testing his language and liking the feel of it almost as much as the approval which showed clearly in his sexy dark eyes.
Don’t go there, Piper, she silently warned herself, determined to remember why she’d flown to Rome in search of a man whose name she hadn’t known until she’d seen that article.
‘I trust you slept well.’ As usual he was the epitome of charm and courtesy.
‘I did, thank you,’ she replied, and her guilt at keeping him from his bed made looking at him as they sat at the table almost impossible.
‘Bene.’
He poured her coffee, but for the first time since she’d discovered she was pregnant the aroma made her feel queasy and she opted for a glass of water instead. She looked up at him as he spoke again.
‘You have a busy day ahead of you.’
She tried to work out what it was she should be doing. For three days she’d been cooped up here in his apartment, more like a prisoner than a guest. She’d called her mother, who had wanted her to go straight home, as had Katie and Jo, her friends in Australia, when they’d emailed. But where was home? In London with her mother? In Sydney with her happy past? Or here in Rome with the father of her child?
Confusion added to the feeling of nausea. ‘I do?’
‘Sì. I have arranged for someone to help you select a new wardrobe of clothes.’
She watched as he drank his coffee, oblivious to anything else except what he wanted. He certainly hadn’t noticed she couldn’t face any food this morning.
‘I don’t need new clothes.’ She forced the words out, trying to focus her mind and not show this man any weakness—something she’d learnt long ago shouldn’t be done.
‘You are now my fiancée, Piper, and whilst you looked every bit the kind of woman who would ensnare my interest when we met in London, you would not convince many people now. For you to fit in with my world there need to be some changes.’
‘Well, I’m sorry to disappoint.’ She couldn’t keep the spike of hurt from her voice, especially after she had already been making an effort. ‘I don’t happen to have a wardrobe of party clothes with me. It’s not what I had in mind when I came to Rome.’
‘No, I am aware of that—which is why I have arranged for some help.’ The firm tone of his voice brooked no argument.
‘Oh.’ The croissant she’d just taken one small piece from in the hope of settling her stomach became like dust in her mouth. So she wasn’t good enough for him as she was? Retaliation surfaced. ‘I hardly see the point when I’m not going to fit into things in a few months.’
‘The point—’ he fixed her with those intent eyes ‘—is that our engagement be believed genuine, and presently I do not think it will be. I have arranged for Elizabeth Young, a professional matchmaker from America, to come to Rome and assist you. Every woman loves shopping, and with my name and funds at your disposal I’m sure you will too.’
So she was to be groomed into shape—moulded into the kind of woman who would fit the role of fiancée for the notorious Dante Mancini? And wouldn’t that be for the best, no matter how used it made her feel? If she played the role so convincingly that his business acquaintances believed that she and Dante were in love, that she was the woman who’d made him want to settle down and be a father, she would have done her part in their deal. It would leave him no option but to do his and be there for their child—long after their marriage had ended. As stipulated in the contract she’d signed, he would then pay his price.
‘Very well.’ Her voice was starchy and she saw a smile spread over his lips as she looked across the table at him, trying to remind herself why she’d agreed to this charade. Dante could never be the father figure her own father had been, but could she trust him to take even the smallest amount of interest in his child? If he didn’t there was no point in her being here now. ‘And when will we be putting this glamorous fiancée to the test?’
His dark eyes sparked dangerously at her last words. ‘This evening. We shall attend a party here in Rome. And at the weekend we have been invited to Tuscany by Bettino D’Antonio, which will be the biggest test of our engagement. He is the man I intend to seal the business deal with, and this weekend will be the time to reassure him I am a reformed man with family values. He must know you are expecting my child, and that we are in love and engaged to be married.’
She raised a brow haughtily at him, the feeling of being controlled and manipulated uncomfortable. ‘So my duties are very clearly defined? I am to look the part of one of the many women you’ve been pictured with this year alone, while at the same time convincing everyone that what is between us is enough for you to give up your scandalous playboy reputation and settle down?’
The angry glitter in his eyes left her in no doubt that she’d hit the intended mark and was now in control—of this evening’s outing at least.
‘Elizabeth is the matchmaker Benjamin Carter used. She is currently in Rome and will meet with you this morning.’
‘Benjamin Carter?’ Wasn’t he also one of the bachelors named and shamed? She tried to recall the others.
‘Sì, he was featured in that article, along with Zayn Al-Ghamdi and Xander Trakas.’
‘And are those men also marrying to save their reputations?’
Suspicion filled her. They couldn’t all be chasing a big deal, so what was it all about? If her memory served her right, one of them was the ruler of a desert kingdom.
Exasperated with herself for not paying more attention to the piece simply because she’d stumbled upon the identity of the man whose baby she carried, she rebelled against Dante. ‘What if I don’t want to be turned into one of your women? What if I don’t want to change?’
‘It is not negotiable, Piper. Elizabeth has my list of instructions on exactly what I want.’
‘What you want? What about what I want?’ Already she had lost the small triumph of being in control. How had she ever thought a woman like her could be in control of a man like Dante Mancini? He was ruthless. Just the fact that he was prepared to marry in order to secure a business deal should have set alarm bells ringing. Worry crowded in on her. If Dante was so ruthless, what did this far-fetched situation make her?
The answer came instantly. A mother trying to do the right thing by her child.
‘You gave up that privilege when you signed the contract, cara. Right now this is all about salvaging my reputation so that I can seal a deal I’ve wanted to make for several years.’
‘This is not what I intended at all. I should be back in London now, having informed you that you are to be a father—something I felt should be done face to face. I had not for one moment thought you would put forward such a preposterous deal and flaunt me like a trinket, luring someone into a business deal with exactly the kind of man he doesn’t want to do business with.’
‘Next time you read an article about me in a gossip magazine perhaps you will believe it when I am depicted as a mercenary businessman who lives hard and plays even harder.’
He moved closer to her, his eyes hardening and she knew if she was sensible she’d heed the warning in them.
‘I
