‘This will be perfect to travel to Tuscany and meet with Dante’s clients. Take a look.’ Elizabeth’s voice held a hint of forced enthusiasm, and she still couldn’t meet Piper’s eye as she turned to look at her.
Piper walked from the dressing room back to the mirror she’d stood in front of so many times that morning already. The outfit looked and felt expensive, as had each and every one she’d tried on, but it was the turn of the conversation which had unsettled her.
‘Are you sure? You seem worried.’ Piper’s precarious confidence was rocked at the sudden change in Elizabeth’s demeanour. She seemed unsettled by the conversation.
‘Of course. It’s exactly what Dante requested.’
‘Dante has mentioned that you arrange marriages. Are you finding brides or inventing fiancées for Benjamin, Zayn and Xander too?’
Piper looked at Elizabeth in the mirror and for a moment thought she saw a look of panic cross her face, but she continued to talk, unable to stop prying into things. This might be her only chance to find out what was really going on, so she continued quickly before Elizabeth changed the subject.
‘Each one of them, along with Dante, was named and shamed in that article as the world’s most debauched bachelors. Are they all your clients?’
‘This bag finishes it off perfectly.’ Elizabeth handed her a small bag the same colour as the dress and stood and looked at her, a light crease of worry showing on her forehead. ‘Benjamin and Zayn are my clients, yes.’
‘And is Xander going to follow their lead?’ Piper continued to press, aware that maybe Elizabeth shouldn’t be divulging such information but, she was part of this charade and had a right to know exactly what was going on. To her, this was for her child, but for Dante their marriage seemed to be about many things—except the duty of fatherhood.
‘So I believe.’
‘It does make it better, knowing it is also for a charity.’ Piper recalled the call she’d interrupted that morning, with Dante unusually speaking English. ‘I think Dante did tell you Xander would call you too.’
‘Then I shall await his call.’ Elizabeth ticked the last item off her list with great flourish. ‘We are finished here—but hair, make-up, manicure and pedicure are next.’
‘All this for one evening out?’
‘You are in a very different world now, Piper. One many women dream of.’
‘I’m not one of those women,’ she said, and the sensation of losing control of everything, including her destiny, filled her.
ELIZABETH’S WORDS HAD stayed with Piper as she’d been made over in a beauty salon. Her nails had been polished and her hair curled until she didn’t recognise herself any more. Now as she stood with her hand on the doorhandle of the bedroom, ready to go out and face Dante, wearing a dress that revealed but somehow concealed her body, those words replayed again and again.
She was in a different world. One where money bought you anything you desired—including, it seemed, a wife. It didn’t help that she wasn’t the only woman being groomed for such a role by Elizabeth for the four men in the article. She was acutely aware that she was part of a damage limitation exercise that was more far-reaching than she’d ever thought possible. Worse still, she was his choice only because she carried his child and had come to Rome at precisely the time when he needed a convenient wife.
Piper took a deep breath and looked down at the full-length gown adorned with gold and bronze sequins, wondering if she’d ever truly come up to the standard Dante very obviously desired.
Desired.
That word sizzled in her mind. Last time she’d thrown caution to the wind and worn a gown that wasn’t her own she’d ended up in a hotel room with Dante, making passionate love like long-lost lovers who’d been reunited. That night any awkwardness she’d felt about being with him, about giving herself to him, had melted like ice beneath the warmth of spring sunshine as each kiss had pushed her further to the point of no return.
But would he desire her now?
She shook her head, the soft curls making her hair bounce in an unaccustomed way. She couldn’t let such thoughts into her mind. This was a deal, not a love affair, and she was adamant she wasn’t going to make the same mistake again.
With a determined defiance she opened the door—and the sight which greeted her almost evaporated that self-made promise to ignore the man who made her tremble with just one look. She didn’t want to find Dante attractive, but standing in the doorway to his terrace, resplendent in a tuxedo, he took her right back to that night in London. He’d stood out from all the other men that evening—and not just because he’d seemed so captivated by her.
Now he looked even more devastating, and definitely more dangerous than he had then. And he was. He was a danger to her foolish heart, which was thumping so hard in her chest. As he moved towards her his eyes grew dark and intent and swept down her body, making every limb tingle as if he’d actually touched her. And she hated herself for wanting that touch.
‘Mia cara, you are beautiful.’ His voice was rough with desire, and she stood beneath his appraising gaze and knew that every hour she’d spent with Elizabeth and then later in the salon had been worth it. He desired her—even if it was for tonight only.
Right at this moment it was as if the clocks had been turned back. She felt shy, and yet as completely driven by the sizzle of attraction as she had been that night in London. Just as she had then, she wanted him to take her in his arms and kiss her.
‘I trust you are happy with all that Elizabeth has done?’ She wouldn’t let him know how nice it felt to be told she was beautiful, or how it made her remember things that could never be again. How had he made her feel so desired, so beautiful as they’d made love? Already she knew that moment of passion could never happen again. Not if she wanted to retain her emotional detachment—and her sanity.
‘Sì, I am very happy, and now I am about to show the beautiful woman who is to be my bride to all of Rome.’
His voice was soft and seductive and it sent a warm tingle sliding down her spine. He took her hand lightly in his fingertips, lifted her fingers to his lips, and without breaking that mesmerising eye contact brushed his lips over them. She wanted to close her eyes as pleasure darted around her. But that would show he affected her, would let him know that he had power over her. Her only weapon in the face of his captivating charm and practised seduction was indifference. She had to remember this was all an act, even if they were not yet in public. It was part of his plan.
‘Maybe we should keep the act of being lovers for when we are in the company of tonight’s guests.’ She forced herself to believe those words but he paused, head bowed slightly over her hand, and raised his brows at her sharp words.
‘A man should be able to tell a woman she is beautiful wherever they are.’
There was a playful glint in his eyes and a hint of a mischievous smile. He was toying with her, amusing himself, but it reminded her of his true character. He might be about to fool the rest of the world with his intention to settle down to married life and fatherhood, but she knew the truth—and she had to remember it too.
‘Shall we go?’ She pulled her hand slowly from his and stepped away from him, needing the space to think, to put her mind back in order. She couldn’t fall for his charm—not again. Look what had happened last time the evening had started with a simple kiss of the hand and a seductive smile.
* * *
Dante smiled, pleased to know that the act of indifference she’d shown him so far since arriving in Rome was just that. Underneath all that cool composure she was still the hot, sexy woman who had driven him wild with desire. The