A Deal for the Di Sione Ring

by Jennifer Hayward

  “You’re still jumpy.” He leaned against the railing beside her, his gaze on her face.

  “You caught me off guard.” She looked down at the expensive-looking wrap he’d secured around her rather than stare at his smoldering good looks in a white T-shirt and a pair of dark jeans that molded themselves to his muscular thighs and long legs. “Another thing I can’t pay you for.”

  A wry smile crossed his face. “I’m good for it, Mina. That much I know.”

  What didn’t he know? What he was going to do with her? She pressed her lips together as her severely stressed imagination ran away with her. Get a hold of yourself, Mina.

  “This is a magnificent property.” She looked out at the yachts bobbing on the cerulean blue sea as the sun made its descent into the horizon. “You said you named it for your mother?”

  He nodded.

  “She is special, then?”

  His lips curved, a genuine warmth filling his eyes. “Extraordinary.”

  She tilted her head to one side. “What makes her so extraordinary?”

  “She was a single mother. She put me first every day of her life and kept me on the right path.”

  The bittersweet ache inside of her swelled larger. “You are very lucky to have a mother who cares so much for you.”

  “Yes.”

  “And your father?”

  “He was never a part of our lives.”

  She studied the hard set of his jaw. The cold cast that had replaced the warmth in his eyes. Perhaps that was where some of the toughness surrounding this man came from.

  She forced herself to ask the question she couldn’t avoid. “Was it Silvio who came after us?”

  “Yes. But you don’t need to worry about him. I’ve taken care of it.”

  “How?” She turned to face him, panic clawing at her throat. “He must be beyond furious. To be humiliated like that in front of half the city... He will want to punish me.”

  “He is furious.”

  Her heart leaped into her mouth. “You talked to him?”

  “Pasquale gave him my name. I stole his bride.” He lifted a shoulder. “It was a necessary conversation.”

  “What did he say?”

  “Nothing you need to know. Suffice it to say, he won’t be bothering you again.”

  “Nate—”

  “Stop.” His gaze hardened. “He isn’t a nice man, Mina, you knew that. He didn’t have nice things to say. All you need to know is that I communicated the point that you are mine. You are safe from him. End of story.”

  She took a deep breath. Absorbed the deadly glimmer in his eyes. Who was he that he could so cavalierly tell Silvio Marchetti to call off the dogs and expect that he would? Had she jumped from the frying pan into the fire with him? Or did she trust Nate like she instinctively felt she could?

  “What about my mother?” She’d been avoiding her calls to her mobile all day, with no idea what she’d even say if she did pick it up.

  “She called me after I spoke with Silvio. Was worried about you, wanted to reassure herself you were okay.” His smile was grim. “I told her you’d like a few days of privacy to enjoy our honeymoon and then you would call her.”

  Her mouth dropped open. “What else did you say?”

  “That we are in love. That today was a mad, passionate impulse on our part.” He lifted a broad shoulder. “It seemed as good a story as any to get Silvio off your back. I mentioned your cold feet were a product of our short but intense courtship.”

  Oh, mio Dio. She pressed her hands to her face. “You did not.”

  “I needed to give him a good reason to leave you alone, Mina. Now he has one. A man like Silvio would consider you used goods.”

  Used goods? She shook her head at the insanity of it all and paced to the end of the terrace. Now Silvio and her mother thought she had been intimate with Nate while she’d been engaged to Silvio. Maledizione. She didn’t even want to think of how her mother had reacted. Or the harsh words that were undoubtedly on her voice mail.

  “What did Silvio say to all this?”

  “He said he was done with you. I said, Good. Because I’d take him apart if he came anywhere near you. So put your mind at ease, Mina. It’s going to be fine.”

  Easier said than done. Her head spun as he disappeared inside and returned with a bottle of champagne and two glasses. She watched him warily as he uncorked the bottle. “I think the brandy was quite enough.”

  “You’re wound tight as a bow.” He worked the cork out of the bottle, a loud pop cutting through the air. “A glass of wine will help. And,” he added, flicking her a glance from beneath dark lashes, “I have a proposition for you.”

  His request to deliver the Marc de Grazia Guardiola personally to his hotel room filled her head. He didn’t mean—

  “No, I don’t mean that.” His mouth twisted as he read her thoughts. “As much as I think that would loosen you up, what I have in mind involves another business proposition for you and I. Because like it or not, Mina, we are stuck together.”

  They were? Hope flared inside of her. “You’re proposing we stay married?”

  “I see no other option.” He poured the champagne in the glasses. “As certain as I am that I got the message across to Silvio today that you are untouchable, I’m not about to set you loose on the streets of Capri like...an orphan searching for a home.”

  She frowned.

  He waved a hand at her. “The point is I need that ring to show my grandfather. You need to be protected. So we stay together for the year and, like our original plan, we both get what we need.”

  Relief flooded through her. “I don’t want to be a burden. I could work for one of your hotels. Pay my way. I’m a very good chambermaid.”

  “You’re smarter than that.” He handed her a glass of champagne. “You proved to me what an innovative thinker you are that day at the Giarruso. You have great ideas, Mina. I’m offering to take you on as my protégée for the year.”

  “Protégée?” Her fingers tightened around the stem of the glass.

  He nodded. “I own a chain of luxury hotels from one side of the globe to the other. The best of the best. If you want to learn about business I can teach you everything you need to know.”

  She frowned. “Why would you do that? I mean, I know you said I had good ideas, but surely you must be too busy for something like that?”

  He leaned back against the railing, champagne glass in hand. “I got my start in business from someone who took a chance on me. I believe in paying it forward.”

  She thought about what few options she had—as in none without a cent to her name, without a home to go back to. She’d made a decision when she’d left with Nate: to stand on her own two feet; to not allow herself to be controlled by anyone anymore; to make her own way in the world. The only path left was forward.

  Nate was offering her a chance to fulfill her dream—to follow in her father’s footsteps. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work with the best because he thought she was smart and had potential. Because he thought she was more than the pretty face her mother had always pegged her as.

  A warm feeling spread through her, heat infusing her cheeks at the validation she had craved. To say the thought of becoming Nate’s protégée was intimidating vastly understated the apprehension snaking through her insides. The combined terror and exhilaration the thought inspired. And yet she trusted him. Had instinctively trusted him this entire, crazy day. He hadn’t blinked once at coming to her aid despite what she’d thrown at him. Yes, he wanted the ring, but there was more to it than that. He cared despite his tough exterior.

  “I don’t know what to say,” she said finally. “You’re an honorable man, Nate Brunswick. Grazie.”

  “Not so honorable, Mina.” A dark glitter entered his eyes.
“You called me improper not so long ago. I can be that and more. I am a hard, ruthless businessman who does what it takes to make money. I will turn a hotel over in the flash of an eye if I don’t see the flesh on the bones I envisioned when I bought it. I will enjoy a woman one night and send her packing the next when I get bored of her company. Know what you’re getting into with me if you accept this. You will learn the dog-eat-dog approach to life, not the civilized one.”

  Why did something that was intended to be a warning send a curious shudder through her? Mina drew the wrap closer around her shoulders, her gaze tangling with Nate’s. The glitter in his eyes stoked to a hot, velvet shimmer as he took a step forward and ran a finger along the line of her jaw. “Rule number one of this new arrangement, should you so choose to accept it, is to not look at me like that, wife. If we do this, we keep things strictly business so both of us walk away after the year with exactly what we want.”

  Her gaze fell away from his, her blood hot and thick in her veins. “You’re misinterpreting me.”

  “No, I’m not.” He brought his mouth to her ear, his warm breath caressing her cheek. “I have a hell of a lot more experience than you do, Mina. I can recognize the signs. They were loud and clear in my hotel room that day and they’re loud and clear now.”

  She took a deep, shuddering breath. To protest further would be futile when her skin felt like it was on fire, her knees like jelly. He watched her like a cat played with a mouse, all powerful and utterly sure of himself. “The only thing that would be more of a disaster than this day’s already been,” he drawled finally, apparently ready to have mercy on her, “would be for us to end up in bed together. So a partnership it is, Mina.” He lifted his glass. “What do you say?”

  She seized hold of her senses. “So we have a marriage in name only and a business partnership. How are we positioning the marriage to others?”

  “As if it’s a real marriage.” He shrugged. “I see no harm in that and there is the Silvio factor.”

  “And what about—” A wave of heat sped to her cheeks. “I mean, if we’re not sleeping together, how will you—you know...?”

  A wicked smile curved his mouth. “Relieve myself? There are ways. And if I choose to indulge, I’ll do it discreetly.”

  Right. She dug her teeth into her bottom lip. Seized the moment. “Yes,” she said, lifting her glass. “Grazie, Nate. I accept.”

  Her dark and apparently not so honorable husband pointed his glass at her. “Then tomorrow we begin. Get some good sleep tonight, Mina. You’re going to need it for the ride I’m going to take you on.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  MINA DIDN’T SLEEP WELL. For hours she’d lain awake, terrified that despite Nate’s assurances she was safe, Silvio would come after her. That perhaps his declaration it was over between them had just been to lull Nate into a false sense of complacency before he came after her to seek revenge.

  “Refuse me again and you’ll discover the depths to which my anger can sink. I will not tolerate you repeating any of your silly jitters to anyone, Mina.”

  She had trumped that. She had married another man!

  She had little time to nurse her coffee over breakfast with Nate, however, her brain barely awake when he hit her with his Business Rule Number One. “You only get one chance to make a first impression. Looking the part is the first step to realizing the role.”

  She couldn’t disagree with that, because clad in a silver-gray suit with an ice-blue tie, handmade Italian shoes gleaming on his feet, Nate looked every bit the power broker that he was. So off she went with Susana, the manager of the hotel’s boutique, to outfit herself with a casual and business wardrobe.

  Susana had opened the boutique early just for them. She installed Mina in a chair in the fitting area with a tablet and coffee while she and an assistant gathered clothes. Mina used the time to research her enigmatic husband, hoping for some clues as to what made him tick.

  It turned out to be a rather useless activity, because none of the business profiles she pulled up on Nate delved into anything more personal than she already knew. The grandson of legendary shipping tycoon Giovanni Di Sione, he had worked his way up the ranks of Di Sione Shipping, eventually running various overseas branches of the company before leaving to start Brunswick Developments, his multibillion-dollar real-estate development firm.

  A self-made man who has used his uncanny business acumen, aggressive street smarts and brutal negotiating tactics to land marquee deals that put him on the Forbes billionaires list at age thirty-four.

  Giving in to an urge she couldn’t suppress, she typed in her husband’s name plus the word woman. A slew of photos came up. True to his word, the majority of his dates at the high-society events he frequented were brunettes, with a few blondes of late. All stunning. All vastly more sophisticated than her.

  “Ready?” Susana bustled into the changing area with another armful of clothes. Mina put the tablet down and got to her feet to take half the pile.

  “Can I give you some advice?” the other woman said, glancing down at the tablet. “Don’t do that. A man like Nate is going to have a past. You’ll only torture yourself.”

  Heat scored her cheeks. “I will say congratulations on doing the impossible,” continued Susana as she hung up the suits. “Mingmei will undoubtedly be wondering how you did it.”

  “Mingmei?”

  “The manager of our Hong Kong hotel. Better you know about that one before you come face-to-face with her. Mingmei and Nate had an affair before she came to work for him.”

  “How long ago was that?”

  “Three years ago. Clearly it ended well because he hired her, but Mingmei—”

  “—still desires Nate.”

  “Perhaps.” Susana handed her a cream-colored suit. “How did you and Nate meet?”

  Mina’s brain worked furiously. “We met at the hotel in Sicily where I worked. In the bar. It was...love at first sight.”

  Susana smiled. “That I would have liked to have seen. It would have been entertaining to watch the Ice Man fall.”

  Mina diverted the conversation to clothes after that before she stumbled over another answer. Three hours of endless fittings later, she walked out of the boutique the owner of a stylish, power-based wardrobe with some pretty things for the evening. “You’ll need it,” Susana had advised. “Nate’s social calendar is daunting.”

  Her phone rang as she walked back across the courtyard. She glanced at the screen, her stomach doing a slow churn. Her mother. Maybe it was better to get it out of the way.

  She sat on a bench and took the call. “Ciao, Mamma.”

  There was silence on the other end of the line. Then, “Che pensi che stai facendo, Mina?” What do you think you’re doing?

  Her cheeks fired, her fingers trembling around the phone. “I couldn’t marry Silvio, Mamma. I told you that but you wouldn’t listen.”

  “So you disgraced your fiancé, this family, in front of the entire city?”

  She bit her lip. “He hit me. I can’t live with a man like that.”

  “And you expect your American tycoon to be any different? Men are all the same. They want a beautiful wife on their arm who obeys them, Mina. Who uncomplicates their life. Start disagreeing with your American after the rosy glow is over and see how he acts.”

  “Nate would never hit me.”

  A pause. “Where are you now?”

  She chewed hard on her lip.

  Her mother made a strangled sound. “What will you do? Go live with him in America? You will surely have to now, because your reputation is in tatters. This family’s reputation is in tatters.”

  A lump formed in her throat. She didn’t even know where Nate lived. Only that it was in New York.

  “Mi dispiace,” she murmured huskily. “You left me no choice, Mamma.�
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  “You disappoint me, Mina.”

  What was new about that? She had always disappointed her mother. Had never understood why when she’d done everything asked of her. Had attained top grades at school, had dated her endless contingent of bachelors, and still been found lacking.

  “What about our plan? To sell the ring?”

  Her heart sank. There it was. What her mother truly cared about. “It hasn’t changed. I will sell the ring and pay off our debts. But as I’m sure Pasquale told you, I can’t do that for a year.”

  “Perhaps,” her mother said deliberately, “your husband could help.”

  She closed her eyes. “I won’t ask that of him, Mamma.”

  There was silence on the other end of the line. There would be no inquiry as to how she was. Whether she was happy. None of that mattered to her mother. Had never. “I have to go,” she said thickly.

  “Mina—”

  She ended the call. A deep, all-encompassing throb moved through her. Made it hard to breathe. She’d gotten past her naïveté about her mother a long time ago. It was the depth to which she didn’t care that shocked her now.

  She was alone in this world. Utterly alone. Her life would have to be shaped by her and her alone.

  * * *

  Nate had just finished reviewing the financials for the Emelia when Mina walked through the door in a charcoal-gray suit, her traffic-stopping legs clad in a pair of finely made Italian heels.

  If he’d thought a suit would help dull his attraction to her he had been entirely wrong. The suit was conservative, covered all the requisite parts adequately; it was what was under it that was unavoidable. The fitted jacket highlighted her tiny waist and taut high breasts, the knee-length pencil skirt skimmed generous hips.

  A power suit to be sure, but on his wife it swayed all the power in favor of her innate sensuality.

  He brought his gaze back up to her face. Studied the pallor that blanched her honey-colored skin. “What’s wrong? Did Silvio contact you?”

  She set down the bag she was holding and slid off her shoes. “No—it’s—I’m fine.”