A Ring for Vincenzo's Heir

She was the one to finally pull away. Her eyes were luminous in the shadowy foyer. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about our fight. I was... I was so—” he braced himself “—wrong,” she finished quietly. “I was wrong.”

Her admission shocked him. Vin would never have admitted he was wrong about anything. If he ever was. Which he wasn’t. “About?”

“New York.” She gave him a wobbly smile. “You’re right. It’s your company headquarters. What am I going to do—” she gave an awkward laugh “—demand that hundreds of employees uproot their families and move to Rome, just because I love it here?” She took a deep breath, then tried to smile. “I was being selfish. I’m the one who said we should be partners. So...we should at least talk about it. I still won’t take a plane, but maybe I could take a ship. Isn’t marriage about compromise?”

“Yes,” he lied.

“But—” Scarlett gave him a shy smile “—I’m sure you want to see the baby...”

“Yes.” And he meant it.

Taking his hand, she led him upstairs. Entering the shadowy nursery, Vin looked down at his sleeping son. He heard the soft snuffle of his breath, saw the rise and fall of his chest. Nico. His precious boy. He was here. He was safe. The baby already looked different. He’d grown in two weeks. Vin hated that he’d been away so long.

Never again.

He looked at Scarlett. There could only be one person in control of his life. His home. His child. And that was Vin.

The ends justified the means, he told himself. Scarlett might hate him at first, but eventually she would thank him.

Or she wouldn’t. But either way, he would get his life back. Without the chaos and messy emotion she brought.

All Vin had to do was lull her back into her previous happiness and trust in him, then once she’d lowered her guard, trick her into signing the postnuptial agreement, written in Italian, giving him every right and power over every decision.

Her love for him was her weakness.

As for his own feelings—he would not feel them. They did not exist.

The one who cared least was the one who’d win.

“I missed you, Scarlett.” Vin gave her a smile so sensual that she blushed to her ears. Excellent. “I swear to you on my life,” he said softly, “I’ll never let us be apart so long again.”

She smiled happily, not knowing his dark intentions. Taking her hand, he rubbed his thumb lightly against her palm, then kissed it, feeling her shiver.

Soon, she would be unable to defy him. His decisions would automatically prevail. She would be forced to get over her ridiculous fear of flying and travel with him when he wished. It would be good for their family. And their marriage. A flash of heat went through him as he looked down at her, at the curve of her white throat, the shape of her full breasts beneath her silk blouse.

From now on, she would have no choice but to obey. In his home. In his bed. She’d be at his command. Exactly where she belonged.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

SOMETHING HAD CHANGED in Vin. As Scarlett welcomed him back from Tokyo, she couldn’t quite figure out what it was.

Their last time in bed together, on Christmas Eve, had been rough and sensual and explosive. Even when he’d been tender, as he pushed inside her, his emotion had been raw on his face.

But today, since he’d returned, she felt a distance. Even as he smiled at her, even as he held her in his arms, even as he leaned down to kiss her, his dark eyes hinting at untold delights to come later—even then, there was something hidden behind his expression.

What was he hiding?

Was she imagining it?

She puzzled over it all day as they played with the baby, then got ready to go out for the evening. When she broached the subject of moving to New York, he told her he didn’t want to discuss it. “Tonight, I just want to enjoy your company, cara.”

They went out that night to his sister’s wedding rehearsal dinner at a charming restaurant not too far from the Piazza Navona. Giuseppe, Joanne and Maria were delighted when he’d arrived. They’d all missed him, too. Halfway through the dinner, when Scarlett rose to her feet and publicly toasted his success with the Mediterranean Airlines deal, everyone at the table clapped and cheered.