The Marriage Ultimatum (Contemporary Romance) Read online

  He leaned closer. “There’s only one way you’ll be a part of Matthew’s life if he’s mine.”

  “How?”

  “Marry me.”

  * * *

  Roxy blinked. Of all the things she expected Stefano to offer, marriage wasn’t one of them. “That’s crazy,” she said. “We don’t even know each other, let alone love each other.”

  “Love has nothing to do with my proposal.” Stefano lifted one brow and looked down his perfect straight nose. “This will strictly be a marriage of convenience that will satisfy my dying grandfather’s last wishes along with guaranteeing my control over Durante Enterprises as CEO.”

  Around her the sounds of people shouting evaporated and the room seemed to spin in a slow, nauseating circle. Once love had played a role between them, but it had flashed hot then turned cold overnight. Now everything in Stefano’s grim, tight-jawed expression brooked no argument. “I said I’d do anything, but surely your grandfather doesn’t want you to marry someone you don’t even like,” she said softly, stroking Matthew’s back and hoping he’d doze off now that excitement had died down.

  “He wants me to carry on the family name—though I’m sure you’re not who he’d choose, the fact that you’re the mother of my child makes you a sure bet.”

  Her heart squeezed and her tummy did a dip and roll. For the first time since they’d been accidentally reunited, Stefano didn’t question his paternity. “You’re not denying he’s yours, so why perform the test?”

  “My family—Nonno—will require proof.”

  “Great. Now I know why you don’t have a trusting bone in your body,” she said. “How are you going to explain the fact that your wife has a criminal record? I’m a thief, remember?” Stefano had discovered her arrest as a juvenile through Gian’s investigation. Still, she’d never thought she might be able to use that to her advantage to get out of agreeing to this ridiculous suggestion.

  “A thief, and a con artist.”

  She swallowed hard. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes after I ran away, but the only crime I’m guilty of where you’re concerned is the crime of omission.”

  “You had plenty of time to tell me about your past, and your brother.”

  Matthew’s breathing grew steady and she shifted his weight to cradle him into her arms while he slept. “Two weeks. A whirlwind affair is what we had, and I had no idea where it was going until the night before you asked if I’d go to Italy with you,” Roxy said quietly. “When I met you I wasn’t that scared, hungry teenager who stole to put food in my belly, but then you wouldn’t know about going hungry, would you? Or about sleeping in abandoned buildings, or dodging Johns on a regular basis. And even that was a far better situation than the home I ran away from. I wanted to forget the past and start over.”

  He paused a beat, shock registering in his raised brows. “Then you shouldn’t have invited your brother into your life.”

  “I didn’t.” Roxy sighed. “He barged into it and conned me. When will you ever accept that I’m an innocent victim?”

  “Never.” He pushed off the stairs and reached out. “You said you’d do anything to keep Matthew. Now’s your chance to prove it.”

  She didn’t want to grab his hand, but getting up while holding a slumbering toddler wouldn’t be easy without assistance. Roxy placed her palm into his, her skin instantly tingling the minute she touched his as he brought her to her feet. Every female part she’d locked into the no-sex zone screamed to life. She squashed her rebellious hormones with his blackmail attempt to coerce her into a loveless marriage.

  Roxy jerked her hand free and cradled Matthew’s bottom. “I’ll do it on one condition,” she said. And, while she’d never reveal her real fear, she’d do it to guarantee her son’s safety. Now that Stefano had barged back into her life, she had no choice. She had to use Stefano to protect her son from being discovered by her brother.

  “You’re hardly in the place to negotiate,” he said.

  No. She wasn’t, but Roxy didn’t flinch. Though Stefano wielded more power than her, she had to fight for the right future for all of them. “I know what it’s like to grow up in a home where the parents hate each other. No way will I subject Matthew to a lifetime of the same shit, and if you have any compassion at all for my little boy you’ll hear me out.”

  “I’m listening,” he said.

  “I’ll marry you and stay with you until after your grandfather passes away.” Roxy held his gaze. “Then we’ll divorce, share custody of our son—because I already know he’s yours—and go on with our lives.” Mentally, she crossed all her appendages and waited for his response, counting with every fiber of her being on the most notorious playboy of Italy to value his freedom over being shackled permanently to a woman he didn’t love.

  Chapter 4

  They’d established paternity, then quickly gotten married before traveling to Italy. Roxy had given Stefano an out, but a part of him regretted yielding to her request for a divorce. He didn’t want to share Matthew, who currently slumbered in the back seat of his Porsche Panamera. But Roxy’s assertion that their little boy deserved his parents’ happiness had struck a chord—after all, his parents had hated each other, which most likely had led to his father’s death and his mother’s abandonment afterward.

  Now, two days after expediting a passport for Matthew and getting married by a United States justice of the peace, he turned his Porsche off the Amalfi coastal highway and onto his family estate’s private driveway. He was eager to present his son to his family, and to put his Nonno’s mind at ease.

  “Almost there,” he said quietly. “How do you like it?” For some ridiculous reason he wanted his reluctant bride to embrace her new life if only to fully convince his grandfather that this marriage was the real deal. Not only that, but Phillip Anderson had other offers and though the man was a risk taker, he had a reputation of betting on sure things.

  Durante Enterprises wasn’t a sure thing yet. Not until his grandfather released his ironclad grip on the company and made Stefano CEO. At minimum, Stefano hoped to convince Gregorio to go along with his agenda to modernize their organization and factories.

  Roxy stared through the front window at the view ahead. “It’s gorgeous. Matthew will love it here.”

  Her voice sounded flat, unemotional, and then he heard the anxiety around the edges of her feigned boredom. “You’ll grow to love it here, too.” She’d agreed to remain in Italy after the divorce for Matthew’s sake, and Stefano had insisted on it if only to prevent her brother from contacting her again.

  “I’ve been in worse situations,” she said bluntly.

  “I know.” He’d lost his parents, but he’d never gone without a meal and had grown up with the best that his family’s wealth had to offer. Wealth that had steadily declined after the 2007 world economic crisis, but he had a plan that would reinvigorate the company and shoot their stocks into the stratosphere.

  He wanted his son to have everything he’d had and so much more. That was why he’d capitulated to Roxy’s condition. She’d had the courage to stand up to him for their son’s sake, and that touched him in ways that had unnerved him more than he cared to admit.

  Stefano maneuvered the car down the narrow, tree-lined driveway. “Matthew’s doing well considering all the sudden changes.”

  Roxy clasped her hands in her lap and twisted in her seat to look over her left shoulder at the toddler seat he’d installed in the back. “That’s because he’s just a little boy. To him this all a big adventure and in time he’ll have no memory of the life we had before you came back into mine.”

  The sudden movement exposed the long line of her neck and he caught a glimpse of her gorgeous cleavage through the corner of his eye. His heart thundered in his ears and blood rushed low. Cristo. He wanted her in a bad way, but no way would he ever force her into his bed. Still, if he persuaded her… no. He didn’t dare. Not when sex with Roxy would only complicate things in the future.

  “G
ood,” he said after the pounding in his heart steadied to a slow beat. “I don’t want him to remember how bad it was in that hell hole.”

  “That hell hole was my home.”

  “I’m sure you’ll adjust to the luxury of living in my family’s villa.”

  “Temporarily,” she reminded him as he took a hairpin curve which slammed her body against his and he felt her nipples pressing through the fabric of his sleeve.

  More heat shot through him, making his pants uncomfortably tight. What the hell was it about Roxy that made him want her with such ferocity? She was unlike any other woman he’d ever been with and yet eerily similar with her lies of omission.

  She scooted to the opposite side of the seat and crossed her arms. “I’m glad the city council gave me an extension on finishing my piece, especially now that I have your commission to complete first. Still, I need to start immediately after I settle in. How soon can I expect what’s left of my sculpting equipment to arrive?” she asked.

  “There wasn’t much inventory left. I ordered new materials.” He’d lessened the sting of uprooting her and Matthew by giving her an art commission for his company’s new office building in Naples. “They’ll arrive within a week.”

  “But how?” Roxy asked, shifting her gaze from Matthew back to Stefano.

  “You’d be amazed what the Internet and a capable personal assistant can do in a matter of hours.” He shrugged one shoulder. “It wasn’t a big deal.”

  “It is to me.”

  “I merely wanted to provide our son with a happy mother.”

  She sighed. “I appreciate it just the same.”

  Within another five minutes, his estate came into view. Bougainvillea and carnations painted cherry red and fuchsia onto the villa’s whitewashed walls. The scent of citrus permeated the sleek luxury car’s interior, mingling with Roxy’s distinctive aroma. A small group of people gathered outside the open double doors, waving in the late afternoon sunshine.

  Famiglia. He’d spent most of his life fighting the urge to come home, but for the first time in years he was happy to return. This time his grandfather would be pleased with him, which he hoped would guarantee the transfer of power he needed to win the deal with Anderson.

  He pulled into the circular driveway and parked the Porsche. His grandfather, still standing tall despite the weight loss he’d incurred, nodded curtly from the sidelines.

  “Your Nonno doesn’t look like he’d ever had a sick day in his life,” she said. “I bet he could harvest the lemons growing on the trees on the villa’s estate without any help.”

  “Looks can be deceiving,” Stefano said. “Gian talked to grandfather’s doctor before we left Mountain Brook. Turns out he has less than three months if he continues to refuse treatment.” That meant they’d be free and clear of each other sooner than he’d anticipated.

  Roxy twisted the hem of her designer dress between her fingers, crushing the floral printed sheath. “What are the odds if he decides to fight?”

  “It’ll buy him a year, maybe more. But Nonno is a stubborn man, and he won’t change his mind.” However, Stefano sincerely hoped his grandfather would finally step down as CEO and turn over the helm to him before that happened. Dio. As much as he wanted control of the family’s company, he didn’t want to lose his grandfather.

  “That sounds familiar,” she said, fisting the dress even tighter.

  Stefano shot Roxy a sidelong glance, then placed his broad palm over hers, stilling her movements. “Regardless of why we’re married, I’m grateful that I can give him time with Matthew before he…”

  His voice caught, and her silver eyes shimmered with empathetic tears. “You sure your grandfather will accept us?” she asked.

  “You’re my wife, and the mother of my child,” Stefano said. “He’ll love you.”

  “Does your grandfather know you married a miner’s daughter who barely swiped the coal dust from her back?” she asked. “Did you tell him that I come from a long line of poor people who barely made ends meet? That my brother is a known felon and drug dealer-slash-addict?”

  “Your past is not anyone’s business. We’re looking ahead to the future.”

  “No,” she said. “You’re only concerned about your future, not mine. You coerced me into this sham situation because you have to save your family’s dynasty.”

  “Agreed, but you’re a part of it now and my plan is working,” he said. “Phillip Anderson hasn’t cut off negotiations, and Nonno’s happy.”

  “So he bought the whole I’ve been looking for her for three years’ baloney you fed him?” she asked.

  “Si. He understands passion.”

  “Yeah right. And he accepted the fact that your wingman Gian’s attempts to find me didn’t succeed.” She unbuckled her seatbelt. “Also, your heartbreak about losing me totally explains why you’ve been jet setting with the rich and famous along with having dozens of affairs with models and actresses.”

  “Ah, keeping up with me all these years.” Stefano turned off the engine. “I’m touched.”

  “Don’t flatter yourself. The only way anyone wouldn’t know about your extracurricular activities is if she lived in a cave without Internet access or cable television.” Roxy leaned back and looked over her shoulder to check on Matthew again. “He’ll be hungry when he wakes up.”

  “If we feed him, he’ll poop more.”

  “Comes with the territory,” Roxy said as people swirled around the car, speaking in Italian and gesturing. “I didn’t expect such a huge audience.”

  “Hold on,” Stefano said. “I’ll get Matthew, then I’ll introduce you to everyone.”

  He exited the car and called out in Italian to slow down his boisterous relatives, telling them not to wake his bambino while he circled the car and opened the back door. He poked his head inside and released Matthew from his infant seat—a contraption that must have been constructed by a sadist for all the effort Stefano had put into installing the damn thing.

  His little boy—correction, their son—blinked his eyes open and clutched his new teddy. “Momma. Want Momma.”

  “You shall have your Momma,” Stefano promised as he took Matthew out of the seat and lifted him high in the air. “After I fly you to her.”

  He swung Matthew deftly behind his neck, gripping his sturdy toddler legs to steady him.

  “Whee,” Matthew cried happily.

  Roxy opened her door and stepped out of the Porsche. “Be careful,” she said while everyone pressed in to greet her.

  “He’s not made of glass.”

  She reached for Matthew and her hand brushed Stefano’s, igniting an electrical current that traveled through his entire body. Though surrounded by people, the air seemed charged with the intensity pulsing between them.

  He locked eyes with hers. Her silver eyes had grown dark, taking on the luster of pewter, before she broke contact and lowered her gaze to look at his mouth while licking her lower lip. Dio. He wanted to kiss those lush lips… they promised sex and sin and sultry nights. Nights he’d been recalling with crystal clarity ever since they’d reunited in Georgia.

  She shot him a do-not-go-there look and he tucked the thought away. Then he removed Matthew from his shoulders, closed the scant distance between them and surrendered him to Roxy. “You can’t deny the chemistry still exists between us,” he whispered.

  Her cheeks flared bright red. “It’s not enough,” she said under her breath.

  “Understood,” he said. “However if you choose to change your mind, I won’t say no.”

  “You may have a long track record of encouraging female changes of heart, Stefano,” she said. “But your winning streak ends with me.”

  * * *

  Roxy had wondered why so many people had been at the villa to welcome Stefano home. Now, as she sat under the twinkling lights that had been strung across the pergola framing the villa’s side veranda, her fraudulent marriage mocked her.

  Music played through hidden speaker
s, around her people danced and laughed, and the sound of cutlery clinked on plates. Roxy inhaled the scent of baked bread, roasting meat, and pungent tomato sauce. Several yards away on the opposite side of the dining area, Stefano’s grandfather Gregorio sat in a tan wicker chair and bounced Matthew on his knee. The other grandchildren played bocce ball on the expansive lawn located off the patio while Stefano’s cousins supervised.

  The family’s cook moved a wooden paddle into the large outdoor oven to slide in another pizza pie, smoke billowing from the chimney. Roxy would have to add more exercise to her regimen to maintain her figure considering the vast volume of food she’d probably continue to consume while living in Italy.

  “You should have warned me about this,” she said to Stefano. His entire family—aunts, uncles, cousins, and three rambunctious nephews—had converged at the villa to celebrate their wedding. They, along with neighboring lifelong friends, enthusiastically embraced Roxy and Matthew into their lives. That hadn’t made up a great deal for saying goodbye to the one true friend she had in Mountain Brook, but Maura had promised to stay in touch via emailing, texting, and Skyping. Roxy, ever leery of social media’s reach because of her brother, tearfully shared one last hug before leaving the courthouse where she’d married Stefano.

  “This is Italy. Any excuse for a celebration.” Stefano lifted his glass of Limoncello spiked champagne and drank. “Besides, I had no idea Nonno had planned a reception in our honor.”

  Something twanged inside her heart. She had never been part of such a boisterous, noisy, cheerful group. “I hate lying.” Roxy liked Stefano’s grandfather. The staff and most of Stefano’s extended, exuberant family’s instant acceptance had washed away her initial anxiety when she’d first arrived at the villa. “He’s kind, and Matthew already adores him.”