-of-control feeling that came with intoxication. Tonight was a rare exception.

  From his table he had a decent view of the entire bar, which was crammed above capacity with people, who, from his vantage point, undulated like the waves off the shore of Lake Michigan. Or maybe that was the liquor playing tricks with his vision.

  “Excuse me!”

  At the sudden shout, Rob jerked to attention. He blinked, then blinked again, positive he was imagining the angel who stood beside his table. A halo of pale blond hair hung in loose curls that nearly brushed her narrow waist, and framed a heart-shaped face that glowed with youth and good health. His gaze slipped lower and he realized that this particular angel had a body made for sin. She couldn’t have been more than a few inches over five-feet tall, but she packed one hell of a figure into her skinny jeans and clingy blue sweater. A complete contrast to the wholesome beauty of her face.

  “Is this seat taken?” she shouted over the music. “And just to be clear, I am not hitting on you. I’ve been on my feet all day and there isn’t a single other free seat in this entire place.”

  He gestured to the chair across from his. “Help yourself.”

  “Thank you.” She slid onto the stool, sighing with pleasure as her feet left the floor. “You’re a lifesaver.”

  “No problem.”

  She offered him one fine-boned hand with short, neatly filed nails. “Carrie—”

  Her last name was drowned out by the blare of a noisemaker. She shook his hand, her grip surprisingly firm for someone so petite and delicate-looking.

  “Hi, Carrie, I’m Rob.”

  “Nice to meet you, Ron,” she said.

  He opened his mouth to correct her, but she flashed him a smile so easy and sweet, so disarming, she could call him anything she wanted and it wouldn’t have mattered to him. “Can I buy you a drink?”

  She cocked her head to one side and smiled. “Are you hitting on me?”

  He had never been the type to flirt, but he heard himself saying, “Would it be a problem if I was?”

  She leaned forward to study him and his gaze was naturally drawn to the deep cleft at the front of her low-cut sweater. “I guess that just depends.”

  “On what?”

  “Why a man like you would be sitting here alone at eleven-fifteen on New Year’s Eve.”

  “A man like me?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Don’t even try to pretend that you don’t know how hot you are. You should have women crawling all over you.”

  “I’m alone because my date left with someone else.”

  She blinked. “Was she blind or just stupid?”

  He laughed. “Bored, I think. I’m not in a mood to celebrate.”

  Although the night was definitely looking up.

  “You must have a girlfriend,” she said.

  He shook his head.

  “Wife?”

  He held up his ringless left hand.

  She paused, then asked, “Gay?”

  He laughed again. “Straight as an arrow.”

  “Hmm,” she said, looking puzzled. “Are you a jerk?”

  She sure didn’t pull any punches. He liked a woman who was direct and to the point. “I’d like to believe I’m not, but I suppose everyone has their moments.”

  She nodded thoughtfully. “Honesty…I like that. My answer is yes. You can buy me a drink.”

  “What would you like?”

  She nodded to his glass. “Whatever you’re having.”

  He looked around, but the waitresses in the vicinity were overwhelmed with customers, so he figured it would be quicker to go right to the source. “Be right back,” he said, heading for the bar.

  It took several minutes to navigate through the crowd, and another five or ten before the bartender served him. As he walked back to the table, he half expected Carrie to be gone. He was pleasantly surprised to find her sitting there waiting for him, and suddenly grateful that he wouldn’t have to watch the ball drop alone. He might even get a New Year’s kiss out of it. Or maybe that would be pushing his luck. Maybe just a quick one, or if she wasn’t into kissing a total stranger, a peck on the cheek even.

  “Here you go.” He set her drink in front of her and reclaimed his chair.

  “That took so long, I started to think you left,” she said.

  “And I wasn’t sure if you would still be here when I got back.”

  “I’m not blind or stupid,” she said with a grin, and he felt a tug of attraction so intense, he nearly reached across the table for her hand.

  “Do you live in the area?” she asked, sipping her drink.

  “Lincoln Park.”

  “Is that far from here?”

  “Not too far. I take it you’re not from Chicago.”

  “West Coast born and bred. I’m here for work. I’m staying in the hotel. That’s how I wound up in this particular bar.”

  “You must have someone back home.”

  “Not for a while.”

  “Are the men there blind or just stupid?”

  She smiled, and he felt that tug again, only this time it was lower, and it wasn’t her hand he wanted to touch. That New Year’s kiss was sounding even more appealing. He would have to call Olivia tomorrow and thank her for dragging him out.

  “A lot of men feel threatened by a strong, successful woman,” she said.

  Rob had quite a few strong, successful women in his family, and compared to them, Carrie looked anything but threatening. His first instinct, when she had approached his table, was to pick her up and hug her.

  “I also have the tendency to gravitate toward men who are bad for me,” she said.

  “Bad for you how?”

  “I like jerks. It’s my way of sabotaging the relationship before it even begins.” She sipped her drink. “I have intimacy issues.”

  “If you know that, then why don’t you date someone different?”

  “Knowing what the problem is doesn’t necessarily make it any easier to fix.”

  Well, she had the honesty thing down to a science. The women he met typically played up their good qualities, not their faults. Which he couldn’t deny was, in an odd way, a refreshing change of pace. A sort of “this is me, take it or leave it” philosophy.

  “When was your last serious relationship?” he asked.

  “I’ve never really had one.”

  “Really? What are you? Twenty-four? Twenty-five?”

  Carrie laughed. “Aren’t you good for my ego. I’m twenty-eight.”

  “I’ve never met a woman past the age of eighteen who hasn’t been in at least one serious relationship.”

  “Which you clearly find fas
cinating,” she said, looking amused.

  “I do.” In more ways than just that. She was like the perfect woman. Sexy, desirable, with a decent sense of humor and completely uninterested in a relationship. Had he hit the jackpot or what?

  “How about you?” Carrie asked. “Ever been in a serious relationship?”

  “Engaged, but that was a long time ago. Back in college.”

  “What happened?”

  “You could say that we wanted different things.”

  “What did you want?”

  He shrugged. “Marriage, kids, the usual stuff.”

  “What did she want?”

  “My roommate, Evan.”

  She winced. “Ouch.”

  “Better I found out what she was like before we were married than after. At that point I decided to focus on my career.”

  “So you’re married to your job?”

  “More or less.”

  “It’s not unusual for me to work fourteen-hour days, so I totally get that.”

  She would be the first woman who ever did. And he found himself wishing she were staying in Chicago longer than a few days. She was someone he wouldn’t mind getting to know better.

  After talking for a few minutes more, and some serious flirting, they had both drained their glasses, so he hailed a waitress for two more drinks. There was more talking, more flirting—but mostly flirting—then Carrie had a third drink, and by then it was nearly midnight. At one minute till, the music stopped, and everyone focused on the big-screen television over the bar to watch the ball drop.

  “So,” Carrie said, “because neither of us has anyone to kiss…”

  “I was told that it’s un-American to start the New Year off without a kiss,” he said.

  “I guess that doesn’t leave us much choice, then.”

  With a grin, he held out his hand and she took it. She slid down off the stool, and didn’t show a bit of resistance as he tugged her closer. He should have been watching the ball drop, but he couldn’t seem to peel his eyes away from her face. Standing this close he would have expected to see at least an imperfection or two, but her skin was flawless, her eyes such a clear gray they appeared bottomless. His eyes dropped to her mouth, to lips that looked full and soft and kissable.