The Salvatore Marriage Deal. Natalie Rivers

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      ‘From that, I take it that he doesn’t know—or maybe he doesn’t want to know,’ Vito said. ‘Whatever the case, from now on, as far as the world is concerned, the child you are carrying is mine.’

      ‘It is yours.’ Lily said hollowly. She felt like she was banging her head against a brick wall.

      Still holding her with his cold blue stare, Vito nodded once. The decisive movement of his head was strangely unnerving.

      ‘We will be married immediately,’ he announced.

      CHAPTER THREE

      ‘MARRIED?’ Lily echoed, staring at him in utter shock. She couldn’t believe what she’d heard. ‘If that’s some kind of cruel joke, I’m not falling for it.’

      ‘It’s no joke.’ Vito sounded completely serious, and was looking at her with the hard expression she was starting to get horribly used to. ‘We will be married at once.’

      ‘How can you even ask me that?’ Lily gasped. Six weeks ago she would have accepted willingly. A proposal from Vito would have been like a dream come true—but not any more. Now it was more like a nightmare. ‘After the way you’ve treated me, I’d be mad to marry you.’

      ‘I’m not asking,’ Vito said. ‘I’m telling you that we will be married. And, as far as the world is concerned, the baby you are carrying is mine. He or she will be brought up as the Salvatore heir.’

      Lily’s head was spinning and her stomach churning. With every passing second, Vito seemed more and more like a stranger.

      Her mother, Ellen, had warned her how men could easily change. She’d had personal experience of it. Lily’s father had gone from adoring lover to threatening brute overnight, when Ellen had told him that she was pregnant. That was when Ellen had found out that Reggie had been married all along.

      He’d already had a wife and two children, and was steadily working his way up the hierarchy of his father-in-law’s accountancy firm. Despite the sweet words of his seduction, he’d never been interested in anything more than a fling with Ellen. Her pregnancy had come as a wake-up call to him. He’d had too much at stake.

      If his wife, or her father, had discovered his infidelity Reggie could have lost everything—his family, his professional status and, most importantly to him, the prospect of taking over a successful business when his father-in-law retired.

      To protect himself, Reggie had set Ellen up in a tiny country cottage. He’d paid her rent and had made measly maintenance payments for Lily, but it was based on the strict understanding that Ellen could never reveal herself or her illegitimate child to his family.

      ‘Look, I don’t know what game you’re playing with me.’ Lily put her hands on her hips and met Vito’s gaze straight on. Her childhood had been blighted by her father’s duplicity, and suddenly she felt she’d had enough of dishonesty and secrets to last a lifetime. ‘But, whatever you’re playing at, I don’t have time for it. If you want to buy the web-conferencing system, that’s good—I need the commission to get myself a flat. If you don’t want it, that’s fine too. Just let me leave so I can get on with my life. I have to go find a permanent job.’

      She had to get a job so that she could provide for her baby. She couldn’t let herself end up like her mother. Or in a situation that was even more financially precarious.

      Ellen had been devastated when Reggie had showed his true nature. To find herself blackmailed into silence by the man she’d fallen in love with had been unbearable. But with no one to turn to for help, and a baby to consider, she had reluctantly accepted his financial support. Then, as the years had gone by, she had become increasingly dependent on it.

      With her trust in people and her confidence in herself eroded, she’d found it impossible to find a job that fitted around caring for Lily. Eventually she’d found solace working as a volunteer at the local hospice. She’d poured all her energy and love into craft projects to bring enjoyment and satisfaction to the terminally ill patients.

      Lily loved her mother dearly, even though her childhood had been extremely difficult. She knew it would break her heart if she found out that Lily was pregnant and alone. Whatever happened, she had to protect Ellen from the truth—at least until she was settled. And the first thing she needed to do was find work, so that her future seemed more secure—financially at least.

      ‘You haven’t listened to a word I’ve said.’ Vito looked so cold and unmoving, standing there, that Lily felt a sense of foreboding creep over her. ‘You don’t need a job, or a flat.’

      ‘I heard you talking, but you haven’t said anything that made sense,’ she retorted, struggling to shake off the uneasy feeling. She decided to tell him the truth about her current circumstances after all, to try and reason with him. ‘I need a job and somewhere to live, because since you threw me out I’ve been sleeping on my friend’s sofa.’

      ‘You need a husband to provide for you and the baby,’ Vito said. ‘And I am offering far more than just that.’

      ‘We’re not living in the dark ages!’ Lily gasped. His expression was forbidding, but she ploughed on regardless. ‘What are you offering that’s so great? Money? Of course it would be great to have a rich husband—but, if I can’t have a husband who truly loves and wants his child and me, then I’d rather be on my own.’

      ‘Is that really true?’ Vito asked. ‘Bringing up an illegitimate child on your own isn’t easy.’

      ‘I never said it was.’ Lily knew only too well how tough her mother had found it. It had been very hard on her too, living with someone prone to depression and panic, someone who had been only truly happy when she’d lost herself in an art project.

      ‘Think about your child,’ Vito pressed. ‘How can you consider denying him or her the possibility of growing up the Salvatore heir?’

      ‘You’re crazy.’ Lily lifted her hand to touch her blonde hair in an exasperated gesture. ‘First you accuse me of being unfaithful and deny that this is your baby—then you want to marry me and make the child your heir. What am I supposed to think? It just doesn’t seem real.’

      She looked up into his blue eyes, and suddenly the way he was looking at her sent a prickle of sensual awareness skittering across her skin. It was as if they were back in the elevator again, trapped in a tiny space that was buzzing with the supercharged electricity that was flowing between them.

      ‘This is real.’

      He stepped forward, covering the space that separated them in two strides. He still wasn’t even touching her—but she knew exactly what he was talking about.

      Sexual attraction. A wave of heat was swelling through her body, setting all her nerve endings on fire. Deep down she wanted him to touch her again, wanted to feel his hands moving all over her.

      ‘Maybe it’s real,’ Lily said, horrified by how husky her voice suddenly sounded as his gaze swept suggestively over her body. ‘But it’s just hormones—it doesn’t mean anything.’

      ‘Your virginity meant something to me,’ Vito grated. His eyes looked impossibly dark, and a muscle started pulsing on his jawline. ‘Until I found out it was meaningless to you—how quick you were to give your body СКАЧАТЬ