Not that there was anything wrong with the life Bree was providing her, but he could see they were outgrowing this apartment. Also, Bree did seem to do all the cooking and cleaning along with working full time and parenting an active preschooler.
He could and would elevate their circumstances purely because his daughter deserved a lifestyle on a level with his own.
Then this midge of a girl had hugged him minutes after meeting him. He’d been too astonished to hug her back, but she had opened a completely new emotion in him. She had smelled like crayons and laundry soap and some ancient scent that imprinted in his brain, telling him she was his. It was akin to what he felt toward his family, but was even more deeply rooted in personal pride and protectiveness.Mine.Not in a possessive way, but because she belongedwithhim. She was a part of him. He wanted that proclaimed to the world. He wanted her to have his name.
As he took in how small she was, how trusting and vulnerable, he felt a sharp need to be her provider and protector, while his ingrained sense of having let down his family nipped at him, making him wonder if he could be enough.
Was that why Bree had kept her from him? Did she not trust him to look after his daughter?Them?
He glanced at Bree and the carnal possessiveness that had been reignited at the hotel rose anew. He could still feel her thighs around his waist. Her lips had slaked a desperate thirst while leaving him parched for more. She’d burned like a grass fire, nearly incinerating him.
Honestly, he wasn’t sure if their chemistry was a point in favor or against marriage. His fixation with her wasn’t quite healthy, but it had lasted four years and showed zero signs of fizzling. Marrying her would make official something that was liable to happen anyway. On the other hand, as recently as this morning, he had been committed to making a calculated alliance that would benefit his family.
Bree didn’t fit that directive.
When Sofia was done eating, Bree settled her on the sofa with her tablet, asking her to wear her “ear muffins” so the grown-ups could talk.
She returned to the kitchen to eat the last bite of her own sandwich and began tidying up with jerky movements.
When the silence had gone on long enough, Jax said, “Marriage makes sense. You and I are a unit now. She’s a Visconti. She deserves to have my name and all the advantages that entails.”
“Telling your parents about her today makes sense. You’re only in town a few days. With Eve’s party looming, your mother is only going to get busier, so fine. We can tell her today. But suggesting we get married when we barely know each other is ludicrous. I’m not giving up everything that matters to me, including my independence, to go to Italy and discover that you and I can’t get along.”
“What makes you think we can’t get along?”
“The fact that you don’t listen to a word I say!”
“I’m listening. You’re worried about day care. We’ll hire a nanny. These are all solvable problems.”
“Seriously?” Bree rubbed her temples. “If I wasn’t on the wrong side of this domineering attitude of yours, I’d admire it. I thought middle children were the peacemakers.”
“Nico is the one who’s domineering. Eve is spoiled. Christo is a wild card who rarely does as he’s told. If I don’t hold my ground to get what I want, I don’t get what I want.” He brought her the empty plate from the table and held her gaze. “I prefer to get what I want.”
“Stop doing that.” Pink rose on her cheekbones. “You said you weren’t trying to prove anything.”
“I’m not doing anything. It’s just there.”
“What is? Your compulsion to score?”
“The want.”
Her breath hitched and she swallowed, then turned away to clatter the plate into the dishwasher.
“Welcome to parenthood, where you don’t always get what you want.” She clicked the door closed and turned to face him. “I can’t overturn Sofia’s life for a marriage based on nothing but geography and sex. Is that really the life you want for her? To be raised in a household where her parents married for convenience and don’t even love each other?”
Her mixture of disparagement and wistfulness gave him a pang, mostly because it struck him as naive. At one time, he had thought he would marry for love, but had discovered that particular emotion was actually very cumbersome.
“Convenience is for things that aren’t necessary. If all we wanted was sex, marrying would make that more convenient. You and I will marry because it’s practical. Being present in Sofia’s daily life is a necessity to both of us.”
“Talk about wedding-splaining.” She rolled her eyes. “What did Eve say to you when you talked to her, anyway? Is that why you’re suddenly bringing up marriage?”
“No, I thought of it all by myself.” Eve had merely reminded him about her party and what was at stake there, and the fact his mother had arranged a date for him which was why he needed to tell his parents about Sofia tonight. “But Eve’s marriage is a good example of one that’s practical.” He didn’t mention the part where he still disapproved of it.
“Eve and Dom are in love,” she protested.
“They’re in lust,” he corrected. “If they hadn’t wanted to end the feud between our families, they would have had an affair.”
“What a cynical thing to say.”