“I don’t know about you, but I could use some coffee. Let’s go up to the villa and check on Concetta. Then we’ll have the rest of the night to talk everything out.”
“I admit coffee sounds good. It’s getting cooler.”
He helped Belle step onto the dock and they made their way back in silence. They might not be touching, but the sensual tension between them was palpable. Talia saw them in the hall and told him Concetta was sleeping like an angel.
Before heading for the kitchen, he and Belle went upstairs and tiptoed into the nursery to take a peek. Suddenly, both of them chuckled, because the baby was sitting up in the crib. She saw them in the doorway and started fussing.
“It looks like she was waiting for you to say good-night,” Belle whispered. Leon crossed the room to pick her up and hug her. His heart dissolved when his child kissed him and patted his cheeks. “She adores you, Leon.”
The sound of her voice brought his daughter’s head around. To their surprise she reached for Belle, who caught her in her arms.
“Are you going to give me a kiss good-night, too? How lucky can I be? I love you, sweetheart.” She walked her around the room. “I wish Concetta knew what I was saying, Leon.”
“She doesn’t need to understand English to know what you mean,” he murmured in a satisfied voice.
“Is that true?” Belle kissed her again.
In the intimacy of the darkened room his daughter clung to her as if she were her mother. It added substance to an idea that had been building in his mind since the first time Belle had picked her up.
He’d planned to talk to her after they’d gone back downstairs for coffee, but his little girl had unexpectedly chosen the place and the moment for this conversation.
“Since she’s not ready to go to sleep yet, I’ll tell you my plan now. We need to get married right away to prevent my father from adopting you.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
BELLE LET OUT a laugh that filled the nursery. She stood in front of Leon with the baby’s head nestled against her neck. “Right away? As in...”
“Tomorrow.”
“I didn’t know it was possible,” she mocked.
“I have a friend in high places.”
“Naturally. So that’s the solution to all our problems? From the man who’s still grieving for his wife and never intends to marry again?”
Leon couldn’t help smiling. “It’s even stranger, considering that I’ve proposed to a woman who has declared marriage isn’t an option for her.”
Belle patted Concetta’s back. “All right. Now that you’ve gotten my attention, let’s hear what’s really on your mind.”
“You just heard it.”
“Be serious, Leon.”
He shifted his weight. “When you allow it to sink in, you’ll discover it makes perfect sense. Our marriage will make it unnecessary for the adoption to take place, because you’ll be my wife, mistress of our household, mother to my child.”
His words caused Belle to clutch his little girl tighter.
“Concetta’s tiny eyelids are fluttering, on the verge of sleep. That’s how comfortable she is with you. She needs a mother, Belle. I’ve been blind to that reality for a long time. But seeing her with you is so right. Just now I heard you tell her you loved her. That came from your heart, so don’t deny it.”
Belle could hardly swallow. “I’m not denying it.”
“If we marry, there’ll be two desired outcomes, both of them critical. First, our marriage will enable you to have the full relationship you deserve with your mother for the rest of your lives, without moving into the palazzo. We both know that’s Dante’s territory and should remain so.”
She hugged the baby closer.
“Secondly, it will prevent any more machinations on my father’s part to see me married to the titled woman he’s picked out for me. After all, who could be a more fitting bride than his wife’s daughter? The beauty of it is that I’ll be the one who takes care of you, not my father.”
In a furtive movement, Belle walked over to the crib and tried to put the baby down. But Concetta wasn’t having any of it and started crying again, so she picked her back up. “You need to go to sleep, little love.”
A satisfied smile curled Leon’s lips. “She doesn’t want to leave your arms. It convinces me my daughter has bonded with you in a way she hasn’t done with anyone else but me. You have to realize how important that is to me. She’s been my world since Benedetta died.”
“I’m very much aware of that.”
“When I told Father I would never marry again, I meant it at the time. How could I ever find a woman who would be the kind of mother to Concetta that my mother was to me and Dante? But your arrival in Rimini has changed all that.”
Belle buried her face in the baby’s neck to shield herself from his words.
“Tonight I watched my daughter reach for you. With the evidence before my eyes, I know that with you as my wife, she’ll have a mother who will always love her. I know how much you care for her already. I’ve seen the way you respond to her. It’s the same way Luciana responds. Like mother, like daughter.”
Belle kissed the little girl’s head. “As long as we’re having this absurd conversation, there’s one thing you haven’t mentioned.”
“You’re talking about love, of course. Since we both made a conscious decision not to marry, before we met, we won’t have that expectation. But there’s desire between us, as we found out yesterday. Which is vital for any marriage.
“Furthermore, we’ve become friends, who both love our families. Between us we can turn all the negatives into a positive, in order for you to be with your mother and calm Dante’s fears.” Leon moved closer. “Nothing has to change for you. Talia will continue to be Concetta’s nanny. If the bank backs a new TCCPI outlet in Rimini, you’ll be installed as the manager and can go on working.”
“I guess it doesn’t surprise me you could make that happen,” she muttered.
“Let me make myself clear. I’d do anything to give my daughter a life that includes a mother and a father.” Leon’s voice grated. “Your journey to Italy to find your mother has convinced me you’d do anything to be close to her. If a career you’ve carved out for yourself will keep you here, then you can be a mother, have your career and stay near Luciana. Won’t that be worth it to you?”
Belle shook her head. “I can’t believe we’re having this conversation. But for the sake of argument, what you’re suggesting is that we enter into an arranged marriage.”
He reached for Concetta and put her back in the crib. This time she didn’t cry, but she held on to his finger. “Yes, but one in which we haven’t been pressured by anyone. I realize I can’t compete with your roommates for the companionship you enjoy with them, but I’m not so bad. We had fun watching the dolphins, didn’t we?”
“That question doesn’t require a response. What you’re suggesting is ludicrous.”
“Now you have some idea of how my parents must have felt when they had to enter into an arranged marriage. At least with you and me, we’ve both felt the fire. How long it lasts is anyone’s guess. But if nothing I’ve said has made any difference in how you feel, then it appears the only alternative is for you to go back to your life in New York.”
What life was that?
Leon lifted his head to appraise her. “While I stay with Concetta until she’s asleep, why don’t you go down to the kitchen and have that coffee you wanted? I’ll join you shortly and you can give me your definitive answer.”
“You think it’s that simple?”
He grimaced. “No. I only know that we can’t change what has happened, and a decision has to be made one way or the other.”
“Like I said, I shouldn’t have come to Italy.”
“It’s t
oo late for regrets, and we’ve already had this conversation. The only thing to do is move forward. Just be aware that whether you stay here or go back to the States, my father plans to adopt you. He’s been so eager to do it, only time will tell how that hurt has affected Dante. His relationship with our father and Luciana has been rocky at times.”
“I don’t want him hurt.”
“Neither do I.” Leon lifted his brows. “If you can think of a better way than marriage to prevent more pain from happening and still be close to your mother, I’ll be the first one to listen.”
“I’ll go to your father and beg him not to do anything.”
“It won’t do you any good, Belle. On certain issues, my father is adamant. Where your mother is concerned, this is the gift he wants to give her, and no amount of tears or cajoling will change his mind.”
“Not even for Dante’s sake?”
“I’m afraid not. You heard my father. Dante’s a grown man and should be able to handle it.”
Belle was frantic. “You can’t really mean what you’ve been saying...”
“Why do you think I married Benedetta in the dark of night?” he countered.
Belle’s head jerked back. “But it’s a feudal system!”
“I’ve been fighting it all my life.”
At this point she was pacing the floor. Finally she stopped and turned to him. “What would we tell our parents? We’ve known each other only a few days.”
“We’ll tell them it was love at first sight. They won’t be able to say anything. I happen to know Papà fell for Luciana the minute he met her. He’d never known a love like that with my mother.”
Belle pressed her lips together. “It’s so sad about your parents.”
“They managed, but it’s past history now. I can’t speak for Luciana, but she must have had strong feelings for my father in order to get married again so soon after losing the man she’d first loved.”
“You’re really serious about this, aren’t you.”
“Serious enough that I’ve been on the phone with our old family priest, who married everyone in our family. He stands ready with a special license to officiate at the church tomorrow morning. All you’ll need to provide is your passport. My staff will be our witnesses.”
Belle stared blindly into space. “I was supposed to go out for the day with Mom....”
“Call her and tell her there’s been a change in plans. Promise her I’ll drive you to the palazzo later in the morning. When we arrive with Concetta, hopefully Dante and Pia will be there, so we can make the announcement of our nuptials in front of everyone.”
“You don’t just get married like this—”
“Most normal people don’t. But we happened to be born to a mother and father with unique birthrights, who are married to each other, thus complicating your life and mine. With our marriage taking place, the idea of my father wanting to adopt you will fade, and take the sword out of Dante’s hand. It might even improve our relationship. Much more than that, I can’t promise. Only time will tell.”
Belle edged away from him. “This is all moving too fast.”
“The situation demands action. Father believes you’re going back to New York on Sunday. When he announced he was planning to adopt you, I knew it meant he’d already been in touch with his attorney. He’ll want your signature on the adoption papers before you leave. When he makes a decision, he acts on it before you can blink.”
“You’re a lot like him.”
“Is that a good or a bad thing?”
“Please don’t joke at a time like this, Leon.”
Concetta had finally fallen asleep. He walked across the room to Belle. Reaching in his pocket, he pulled out a ring. She stared at the plain gold band. “What are you doing?”
He took her left hand in his. “Your engagement ring. Tomorrow it will be the wedding ring of Signora Arabella Donatello Sloan di Malatesta.”
Belle pulled her hand away before he could put it on her. “I haven’t agreed to anything.”
He stared at her through shuttered eyes. “Then in the morning all you have to do is tell me you don’t want it, and we won’t talk of it again.”
“Leon—you can’t do this to me!”
“Do what? Offer to marry you so I can give you my name and protection? Help you to enjoy the mother you never knew? Give you the opportunity to be a mother to my daughter, who’s already welcomed you into her life?”
“You know what I mean!” Belle cried.
“Don’t you think I’d like to make up to you for the years of emotional deprivation? For the cruelty you received at your stepbrother’s hands?” he demanded. “Don’t you know your existence has changed destiny for all of us?”
His words scorched her. She wished to heaven she had someone to talk to. Ironically, now that she’d found her mother, she couldn’t go to her. Not about this. It was worse than getting caught in the maze she’d seen earlier on the palazzo grounds.
“What do you get out of this?”
“I thought you understood. The most remarkable mother in the world for my daughter, and a possible chance to win back my brother’s affection. When Benedetta became so ill, she begged me that one day I’d find happiness with someone else. At the time I didn’t want to hear it, but she was right. Life has to go on. Our marriage will be a start along that path. Until you flew into my world, I didn’t know where to begin.”
Belle couldn’t take any more. “I’m going to say good-night.” Without hesitation she bolted from the nursery and flew down the stairs to her bedroom.
For the rest of the night she tossed and turned, going over every argument in her mind. Could she really enter into a marriage when she knew Leon’s heart had died after losing his wife? Belle couldn’t hope to compete with her memory, but he wasn’t asking for love. He wanted her to be Concetta’s mother.
It was probably the only area in Belle’s life where she felt confident. If she had that little baby for her very own, she could pour out all the love she had to give. Belle could be the kind of mother to Concetta she’d dreamed of having herself.
Leon wanted her to be his baby’s mother.
That had to mean something, didn’t it?
He was the most marvelous man. To think he trusted her with his prized possession!
Even if she was a virgin who’d had no experience with men, she could do the mothering part right. Maybe their marriage would help heal the wound between Leon and his family.
Marriage to him would ensure a close relationship with Belle’s mother for the rest of their lives.
But what if Leon met another woman and fell in love?
Belle knew the answer to that: it would kill her. But would their union be so different from the many marriages where one of the partners strayed? It was a fact of life that millions of married men and women had affairs. There were no guarantees.
By the time morning came, she’d gone back and forth so many times she was physically and emotionally exhausted. But one thing stood out above all else. The thought of going back to her life in New York seemed like living death....
* * *
It was a beautiful, warm summer Saturday morning for a wedding in Rimini. In a veil and a white silk and lace wedding dress of her dreams, Belle stepped out of the bridal shop with Leon. They walked to his car where her bouquet lay on the backseat. He’d thought of everything. Belle heard the church bells of San Giovanni before they arrived. Though it was much more ornate than the church attached to the orphanage in Newburgh, Belle had the same sense of homecoming once Leon ushered her inside the doors.
Church had always been her one place of comfort, whether she’d been at the orphanage or the Petersons’. Except that this morning she was to be married to the dark prince of Rimini, as she’d first thought of him. Nothing seemed r
eal.
He’d pinned a gardenia corsage to her linen suit before they’d left the villa. In the lapel of his midnight-blue silk suit, he wore a smaller gardenia. Belle could smell the fragrance she would always associate with being a bride, but she couldn’t seem to feel anything. It was as if she were standing outside her body.
Leon’s staff came in a separate car. They followed them down the aisle to the shrine in front, where the old priest was waiting in his colorful vestments. Talia carried the baby, who so far was being very good, and looked adorable in a white lace dress and white sandals with pink rosettes.
The priest clasped both of Belle’s hands and welcomed her with a broad smile. “Princess Arabella?” She almost fainted at being addressed that way. “You look like your mother did when I married her and the count,” he explained in heavily accented English. “Leonardo has advised that I perform this ceremony in English. Are you ready?”
“We are.” Leon answered for them in his deep voice.
“If the witnesses will stand on either side.”
Talia and Simona stood on Leon’s right. He kissed his daughter, who kept making sounds. Carla stood on Belle’s left.
“Arabella and Leonardo, you have come together in this church so that the Lord may seal and strengthen your love in the presence of the church’s minister and this community. Christ abundantly blesses this love. In the presence of the church, I ask you to state your intentions. Have you come here freely and without reservation to give yourselves to each other in marriage?”
Without reservation? Belle panicked, but she said yes after Leon’s affirmative response.
“Will you love and honor each other as man and wife for the rest of your lives?”
That wasn’t as difficult to answer. Belle did honor him. He was the one responsible for finding her mother. And there were many things about him she loved very much. The way he loved his daughter melted her heart.
“Will you accept children lovingly from God, and bring them up according to the law of Christ and His church?”
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