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That he would use an innocent child as a pawn in his game of vengeance made her blood fire with fury. What kind of despicable monster would do such a thing?
Yet a different kind of heat suffused her as she imagined sharing a bed with him.
She’d never shared a bed with anyone in her life. To think of sharing one with a man as overtly masculine as Gabriele, of being burrowed under the same sheets...
‘The evidence against my father. I want it destroyed now, not when we divorce.’
He shook his head. ‘If I destroy it now there will be nothing to stop you from backing out of our deal.’
‘Isn’t my word good enough?’
‘You’re a Ricci. Your word is as useful as a chocolate teapot.’
A choked laugh razed her throat and she coughed.
One day she would learn not to laugh at inappropriate moments. Unfortunately it wasn’t something she had any control over and completely involuntary.
Finally daring to look at him, she found his quizzical gaze upon her.
‘You’re amused?’ he asked with an arched eyebrow.
‘I have a warped funny bone.’
A glimmer of light flashed in his eyes but it vanished as quickly as it came.
‘Do you have any other issues with the contract?’ he said.
‘Other than the entire document itself?’
‘Anything specific,’ he clarified drily.
‘I have issues with everything but no, not anything specific.’
‘Excellent. Then let’s get it signed and we can start our new life together.’
* * *
The helicopter took them straight to the airport where Gabriele’s flight crew were waiting for them in his private jet. Before long they were in the air and on their way to New York.
‘Why New York?’ she asked. She’d assumed they would go straight to his home in Italy, what with them both being Italian.
‘Because we can marry in a couple of days there.’
‘That soon?’
‘We’ll get the paperwork sorted on Monday and marry on Tuesday.’
She swallowed.
Everything was moving so quickly it felt as if she’d filled up on rocket fuel.
‘After we’ve married we’ll go to Florence. I’m launching a new car at my headquarters there in a month’s time so I need to be on site.’
‘I thought Mantegna Cars were based in the US?’ Despite herself, her curiosity was piqued. As a child she’d loved it when her father had taken her out for a drive in one of his new Mantegna Cars. They’d always been so glamorous and powerful, ahead of their time in the gadget department. She’d always been proud that so many of those gadgets had come from her father’s factories.
‘Florence is Mantegna Car’s birthplace and it’s always been our European headquarters.’ There was a hardness in his face. ‘My parents loved their time in America but with retirement around the corner, they wanted to go home. As you know, my father died before he could make it back. Being incarcerated solidified the decision for me. Florence is my main home now, and it’s back to being the headquarters of our entire company.’
A gleam came into his eyes, dispelling the hardness. ‘Just think, come the launch, you might have the seed of life growing inside you.’
‘But the nightmare won’t be over, will it?’ She crossed her legs as an unexpected ripple of heat pulsed low in her. ‘A child will tie me to you for the rest of my life.’
‘As long as you keep to the contractual obligations you signed, there will be minimal contact between us when we part.’
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