His Merciless Marriage Bargain. Jane Porter

I got it right?”

      Offended, she stiffened. “You’ve created a fascinating story, but it’s not true.”

      “Do you share the same father and mother as your sister?”

      “Yes.”

      “So you were raised in the same...struggling...blue-collar household?”

      She heard the way he emphasized struggling and winced. “We were not a blue-collar household. My father was a respected engineer for Boeing. He was brilliant. And my mother managed the front office of a successful Seattle dental practice.”

      “Not Seattle, but Burien.”

      So he had done some research, and he’d found her family wanting.

      She battled her temper, not wanting to lose control again. It was one thing to become muddled by a kiss, but another to allow his words to stir her up. “Yes, Burien, just a few miles south of downtown Seattle. Living in a suburb was a lifestyle choice. That way my mother could work and be available to see us to the school bus before school, and then meet our bus afterward. She juggled a lot, especially after our father died.”

      “Money was an issue.”

      Her smile was gracious. She would be gracious and serene. “Being middle class is not a crime, nor does it reflect badly on my family. Wealth doesn’t make one superior.”

      “It does give one advantages...physically, socially, psychologically.”

      “But not morally.” She held her smile, hiding her fury. She’d met many arrogant, condescending men at AeroDynamics but they’d never shamed her for having less. “Morally you are not superior in any way. In fact, I’d say morally you are inferior because you’ve refused so far to do what is right. You’re more concerned about protecting your corporation than your nephew—”

      “We were discussing wealth and its advantages, and you’ve turned it into an attack.”

      “Not attacking, just stating my position.”

      “That you are morally superior because you’re of the working class?”

      “If I’m morally superior it’s because I didn’t turn my back on my nephew like you!” She drew a shallow breath, stomach churning. “I knew your brother. He was my client and he’d be devastated that you’ve rejected his son—”

      “I haven’t rejected my nephew, and you could not have known my brother well if you thought he was pleased in any way about your sister’s pregnancy. Her pregnancy devastated him. It hastened his death, so before you lecture me about moral superiority, why don’t you look at your own family?”

      Her lips opened and closed but she couldn’t make a sound.

      Giovanni rose. “Your sister is a classic gold digger. She wanted a rich man and she found one in Antonio. She didn’t care that he was ill and dying. She didn’t care that she was making excessive demands. All she wanted was her way, and she got it. So save your speeches, Rachel. I know just who you and your sister are. Master manipulators, but I won’t be played. Good day. Addio.”

      He walked out, leaving the door open behind him.

      * * *

      Giovanni climbed the staircase two steps at a time, anger rolling through him, anger and outrage that a stranger would try to tell him who his brother was and what his brother wanted.

      Growing up, Antonio had been Giovanni’s best friend. They’d had a younger sister but she’d died at six, which had only brought Antonio and Gio closer together. Antonio and Gio were so close that Gio, an introvert, didn’t feel the need to have a lot of other friends.

      They ended up attending the same boarding school in England, and then the same university. Antonio loved business and finance while Giovanni preferred engineering and construction, which made them a good pair, and they both looked forward to working together at the Marcello corporate office, which is what Gio did right after graduating from university. But Antonio went on to graduate school, earning an MBA from Harvard. Giovanni had been the one to convince their father that it was a smart investment, sending Antonio to America for the prestigious program, as he’d be able to bring his knowledge back to Marcello corporate office afterward.

      It didn’t work out that way, though. While at Harvard, Antonio was introduced to a big financial firm on Wall Street and they were impressed with his mind and his linguistic ability—Antonio, like Giovanni, spoke five languages fluently. The firm courted him, wanting him to work for them in their Manhattan office. Antonio accepted the offer as it was extremely lucrative and involved a great deal of travel and perks that he wouldn’t get working for the family business.

      Giovanni was shocked by his younger brother’s decision. It’d felt like a betrayal. Marcello Enterprises was in trouble. Their father had made years of bad decisions, and Giovanni, the practical, pragmatic engineer, needed his brother to help save the company. Without Antonio they could lose everything. But Antonio wasn’t eager to work for a company that was floundering—even if it was his family’s.

      Gio met Adelisa right after Antonio accepted the position in Manhattan, and he’d shared with her his disappointment, and his frustration. She’d been a good listener. Too good a listener, actually, as she would later share company secrets with others, undermining everything Gio had worked so hard to accomplish.

      Of course, not all women were like Adelisa. But when you were one of the wealthiest men in Italy, it was hard to trust any woman’s motives.