‘It was more than a little impractical of you to assume that I would be content to live in London for the duration of your pregnancy.’
‘I want my sisters with me... I want an English-speaking doctor!’ Vivi blasted back at him shakily. ‘It may surprise you but I’ve never had a baby before and I’m nervous.’
‘Your eldest sister lives in Greece. Zoe is welcome to visit us whenever she likes, in fact she can move in with us if you want her to,’ Raffaele proffered smoothly. ‘The palazzo is vast and space is not a problem. I am also sure that I can find you English-speaking medical care but, of course, you may want to learn Italian.’
‘Not right now, I don’t!’ Vivi flashed back at him.
‘But you’re not likely to spend the whole of your pregnancy in a bad temper,’ Raffaele pointed out drily. ‘I cannot be the only person who ever said no to you and that is my only crime.’
‘Oh, stop trying to make me sound like a selfish cow or a spoilt child!’ Vivi flung back impatiently. ‘I’ve spent most of my life being told no and not getting what I want. I’m an old hand at settling for second best!’
Raffaele’s remarkable dark golden eyes shimmered with reluctant amusement at the concept of his magnificent home or his very comfortable life in Italy being in any way second best. He was convinced that he could go a lifetime without ever meeting a second Vivi, with her eyes that damned him to hell for daring to stand up to her. On the other hand, what experiences had led her to expect always settling for second best? His curiosity prickled.
‘But you enjoy a bit of drama,’ he murmured quietly.
‘No, I don’t,’ Vivi contradicted squarely. ‘I particularly don’t want to be arguing with you if we’re going to be stuck together for the next few months. We’re both adults. We can agree to differ and still be friends, can’t we?’
‘Friends and lovers? I can do that. Friends with benefits? I can do that too,’ Raffaele traded softly. ‘But I can’t do platonic with you.’
Vivi settled wide shaken eyes on him, another issue that had not been discussed prior to their wedding cropping up to fill her with anxiety. ‘Why not?’
‘Because I want you and I don’t intend to cheat on you and betray my marriage vows,’ Raffaele replied succinctly. ‘It’s cards-on-the-table time, Vivi. There’s no room now for games, lies or half-truths. If...as you put it...we’re to be stuck together for the next few months, we might as well see if we can make a go of this marriage.’
Vivi dealt him a horrified appraisal. ‘No...no, that’s not what I want at all! That’s not what I signed up for either!’
Shock was reverberating through Vivi. If they lived like a normal married couple, she would get close to him again and run the risk of losing her every defence. She wasn’t capable of sharing a bed with him and then walking away with a cheery wave after their child was born. No, she would get attached, want more, start feeling as though he were hers. And he wouldn’t be hers, he wouldn’t really be hers in any way, not in a trial marriage that would only last a few months.
‘Neither of us willingly signed up for any of this,’ Raffaele parried. ‘But this is our life now.’
‘Don’t talk about our life!’ Vivi spat back at him in a passion of bemused fury. ‘We won’t be sharing anything, least of all a bed!’
Raffaele released his breath in a slow measured hiss, his classic profile taut, and said nothing.
His silence trundled like a concrete mixer in the back of her head, mocking her rage.
And, ironically, even his silence drove Vivi crazy! How could he drop a bombshell of that magnitude on her and then say nothing? He expected to share a bed with her? He expected her to consider making their marriage a real marriage? She was gobsmacked and furious that he had mentioned neither of those aspirations before the wedding. Too darned clever by half to show his hand early when she might still have withdrawn her consent, she reasoned bitterly.
‘We’ve arrived,’ Raffaele murmured softly, the liquid notes of his husky accent tugging on every nerve ending in her taut body.
Vivi stared out wide-eyed and panicked at the grand hotel where her grandfather had decided to hold the reception. She and Raffaele had argued fiercely all the way from the church to the hotel, she registered in horror. So much for being friends, so much for being reasonable! How could she be reasonable when she was dealing with an utterly unreasonable guy? She had never been a saint, had never been good at keeping her mouth closed when she should, had always preferred to speak her mind and take the consequences, but the consequences just kept on piling up with Raffaele!
Mustering what little remained of her composure, Vivi slid out of the limo, smiling when Zoe came running to help her protect her dress from harm. Immediately it occurred to her that, as Raffaele had suggested, she could bring Zoe out to Italy with her. For a split second she liked that idea, knowing she would find her kid sister’s presence a great comfort, but what would it be like for Zoe? Zoe would loathe being plunged into the midst of the conflict between her sister and her husband. It would be cruel to involve her vulnerable sibling in such an explosive set-up.
Vivi put on her game face to greet the wedding guests. She noticed that her grandad was still wreathed in smiles and surmised that Winnie had not yet broken Vivi’s news. Stam Fotakis didn’t smile when his plans went awry. It finally dawned on her that leaving that unpleasant duty in her sister’s hands was horribly selfish. Why should Winnie have to deal with the mess Vivi had made?
As Raffaele put a hand on her hip to urge her in the direction of the function room, Vivi broke free. ‘I have to speak to Grandad,’ she muttered in explanation.
‘Won’t it wait?’ he asked.
‘’Fraid not,’ she said flatly, approaching the older man to ask if there was anywhere that they could have a private word.
/> ‘What’s up?’ Stam asked, reading her anxious expression as he ushered her into a private lounge.
Vivi breathed in deep. ‘You’re not going to like what I have to say.’
‘I often don’t—since when has that bothered you?’ the older man asked wryly.
‘I won’t be leaving Raffaele after the reception,’ she told him stiffly. ‘I’m pregnant and I’ve agreed to stay with him until our baby is born.’
Stam’s dark eyes flashed with an icy glitter, his face turning set and distant. ‘He dishonoured you.’
‘No, I think it would be fairer to say that I dishonoured myself,’ Vivi muttered, striving to hold her head high and not take refuge in any craven excuses. ‘But what’s done is done and at least I went through with the wedding so the baby will be born within wedlock. That sort of thing means a lot to Raffaele and I think it’s important to you as well.’
‘Mancini dishonoured you...and I warned him!’ Stam ground out as if he hadn’t heard a word she had said.
‘Please don’t start arguing with him, Grandad,’ Vivi murmured ruefully. ‘I’m a big girl and I’m equally to blame for this development.’
‘He took advantage of your innocence,’ her grandfather condemned in a bitter undertone.
Vivi swallowed hard with dismay and embarrassment. ‘We’d better get back to the reception,’ she pointed out hurriedly, seeing no point in lingering now she had got her confession out of the way.
Winnie arched a brow as she saw Vivi emerge from the room a step in front of the granite-faced older man. ‘You told him?’ she whispered.