‘Not particularly—but what is love, anyway, Daisy? You said you haven’t ever known it, and you also said you can’t miss what you’ve never known.’ I smiled, proud of my neat logic. ‘So if you had a marriage without love who’s to say it wouldn’t work? That it wouldn’t be good, or even wonderful?’
CHAPTER EIGHT
MATTEO WAS SMILING at me like the proverbial cat that got the cream, and I wasn’t sure how to respond. My head felt fuzzy from the sun and the wine, and I had a sinking feeling I wasn’t going to win this argument.
Yes, I had said those things, and put together they made a compelling argument, but it was one I was still reluctant to endorse.
‘What do you have against love?’ I asked.
He shrugged. ‘Nothing against it, per se. I’m just not sure it’s worth the paper it isn’t written on.’
I frowned, wishing I had more of my sense about me. I’d drunk and said and thought too much today. I didn’t know where I was any more in regard to Matteo or marriage. I’d spent the last two hours gazing upon his impressive form, wondering if the skin at the open neck of his shirt would feel as sun-warmed and smooth as it looked, even as I said too much about myself and learned far too little about him.
‘What is that supposed to mean?’ I asked.
‘What is love, Daisy?’
He leaned forward, with the light of a zealot in his eyes. He believed whatever he was about to say, I realised with a plunging sensation. Which meant he didn’t believe in love.
‘It’s an emotion, I suppose,’ I answered after a moment, when I realised Matteo was waiting for a reply.
‘Exactly. An emotion. And should we trust our emotions, fleeting as they are? Angry one minute, sad the next, happy when the sun is shining, sad when it rains?’
‘Not everyone is such a flibbertigibbet as that.’
‘Flibbertigibbet? I like that. But my point remains the same.’
‘Love is more than an emotion, then,’ I argued, again wishing I had my wits about me. ‘It’s an...an action. A commitment.’
‘No, marriage is a commitment. A sacred vow.’
I rolled my eyes. ‘Now you’re coming out with the sacred stuff—when you fully intended to have our marriage annulled as soon as it suited you?’
‘This would be different, and you know it.’
Yes, I did know it—but would it be different enough?
On one hand, it felt as if Matteo was offering me almost everything I wanted—companionship, a child, lifelong security, and of course physical pleasure. I was quite sure he could deliver on that.
But the flipside was dark indeed...because with all those lovely things came frustration, fear, hurt, and the very real danger of falling in love with someone who had no intention or even the ability to fall in love with me.
Matteo leaned back in his chair. ‘I have a proposal,’ he announced.
‘Another one?’
‘A trial, if you like. I have two events in the next few weeks—a charity gala in Paris and the opening of my new hotel in the Caribbean. Why don’t you come with me to both? See how you like it?’
I goggled at him. ‘Are you serious?’
‘Of course. Why do you find that so difficult to believe?’
‘Because the last time I saw you in public you were less than pleased—’
‘I’ve told you. I’ve changed. Why can’t you believe that?’
Because on a fundamental level I knew Matteo hadn’t changed at all. Perhaps a few spots had been sloughed off the leopard, but he was still a dangerous predator and always would be.
‘I need to be on Amanos for work...’