‘Is there no one else who can be the lucky guy?’ he asked.
His question about her sexual appetite had resulted in blushing speechlessness, which in turn had tightened his skin. How innocent was she? Surely not completely? No woman got to her early twenties without having at least one boyfriend.
‘Or am I the only one you thought of?’ he prompted when she didn’t immediately reply.
‘I don’t know anyone else to ask,’ she said in a small voice. ‘And not many men have your kind of money.’
He stared at her for a second and then laughed, enjoying her guileless ability to cut him down to size. ‘Well, at least you’re honest about why you’re here.’
No sex, please—she just wanted his hard cash. And in return he’d get cold, ruthless revenge.
‘We have to keep White Oaks for Susan,’ she said earnestly. ‘She’s vulnerable.’
Once again her loyalty struck that infinitely raw spot he thought he’d buried deep.
‘If you do what Brian wants and marry Carl you can keep it all,’ he pointed out with ruthless precision, even though every cell rebelled at the thought of her going anywhere near that jerk.
‘I shouldn’t have to sacrifice the rest of my life,’ she said fiercely. ‘They’d expect the marriage to last. But it’s my life. It would ruin my chances of having my own family in the future.’
Alessandro grimaced inwardly. Of course she wanted a family of her own. He couldn’t think of anything worse. He had no intention of marrying and having a family. Because, much as he’d disliked her judging tone, she was right—he had plenty of options and he liked variety in his life. One woman for the rest of his days just wasn’t going to happen.
‘I’ll work for them. I’ll care for her,’ she added vehemently. ‘But who I marry? That’s my choice.’
More memories stirred, adding to the discomfort brewing within him. He remembered those little digs at dinner. Brian always reminding her to appreciate their generosity in fostering her… Asking her wasn’t she so lucky to have been chosen by them? Telling her she’d better remember that and always be grateful, because otherwise…
He realised now that Brian’s underlying threat that it could all be taken away from her at any moment had been constant. He had no idea what had happened to her birth parents, but he recalled the mutinous looks she’d sometimes cast at Brian. He also remembered the pleading looks her foster mother had sent her—stopping Katie’s rebellion. Keeping the peace, keeping Brian happy, had been essential to her survival.
At the time Alessandro had been too consumed by his own bitter agony of loss to think about intervening. Now he remembered it, and a lick of shame at the emotional abuse he’d witnessed burned.
He’d done nothing about it. But he’d only been a teen himself, struggling to cope with what was on his plate already. And she’d seen something of what they’d done to him, hadn’t she? She knew that he’d argued with them, knew that he’d left and never looked back.
He released a tight breath, uncomfortable that she knew anything of that time. It wasn’t something he ever thought about, let alone discussed. Even so, she intuitively understood that part of him still wanted to make them pay. She understood because she had that need in common—even if she’d never admit it.
Fact was, she’d been lonely and insecure most of her life. Shy, romantic, idealistic. Of course she wanted a family of her own when she was ready and met the right man. Carl Westin wasn’t that man. But nor was Alessandro.
‘You know what it’s like to lose something—someone—you love,’ she said softly. ‘Won’t you help to stop that from happening to me?’
Yeah, she knew a little too much about him.
‘Are you trying to appeal to my generous nature now, Katie?’ he asked, as idly as he could.
‘I’m sure you can be a kind person…’
Meaning he wasn’t most of the time? Her challenge sparked the desire to retaliate, and he was almost undone by the urge to haul her to her feet and into his arms. He’d show her kind…
The surge of desire was shocking. And wrong. She already had the unwanted attentions of one man—she didn’t need them from another. He’d teased her before, but he had no intention of bullying her into anything intimate with him. No more of those jokes.
He curled his fists and shoved the inappropriate response back down deep inside. ‘So, either I do this because I’m kind, and I don’t want to see you suffer the same loss I did. Or I do it out of petty revenge…’ He sent her a perplexed look. ‘You can’t have it both ways, Katie.’
‘I only said that about revenge to persuade you.’ She looked adorably shamefaced. ‘I played it that way because you’re the only person I could think of who might possibly have a reason to say yes to me.’
He sucked in a sharp breath. Yeah, she was alone and isolated. Didn’t he know how that felt? And he’d had far more than her. For the first fifteen years of his life he’d had happy, loving parents…she’d never had that.
His concern for her grew when he thought of Carl Westin’s reputation, of Susan’s frailty, of Brian’s greed…
His father hadn’t been frail, but he’d been vulnerable in his own way. He’d badly wanted love. And he’d been taken advantage of just as Susan had.
Alessandro wasn’t going to let Katie be forced into marrying anyone. She needed some time out to see her way free of this puzzle. And she needed to feel in control. She obviously didn’t feel that she could stand up to Brian for long Maybe Alessandro could be her temporary fix-it guy. Just not exactly in the manner she envisaged.
He straightened up decisively. ‘What exactly did you have in mind? Do we announce our engagement immediately?’
Her jaw dropped. ‘You’re going to do it?’
‘For my sins. Yeah, why not? I’ll marry you.’ He nodded.
She looked like a terrified deer. She sat utterly still, with her head slightly angled, as if she sensed an unseen predator, was keenly aware of the lethal danger she was in. But then she moved. She almost dived into her bag and rapidly pulled out a piece of paper covered in handwritten notes.
‘I’ve thought it all through…’
She was suddenly a bundle of nervous energy, as if she was afraid he’d change his mind at any minute.
Of course he was going to change his mind—but she didn’t need to know that yet.
‘I imagine you’ve thought of everything…’ he muttered.
‘I didn’t sleep well last night, and I had all the train journey to finish researching.’ She was so engrossed in her explanation she didn’t even seem to notice his sarcasm.
‘What’s the plan?’
‘Las Vegas.’
He stared at her. ‘In America?’
‘Yes.’ She smiled brightly, as if he were a bit dim. ‘That’s the one. If we have our paperwork with us then it can be very quick. There’s an all-in-one hotel and chapel venue. It’s open all hours.’
Wow. She made it sound unmissable. And so urgent.
‘I imagine you do have your paperwork with you?’
‘I do.’ She nodded. ‘There’s a flight later this afternoon. Nonstop. We could catch it…’ She petered out as she saw the distaste on his face.
‘Are you talking about a commercial flight?’ he asked.
‘Um…yes.’