Page 53 of The Tycoon's Shock Heir

He shook his head and frowned. ‘It’s a long story. A guy called Claudio Calvaneo. My father’s business partner.

His fingers clasped the glass tightly and he looked up at her, and it was such a penetrating look that she was held there, transfixed in his gaze.

‘I’m going to need your help, Ruby.’

‘To do what? This is way out of my league.’

He shook his head. ‘The merger has to be handled with kid gloves. I’ve already had a first meeting and we’re going to meet again very soon. All being well, there will be even more meetings in the coming months.’

She scanned his eyes as her brain raced to keep up with him, but his face was set in that expressionless cast of rock again.

‘Arturo’s already seen you with me—thanks to Claudio’s smear—and the minute there’s a whisper that you’re pregnant the whole thing could come down like a house of cards unless we have our story sorted.’

‘You need to spell this out for me. I’m not really following.’

‘He needs to see me as a serious guy, if he’s going to entrust his company to me—someone who’s sober and sincere about life and money. I can’t be the kind of guy who gets a woman pregnant and then doesn’t do the right thing. His bank means as much to him as Casa di Rossini does to us. More. It’s the child he never had.’

The restaurant was now completely silent. Everyone had retired to other rooms and only a lone waiter moved through the space with a tray of glasses. Matteo’s eyes tracked him as he exited, and then swung round to her, pinning her with his stare.

‘I want him to think that we are more than just a casual fling. I want him to think that we are committed to one another, building a life together.’

‘By “building a life” you mean...?’

‘Totally committed to one another and our child. Marriage.’

‘Marriage?’ she blurted, and half-laughed, caught out by shock. ‘Marriage—as in...?’

‘I know what I’m asking of you is above and beyond—we barely know one another. But you’re carrying my child. And I’m fighting for my life here—for many lives. This merger will see the bank in great financial shape—no one will need to worry about money again.’

He was up now, on his feet, leaning towards her. His shirt fell open, revealing a glimpse of his chest, and his scent hung like warm velvet on a cold night, wrapping around her, drawing her in.

‘This isn’t just for my future. It’s for our child too.’

She shook her head in disbelief. This was too much to take in.

He was so close she could see tiny amber flecks in his eyes and the sleek lines of the eyelashes that encased them. His thick brown brows were knit in anticipation.

‘I know I’m throwing this at you—asking you to take me on trust...’

‘I can’t get my head round this. You need to give me time to think.’

‘There isn’t any time. We have to do it now.’

‘But how would it work? Not that I’m saying I will, but—’

He dropped to his knee and held her hands. ‘I’ve worked it out. It’s perfect. We can be married before the end of the week. Tiny, private—we can release a picture and take a few days’ honeymoon, and then we’ll head to Arturo’s villa next weekend. You’ll absolutely charm him. All his doubts will be gone.’

‘But marriage,’ she said. ‘It’s—massive. It’s not something you can pretend, or turn off like a tap. What happens after next weekend? When I go back to London and you go back to work? There’s no way we can keep it a secret then.’

‘I’m not worried about after—that’ll sort itself out. Whatever you want to do—I’m with you. But this is the single most important event of my professional career. This way the bank will be intact—not just for me, and our baby, but for his or her children too. Casa di Rossini will go on for years. My family will be secure.’

He was going so fast, was flying with ideas. She had to stop and think and be sure. She couldn’t make the wrong choice now. It was the hugest decision of her life. Everything from here on in, every future step, hung on this moment.

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