Page 41 of His Prize

Alice smiled. “I want to strike a deal.”

I shrugged. “And what is this deal?”

“My family would like to issue you a loan. From the Espositos to the Morettis. It will allow you to purchase all of your uncle’s businesses and claim them as your own, which will further cement the position you’ve taken with your family.”

“Uh-huh. And what do you want in return?” I already knew the answer before it flew out of her mouth, though.

“Israel,” she said plainly.

I jammed my tongue into my cheek. “Well, that’s quite a proposal in order to get your hands on one man.”

“What can I say? I’m in love.”

“Uh-huh. Like you were in love the first time around when you didn’t give him your real name?”

“I’m sure you don’t really have room to speak on the matter.”

I nodded. “Actually, I do. Because I told him who I was. I didn’t walk away from him or abandon him in his time of need. You know, like you did.”

Her back stiffened. “You have my offer. Now, what is your answer?”

I smiled. “My answer is for you to leave Israel alone from here on out because if you so much as try to come in between the man I love again and me, I’ll have you slaughtered.”

“Strong words coming from a woman he doesn’t love.”

“And what makes you think that?”

Her eyes narrowed. “My sources tell me that.”

I shrugged. “Get better sources.”

She stood to her feet. “That man will never marry you. He’ll never love a woman like you.”

“And yet, he’ll still marry me. I’ll make sure to send you an invitation to the wedding, all right?”

“I’ll give you one last chance to reconsider my proposal.”

“Don’t worry. I have no intention of taking you up on it. You can see yourself out the way you came, thank you.”

I picked up my pen and let my eyes fall back to the paperwork in front of me. I couldn't force Israel to love me, or even marry me, but I didn’t care at that moment. The only thing I cared about was making sure I laid down the ground rules for what might happen to this woman if she continued to pursue this line of flirtatious advances with my Israel.

“You leave me no choice, then. I’ll just have to pull out the big guns,” Alice said.

I didn’t bother looking at her. “Do you really think Israel will choose you when all is said and done? When he realizes you’ve bet against him and manipulated him into a situation he doesn’t want to be in?”

When she didn’t respond to my question, I slowly looked up at her.

“I mean, think about it. Be rational for a second. Israel is a powerful man, and he answers to no one but himself. You’re his ex. A woman who broke his heart. A woman who turned your back on him when he proposed and never once told him who you really were. Do you really think Israel is going to compromise everything he prides in himself just to marry someone like you?”

Alice blinked at me as I drew in a silent breath.

“After all of this manipulation and after playing behind his back and after orchestrating all of this, do you really think Israel would actually choose you once he figured out the lengths you’ve gone to in order to buy him? Like he’s for sale?”

Her eyes darkened. “I think a man will do anything he can when faced with having it all or losing it.” Then, she ripped open the study door and marched out into the foyer.

Her words hung in my mind, though. Just like they haunted me yesterday in the penthouse with Israel and Gio, they haunted me now. In the end, I couldn't force Israel to love me, or marry me, or do anything with me. Eventually, though, he’d have to make a choice: marry Alice and keep his station in life, or not marry Alice and lose everything. And I wasn’t sure I wanted to force that decision on him. I wasn’t sure I wanted to have any part in influencing a wonderful man’s life in that manner.

Maybe Israel and I were destined to be rivals for the rest of our days. Maybe Israel and I were simply a means to a different ending than we each saw for ourselves.

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