Married for the Italian's Heir

by Rachael Thomas

  ‘I’m only trying to help convince the media that what we have is real.’

  ‘But it isn’t, is it, cara?’ He looked down at her, silently acknowledging that the only real thing they had was the spark of sexual attraction which had got them into this predicament in the first place and then compounded it, changing everything.

  All he wanted to do now was return things to the way they’d been the morning she’d signed that contract. And if he had to push her away to make her see how unsustainable their situation was then that was what he’d do. And there was a guaranteed way to do that.

  ‘I’d like to offer Celebrity Spy! an engagement exclusive.’

  * * *

  ‘What?’

  Piper blinked in shock. Had she heard right? Had he actually said he’d invited the very magazine responsible for their current situation into their lives—and their lies?

  ‘It will be the best way to show everyone we mean business.’

  His dark eyes bored into hers, daring her to object, but there was no way she could do this. He’d asked too much this time, taken his need to win a business deal too far.

  ‘You mean business—not me.’ Disappointment flooded her. If that didn’t prove she was nothing but a business deal, even after their weekend in Tuscany, nothing would.

  ‘You agreed to sign the contract. You even added your own terms, Piper. You can’t back out now. We will do this interview. At least then you won’t have to tire yourself by attending parties each and every night.’

  Around them the hum of the party continued and Piper glanced away, looking at the women, dripping in sparkling stones and dressed in designer gowns that would probably never be worn again. She didn’t belong here—at least not on this side of things. She belonged behind the scenes, in the frenzied preparations for such events.

  ‘This isn’t my world, Dante.’ She could hear the resigned tone to her voice, knew that she had to find her strength if she was going to do what had to be done.

  ‘Do you not enjoy the attention, the new clothes and the glamorous places?’

  ‘It’s not what I’m used to.’

  ‘I find that hard to believe, cara.’

  His voice became deep and sexy as he leant closer to her, and she knew it wasn’t because he wanted to do that but because it was part of the act.

  ‘Very well, we will leave as soon as possible.’

  For the rest of the party Piper tried to ignore the icy tone of Dante’s voice and his determination that their deal was as normal as any other. It wasn’t for her. She’d made a deal for her child’s future happiness—not a stupid business deal. And even if he did want to look better for the charity he supported it did very little to soothe the pain of his rejection. Neither did it justify appearing in a magazine posing as his fiancée.

  As she stood there at the party, watching the vain and false women, she knew that no matter what her original intentions had been she didn’t want her child to grow up as a part of this life. It was a life she didn’t belong to, but it was one she would have fitted into, learned to be part of, if only Dante had genuinely cared about her. He’d never love her, and their marriage would never be the fairytale she’d always dreamed of, but it could be a happy one in which to raise their child if he put aside the business deal part of their relationship.

  As the hour ticked passed midnight and her energy levels dipped to an all-time low she knew it was over. She’d tried to make a go of it, tried to give Dante what he wanted, but she knew now that nothing she could do would ever be enough for him.

  She wanted to leave, but the image of the contract she’d signed burned in her mind. She’d agreed to be his fiancée and then his wife for two years. Could she really endure all his world threw at her and trust that he’d keep his side of the deal?

  The stark answer came back at her.

  No, she couldn’t.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  PIPER HAD TRIED to be rational, tried to keep emotion out of her decision, but after the loneliest night of her life she finally accepted that being with Dante couldn’t work. If he didn’t want to commit fully to the deal they’d struck that morning in his office how would he ever be there for his child?

  She’d couldn’t bear the thought of her child being distraught when its father didn’t show up one day, as planned, and she knew now that was exactly the kind of father Dante would be. Nothing would ever be as important as chasing the next deal. And, whilst she could never deny Dante access to his son or daughter, she wanted more for her baby. She wanted her child to have what she’d had from her father—unconditional love and a father who was there for them, no matter what.

  Dante had already shown that was not how he envisaged fatherhood. The fact that he had no intention of involving his mother in their child’s life left her in no doubt as to just how small a part he was prepared to play once the baby was born.

  She packed the few belongings she’d arrived in Rome with into her bag and dressed in the jeans and jumper she’d worn the day she’d waited for him in his office. After a quick glance round the bedroom, which after their time in Tuscany she’d hoped he would join her in, she left, and went in search of the man she was supposed to be engaged to. Calmness had settled over her. It was over. Whatever it was.

  ‘Buongiorno.’

  He didn’t even look up from the paperwork he was reading and her heart sank a little further. He had no interest in her. She was merely a pawn in his game-plan for success. He’d used her—used the fact that she’d wanted to do the right thing by him and tell him personally that their night together had resulted in a baby.

  ‘Working so early?’ She kept her voice light as she poured a glass of water and stood watching him, committing everything about the man she loved to memory.

  The man she loved.

  That thought stopped her, and she stood looking at him, wondering when that had happened. When had she given her heart to a man who didn’t even know what emotions were, let alone love?

  ‘I have a meeting this afternoon, and I won’t be home until late this evening. So tonight you may rest. We have a dinner engagement tomorrow evening, and I will then arrange the exclusive engagement interview.’

  His words, spoken so coldly, as if he was talking to an employee, broke through her startling thoughts and she looked at him. She loved this man, and she was having his baby, but it meant nothing to him.

  ‘This isn’t what I wanted, Dante.’

  She said the words before she’d had a chance to think, but once they were out there, settling between them, relief filled her. She had to be true to herself and the baby. It didn’t matter what she felt for Dante. Her love counted for nothing. He was unreachable, and it would break her heart to stay and try to find the man he could be—the man she wanted.

  She recalled all he’d told her about Alessio. He’d had emotion then. Had the loss of his brother changed him that much?

  ‘What isn’t?’ He looked at her and frowned, and the sharpness of his voice drew her thoughts back from the avenue they’d been wandering down.

  He had no idea. Did he really think she wanted this lifestyle? This materialistic life where emotions were masked? Where everyone seemed to have a hidden agenda?

  ‘The—the deal we made.’ She stumbled over her words before finding an inner strength. ‘It’s never going to work.’

  He put down the papers and came towards her, suspicion in his eyes. ‘What are you suggesting?’

  He was so close that if she closed her eyes and took in a deep breath she’d be able to inhale his aftershave, that fresh from the shower scent she adored so much. It reminded her of their weekend in Tuscany.

  She shut her senses down, refusing to allow them to drag sentiment into her decision. Now was not the time. She had to be strong and firm—for her baby, if not herself.

  She stood taller and looked into his eyes, seeing the mistrust deep within them where once she’d seen desire and passion. If they could have remained locked away in
Tuscany maybe she could have got through the barriers he had around him, the impenetrable wall he used to keep people out. But as soon as he’d returned to Rome, to his sophisticated world, any genuine warmth and understanding between them had gone.

  Along with his latest suggestion of an engagement exclusive, it just added to the feeling that he’d used her—and that hurt more than anything.

  ‘I can’t be what you want.’

  Those dark eyes which had once been filled with desire for her had become granite-hard, but she forced herself to say what had to be said.

  ‘And you, Dante, can’t be what I want. It won’t work.’

  ‘We made a deal.’

  His eyes narrowed, but she refused to be intimidated even as he stepped closer, threatening the strength she had to hold onto.

  ‘Yes,’ she snapped, and moved back from him, needing to escape the intensity of those eyes. ‘And I have tried to keep my side of that deal. It’s not my fault Bettino hasn’t gone with your company, and it certainly isn’t my fault that the social circle you keep hasn’t done anything more than speculate about our engagement.’

  ‘They will speculate in an entirely different way if you revert to your usual style.’

  The distaste in his eyes wasn’t lost on her. He’d looked at her the same way as she’d stood before him in his office. Hurt spiked through her, reminding her of her childhood, of standing alone whilst friends whispered about her. She knew exactly why he didn’t want her any more, and it had very little to do with what she chose to wear. She’d told him the truth. That she wasn’t perfect. And now, because of that, she didn’t fit into his world—or his plans.

  ‘I can’t be what I’m not, Dante.’

  Strength she hadn’t felt in days finally came to her, driving her on to do what she knew was right—even though it hurt, even though it meant turning her back on the man who’d stolen her heart. She didn’t want to be that lonely child any more. Her father’s love had given her the courage to accept who she was and be that person, and she needed a man like him—not one like Dante.

  ‘Just as you can’t be what I need.’

  ‘What are you trying to say?’

  The hardness in his voice almost shattered her resolve to carry through the decision she’d come to last night as she’d tossed and turned.

  ‘I can’t stay—not like this.’ She spread out her palms in a gesture of hopelessness.

  ‘What would you stay for? More clothes and jewels? Money?’

  The ferocity of the accusation in his voice sliced at her already unbalanced emotions. He thought she was as materialistic as women like Capricia, that a shopping spree and a party would make everything right.

  She gasped in shock. ‘If you really think I would stay for any of that then you don’t know me at all.’

  Shock and disappointment were in danger of showing, so she turned from him and crossed the room, heading for the sanctuary of the bedroom. She had nothing more to say to him. She might have fallen in love with him, but if she’d had any doubts about leaving what he’d just said had confirmed it was exactly the right thing to do.

  She turned and gave him one last look, and the anger in his handsome face was almost too much. ‘Goodbye, Dante.’

  * * *

  Dante’s mind reeled with shock. She was going to walk away—not only from him, but from their deal. He should be pleased. After all he had no wish to become a married man, much less a father. The thought of being responsible for someone again still filled him with pure fear. He couldn’t be anyone someone needed—not when the guilt of Alessio’s death still raged within him.

  When Piper had told him why she’d come to Rome that guilt had deepened. She’d torn him apart, along with his life, when she’d told him she wanted something from him he just couldn’t give. He wasn’t capable of loving a child, of being there to see it through the trials of life, not when he’d failed his own brother so spectacularly. He couldn’t do that to someone again.

  ‘We made a deal, Piper. You signed the papers, agreed to become my wife, and that deal does not end until two years after we are married.’ He forced his mind from the implications of insisting the marriage went ahead.

  ‘What kind of marriage would it be if we continue on this disastrous course? What kind of parents will we be if this baby can’t even know its grandmothers?’ Piper’s voice resounded with frustration.

  She placed her hand over her stomach, which as yet showed no sign of the child she spoke of, but his doctor had at least confirmed she was pregnant. Should he have demanded she take the test she’d mentioned? Confirmed he was the baby’s father?

  Questions raced through his mind. He’d been so distracted by Piper’s reappearance into his life he hadn’t thought it through. Not a problem he was used to admitting. He was usually completely in control.

  The last time he hadn’t been in control, when he’d played the wrong cards in life, his brother had slipped away in the early-evening darkness. He’d been angry with Alessio, but even angrier with himself. Once again he’d pushed someone away by caring. He’d loved his father and he’d left them without even a goodbye. He’d loved Alessio, tried to be a father and a brother to him. All he’d wanted to do was give his brother and mother the best. But the night Alessio had left he’d closed off his heart, shut down his emotions and become the hardened man he now was. It was safer that way.

  ‘I will not have my mother dragged into our sordid little deal.’

  He knew exactly what she was doing and he wouldn’t allow it. His mother had experienced enough heartache. She already blamed him for all the pain in her life, and he was damn sure Piper would not be allowed to add to her worries. All she’d ever wanted was for him to forgive himself and settle down, have children. How ironic that she would now get her wish—but he hadn’t forgiven himself. That was impossible.

  ‘You can’t pretend our marriage is real—not to your mother.’ The shock in her voice was clear as she stood in front of the door to his bedroom. A room he hadn’t used since she’d arrived. Yet he’d slept with her in Tuscany, enjoyed the sensation of sleeping with her in his arms—something he’d never done before with any woman. Deep down he knew it had been much more than just being relaxed in the villa, that it had to do with the woman he’d held after making love to her. And it scared the hell out of him.

  ‘I have already emailed her to explain the situation. That our engagement and subsequent marriage are for the sake of The Hope Foundation.’

  He saw the pain and shock in her gorgeous eyes, saw the sparkle slip from their gemlike green, but it was the best way. It was as if he was on the brink of a crater, filled with bubbling emotion, and if he made one wrong move he’d fall in and be consumed by those emotions.

  ‘And for your deal with Bettino.’ The hurt in her voice was plain. ‘I don’t believe that you can forget your deal. But what I can believe is that you are so cold and unfeeling you emailed your own mother with that news. How could I have ever thought that I...?’

  Her words trailed off, but he didn’t want to know what she’d been about to say. From the expression on her face, the worry in her eyes, he knew. How could she ever have thought she could marry him? He didn’t want to hear the truth. All he wanted to do was push her further away.

  Instead of thinking about the only woman who’d ever remained in his mind after a night of passion—the only woman he might have loved if things were different—instead of dwelling on that revelation, he turned his attention to his mother, and the impending meeting he had planned with her later that day.

  He had been summoned to his mother’s home after sending the email, but he wasn’t going to admit that to Piper. He had no wish to give her such ammunition, and he certainly didn’t want his mother calling at the apartment to meet Piper. He knew instinctively that if the two of them met he would lose control of everything, and control was what he sought to have at all times.

  Tonight he would meet his mother and paint Piper as a woman who
was as calculated and mercenary as he was. Under no circumstances would he tell her that Piper carried his child. That would give his mother too much hope, and he’d already done that to her when he’d assured her that he would find Alessio after he’d ran away. Several years later, when he had found him, he’d never seen such pain on his mother’s face. He’d given her false hope and he wouldn’t allow that to happen again.

  * * *

  Piper couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Where had the loving man she’d spent the weekend in Tuscany with gone? This cold and mercenary man was far worse than Celebrity Spy! had painted him. He was everything she didn’t want in a husband—or as a father for her baby.

  She had no choice. She had to go. She had to leave behind her foolish dreams of happiness and return to London. She had no one else in the world but her mother, but still she didn’t need such a cold-hearted man as Dante.

  ‘How long did it take you to decide that getting engaged to me would win you your damn deal?’ She hurled the words at him, icy hatred in her eyes as she watched him pick up his briefcase, put in the papers he’d been reading and click it shut.

  He was going to walk out on her, leave her to fester with his rejection while he went about his day and worked into the night. He looked at her, his dark eyes assessing, and an icy chill slid over her—one that filled her with courage and determination to do what was right.

  ‘We will talk again this evening.’

  ‘I won’t be here this evening.’ She tossed the words into the charged atmosphere.

  He came towards her and she stood her ground. ‘You will be here. You signed a contract. But, more to the point, I can give you the kind of lifestyle you want.’

  She walked slowly towards him, her gaze locked with his, disbelief that he could be so cold, so accusing, churning in her stomach, making her more nauseous than she’d ever been. Angrily she pushed that aside. ‘I signed a contract to play the role of your fiancée in order for you to win a deal. You are the one who wanted to change me, turn me into someone I wasn’t, someone I could never be.’