Seduced by the Italian Billionaire by C J Howard Read Free Book Online Page B

I tried. And even when he wrapped me in his arms before sitting me down on the couch, I still couldn't, afraid he'd think my anxieties were silly.
                He took my hands, kissed each of them, and looked into my eyes. "What's wrong? Why do you want to cancel? You can tell me anything."
                "I just don't want to say what it is. You might think I'm being paranoid or silly."
                "Any concern you have about this family dinner, I promise I won't think you paranoid or silly. I'll take whatever you're worried about very seriously. So tell me."
                "I just can't."
                Avoiding his eyes, I stared at the tan-and-brown fabric of the couch.
                "Felicia, tell me."
                I didn't answer.
                Benito removed one of his hands from mine and gently lifted my chin to make me meet his gaze. "There should be no secrets between us, remember? Nothing hidden from each other."
                I realized instantly he was right, and that I myself had said that just days earlier.
                I sighed. "All right. I'll just come right out and say it, then. What if your parents don't think I'm attractive enough to be with you? What if they're surprised that I'm not like...a supermodel? What if they don't think I'm worthy of you?"
                Benito sighed. "Now, that all is a little silly."
                "Is it, though?"
                "Being that you're the most gorgeous girl I've ever met, it is."
                "But I don't mean the way you see me; I mean the way the world sees me. I'm not supermodel and   I know it. And I don't want your parents to be disappointed."
                "My parents will think you're just as gorgeous as I do. You have beauty that radiates from you, and someone would have to be blind not to see it. But your looks won't even matter to my parents. They only want to get to know who you are on the inside."
                "Well, okay. Then, here's the other thing, more of a cultural thing maybe. You're white -- I'm black. What if your parents have a problem with this?"
                Benito shook his head. "I can understand why you'd be worried about something like that, but they won't. My father is the most open, accepting man on the planet. He doesn't have a prejudiced bone in his body. He will be glad to see me happy, no matter what the skin tone of the girl I am with. You could be purple, green, or blue and he wouldn't care."
                I expected Benito to continue and say something similar about his mother. But he didn't.
                "And your mom?"
                His gaze traveled to a point just above my head before returning to my face.
                "Well, my mother; she is...."
                I studied Benito's face, waiting for him to finish the sentence, but he seemed to be struggling to find the right word.
                "Racist?"
                "No, no. Not exactly."
                I pulled my hand from Benito's and sprang up from the couch. "Not 'exactly'? Oh, that's it. Count me out for this dinner. Just count me the hell out."
                I began pacing the room while Benito sat on the couch, elbows on knees, his fingers tangled in his thick hair.
                "She's not racist, Felicia; she's not. She thinks of all people as equals, much as my father thinks. However, what I was going to say is that she's just very pro-Italian when it comes to her hoping and envisioning what my future wife will be like."
                "So basically, racist against anyone  who  isn't  Italian."
                Benito cringed. "I guess in a way, but only when it comes to the woman she hopes I eventually marry. And I think this is just because she thinks an Italian woman