Page 41 of The Italian's Pregnant Enemy (A Diamond in the Rough)

He wanted their child.

It was a hideous thing to be jealous of her own unborn baby, but there it was. It was never about her. He was even considering her father’s feelings over hers.

It was just never about her.

“Doesmarriagemean something to you, then,” she pressed. “If you can’t tell me about love.”

“It will mean, quite simply that you are my family. And if you are my family, then you will always be mine. I will take care of you. Always.”

Taking care. It was what he saw from her father. That was how he interpreted the way her father provided for her.

That was hardly a declaration of love. But then, did she want one? She had imagined that she would get married someday, it just hadn’t been anywhere near her radar. She had imagined that she might try and settle down in her thirties. And of course she had thought that it would be a union about love. Because otherwise what was the point?

Otherwise, why? Of course, there was a bigger answer to that question now. It was about the baby.

She wondered what her mother would do. Put in this situation. Her parents had loved each other very much. What would her mother have done if she had been faced with the prospect of marrying a man who didn’t want to love, but wanted to create a family unit for the sake of their child. The truth was, life was fragile. And she had seen that firsthand. She had seen it at a young age. It had taken away some of the mystery and magic of life. The sense that things were charmed for her.

She had always thought that tragedy was something that befell others. And then it had befallen them. Their family, their kingdom had been shattered. And she’d had a little piece of life that was idyllic.

Sure, she was a nepo baby. But money didn’t insulate you from tragedy.

If she married Dario, would she find that kingdom again? Or would it be impossible because it wasn’t about love?

It is. It’s about the love that you feel for your child. And how much you want that child to admire you.

Okay. That was true. But she just wanted to matter. If she had that business deal, then she would be an accomplished entrepreneur. She would be able to show her child what being a strong woman looked like. Maybe she wouldn’t pale in comparison to Dario quite so much.

And that was the real issue. The rub. She didn’t want to pale in comparison to Dario. She’d taken a step to finding a space to be different but effective with business, when it came to her father, but...she wanted to prove herself. She wanted to be special. Did she want everything? She kind of did.

“In terms of fidelity? Sex?”

“We have chemistry,” he said. “I see no reason why we would have a marriage in name only.”

The thought lit her on fire. She had been so convinced that those wild days in the snow were the only times they would ever have together.

But now he was talking about marriage. And sex. Sharing a life. Sharing a bed.

“And if you decide that you’re tired of me?” she asked.

“I’ve never been with a woman long enough to tire of her.”

“And so to that point you actually don’t know how long it takes for you to get tired of a woman. If you do...”

“I’ll let you know,” he said.

If she ever became boring. If she ever had to be second to some random woman. The very idea made her feel sick.

“I won’t be blindsided,” she said. “Above all else, I won’t be blindsided. I know what that’s like. I was having a completely normal night. It was normal, and then my father came in to tell me that there was an accident and my mother was dead. And I have never gotten over that feeling. That you can be sitting there and everything will be just fine and the next moment your entire life is turned upside down. I will never sit there waiting for the other shoe to drop. Throw it to me first.”

He nodded gravely and she was grateful she knew Dario was honest. Above all things, he was honest.

“You have my word. And the same applies to you. We can renegotiate the terms of the marriage at any time. But when it starts, we will be faithful. We will have a small child anyway.”

She frowned. “Do you intend to be a hands-on father?”

“Yes. I do. Your father has been an incredible mentor to me. He is perhaps the only thing even near a father that I’ve ever experienced. I wish to give the same to our child.”

“Yes, but you know small children don’t want to hear about acquisitions and spreadsheets.”

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