The Salvatore Marriage Deal Read online

  ‘It’s not coercion,’ Vito said. ‘I’m merely helping you to recognise the full implications of trying to go it alone with an illegitimate child. In fact, it’s more of a reminder, really—after all, you know from first-hand experience what it can be like.’

  ‘It wasn’t as bad as you’re making it sound,’ Lily protested. But in her heart she knew it had been pretty tough—constantly dealing with her mother’s depression and her own sense of abandonment and disappointment. She hated the thought of her baby growing up without a father, feeling unwanted and worthless.

  ‘Don’t you want to protect your child?’ Vito asked. ‘Marry me, and he or she will be free of the misery that blighted your childhood.’

  ‘My childhood wasn’t miserable,’ Lily insisted. She could hear the doubt in her own voice, but suddenly it felt disloyal to her mum even to let herself think it.

  ‘As my heir, your baby will have every opportunity,’ Vito continued. ‘And you won’t experience the difficulties that your mother faced on her own.’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Lily said. Vito’s proposal was totally unexpected and overwhelming. She didn’t know what to think any more. ‘I don’t know what to say.’

  Two months ago she would have been unimaginably happy to have Vito propose to her. Now things were different. It was clear he didn’t love her. He didn’t even trust her. But he was offering her a chance for her child—and wasn’t that the most important thing to consider now?

  How could she deny her child the life Vito could give it?

  ‘You do know what to say,’ Vito said. ‘You must agree to marry me. And, in the circumstances, we must arrange the wedding for as soon as possible. We’ll fly back to Venice this afternoon.’

  He looked at her, sitting so stiffly on the high-backed leather chair, and he thought that she had been right when she’d said he didn’t know her. He didn’t. The sweet, innocent girl he’d thought she was would never have taken a lover and then tried to pass off another man’s child as his.

  She didn’t even look the same as the eager yet tentative lover he had shared his home with for nearly half a year. Her defensive body-language was completely new to him, and the amount of weight she’d lost made her appear all bony angles beneath her ill-fitting linen suit.

  The dark smudges of exhaustion beneath her hazel eyes emphasised their size, making them look extremely large in her painfully thin face. And she was wearing her hair in a strange style that all through their five months together he had never before seen.

  But, even though her appearance had changed, the powerful attraction he felt for her had not diminished one jot.

  It was the same as the first time he’d laid eyes on her; she’d been standing up in front of another group of executives in another of his companies, pitching an earlier version of the computer software she’d been selling today. He’d walked into that meeting too—with no thought in his head other than the fact that he must find out who she was.

  It had suddenly been imperative that he invited her to dinner, got to know her…took her to bed.

  And the urgent desire that had stormed his body back then was still surging through his veins like molten lava.

  He wanted to haul her to her feet and kiss her until the rigid tension in her body melted away. He knew it would—he’d felt the way she’d responded to him earlier. Despite her protests he knew she still wanted him as much as he wanted her.

  He wanted to run his hands all over her body, until she was soft and pliant against him. He wanted to release the clip at the nape of her neck and let her hair fly out in crazy curls. It had been only at the end of their most passionate love-making sessions that he’d seen her hair in its natural, untamed state. She’d always spent ages straightening it and smoothing it down into sleek, sophisticated styles. He liked it when it was wild. It made him think of rampant sex.

  ‘Even if I agree, I can’t be ready to travel this afternoon.’ Lily’s voice startled him out of his thoughts. ‘There are things I must do, people I have to tell.’

  ‘Of course you can be ready. Leave all the technical details to me. Once we arrive in Venice, you may call anyone you need, to inform them of your change of address.’

  Vito suppressed a grim smile of satisfaction at her imminent agreement. He hadn’t allowed himself to consider the possibility that she might refuse his offer of marriage.

  The fact that she had been unfaithful to him, and subsequently denied it, had proved him very wrong in his original assessment of her personality. However, he did know what her childhood had been like. And he was confident that his frank reminders of how their uncertain situation had impacted on Lily and her mother would be enough to bring her round to accepting his proposal.

  He knew he’d hurt her feelings when he’d thrown her out, but he was sure her maternal instinct to protect her child’s future would win out in the end.

  ‘No, I need to—’ Lily began.

  ‘Presumably the equipment you brought with you for your presentation belongs to the company you were working for.’ Vito picked up the phone to make a call. ‘I’ll have it returned by courier.’

  He had her in his grasp. All that was left to do was to make the arrangements as quickly as possible. Then he would tell his grandfather the news the old man had been hoping to hear for years: the Salvatore family name was to continue.

  His grandfather would end his days happy, believing there was a new Salvatore heir. Then afterwards, when Lily was no longer of any use to him, Vito would exact revenge on her by ridding himself of her. And the baby.

  A swift divorce, and his life would soon be back to normal. Lily, and the proof of her infidelity, would no longer have any part of it.

  ‘But I can’t just disappear off to Italy,’ Lily said. ‘People will worry about me.’

  ‘A short announcement that we are reunited and about to be married should deal with that,’ Vito replied.

  ‘They’ll never believe it,’ Lily said, wondering how her independent friend, Anna, would react to her decision to marry Vito purely to ensure security and stability for her child. How would she explain that she couldn’t bear the thought of her baby enduring a childhood as tough as hers? ‘Everyone knows how badly you treated me—they won’t be fooled by any story I tell them.’

  Or at least Anna wouldn’t, she thought. Somehow she’d never really got round to telling her mother any details about how she came to be back in London.

  ‘No.’ The word cut through the air like steel. ‘No one must ever know this is anything other than a normal marriage.’

  ‘But…’ Lily faltered as he took her hands and pulled her abruptly to her feet. She was standing directly in front of him, and she could feel the intensity radiating off him. Her heart jolted nervously in her chest. He was utterly serious.

  ‘No one will ever know.’ Vito’s voice throbbed and his eyes blazed. ‘You will make them all believe that it is a normal marriage, that the child you are carrying is mine. If you fail to do this, I will cast you and the baby out.’

  Lily stared at him numbly.

  She just couldn’t let her baby go through what she had experienced growing up. Vito’s words ‘dirty little secret’ rang in her mind. He had been agonisingly accurate in his assessment of what her childhood had been like.

  Living with a mother who was depressed and frequently plagued by worries and self-doubts had been tough. Having very little money, no father figure at home, and, on top of everything else, dealing with spiteful taunts from other children had been a constant grind.

  But realising that her own father didn’t want to meet her—probably wished she’d never even been born—had quite simply been heartbreaking. She couldn’t let her child grow up never knowing its father—and she knew for sure that this baby was Vito’s.

  She had to agree. For the sake of her unborn baby she had to agree to marry Vito.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  LILY placed the large vase of blue cornflowers on the table. She put her handwr
itten note to Anna beside them and stood back, biting her lip in consternation.

  She didn’t want to disappear out of her friend’s life as abruptly as she’d arrived, but she had a plane to catch, and couldn’t be there to explain in person. Besides, she had a terrible fear that if she talked to her friend face to face she would almost certainly break down and tell her everything. The future of her unborn baby depended on her playing out the charade that Vito was demanding. She couldn’t allow herself to fall at the first hurdle.

  The cornflowers were gorgeous, and she knew they were Anna’s favourites. She’d spotted them outside a florist on the way back to the flat, and decided at once that she must buy a huge bunch for her friend.

  Vito’s driver had tried to pay for them, but Lily was having none of that. From her time in Venice she was used to his assistants popping up beside her, cash or credit card in hand. But these flowers were a gift for a dear friend, a friend who’d been there for her in a time of trouble. She wasn’t going to let it be sullied by allowing Vito to pay for it. She might have agreed to marry him, but she wasn’t letting him buy her off.

  Lily looked round the flat that had been her home for six weeks. It wasn’t really home, but she’d been so grateful for Anna’s comforting presence. There would be no one to comfort her in Venice.

  It hadn’t taken her long to pack—she’d been travelling light since leaving Venice. She turned away and started carrying her bags down to the waiting limousine. The driver hurried to help her, and in hardly any time her belongings were stowed in the boot.

  She stood on the pavement, staring at the keys in her hand, suddenly reluctant to go despite the fact that she must.

  ‘Would you like me to take them?’ the driver politely enquired. ‘Is there a trusted neighbour I can leave them with? Or should I drop them through the letter box?’

  Lily blinked and stared at him for a moment. All of Vito’s staff were honest and ready to help with anything. But this was a task she had to do herself.

  ‘No, thank you.’ Lily smiled at him as warmly as she could, but she knew it couldn’t look very convincing. She was utterly exhausted and felt sick to her stomach. ‘I’ll just be a moment.’

  She made her way wearily back up the two flights of stairs and let herself into the flat one last time. She placed the keys on the table next to her note and the vase of cornflowers, then walked back out and pulled the door shut behind her. She pushed it automatically, just to check the lock had caught, and suddenly she felt locked out of her own life. As her fingers fell from the unyielding door, she knew she was saying goodbye to her freedom.

  A few hours later she was sitting next to Vito as their plane circled the city of Venice, coming in to land across the water at the edge of the lagoon. It looked so different from the city she had flown away from six weeks ago, the day after she’d told Vito she was pregnant. By morning most of the fog had lifted, allowing the airport to reopen, but the city had still looked eerily colourless, and the wide expanse of water had been a pale, metallic grey.

  Now the sun was shining brightly, low in the western sky, and the water of the lagoon was a luxuriant blue, tinged with the gold of the approaching sunset. The island of Venice itself looked amazing from the air—like a perfect miniature replica dropped into the open space of the lagoon. Famous landmarks stood out with incredible clarity, and for a moment Lily almost felt like she’d never left. Except now everything was different.

  ‘Do you feel well enough to walk down to the water?’ She heard Vito speak beside her, and she turned to look at him in surprise. It really wasn’t very far down to the pier where his personal boat would be waiting for them. They’d always made their way on foot in the past.

  ‘I’d like to walk,’ she replied. ‘Thank you for asking.’ She was still wearing the high-heeled shoes she’d worn for her presentation, and her feet were starting to ache, but after the flight she could definitely do with some fresh air.

  It wasn’t long before they were zipping across the water towards the city. Lily loved being out on the lagoon, and she’d always been entranced by the idea that she was travelling across the water to arrive at the city in the same way people had for more than a thousand years. Then, all too soon, they were winding their way through the maze of Venetian canals, approaching the water gate of Vito’s gothic palazzo.

  She couldn’t help remembering the last time she’d disembarked there. That afternoon the fog had chilled her to the bone, and she’d been worried how Vito would react to her pregnancy. But despite everything she had been optimistic. She could never have predicted the harsh and unfathomable way he would react, initially throwing her out, and then persuading her to return with him to become his wife for reasons she still didn’t fully understand.

  She climbed out onto the marble steps soberly. Leaving this palazzo and her life with Vito had been devastating—but returning under such circumstances was equally hard.

  ‘No doubt you’ll want to rest this evening.’ Vito guided Lily towards the stairs as several members of staff appeared to carry her belongings.

  ‘I think that would be best,’ Lily responded, suddenly feeling tears prick behind her eyes. Coming back to the place where she’d been so happy was affecting her more than she had expected.

  Vito took her up to the grand bedroom she had previously shared with him, then left without saying a word.

  For a moment she stood rooted to the spot, looking round at the room that was so familiar, yet seemed so strange. Then, taking a deep breath, she walked purposefully across to her luggage to find her wash-kit and nightclothes.

  She was tired and emotional, but she wouldn’t give in to it. She wouldn’t let herself think about what she had got herself into. Vito had made her play his game, but she was going to remain strong and positive. She would not let him see any vulnerability.

  She reached up and released her hair from the clip at the back of her head. It had been uncomfortable on the plane, but she’d been reluctant to let her hair down in front of Vito. She walked through to the en suite to take a quick shower and get ready for bed.

  Although it was dark outside now, it wasn’t really very late. But pregnancy and the stresses of the day had made Lily so tired that she longed for sleep. She had no doubt that Vito would join her later, but with any luck she’d be sound asleep before he made an appearance.

  Lily was alone in the bed when she awoke the following morning. She gazed up at the beautiful painted ceiling and the antique Murano glass chandelier, realising that she’d actually slept very well. And, more importantly, she felt better than she had for days. Maybe her morning sickness was finally starting to ease.

  She sat up cautiously, noticing a glass of iced water had been placed on her bedside table. Beaded with condensation, the water looked enticingly cool, and next to it someone had left a plate of her favourite sweet rolls from a local bakery.

  She smiled grimly. Eating before she showered and dressed would help to keep her stomach settled, but it bugged her that for some reason Vito was still demonstrating how well he thought he knew her, and how he understood her condition. She picked up the glass and took a refreshing sip, rebelliously thinking that perhaps she should inform him that her new preference was cold milk.

  She’d just finished one of the rolls when the door opened and Vito walked in.

  As usual he looked absolutely amazing, and was immaculately groomed, right down to his freshly buffed handmade leather shoes. He was wearing smart trousers and a black cashmere sweater that fitted him perfectly. Somehow the luxuriously soft layer of wool encasing his hard, muscled form emphasised his raw masculine power in a way that made her heart skip a beat.

  Lily remembered what it felt like to be enfolded in his arms and held against that sweater. She pushed the thought aside and lifted her eyes to his handsome face.

  ‘Good, you’re awake.’ He stood at the foot of the bed, letting his eyes run over her in assessment. ‘You look much better than yesterday.’

&
nbsp; ‘It’s not surprising.’ She returned his gaze steadily, resisting the urge to fidget under his hard stare. She was glad that she was wearing her old, cosy nightshirt with long sleeves and a high neckline. Vito had always hated it. He’d preferred her in the filmy, revealing garments he had seemed to enjoy buying for her. ‘Yesterday was just about the worst day of my life.’

  ‘There’s someone you need to meet this morning,’ he said, ignoring her jibe. ‘My grandfather has been ill. A visit from us will cheer him up.’

  Lily looked at him in startled silence. She’d lived with Vito for five months, but he had never once taken her to visit his grandfather. She’d known that he lived very nearby, and that Vito called in to see him regularly. But she’d understood that, as his lover, it was not part of her role to meet his family.

  ‘You intend to tell him, don’t you?’ She found her voice at last, the realisation that everything was so different making her feel really unsettled.

  ‘Of course, he’s my grandfather. I didn’t bring you here to marry you in secret,’ Vito replied. ‘I thought I made myself very plain on that point.’

  ‘You did,’ Lily said. ‘It’s just that it was rather a sudden decision. I thought you might take time to reflect on it before things get too complicated to change.’ She folded her arms across her chest, thinking that, once other people knew about their marriage, there would definitely be no going back.

  ‘The decision has been made,’ Vito said. ‘All that remains is to tell those who are important to us, and to start the ball rolling with the preparations for our wedding. As I said yesterday, it will be at the earliest opportunity.’

  Lily looked away from him, knocked for six by the thought of actually telling people that she was getting married. Her note to Anna certainly hadn’t gone into details like that. She knew her friend would have found such a sudden announcement bewildering, especially after the way Vito had callously thrown her out.

  She didn’t want Anna to worry about her, so she’d kept the message simple and upbeat—just saying she’d run into Vito, they’d patched things up between them, and she was returning to Venice with him.