His Merciless Marriage Bargain

“You do not appear indifferent at all.”

“But perhaps not as attached as I am. I am very attached.” She drew another quick breath, her voice thickening. “I’ve been in his life since his birth, and I’ve taken care of him from the beginning when Juliet wasn’t able to. And then once she was gone, it was just him and me.”

He said nothing, letting her talk, because he’d been curious about this very thing. What had Michael’s early months been like? Who had been part of his life?

She continued, filling the uncomfortable silence. “So you can see why I’m anxious to have him back in my arms, and why I find this all so very difficult. We’ve spent a great deal of time together these past few months…in fact, we’ve spent all our time together these past few months, and I’m missing him. Terribly, as a matter of fact.”

Giovanni did not want to like her, or care about her in any way, but it was impossible to not feel anything when tears clung to her lashes and her voice was hoarse with emotion. She was either an incredible actress or she deeply cared for the child.

“Would you please send for him now?” she asked, her gaze meeting his and holding it. “Please?”

He wasn’t ready to return the child to a woman who’d abandon him to a stranger, but her husky, tearful request softened his resistance. She sounded sincere, as well as anxious, and Giovanni reached into his pocket and drew out his phone to send a text message to his housekeeper, requesting that the child be brought in. “There,” he said quietly, “He should be here soon.”

“Thank you,” she said gratefully, shooting him a smile.

Her smile knocked him off balance. It shaped her generous mouth, tilting the corners up, rounding her cheeks and warming her dark brown eyes. She was an attractive woman, but when she smiled she was positively beautiful.

He frowned, irritated with himself for noticing. He didn’t want to find her beautiful. Nor did he want to remember how she’d felt outside by the canal, her slim body pressed to his, all curves and soft warmth. Just because she was soft and warm, didn’t mean her heart was pure or her intentions good.

A light knock sounded on the open office door and Anna entered carrying the child, who was now awake and squirming, making fretful cries. Anna glanced at him, and he nodded at Rachel.

Rachel moved forward, meeting the maid partway, eagerly taking the infant, cuddling him close to her breast. She kissed the top of his head, and then his temple, and crooned something in his ear. The baby stopped crying. She kissed him again, gently rocking him and he lifted his head after a moment and looked up into her eyes and smiled.

A knot formed in Giovanni’s chest. He glanced away, uncomfortable. Here, supposedly, was his brother’s son, and yet Gio was an outsider.

It crossed his mind that maybe he had waited too long to become acquainted with his nephew. In trying to be cautious and thorough with his investigation, he’d allowed Rachel to bond with the child. If he wasn’t careful, she might run and disappear with Michael. He couldn’t allow that to happen. He’d lost Antonio. He couldn’t lose Antonio’s only child.

Giovanni stepped around to the front of his desk, and moved a pile of papers to a different corner, and then closed a file on his lap. “Michael likes you,” he said casually.

Rachel froze. For a second she’d forgotten all about Gio, which seemed impossible now that she was looking up at him. Giovanni Marcello was not a man you’d ever forget. His energy was intense, and at times, overwhelming. “I love him,” she answered.

“You really didn’t have any intention of leaving him here, did you?”

“I prayed I wouldn’t have to get into the water taxi, and I didn’t.”

“But what if I hadn’t come out? Would you have gone?”

“I would have returned to my hotel and waited for you there.” She kissed one of Michael’s small fists, his skin soft and damp. The small hand had been in his mouth just moments ago. She wrinkled her nose, which made Michael laugh. “I would have waited for maybe twenty, thirty minutes, but if you hadn’t come by then, I would have returned here.”

“And done what?”

“Broken down your door. Screamed bloody murder.”

“It didn’t make you uneasy, leaving him here?”

Her heart did a painful beat as guilt assailed her. “It terrified me.” She nuzzled Michael’s cheek, breathing in his sweet baby scent. “But the future was equally terrifying, and so I did what I thought I had to do, believing that ultimately, you would emerge, and you would help, and you’d make sure that your brother’s son would be raised by those who loved him.”