Nicky had been tired after their trip to the park, and Leah had settled him in front of the TV in his bedroom to watch cartoons for half an hour.
She returned to the lounge, where Marco was sitting on the sofa, working on his laptop. As always, the impact of his stunning good-looks made her catch her breath, and the coward in her wanted to retreat to her own bedroom. But she forced herself to ignore her awareness of him while she discussed his son.
‘Nicky enjoyed going in the boat with you.’
‘Good.’ Marco glanced at her briefly before turning his attention back to his screen.
Leah frowned. ‘But you need to try harder with him.’ She did not understand Marco’s attitude. ‘For half the time we were at the park you were on your phone.’
‘I am the head of a multi-billion-dollar company and I’m rarely off duty. Nicky was having a good time watching the turtles with you.’
She marched across the room and shut the lid of his laptop. ‘That poor little boy has lost his mother, and you are so distant with him. Nicky acts like you’re a stranger rather than his father.’
‘That is because until a year ago I was a stranger to him.’ Marco’s hard features showed no expression. ‘I was divorced from Nicky’s mother and I did not see my son for three years.’
‘Why didn’t you visit him?’ Leah could not hide her shock.
Something flickered on his face but disappeared before she could try to guess his thoughts.
‘It was...difficult.’
His phone rang yet again. Did he sleep with it clamped to his ear? she wondered.
‘I suppose you were too busy with your work schedule to have time to spare.’
Marco’s eyes glinted with anger, but Leah was too angry to care. She walked across the room while he answered his phone.
She remembered how Sammy’s father Jez, who had been her stepfather for a couple of years, had cleared off after her half-brother had been diagnosed with an incurable brain condition. As the disease had progressed Sammy had needed round-the-clock care, and she had helped her mother as much as possible. It had been a difficult and ultimately tragic time, and it had been after Sammy had died, that Tori had started drinking heavily.
Leah stood in front of the huge windows that overlooked the park. This hotel was reputedly the most expensive place to stay in New York, but the luxurious surroundings meant nothing to a little boy who needed love.
Nicky must have been only a baby when his parents had divorced, and he would have been too young to remember Marco. He must have felt desperately alone when his mother had died and he’d been reunited with a father he did not know, who was cold and unfeeling.
She knew it would be very easy for her to become emotionally attached to Nicky. But she must not, she reminded herself. Her marriage to Marco was to be a temporary arrangement, and thankfully there was no danger of her emotions being involved with him.
The hairs on the back of her neck prickled and she turned her head and found he was standing beside her.
‘I wish you wouldn’t creep up on me,’ she said crossly, feeling herself blush.
The spicy scent of his aftershave assailed her senses and her breath caught in her throat as her eyes clashed with his enigmatic grey gaze.
One dark brow lifted. ‘I wonder if jet-lag has made you irritable? These shadows suggest a lack of sleep,’ he murmured, tracing his finger lightly over the purple smudges beneath her eyes.
Leah swallowed. He was invading her personal space, but she couldn’t bring herself to move away from him. She felt the betraying tightening of her nipples and hated how her body responded to Marco’s potent masculinity.
‘That was my aunt on the phone. She is in New York, visiting her daughter and grandchildren, and is on her way here to the hotel to collect Nicky. They are all going to the zoo this afternoon and Nicky has been invited to sleep over with my cousin’s children tonight.’
‘I’ll go with him if your cousin won’t mind me staying at her home,’ Leah offered.
‘That won’t be necessary. Nicky met Chiara and her family when we stayed at my aunt’s house in Tuscany a couple of months ago. He likes the children, and it will be better if he is not at our wedding tomorrow. I’ve decided not to tell him that we are getting married—at least for now. He is too young to understand.’
Leah nodded. It made sense not to risk confusing or upsetting a little boy who had been through so much.
‘But before my aunt arrives you’ll need to put this on.’
Her heart missed a beat when Marco took a small box out of his pocket and opened it to reveal an exquisite ring. The stunning green centre stone was surrounded by a circle of diamonds that sparkled in the sunlight.
‘The gemstone is a tourmaline,’ he explained. ‘My aunt is a die-hard romantic and she will think I chose the ring to complement the colour of your eyes.’
‘Is this really necessary?’ Leah asked, stiffening when he reached for her hand. ‘I assumed that our marriage would be secret. After all, it will end once we’ve both had what we want from it.’
‘Thanks to social media, secrets tend not to stay secret for long,’ Marco said sardonically. ‘I am a well-known figure in Italy and the paparazzi take a great interest in my private life. It will be better to make a public announcement of our marriage rather than have a nosy journalist expose it in the newspapers and start digging around for a scandal.’ His brows rose. ‘Do you have any dark secrets I should know about?’
Leah bit her lip, worried at the idea of a reporter finding out about the money her mum had stolen. ‘Do you have secrets?’ she countered.
She could not decipher the expression that flickered on Marco’s face. ‘I prefer not to have my personal life used as tabloid fodder. If we attempt to keep our marriage a secret people will wonder what we are hiding. Obviously Nicky does not read newspapers, so he won’t find out. And I have already told my mother and James that we are getting married.’
Leah gave him a startled look. ‘What did they say? I can’t imagine Olivia was pleased. She made it plain that she believed I wasn’t good enough for James, and I imagine she feels the same way about me marrying you.’
‘My mother has never taken much interest in what I do,’ Marco said drily. ‘James offered his congratulations and said that he intends to marry Davina before their baby is born.’
‘I see.’
Leah felt a flicker of envy for the wedding planner, who would now have the security and family that she had dreamed of. But then she reminded herself that neither she nor James would have been happy if they had married.
She pulled her thoughts back to the present and watched Marco slide the ring onto her finger. It fitted perfectly, as if it was meant to be there. For no reason that made sense tears pricked Leah’s eyes. Of course he had not really chosen the ring because the tourmaline matched her eyes. He had probably ordered any ring from the jeweller without specifying a style or gemstone.
She sighed. It had seemed a simple idea to marry him so that she could claim her inheritance, but the reality was proving to be far more complicated.
‘You will need to act like an adoring fiancée in front of my aunt. She won’t understand that we are marrying for convenience and it will be simpler to allow her to believe that we are in love,’ he drawled, in that cynical way of his.
‘I’m not that good an actress,’ Leah muttered.
‘Then I suggest you learn—fast. When our marriage becomes public knowledge the board members and shareholders of De Valle Caffè will be interested because I am the CEO of the company. It is another good reason why there must not be a whiff of scandal about our relationship.’
‘How am I supposed to pretend that I adore you when I don’t even like you?’ Leah asked curtly.
Marco laughed. ‘You gave a very good impression of liking me when you came to my room in the mid
dle of the night and kissed me.’
Her cheeks reddened. ‘Do you have to remind me of a night I’d rather forget?’
‘I wish I could forget it too, but I can’t.’
His voice had roughened. Leah’s eyes flew to his face and she felt her heart kick in her chest when she saw that his jaw was tense and his skin was drawn tightly over his sharp cheekbones.
She licked suddenly dry lips and Marco gave a low groan as his gaze focused on her mouth. He lowered his head towards her.
‘What are you doing?’ she whispered, mesmerised by the predatory gleam in his eyes.
‘I want to kiss you, cara. And I think you want me to—don’t you?’
‘It’s not a good idea...’ Her protest sounded unconvincing. If only her brain would work, she might remember why she should ignore the tumultuous desire coursing through her body.
‘It’s a terrible idea,’ he agreed thickly. ‘But you are a madness I can’t seem to control.’
His lips were so close to hers that she felt his warm breath on her skin. And Leah offered no resistance when he brushed his mouth over hers. She wanted his kiss, and she could not fight her longing any more.
She opened her mouth beneath his, and her breath left her on a soft sigh of pleasure when he ran the tip of his tongue over her lips, exploring their shape. He moved his hand to cradle the back of her head while he continued to kiss her with a sensual expertise that made her shake as starbursts of pleasure exploded inside her.
It was impossible to control the thunder of her heart. Desire swept like molten lava through her veins. With a low moan she pressed her body against his and surrendered to his sorcery. She did not have the willpower to deny him when it meant denying herself what she wanted: his lips possessing hers, his strong arms around her, drawing her against the solid expanse of his chest. She opened her mouth at the demanding flick of his tongue, and as her eyelashes swept down he filled her senses.
Marco’s skin felt warm to her touch as she ran her fingertips over his muscular arms with their fine covering of silky black hair. She dipped her tongue into his mouth and he tasted like heaven. The evocative smell of his cologne filled her lungs and she heard his ragged breaths echoing hers as she was lost to the hungry demands of his kiss...
‘You look suitably ravished, cara. My aunt will certainly believe we can’t keep our hands off each other.’
Marco forced himself to speak in a casual tone to hide how shaken he was by his reaction to Leah. Dio, it had been a mistake to kiss her, but he’d been unable to stop himself.
He felt a stab of remorse when she gave him a dazed look. Her pupils were dilated and ringed with irises of dark green—the exact colour of the tourmaline in the ring. He silently cursed his crazy impulse the previous day, when he’d left Leah with Nicky at the hotel for an hour to shop for an engagement ring even though it would have been simpler to phone a jeweller and order a standard diamond solitaire.
A knock on the door brought him to his senses and he raked his hand through his hair as he walked out to the hallway and opened the door of the penthouse.
His aunt was tiny in stature and comfortably plump. Her hair had turned white overnight when his uncle Federico had died, and this visual sign of the grief that Marco had shared still gave him a pang.
She greeted him effusively and chatted in voluble Italian while he ushered her into the lounge.
‘Tia Benedetta, this is Leah,’ Marco said when his aunt finally paused to take a breath. ‘My fiancée and soon-to-be wife.’
Benedetta was stunned into silence for thirty seconds before she started to offer her congratulations in Italian.
‘Leah is English,’ Marco interrupted his aunt.
‘Please forgive me. I should have guessed from your fair colouring that you are not Italian,’ Benedetta said, speaking in English.
Leah smiled. ‘Actually, I learned to speak Italian as a child when I lived in Italy and I’m fairly fluent.’
That was news to Marco. What other secrets did Leah have? he wondered.
He slid his arm around her waist and gave her a warning squeeze when he felt her stiffen. ‘Are you going to show Tia Benedetta your ring, tesoro?’ he said softly.
‘Of course, darling,’ she replied, in a saccharine-sweet voice that caused his lips to twitch.
The first time he had met Leah at Nancarrow Hall he’d thought she was docile and, in truth, rather boring. He should have realised that her red hair was an indication of a hot temper.
He was conscious of the firm swell of her breast pressed against the side of his chest, and he was more fascinated than he should be by the jerky motion of the pulse beating at the base of her neck. Her body fitted against his perfectly, but he tried to ignore his awareness of that as she held out her left hand to show off the glittering ring on her finger.
Benedetta threw her hands in the air and a tear ran down her lined face. ‘I am crying with joy, Marco. You deserve to be happy after your sadness when Karin—’
Marco frowned.
‘Your engagement is wonderful news,’ his aunt said hurriedly. ‘What does Nicolo think?’
‘We’re not going to tell him just yet. It will be better to wait until he feels more settled.’
Benedetta nodded. ‘You must all come and visit me soon. I have a farmhouse in Tuscany,’ she told Leah. ‘Marco brought Nicolo to stay recently and he loved feeding the chickens. Where in Italy did you live?’
‘In Tuscany, as a matter of fact. In a place called Calana.’
‘Ah, I know it. I believe that Calana is a medieval town which was saved from developers by a group of artists who formed a commune. Are your parents artists?’
‘My father died when I was very young. My mother was a painter, but she stopped painting after...’ an odd expression flickered across Leah’s face ‘...after we moved back to England.’
Marco wondered what she had been about to say. He was curious to know more about Leah’s past.
But just then Nicky ran into the lounge and gave one of his quick smiles when he saw Benedetta. While the older woman made a fuss of the little boy, Marco went to pack him an overnight bag.
‘Are you going to give your papà a hug?’ Benedetta asked Nicky when they were ready to leave.
Marco wanted to scoop his son into his arms and press his face against his dark curls. He ached to hold Nicky close, but he was afraid of rushing things. There had been a breakthrough while they were in the rowboat, but there was still a long way to go before the little boy accepted him.
He forced a brisk laugh as he opened the door. ‘Nicky is too grown up for that kind of thing. Have a good time at the zoo, piccolo.’
He watched his aunt and his son step into the lift. The doors closed and Nicky’s face, dominated by those huge brown eyes, disappeared. Marco felt a hollow sensation in his chest. What if something happened to Nicky and he never came back?
He had a flashback to the agony he’d felt when Karin had disappeared with his baby son. His shock and anger had given way to raw pain as time had passed, and he’d been very aware that he was missing the important milestones of Nicky’s life: his first steps, his first tooth, his first words.
Why was he letting Nicky out of his sight now?
Marco tried to control his fear. He was strongly tempted to take the other lift down to the ground floor, grab hold of his son and never let him go. But Nicky had been excited about the trip to the zoo and he would be disappointed if he wasn’t allowed to go.
Marco wondered if Karin had made him out to be a monster to his son, and that was why Nicky was wary of him.
Rage at his ex-wife stirred rancid and bitter in the pit of his stomach. But still, despite what Karin had done, he felt guilt that he had been unable to save her.
‘I can’t believe you just told your aunt that Nicky is too grown up for you to hug him,’ Lea
h muttered when she followed Marco into the sitting room in the penthouse. ‘He’s five, for goodness’ sake.’
‘I know my son’s age,’ Marco said curtly. ‘I was only two years older than him when I went to boarding school.’
She stared at him. ‘Your parents sent you away to school when you were seven?’
Perhaps having to be independent when he was so young explained why Marco seemed so self-contained.
‘My father had died suddenly of an undiagnosed heart condition. When my mother married her second husband and James was born she was busy with her new family. It was easier for everyone if I was away at school most of the time.’
Leah pictured Marco, not much older than Nicky, being sent away from home while his mother doted on a new baby.
‘I was two when my dad died and I don’t really remember him,’ she said softly. ‘But you were old enough to have had a relationship with your father. You must have missed him.’
He shrugged. ‘I used to pretend that he was on a business trip. My father travelled a lot for work, and I told myself that he would come back the next week, the next month...’
Something in his voice told Leah that he had never stopped waiting for his father to come home. She felt sympathetic that he had lost his dad at such a young age, but she was also puzzled.
‘I don’t understand why you made no effort to see Nicky after you and your wife split up. You must have realised from your own childhood experiences how important it was for him to have regular contact with his father.’
Marco walked over to the bar and poured himself a drink. ‘My ex-wife moved to Mexico with Nicky after the divorce.’
Leah guessed from his harsh tone that he wanted her to drop the conversation, but she persisted. ‘Is Mexico where the accident happened and your wife died? I intend to encourage Nicky to talk about what he remembers, and it would be helpful if you could tell me what happened.’
Her Wedding Night Negotiation (Mills & Boon Modern) Page 8