Latin Lovers: Italian Playboys. Kate Hardy
goes. The fear, I mean. Sometimes I’m fine, other times I get all panicky.’
‘Well, perhaps flying in my private jet with my staff to wait on you will alleviate some of your fears,’ he said coolly. ‘I will need your and Georgia’s passports to make the travel arrangements.’
‘I would really prefer not to go.’ She got to her feet and began to pace back and forth. ‘I have to work.’
‘I think in the interests of Georgia you might consider taking leave from work. Most new mothers take a few months off. I am providing you with a generous allowance, so unless you are in particular need of any mental stimulation your job provides, I would suggest taking a break.’
Nina wished she could tell him what to do with his money but unless she went along with Nadia’s plan everything she had fought so hard for would be lost.
‘What am I supposed to do with my time?’ she asked after a moment or two of silence.
‘Look after your child,’ he answered. ‘I do not expect you to do so all on your own, of course. I will help whenever I can and so too will Lucia. She is an experienced mother and grandmother and will do an exemplary job of minding Georgia whenever the need arises.’
‘I don’t want to live here until absolutely necessary.’
‘You have no choice, Nina. I have already contacted your landlord and informed him you will be terminating your lease as of tomorrow.’
‘You had no right to do that!’
‘I have every right. I will be your husband in a matter of days. I would be failing in my duty to protect both you and Georgia if I did not ensure you were safely housed in my home as we begin our life together.’
‘You’re only doing it because you don’t trust me, so don’t insult me by pretending anything else,’ she spat.
‘You are correct. I do not trust you. As soon as my back is turned, no doubt you will be off with one of your men friends, but this way I get to keep Georgia safe.’
‘You make it sound as if I mean to do her harm.’
He held her fiery gaze with equanimity. ‘You may not intentionally mean to do so but your erratic, irresponsible behaviour of the past indicates you do not always act in her best interests.’
‘It seems I have little choice in all of this. You have organised it all without consulting me.’
‘All I have arranged was what we agreed on. We will live as man and wife and jointly raise Georgia until such time as we both feel the marriage is no longer viable.’
‘It’s not viable now! We hate the sight of each other; what sort of marriage is that going to be?’
There was a knock at the door and the housekeeper came in bearing a tray of coffee and biscotti. Marc exchanged a few words with her and she left with a black look cast in Nina’s direction.
‘Do not take any notice,’ Marc said once the housekeeper had left. ‘She had rather a soft spot for my brother.’
‘So, like you, she blames me for his death?’
Marc gave her a studied look before responding. ‘It is hard sometimes for those who are still grieving to see the other side of the story.’ He glanced down at the sleeping infant in his arms and added, ‘It cannot have been easy for you, left alone with a child to raise without her father’s support.’ He lifted his eyes to hers and asked, ‘Did you ever consider an abortion?’
‘I—I was talked out of it.’
‘By whom?’
Nina looked at her hands in her lap. ‘By someone who has done her best to support me through my difficult years.’ ‘A close friend?’
‘More than a close friend,’ she said. ‘More like … a sister.’ There was a small silence.
‘I am glad you did not get rid of her, Nina,’ he said. ‘Georgia is my last link with my brother. Thank you for having her. I know it cannot have been easy, but I cannot tell you how much it will mean to my father to hold Andre’s child in his arms.’
Nina gave him a weak smile as she reached for her cup, her stomach fluttering nervously at the thought of how complicated her life had become. Within days she would be married to Marc Marcello, living with him and jointly raising Georgia as their child.
For now her secret was safe—but how long was it going to be before he realised he had married the wrong woman?
CHAPTER EIGHT
NINA was glad Marc was absent when she and Georgia moved into his house. It was bad enough dealing with the surly housekeeper, who seemed intent on making Nina as unwelcome as possible. Her treatment of Georgia, however, was an entirely different story. Lucia cooed and smiled at the infant with great affection and looked for opportunities to spend time with her alone.
Nina resisted her attempts at first but after a while realised the older woman genuinely cared for Andre’s child so she allowed her to watch her once or twice while she attended to unpacking their things into the bedroom and nursery Marc had assigned.
She had handed in her temporary leave notice at work the day after Marc had left and was surprised how much better she felt knowing Georgia would not have to suffer the fear of separation any longer. The baby seemed happier already and, while she kept telling herself she was probably imagining it, Nina couldn’t help wondering if Georgia was intuitively aware that she was living in her loving uncle’s house and under his protection. Having grown up without a father, Nina knew Georgia would be blessed indeed to have someone as strong and dependable as Marc to nurture her throughout her childhood. It made the sacrifice she was making a little more palatable; her tiny niece would never know the aching sadness of not having a reliable parent to lean on.
* * *
On an impulse she wasn’t entirely sure she understood herself, the day before the ceremony Nina withdrew the last of her savings and bought herself a wedding gown and veil. Without a mother or father to help her prepare for the wedding she had dreamt about for most of her life, she decided that no one was going to stop her being a proper bride, even if the marriage itself was just a sham.
She stood twirling in front of the full-length mirror in the boutique’s fitting room, the soft organza floating around her like a fluffy cloud while Georgia chortled delightedly in the pushchair beside her.
‘So what do you think, Georgia?’ she asked as she lowered the veil over her face. ‘Do I look like a real bride?’
Georgia began to suck on one of her tiny fists, her black-as-raisins eyes bright with alertness as she peered at her aunt through the cloud of fabric.
‘Peek-a-boo!’ Nina crouched down and popped back the veil to expose her face to her niece, who began to chuckle again.
She felt a rush of love fill her at the happy sound and, leaning forward, pressed a soft kiss to the baby’s downy head, her eyes misting over with sudden emotion.
‘One day I hope you will marry a man for all the right reasons, Georgia, a man who will love you to the ends of the earth and back. The way every woman deserves to be loved.’
She straightened and, spreading her voluminous skirts around her, turned to face her reflection in the mirror. The magnolia creamy white of the gown made her eyes a bottomless grey and the tone of her skin like velvet smooth cream. She knew it was quite possibly as close to stunning as she was ever going to get.
Too bad it wouldn’t be appreciated, she thought with a little sigh.
* * *
Nina was still settling Georgia for the night when she heard the sound of Marc’s car returning, the low growl of the powerful engine as it pulled into the sweeping driveway making her stomach turn over in reaction.
In less than twenty-four hours she would be his