his health scare, but the wily old bastard hadn’t backed down. When Cesare Valente wanted something he usually got it.
Not that he’d said anything to his father about it. At first he’d been determined not to give in to Cesare’s demand and planned on ignoring it as long as he could.
But the guilt had been getting to him. How could he let the family business be handed over to a bunch of strangers? More importantly, how could he let Nick and Matt lose their rightful inheritance?
Now he didn’t have to, he decided. He’d grant part of his father’s wish only because he’d found a suitable woman.
As for producing a child…Cesare could whistle in the dark over that. His father would be retiring within the next couple of months anyway and wouldn’t be able to maintain his control over the business. No, a child wouldn’t be a part of the bargain.
It would be just him and the blonde. If she was as captivating as she looked, and if she was available, then he’d found the woman to marry.
Olivia Cannington.
“Good evening, Mr. Valente,” Olivia replied with as much cool politeness as she could. She’d recognized Alex Valente’s name as soon as her business partner had introduced them. The House of Valente was well-known throughout Australia for its excellence in perfume design and production.
“Alex,” he invited, his slate-gray eyes sweeping over her with a burning intensity that made her heart bump against her ribs.
Holding on to her composure, she inclined her head. “Alex.” She ignored the meaningful look Lianne gave her before the other woman excused herself and took off across the room to see to their other guests.
Instead, she let a moment pass as she took a sip of her champagne and tried not to show how much this handsome man affected her.
Darn him. The party after the show was usually a lighthearted affair, with everyone relaxed and ready to enjoy themselves after all the hard work they’d put in to make the collection a success.
But Alex Valente had spoiled the whole thing for her tonight. From the moment he’d stepped into the ballroom he’d caught her attention. It was an attention she didn’t welcome or need, but he’d been staring at her so hard during the show she’d lost her focus. It had unnerved her, making her stumble over her words. That had never happened to her before.
So she wasn’t particularly happy about meeting him now. “Did you enjoy the show?” For all his sophistication, she suspected he was more at home working in his office than attending a fashion show.
“It was…fascinating.”
“Do you often go to fashion shows?” she asked, making small talk, passing the time, hearing the chatter going on around them, the music getting louder.
A wry smile entered his eyes. “No. I only came to accompany my stepmother.”
Olivia remembered seeing the elegant woman sitting next to him. “I see. Did she stay for the party? Is she here now?” Perhaps he’d go find her and not come back. She silently sighed. That was about as likely as the moon turning to cheese.
“No, my father wasn’t feeling well tonight so she decided to go home.”
“I hope he’s okay.”
Alex’s mouth tightened. “He is.”
She considered his words. “You sound certain about that.”
“My father’s very good at getting his own way,” he said brusquely.
“I have a mother who’s the same,” she joked in a moment of empathy, then regretted allowing any correlation between her and Alex.
He didn’t smile.
There was a tiny pause. Then, “God, you’re beautiful.”
She blinked, hardening her heart as it bounced inside her chest. “Oh, puh-lease.”
His jaw clenched. “Don’t prejudge me, Olivia. I don’t need to flatter to get my way. If I like something, I say so. If I want something, I ask.”
“Or take,” she said, her lip curling, instinctively knowing what sort of man he was. Yes, he was a taker. One who’d take a woman to the heights, then down to the very depths of her being.
“See,” he mocked. “You know me already.”
She drew her shoulders back. “Mr. Valente—”
“Alex.”
“Alex, look. I don’t mean to be rude, but—”
“I have a proposition for you.”
Shocked, she still managed to shoot him a withering look. “That figures.”
An icy glint appeared in his eyes. “That’s quite an attitude you’ve got there.”
She suddenly felt defensive. “It’s justified.”
A moment crept by. “So every person you meet is judged by one criterion, are they?”
His question made her angry. He must be intelligent enough to know that all her life people had used her to get to her mother. And now they used her in her own right. Not that it got them very far these days.
Not after Eric.
What a fool she’d been for marrying such a liar and a cheat. Five years ago she’d been twenty-two and unprepared for his lesson in deception. Little had she known he’d wanted her for her money, until he’d found another woman with even more money and had run off with her.
Her chin lifted. “Mr. Valente, if all this is leading somewhere, please tell me where.”
“Dinner.”
Her heart thudded once. “What about it?”
“Have dinner with me tomorrow night.”
Her heart thudded twice. “I can’t.”
He met her gaze for long seconds. “You have another engagement?”
“No.”
There was a slight lifting of his brow. “Then why not have dinner with me?”
She hated this interrogation. “How do you know I’m not involved with someone?”
“If you are, I feel sorry for him. I wouldn’t like it if my woman was attracted to another man the way you are to me.”
She sucked in a lungful of air. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not attracted to you.”
He raised his brows.
“Look, I’m sure any other woman would be only too glad to go out with you.” She drew herself up taller. “Please excuse me, now.” With that, she walked away with her back straight and her
