The Marriage He Must Keep

She ended with a press of her lips and a sheepish look up at him.

He folded his arms, looking so much sexier than she felt. His chest was gorgeous, his shoulders a sculptor’s curved line that begged to be traced with fingertips and lips. He dropped his hands to his hips, framing his perfect torso with his neatly muscled arms.

“No, I didn’t bring you here to warm you up, but I did wonder if something was bothering you. I also wanted to take us out of the house for a few hours. Primo has been in touch with Nonno. He’s trying to go over my head and my grandfather has told him he can’t. Nonno is drawing up a settlement that will help Primo pay his legal bills, but he will forfeit any claim to the estate. Primo has accepted and that puts an end to any aspirations his side of the clan has. I expect they’ll be gone by the time we get home today. It’s the final nail in the coffin, if you will.”

He scowled into the middle distance and she could almost hear his thoughts. He’d caused the death of his own father and hadn’t been disinherited, but Primo was losing virtually everything over what he’d done.

But Sandro’s mistake had been a youthful accident, Primo’s a deliberate act with intent to harm.

She stood without thinking and moved to wrap her arms around her husband’s waist. He closed his arms across her back, hand smoothing over her bare skin, fingers going under the wide band of her shoulder strap.

A second later, she felt a stirring of his flesh just below the line of the water. He set her back a step, expression wry. “Swimming was a bad idea. I was only thinking about the view...” He roamed his gaze down her bare upper chest and arms. The wet swimsuit plastered against her breasts revealed a lot more than it hid. “I didn’t consider the effect it would have on me.”

She fell back, sending her hands forward to splash water into his face.

* * *

The rest of the week was less stressful and by the end of it, Alessandro hung back in the city just long enough for a fresh haircut and a barber’s shave before he put on his tuxedo and left the town house for good. And without regret. As difficult as these recent weeks had been, as much as he was still ironing out wrinkles across the organization, he had never felt as sure in his role. Any lingering misgivings he’d had about controlling the Ferrante fortune were gone.

He was its caretaker for the future and held the entire organization in a firm, unapologetic grasp.

Now he was entering the home that was his. His grandfather would live with them until late spring. Octavia had encouraged Ermanno to stay in the main house as long as possible, to help her learn the running of things. Ermanno was in his element as a mentor so Alessandro expected great things to come from their budding relationship.

Tonight marked the launch of their new life together.

He entered their suite in high spirits and two things happened. First, he was knocked breathless by the sight of her.

He’d told her stylist, Michaela, to bring jewel tones. He always preferred stronger colors on his wife than the pastels she gravitated toward. The gown she’d chosen was black velvet with a skirt of sapphire blue. The top clung lovingly to her ample breasts and tied behind her neck, leaving her back and shoulders covered only by the loose curls of her long, dark hair. The fall of blue draped in flattering lines over her round hips. Tall heels gave her the ultrafeminine sexiness that every man enjoyed. He wanted to tumble her to the bed and forget the guests arriving downstairs.

But it wasn’t just her beauty that struck him. It was her. He was glad to see her. He’d missed her. He waited for her to come across like in the old days and slide her arms around him. They had come that far, hadn’t they?

“I just fed Lorenzo. Almost ready,” she said with barely a glance at him, head bent and attention on her phone as she tapped out a message.

Apparently, they hadn’t.

He frowned, wondering who she could possibly be texting so feverishly. She made a final strike and it whooshed, but at the same time released a ringtone chime.

Octavia read it and let out a delighted laugh.

Alessandro was taken aback. That rich sound was something he hadn’t heard in... He didn’t know how long. Far too long. It was like birdsong in spring, promising and filling him with hope.

Her smile, so genuine, took her look of aloof sophistication to a level of sparkling beauty that did more than knock him breathless. It kicked him in the heart. He hadn’t seen her happy like this since before she had gone to London.

And someone else had made it happen.

The jealousy that blindsided him in that moment was as shocking as it was severe. He didn’t mean to sound so harsh when he said, “Who is that?” but he must have because she sobered quickly, face going into that neutral mask that tucked all her thoughts and feelings away.