Rising Stars & It Started With… Collections. Кейт Хьюит
was delicious, failed to give her any pleasure. The more she thought of Nico and her brother, of the way they used to be and the way they were now, the less she tasted of the food.
There had to be a way to repair whatever had gone wrong, if only one of them would tell her about it. She thought of Renzo in the Caribbean with his wife and was thankful they were away for now. She shuddered to think what would happen if he were at home.
It would be a true clash of the titans the next time these men met, and she could not bear the idea she would be the catalyst.
Tina dropped the fork. “I want to know what happens next,” she demanded, her heart hot with feeling. He’d taken her from Rome, brought her here, but for what purpose? He couldn’t really intend for her to stay with him indefinitely.
Nico glanced over at her, seemingly impervious to the turmoil raging within her. “Dessert, I imagine.”
“You know that’s not what I mean.”
The look he gave her was long and heavy with meaning. Her pulse snapped in her veins until she was certain he must see it thrumming in her neck. Dread lay thick inside her the longer he watched her without speaking.
“Tell me,” she said when the silence was more than she could bear. “I have a right to know.”
“What do you think will happen, Tina?”
She darted her tongue over her lower lip. “I’m not quite sure. I doubt you intend to keep me here for the next few months, no matter what you implied earlier. That would be ridiculous. And unnecessary.”
“I disagree,” he said, his voice as smooth as fine wine. “It is very necessary.”
“Why?” she asked, apprehension twisting her belly into knots. “I want you to be a part of the baby’s life. I won’t deny you access.”
One dark eyebrow arched. “You say that now. But what about when Renzo returns?” He shook his head. “No, that is not acceptable. You aren’t going anywhere, Tina. You’re staying here with me.”
Tina gripped the edges of her seat and willed herself to be calm. “You can’t force me to stay,” she said, her voice brittle to her own ears.
He leaned back and spread his hands to encompass their surroundings. “Can I not? We are on an island. The only way on or off is by helicopter or boat—and I control both of those things.”
Her stomach plummeted through the stone floor of the terrazzo even as a chill shuddered through her. “You’re being purposely contrary. Renzo will come looking for me. You can’t prevent that.”
Nico took a leisurely sip of wine, studying her through lowered lids. She endured the scrutiny, though he reminded her once more of a cat singling out prey. She sat very still, waiting for him to spring, knowing she was caught even before he did so.
All she could do was wait and see what manner the attack took.
“No,” he finally said, “I can’t stop Renzo from looking for you. But even he cannot separate a man and his wife.”
TINA’S breath was a solid ball in her chest. It sat heavy and thick and she couldn’t force it in or out for a long moment.
“You look surprised,” Nico said mildly.
Surprised? It was too mild a word for what she was feeling right now.
“I can’t marry you, Nico,” she choked out.
“Why? Because your brother won’t approve?” He made a sound of disgust. “He won’t approve of you being pregnant, either. If you cared about his approval, you would not have slept with a strange man that night.”
It was too close to the truth, but it angered her nevertheless. “I suppose I deserve that, but it doesn’t change the fact that you don’t love me. I won’t marry a man who doesn’t love me.”
She didn’t know quite where that had come from, but the moment she said it, she knew it was what she felt.
His eyes glittered in the candlelight flickering brighter now that dusk was deepening. “Then you should have thought of that before you spread your legs for me.”
Tina gasped, stung by his cruel words. “That’s not fair. Women are allowed to take lovers without wanting to marry or have babies with the men they choose.”
“Yes, but they are typically more prepared than you were that night.”
Her cheeks were aflame. “Oh, yes, it’s all my fault, right? But I’m not the one who used a faulty condom.”
“And I’m not the one who chose a random stranger for my first sexual experience. You were lucky you got me, and not someone who might have treated you with less delicacy than the situation required.”
“Well, bravo to you then,” she snapped. “But I’m still not marrying you. There is no reason for it.”
“I can think of a few reasons, not the least of which is that I’m not giving you—or your brother—a chance to change your mind about letting me be a part of the child’s life.”
She bowed her head demurely, though her heart was racing a million miles a minute. “I understand why you’d think that, but we can have papers drawn up. I’ll sign anything reasonable. We’ll make sure everything is spelled out.”
He threw his head back and laughed, and a feeling of foreboding ricocheted through her. “How perfectly civil of you, cara. But this is not a negotiation. I don’t trust you or Renzo. There’s nothing you can say, nothing you can promise, that I will believe.”
“I give you my word,” she said.
“Your word means nothing to me.” He shook his head, leaned toward her and trapped her hand in his. “No, you will marry me, and just as soon as possible.”
Tina thrust her chin out defiantly, though her heart hammered and her insides churned. “Even you cannot compel a woman to marry you because you decree it,” she said sharply. “I won’t do it.”
His eyes narrowed. “How selfish you are, cara. You would deprive this child of my name? Of my status? You would allow him to grow up without a legal right to my legacy? Do you think he will thank you for it someday?”
Her heartbeat slowed as his words twisted in her brain. God, she hadn’t thought of that. She’d grown up with her mother’s name, just as Renzo had, and they’d been just fine in the end—though it hadn’t always been easy. There’d been no estate to inherit, no vast sums of money to distribute among heirs. There’d been nothing at all, until Renzo made his fortune.
“It’s not about money,” she said with certainty. “I have money, and our child will want for nothing.”
Not only did she have the money from her trust fund, but she’d also been investing a chunk of it over the years. She now had quite a handsome sum that was all from her own hard work. Her brother might not let her work for him, but she did work—managing her money—and she did a damn good job at it, too.
“I went to boarding school, Tina. I know what it was like. Those girls would have made your life hell, and a big part of that would have been your lack of pedigree. Do you want that to happen to your child?”
Fury vibrated through her then. “I won’t send my baby away to school, you can be sure of that.”
“It’s not only school, though, is it? If you want this child to have every advantage, to have doors open for him and to be accepted everywhere, then you will see that marrying me is the only way to achieve that.”
She wanted to press her hands to her ears. “You make it sound so