Latin Lovers: Italian Playboys

She followed him down the spacious hall where even more priceless artworks were hung in stately array, each one reminding her of the amount of money Marc Marcello had at his fingertips if ever he decided to run her out of town—without Georgia.

‘In here.’ Marc held the door open for her. ‘Take a seat and I will summon Robert Highgate to join us.’

Nina took one of the plush chairs facing the huge desk and, positioning Georgia into a more comfortable position against her, began to look around.

It was a huge office by anyone’s standards. It was lined with bookshelves along two walls, the thick volumes rich with both a wealth of knowledge and variety of taste. Unless they were there simply for show, which somehow she seriously doubted, they indicated Marc was a man who read widely, for apart from the obvious financial and legal tomes she could see some recent bestsellers as well as some of the classics she’d read and loved herself.

It gave her a funny feeling to have read the same books as him. It gave her a connection with him she wasn’t all that sure she wanted to have.

The door opened behind her and she turned in her seat to see a man of about fifty-five or so enter the room carrying a document folder under one arm. Marc was close behind with one of his impossible-to-read looks on his handsome face.

‘Cara, this is Robert Highgate. Robert, this is my fiancée, Nina Selbourne.’

Nina began to rise but Robert hurriedly gestured for her to stay where she was on account of the baby nestled against her.

He shook her hand instead and looked down at the sleeping infant, his warm light brown eyes visibly softening.

‘What a little treasure. I have two daughters of my own. They are both my life and my daily torture.’ He grinned at her meaningfully.

Nina gave him a tentative smile. ‘It’s not easy being a parent.’

‘No, but worth the struggle, I can assure you. My eldest is getting married in a few months; it seems only yesterday she was in ankle socks arguing with her mother over the length of her school uniform.’

Nina gave a somewhat forced little laugh. She had very clear memories of similar scenarios between Nadia and their mother but none of them were particularly amusing. She saw Marc stiffen at the sound of her chuckle, his dark eyes so piercing she had to look away in case he saw more than she wanted him to see.

‘Now,’ Robert said as he opened the folder on the desk and glanced across at Marc. ‘I’ve drawn up the document the way you suggested but perhaps I should explain it to Nina first?’

‘Explain away.’ Marc’s tone bordered on uninterested.

Nina felt herself shrinking in her seat in embarrassment. She had no real understanding of legal terms and wasn’t sure if she’d be signing her life away. Surely the least Marc could do was go through it with her as well?

‘As you wish.’ Robert opened the file and laid it in front of her. ‘Don’t be put off by all the legalese, Nina, this is pretty straightforward. This simply states in the event of a divorce you agree to a reasonable settlement but not a division of Marc’s total assets.’

Nina did her best to read through the wordy text but it made little if no sense to her. She kept searching the document for Georgia’s name, hunting for some sort of clause Marc might have inserted to take the child away from her if the marriage was to fold, but as far as she could make out there was none.

‘This bit here states that you will receive an allowance during your marriage.’ Robert Highgate pointed to the relevant section.

Nina stared at the figure nominated there and swallowed. ‘That seems a little … excessive.’ She looked up and caught Marc looking at her strangely. She lowered her gaze to the documents once more, her heart pounding in her chest. She would have to be much more careful in future. Marc wasn’t a fool. If he began to suspect he was being duped.

‘If you could just sign here.’ Robert Highgate indicated the dotted line for her. ‘And over here.’ He turned the page and she dutifully signed. ‘There, that’s all right and tight.’ He closed the document and bundled it back in its folder as he turned to Marc, who was leaning against the filing cabinet behind his desk, his dark eyes still trained on her.

‘May I offer you both my heartiest congratulations on a happy and fulfilling marriage?’ Robert said. ‘I know these are sad times but much joy can come about in spite of it.’ He cleared his throat discreetly and added, ‘How is your father, Marc?’

Marc pushed himself away from the filing cabinet. ‘He’s coping … just.’

Robert Highgate tut-tutted sympathetically, ‘A terrible blow, and so soon after your mother.’

‘Yes.’

Nina privately thought Marc’s one word response spoke volumes. While he showed little emotion on his face, something in his voice suggested to her he was a man who felt deeply for all that. It made her see him in a new light. Not so much a hard-driven businessman who wanted to conquer the world, riding over people obstructing his way, but a man with a need to protect those he loved and felt responsible for.

He would make a wonderful father for Georgia.

The thought slipped into her mind and once in there took hold until she could think of nothing else. Visions of him with Georgia during her first Christmas, her first tooth, her first steps, her first day at school … her first boyfriend.

‘What do you think, Nina?’ Marc directed his gaze towards her.

Nina stared at him in blank confusion. ‘Sorry?’

‘Robert suggested we draw up a separate trust file on Georgia. Andre’s estate now belongs to her, but until she comes of age—’

She got to her feet in sudden agitation, holding Georgia close to her chest to avoid disturbing her. ‘I told you I’m not interested in Andre’s estate.’

Marc sent her a quick warning glance but it was too late. Robert Highgate had seen the exchange and was at liberty to make his own conclusions.

‘I’ll have the necessary papers drawn up,’ he informed Marc diplomatically as he reached for the door. ‘Again, I wish you both well.’

‘Thank you,’ Marc said and, turning to Nina with an arch of one brow, prompted, ‘Nina?’

She gave the lawyer a wan smile. ‘Thank you, Mr Highgate, for explaining everything to me.’

‘No problem.’ Robert held out his hand and grasped hers firmly. ‘You know you’re nothing like I thought you’d be, if you don’t mind me saying.’

‘I—I’m not?’ Nina’s stomach rolled over. God, had Nadia met him too at some stage?

‘No,’ Robert said. ‘But then you know what those gossip columns are like; they make that stuff up to sell the next magazine.’

Nina’s heart instantly sank. She shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot as she tortured herself with images of her scantily clad sister cavorting at God knew which of Sydney’s nightclubs in order to have her photo plastered over some seedy gossip page.

She lowered her gaze to the child in her arms and affected a demure pose. ‘That’s all behind me now. I’m a changed person.’

‘I congratulate you for it,’ Robert Highgate said. ‘Bringing up a child is a very maturing experience. Do you have any family—parents and so on?’

She shook her head, carefully avoiding his eyes. ‘No, no family. My father died when I was a baby and my mother died three years ago.’

Marc frowned as he listened to the exchange between his lawyer and his soon-to-be wife. He suddenly realised how little he knew of Nina and her background. He knew she was known to be an unprincipled whore who had made it her life’s goal to hunt down a rich husband to set her up for life, but he hadn’t known she had grown up without a father and had so recently lost her mother. His own grief reminded him of how devastating losing a parent could be and something inside him shifted a little ground. Yes, she was undoubtedly an opportunist and she sure as hell had driven his brother to his untimely end … but she clearly loved Georgia, which still somehow surprised him.

The door closed behind the lawyer and Georgia began to grizzle. Nina extracted her from the baby-carrier and, reaching for the nappy bag, looked across at Marc who was standing in a brooding silence behind his desk.

‘I think she needs her nappy changed,’ she said.

‘Would you like me to do it?’ he offered.

Nina stared at him in silent horror for a moment. How could she let him change Georgia’s nappy with the faint smudge of bruises still on her tiny chest?

‘No,’ she said flatly.

Something came and went in his eyes and she knew she had offended him. He wanted to be a father to Georgia, a real and involved father who would feed and change a baby without rearing away in distaste as some men would do. But until those bruises were gone she had no choice but to keep him well away from Georgia without the shield of her clothes.

‘There is a bathroom two doors down,’ he said, moving from behind the desk. ‘Do you have what you need with you?’

Nina gave him an imperious look as she held up the well-stocked nappy bag. ‘I have done this before, you know.’

Marc didn’t answer but he held the door open for her as she stalked past him with her head held high. He watched as she made her way down the corridor to where the bathroom was situated, Georgia snuggled on one of her slim hips, the baby’s tiny hands buried in the length of her shiny blonde hair.

His own fingers itched to do the same, to see if it was really as silky as it looked, but with a silent curse he thrust his hands deep into his trouser pockets and let the office door click shut as he went back his desk.

He ignored his chair and instead turned to look out of the window as he had done thousands of times before, but this time he saw nothing of the harbour.

All he could see was a pair of smoky grey eyes.

CHAPTER FIVE

NINA took as long as she could in the bathroom seeing to Georgia’s needs. She needed time to think. So much was happening and happening so fast she hadn’t had time to get her head into gear.

She felt a fool for not anticipating people such as Marc’s receptionist having met her sister previously. And no doubt there would be other people she’d have to pretend she knew. And that little slip about the allowance— Oh, God! Her stomach clenched with tight fingers of fear as she thought of her charade coming unstuck in such a way.

She daredn’t even think about Marc’s reaction.

He turned from the window when she returned to his office and, in spite of her determination to keep cool and calm under pressure, she couldn’t help a tiny flip-flop in her belly at the sheer height and presence of him as he came towards her.

‘It has occurred to me that there are quite probably things Georgia needs, such as new clothing or toys,’ he said, taking the baby from her with gentle hands. ‘I have some time available now, so we could go shopping if you like.’

Nina stared up at him, uncertain of how to answer.

Georgia was in desperate need of clothes as she was growing so fast, but shopping with Marc as if they were any normal couple …?

She lowered her gaze and pretended to be re-sorting the changing bag to avoid looking directly at him as she hunted her brain for some sort of excuse.

‘Since your own clothes are designer labels, surely your child is entitled to the same?’ A hard edge had crept into his voice.

Nina tensed as she pushed the lid back down on the baby wipes container. She’d picked up one of Nadia’s cast-offs thinking it was one of the more conservative of the collection she’d left behind, never dreaming it was actually haute couture.

‘This old thing?’ she quipped with a disdainful glance down at the cashmere she was wearing.

Marc’s mouth curled. ‘I suppose you only wear an outfit once before it is thrown to the back of the wardrobe?’

Nina almost laughed at how close he was to describing her sister’s attitude to clothes. She could have afforded designer wear herself if she’d been given a dollar for every time she’d picked some discarded article up off the floor after one of Nadia’s wild nights out.

She tossed her long hair behind one shoulder and smiled up at him saucily. ‘Is it my fault I get bored easily?’

‘You know something, Nina Selbourne?’ He gave her a cutting look. ‘I am almost looking forward to being married to you so I can teach you how to behave. You are the shallowest young woman I have ever had the misfortune to meet. I think it will be a great pleasure to bring you to heel as someone should have done a very long time ago.’

Nina pretended to shudder in trepidation. ‘Oh! I am sooo scared of you, Mr Marcello.’

His black eyes glittered with contempt. ‘If I was not holding Georgia right at this minute I would be tempted to begin lesson one right here and now,’ he bit out.

Nina’s eyes flashed at him with false bravado. ‘You lay one finger on me and you will be the poorer for it.’

‘It would be worth it, I can assure you,’ he shot back.

‘You think?’ She tilted her chin at him. ‘Your brother certainly thought so.’

Nina knew the only thing that saved her at that point was the fact that Georgia was in his arms. Her tiny starfish hands were clutching at the stark whiteness of his business shirt, her little elfin face looking up at him as if in wonder, her brown-black eyes so like his own with their thick fringe of lashes.

Nina saw the struggle he had to control himself playing out on his features as he stood before her. The line of his mouth was grim, his jaw tight with suppressed anger and his eyes sparking at her as if he wanted to torch her to the ground right then and there.

The intercom on his desk broke the brittle silence.

‘Mr Marcello?’ Katrina’s cheerful tone entered the room like a light being switched on in pitch blackness. ‘Your father is on line two.’

Marc handed Georgia back to Nina without meeting her eyes. ‘Excuse me.’ He turned his back to attend to the call.

Nina reached with one hand for the baby pouch where she’d left it earlier when she heard the first few words of Marc’s conversation with his father. Even though he spoke his native tongue rapidly she had studied the language long enough to pick up on the general gist of the exchange.

‘Yes,’ Marc said. ‘I have found a solution. I am marrying her on the fifteenth.’

Nina couldn’t hear what his father said in response but she could more or less piece together the rest on Marc’s reply.

‘No, she insists she does not want any money or anything to do with Andre’s estate … I am not sure but I suspect she is trying to butter me up by pretending to be a changed person. Yes, I have arranged an allowance but it will not take her long to work her way through that, I am sure. Yes, I know she is everything that Andre said and more. I know, I know … she is an unprincipled whore …’

Nina had trouble keeping her reaction disguised. She silently fumed and vowed revenge on his insulting assessment of her as she eased Georgia back into the pouch.

‘Yes … I know, I will watch my back, and yes.’ Marc gave a distinctly male chuckle ‘… my front as well. Ciao.’

Nina smiled guilelessly as she turned back to face him. ‘So, where are we going shopping?’

A short time later, as they began trawling the department stores as well as exclusive designer boutiques, Nina had cause to wonder if she had catapulted herself into some sort of shopaholic’s dream. Marc’s credit card was flashed so many times she thought she was going to go blind with the amount of currency going past her eyes as he bought item after item for his niece. Beautiful clothes, expensive toys, special feeder cups for when she came off her bottle—all were parcelled off to be delivered to his office.

When it was time for Georgia’s next feed Marc suggested they go to a quiet café where she could feed the baby whilst they had a coffee and a sandwich.

Nina wished she wasn’t starving so she could refuse, but she’d missed breakfast due to Georgia’s crying bout and her stomach was letting her know in no uncertain terms it was well and truly time for a pit stop.

They were soon seated in a booth in a café overlooking the lively shopping mall below. The rushing lunchtime crowds and talented buskers performing below added to the high energy of the city.

Georgia’s bottle was soon heated and brought back to the table by a young waitress. Once she’d gone, Nina was about to offer her niece the bottle when she caught Marc’s dark gaze on her.

‘Would you like to feed her?’ she found herself asking him. His dark eyes held hers for a brief moment of silent hesitation. ‘Sure, why not?’ he finally answered and, standing up, reached across the table to gather Georgia in his arms.

Once he was seated, Nina handed him the bottle and a soft cloth she used to catch any drips. She leaned back in her own seat and watched as he positioned the teat for Georgia’s searching mouth.

Seeing the way he held the child set off a funny reaction deep inside Nina’s belly, like the sudden unfurling of a tightly wound ball of string. She shifted in her seat and forced herself to look at the menu the waitress had left for their perusal but the words all seemed a blur to her as her thoughts shot off in all directions.

Marc was so at ease handling his niece and she wondered if he had ever wanted children of his own. If so, why was he tying himself to her in a loveless paper marriage?

She knew Italians had a deep sense of family, and the value of children in their lives was high. But surely marrying a stranger, even though she was supposedly the mother of his brother’s child, was going a little too far in terms of familial duty?

It had occurred to her that he might annul the marriage at some point in the future and apply for full custody of Georgia. It was an uncomfortable scenario as she knew she wouldn’t stand a chance once her true identity became known. She would be seen as a scheming, manipulating liar and no magistrate would hand her niece to her, even for access visits, let alone assign her full or partial custody.

Suddenly her earlier gnawing hunger faded and she pushed the menu away with a slump of her shoulders.

‘Not hungry?’ Marc’s eyes met hers across the table.

‘I’ll just have coffee.’ She shifted her gaze from his. ‘Black.’

The waitress came over and took the order from Marc, lingering to hover over the baby who had by now finished her bottle.

‘How old is she?’ the young girl asked. ‘Four months,’ Nina answered.

The waitress smiled as she looked between the baby and Marc. ‘She’s like her daddy, isn’t she?’

It was on the tip of Nina’s tongue to say that Marc wasn’t actually Georgia’s father but something stopped her at the last minute.

‘Yes,’ she said instead, shocked that she hadn’t seen it before now.

Georgia did have a look of Marc about her, seemingly more so as each day passed. Her olive colouring was one thing, so too the dark eyes and silky black hair. But she could also see evidence of herself and Nadia in the rosebud mouth and the slightly retroussé nose and wondered if he could too.

The waitress bustled off to get their coffee and Nina watched as Marc eased Georgia up against his shoulder, gently patting her tiny back as if he’d done it a hundred times before.

‘Have you given any thought to having a child of your own some time in the future?’ she asked before she could stop herself.

Marc’s expression gave little away but Nina was sure she saw a flicker of regret pass through his dark-as-night eyes before he quickly disguised it.

‘No.’ He shifted Georgia to his other shoulder. ‘I had not planned on marrying and doing the whole family-rearing thing.’

His answer intrigued her. She knew there were plenty of sworn-in life members of bachelordom about the place, but somehow Marc didn’t seem the type.

‘Was this your father’s idea for us to marry?’

His eyes met hers, holding her questioning gaze intently. ‘What makes you say that?’

‘I …’ She fiddled with the edge of the tablecloth, doing her best to avoid the full force of his all-seeing eyes. ‘A hunch, I guess. I’ve heard Italians are pretty big on kids.’

‘I suppose that is why you sent him that letter to twist the knife a bit,’ he said, leaning forwards on the table so the other diners couldn’t hear his harsh accusation. ‘Did you ever consider how much you were hurting an elderly man who is already doing his best to cope with unbearable grief?’

Nina wished she could tell him the truth. It hurt so much to have him think so poorly of her when in fact it had been her sister who had acted so unthinkingly.

‘No.’ She let the edge of the tablecloth go and raised her eyes to his condemning ones. ‘No, it was very insensitive of me. I’m sorry.’

Her answer seemed to surprise him. If it had come from Nadia, it would have surprised even her, Nina thought wryly. She couldn’t recall a single time when her sister had apologised for anything; ‘I’m sorry’ just wasn’t in her twin’s vocabulary.

‘Sometimes sorry is not enough,’ he said, leaning back again, settling Georgia more comfortably against his shoulder. ‘Once the damage is done there is no going back to undo it.’

Nina felt sick at the truth of his curt statement. How much damage had she already done with all the lies she’d been forced to tell on her sister’s behalf?

‘Yes, I know.’ She stared at the salt and pepper shakers standing side by side like small china soldiers on the table in front of her. ‘I guess I was so confused at the time. I hardly knew what I was doing.’

There was a small silence broken only by the soft gurgling of Georgia, who had found the breast pocket of Marc’s business shirt, her tiny fingers clutching at the fabric in delight.

‘You deliberately tried to trap my brother, did you not?’ he upbraided her. ‘By using the oldest trick in the book.’

She wished she could deny it on Nadia’s behalf but knew that too would be yet another lie. Her sister had deliberately set about to snare Andre Marcello by fair means or foul. Nina had been appalled when Nadia had told her of her plan to trap him, casually revealing the way she’d sabotaged a whole box of condoms in order to bring about a pregnancy as if it was all a game, not real life with the potential for irreparable damage to occur. Nina still tortured herself with her own guilt at not being able to talk her sister out of it. Maybe if she’d spent more time with her, had counselled her to think a little further ahead than the next moment of pleasure.

‘It was a stupidly impulsive thing to do …’ she finally said, her voice low, her eyes downcast. ‘I had no idea of how it would backfire on … me.’

Again her answer seemed to surprise him. She chanced a look at him and found his hard accusatory expression had softened slightly as he looked across at her, the child in his arms nestling against him preparatory to sleep.

‘There are few of us who get through life without one or two regrets,’ he offered.

Nina gave him a rueful smile. ‘Don’t tell me the great Marc Marcello admits to getting it wrong now and again?’

He held her gaze for a moment before looking down at the child in his arms. ‘I have made one or two errors of judgement in the past but I have no intention of ever doing so again.’

Nina wondered if he bore the internal scars of a broken relationship which had made him wary of emotional commitment. The more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed. What better way to take himself out of the game than to marry for convenience, not love? He would be free to liaise with whomever he chose without the pressure of formal commitment due to the piece of paper that would soon be documenting her as his wife.

His wife.

She swallowed a lump of panic as she thought about all such a relationship would entail. Even though he’d stated implacably that the marriage would not be consummated, they would still be living in the same house which would force certain intimacies on them both regardless.