by Maggie Cox
‘I am sorry.’
‘Don’t be.’ Shrugging carelessly, Bliss tried not to flinch from the compassion she saw in his eyes. She didn’t want his pity. Neither did she want his help—not if it came at the price of her independence. ‘Stuff like that happens to people all of the time. I’m not the only one who didn’t have the perfect textbook childhood.’
‘That may be so…’ Dante held her gaze, almost imprisoning it by force of will…‘But our bambino will not suffer in the same way. He or she will have two parents that will put the child first…always.’
‘I don’t doubt your sincerity, Dante, but—’
‘No buts.’ He looked fierce. A warrior in full charge on the battlefield could not have looked fiercer. ‘I will take care of things from now on. You no longer have to do everything on your own. And neither do you need a job to go to on Monday. Ring them up and tell them you have changed your mind.’
As Bliss stared at him in disbelief he threw her another highly charged glance that said clearly, And if you don’t, I will do it for you.
CHAPTER EIGHT
HIS telephone call at an end, Dante found Bliss in her bedroom folding up some clothing on the bed, her slender shoulders hunched and her back to him as he entered. His instinctive reaction was to offer her comfort, but he thought that she probably wouldn’t welcome such a commodity from him right now, and repressed the urge. Her feelings had no doubt been in turmoil since discovering she was pregnant, and now he had swept back into her life again, proposing to be her husband, and all her plans for a single, independent life had been turned on their head.
Dante surprised himself at how passionate he was about the idea of marrying her. Especially when for so long he had almost despaired of finding the right woman. There had been a lot of women in his life and he would be the first to admit that sometimes he took their often overbearing attention for granted. But there had never been another woman who had made him feel as if he wanted to stake some kind of claim on her exclusively, or whom he could imagine spending the rest of his life with. But then, his need to safeguard Bliss Maguire from harm or distress had been growing stronger in him moment by moment since he had learned she was pregnant with his baby. Doubly so since she had reluctantly revealed more of the circumstances of her family life.
‘That is settled, then. You are moving in with me to my family’s hotel in Belgravia this afternoon. Just pack a few clothes; anything else you need, the hotel can provide for you.’
‘Excuse me?’
As she turned to face him Bliss’s expression was one of disbelief and protest. ‘Forgive me if I’ve been mistakenly labouring under the impression that I have free will. Let me remind you, Dante, that I don’t have to answer to you and neither are you in charge of my life! I am not coming with you to Belgravia or Italy or anywhere else you so high-handedly dictate to me! I am an independent woman and I want to stay in my own home—however abhorrent it may seem to you.’ Tension snaked across her slender back like an iron rod, almost making it hard to breathe. ‘It may not be anywhere near as luxurious or desirable as Tatiana’s apartment in Chelsea, but it’s my home nonetheless, and I love it! Nothing has been agreed between us yet and nothing will be if you continue to take that dictatorial tone with me!’
Letting her furious words bounce off him like so many cotton-wool balls aimed from a distance, Dante shrugged in a manner that was undoubtedly arrogant but made no apology for it, not when he knew for certain that his actions were unquestionably right.
‘I do not understand why you should be so offended. I am merely acting out of concern for you and our unborn child. You will be far more comfortable in our hotel than you could possibly be here. I am not trying to denigrate your home in any way when I say this, but be honest with yourself, Bliss—this is not a suitable area for a young woman who is pregnant to live in. I would be failing in my duty as your husband-to-be and father of your child if I did not do something to rectify that.’
‘Lots of young single pregnant woman live in this area, for your information!’
‘Perhaps.’ His gaze narrowing meaningfully, Dante paused as if to add weight to his words. ‘But you will not be single for long, Bliss. I intend our marriage to take place as quickly as it can possibly be arranged. That is what my mother and father would naturally want, and that is what I want too.’
‘Really.’ Her smooth brow furrowing in resentment, Bliss folded her arms furiously across her chest, staring down the handsome black-haired male with the devastating green eyes as if the sheer force of her anger alone could render him temporarily speechless. ‘Do you know how bloody arrogant that sounds? What about what I want, Dante? I’m the one who’s carrying this baby. It’s my body that it’s growing inside, not yours, your father’s or your mother’s!’
‘Enough!’ His glance sharp as a blade buried in ice, Dante held up his hand as if to slice off the end of her angry tirade. ‘You are letting your emotions override your ability to see what is good for you. This insistence on independence is ridiculous under the circumstances! You have no family to offer you support, so from now on I will take full responsibility for your well-being. I suggest you take some time out to think things over more rationally and also to get some rest. I have some business to attend to back at the hotel, after which I will come back and collect you.’
Biting back a further retort, Bliss wondered if it had ever occurred to this man that not everyone in the world believed his word was law. Her strong need to be in control of her own destiny was silently kicking and screaming at his clear intention to take over her life and tell her what was best for her. Yet at the same time how could her secret heart deny that the prospect of being married to this handsome, sexy, highly honourable man held some appeal?
Right now she was mentally and physically so fatigued that she hardly trusted herself to make the right decision about her own and her baby’s future anyway. Some time on her own to think things through ‘rationally’—Bliss almost choked on the word—wouldn’t be a bad thing, she had to agree.
‘Okay. I’ll do as you suggest, for now.’ She dropped down onto the edge of her bed, not caring that she’d sat on the newly laundered clothes she’d just folded, feeling as if she could fall asleep right where she sat. ‘But don’t count on me coming back with you, Dante. You might think I should jump at the chance but there’s a lot at stake here for me. My independence, for one thing.’
To her surprise, his compelling mouth curved into a smile that was akin to the most lustfully tempting dessert on an à la carte menu, and suddenly Bliss didn’t feel so tired any more. She felt as if she’d just been given a shot of adrenaline straight into her heart.
‘I have no doubt you will make the right decision. You will not wish to deny our baby the right to a father and a start in life that isn’t one of struggle and hardship, surely?’
Of course she wouldn’t! But Bliss was scared—no, correct that, terrified—at what marriage to Dante di Andrea might mean. It wasn’t just about her imagined loss of independence or her cynical belief that marriages never worked out—it was also about the possible lack of control over her own life. She’d already gleaned that Dante was more than a little old-fashioned in his attitude to women. In his hallowed sphere, where wealth abounded, men were very definitely the ones in charge. Would she be expected to be some kind of appendage to his more important, busy life, or would he take her needs and wants into consideration too? Bliss couldn’t know for sure, so she was naturally wary. But, even with all her doubts, right now his invitation to move in with him to his family’s hotel with a view to eventually moving to Italy sounded almost more seductive than she could bear.
It was incontrovertible fact that she was going to have a baby and she had to consider the child’s future as well as her own. Did she really want her child to have a poor beginning with a mother who didn’t even have a proper career to support them both, let alone a job that would provide enough money for her to pay for a child-minder when she had
to go back to it? Bliss’s heart gave a little skip of fear. She’d seen the young single mums who lived in the same block of flats as she did, their faces lined with care and worry and old before their time. Was that what she wanted for herself? Dante’s proposal deserved proper consideration before she dismissed it so easily—just because she’d sworn she’d never get married. She also hadn’t planned on having children, but fate obviously had other ideas in store for her.
Her tongue gliding across her upper lip to moisten it, Bliss couldn’t help shivering as she regarded Dante across the room.
‘I’ll let you have my decision when you return. I promise I’ll think carefully about it. In the meantime, I really need to put my head down.’ Too slow to smother a yawn, she waited expectantly for him to go. But Dante didn’t move from the spot where he stood. His libido had just been sensually tormented to an agonising degree by the sight of that little gesture Bliss had so casually made with her tongue. Now he honestly didn’t feel like doing anything else except maybe suggesting that he join her in bed.
‘Okay. I will be back soon.’ He made himself turn around and head for the front door before he simply lost the will to even think of leaving.
He ordered flowers to be placed in every room. Huge bunches of scented blooms perfumed the air as Dante restlessly walked across wide expanses of deeply luxurious carpet, his hawk-eyed glance sifting out any imperfections immediately and giving clear, precise instructions to the man at his side for whatever had offended his eye to be instantly remedied. The hotel manager Guido Vaccaro, a young, impeccably turned out graduate from Milan who had worked for the di Andrea hotel in Sardinia, made hurried notes on a little pad he carried with him, speaking with Dante in gesticulating Italian as if the two of them were of one mind together. When it came to style and, surprisingly, even old-fashioned grandeur, Guido’s taste was faultless, and Dante wanted both the hotel and the sumptuous family suite to impress Bliss so much that she would not hesitate to stay. Suddenly the fact that he was going to become a father had become the most important thing in the world to Dante and he wanted the mother of his child to be totally confident of his desire to be a proper parent.
He also wanted to place the beautiful and sensitive Bliss Maguire amidst the loveliness she deserved—somewhere that would do justice to her beauty and sensitivity. When he thought of her carrying his child, alone and struggling to make ends meet living in that grey, depressing block of flats…the idea was anathema to him, an abomination not to be endured.
Recalling Bliss’s comment about rich, pampered women with bathrooms full of perfume, he told Guido to ask his assistant Nathalie to get a cab to Selfridges in Oxford Street and purchase at least half a dozen fragrances to put in what would be Dante and Bliss’s shared marble bathroom. He mentioned a couple of classic fragrances he enjoyed women wearing and also instructed Nathalie to buy some newer, more modern ones as well so that Bliss would be spoiled for choice.
Once the suite had been brought up to the matchless standard that Dante expected, with not a cushion or a flower petal or a piece of furniture remotely out of place, he went into his private office to telephone his parents. The call he made would be quickly followed by another to Tatiana, his sister—after which, Dante would order a special dinner for himself and Bliss; a dinner that they would enjoy in the privacy of their exquisite suite of rooms, alone.
Tatiana’s shriek at the other end of the line almost pierced Dante’s eardrum. ‘You are going to marry Bliss Maguire? The girl who came here to look after Renata? Oh Dante, she is wonderful! At last you have found someone you can love with all your heart. I am so happy for you!’
His sister’s comment almost winded him, so as well as a perforated eardrum his ability to breathe was nearly compromised as well. He did not love Bliss with all his heart. He didn’t know if he was capable of loving anyone with all his heart—except maybe members of his immediate family, and even then he suspected he didn’t give any of them his whole heart. The prospect seemed far too dangerous. But Dante knew he cared for Bliss. In fact it quite took him aback to realise just how much he had come to care for her in such a short space of time. And now that she was going to have his baby…Dante let the thought seep through to his very bones, feeling warmth touch all the cold places in his body that were often deprived of inner sunshine…in time he would come to care for her even more.
‘I had a similar reception from Mamma and Papà.’
Allowing himself a brief, satisfied smile, Dante glanced at the little vase of freesias Nathalie had placed on his desk, his senses captivated for a moment by their simple loveliness and heady scent. He’d chosen all the flowers that decorated the suite himself, and it was his cherished hope that Bliss would be just as enraptured by their beauty as he was. ‘I did not realise that my getting married would engender such enthusiasm from you all.’
There was a distinct pause at the other end of the line and Dante heard the delicate rush of breath that came from a clearly thoughtful Tatiana. ‘I cannot believe you do not know how much your happiness means to all of us, my brother. It makes me very sad to think that you do not value yourself as much as we do.’
His sister’s astute comment caught Dante on the raw. His hard jaw tightening, he fielded the wave of melancholy that suddenly welled up inside him with almost angry determination. He would not expose his secret weakness to anyone—not even his baby sister. After his father, Dante was the head of the family. No one should know that he hardly felt deserving of such a serious responsibility. His mixed blood, as well as his grandparents’ rejection of his father, had seared him to the core all his life. Even Antonio did not know how much these facts burdened his eldest son. Nor would he know, if Dante had any say in the matter.
‘There is something else you should know, sorella piccola. I am also to be a father.’
‘Bliss is expecting a bambino? When? How? But that means you must have got together about the time she came to help with little Renny? Oh, Dante…is this a mistake? Do you really want to marry this girl after all?’
Alarmed at the distress in his sister’s voice, Dante did not waste a second in alleviating her worst fears for him. ‘Sì, Tatiana. I really do want to marry Bliss. This is no mistake, I promise you.’
‘I am relieved…and excited! So much sadness and now this amazing thing has happened. Mamma and I will get together and make sure she looks absolutely beautiful on her wedding day. When is it to be?’
He had already enquired about a civil marriage in the UK and the soonest it could be done was in fifteen days’ time. All Dante had to do now was convince Bliss to produce the necessary documents so that he could arrange things. He prayed she would not be difficult about this. All he wanted was a chance to be a family and assume his proper responsibility to his child. Surely she would want that too?
‘As soon as all the details have been arranged I will come and talk to you. There are other things I also need to discuss…your future being one of them, Tatiana.’
‘Mamma has indicated that you and Papà have been talking. I know it has something to do with me and Renata coming back to Italy to live, sì?’
‘You are not against the idea?’
‘No.’ Her voice growing soft, Tatiana sighed. ‘Since losing Matt I know that I want to have my family around me more than anything. So after you tell me all the news about you and Bliss, we will discuss my coming back home.’
Dante couldn’t help but feel relieved that at least one of his difficult tasks had apparently been accomplished with more ease than he had expected. Now all he had to do was convince Bliss that her best option was to become his wife.
Staring at her opened suitcase on the opulent sleigh-style bed with its plush burgundy counterpane in the centre of the luxurious bedroom, Bliss took several moments to get her bearings. Was this really happening to her? Until yesterday she had been working as an ordinary assistant behind a beauty counter in a large department store, living in a small rented flat on a dingy ex-counci
l estate. And now…now she had moved into this unbelievably gracious and beautiful hotel in Belgravia, and was going to become the wife of a wealthy Italian hotelier. Not only his wife, but the mother of his child too. Such a dramatic change in circumstances would surely make the most level-headed person think that they’d woken up in Wonderland?
Her tongue clicking against her teeth, Bliss shook off her reverie and found her gaze inadvertently colliding with the dressing-table mirror opposite the bed. A jab of dismay jolted through her. The shadows beneath her eyes were so dark that she looked as if she’d just seen the light of day after being locked up in a windowless prison for forty years! As she critically examined the rest of her features, she also concluded that her rich dark hair had definitely lost its lustre since she’d realised she was pregnant. Whether it was hormones or just general anxiety to blame, she couldn’t tell. All she knew was that she very definitely didn’t feel at her best right now, and that was partly why she had caved in so easily to Dante’s forthright demand that she take up residence with him at his family’s hotel.
When he’d come back for her and again persuasively listed all the reasons for her becoming his wife—first and foremost to give the baby the best future possible—Bliss had finally concluded that it was pointless to fight something so impossibly hard to resist. She wanted the best possible future for her baby too and, to tell the truth, how could she also resist a taste of luxury and a chance to let go of responsibility when all her life she had been longing for just that? Her whole life had been too overshadowed by the weight of adult responsibilities from far too young an age, and sometimes, Bliss mused, that was surely the reason she felt so mentally fatigued most of the time. Too fatigued to really make the effort required in pursuing a career that would generate some better prospects.