‘So what’s the problem?’
His eyes narrowed as he met her gaze. ‘The problem is that there has been some opposition to my involvement. Several of the shareholders have hired a PR agency to see what dirt they can dig up on me and a complicated personal life could provide fuel for their stories. Plus, one of the biggest shareholders is a man named Marcel Dupois who’s known for being extremely conservative, particularly around family matters.’ He shifted his weight slightly. ‘The last thing I need is an estranged wife coming out of the woodwork seeking a divorce at such a sensitive time.’
‘So drop your business bid.’
‘But I don’t want to drop it.’ His voice hardened. ‘It’s too important to me.’
Nicole nodded. Of course it was. Business had always been important to Rocco. The only thing which really mattered in his life. His go-to activity which took precedence over everything else, even his wife. Especially his wife. ‘So what are you expecting me to do—call off the divorce?’
‘Only temporarily.’
‘I wasn’t being serious, Rocco.’
‘But I am.’ His sapphire eyes flattened. ‘Deadly serious.’
‘You want me to delay the petition.’
‘I want you to play a role. You were always very good at role-play, weren’t you, Nicole? It’s easy. All you have to do is pretend to be my wife for a couple of days.’
‘Pretend to be your wife,’ she repeated slowly.
‘Sure. I have a high-profile weekend coming up and having you by my side as my loving spouse could be extremely useful.’
‘Useful?’
‘You don’t like the word?’
Nicole bristled. Of course she didn’t like the word, which seemed to emphasise the only thing she’d ever been to him. Someone who was convenient. Who could be picked up and put down like a commodity. She wanted to push him towards the door. To tell him to get out and never come back—until she remembered what her lawyer had said just before he’d filed the papers.
‘Your husband is a powerful man, Mrs Barberi. Not a man you’d want to get into a protracted legal battle with. Not under any circumstances. My advice to you is to keep proceedings as amicable as possible.’
She got that, but even so.
Masquerade as his wife?
Open herself up to all that pain and frustration and make even more of a mockery of their doomed marriage?
No way.
She shook her head.
‘It’s a crazy suggestion. You must realise that. I’m sorry you’ve come all this way for nothing, Rocco, but I can’t do it.’
He looked around the small scruffy room before returning his gaze to her. ‘I meant what I said, Nicole,’ he said. ‘Unless you were prepared to cooperate, I might not let you have your divorce.’
She shook her head. ‘You can’t stop me.’
‘Oh, but I can,’ he argued softly. ‘We’ve been separated for two years but you still need my agreement.’ There was a pause. ‘I’ve spoken to my lawyers and I can easily defend the petition by saying I don’t believe the marriage has broken down irretrievably.’
‘You wouldn’t...’ she breathed.
‘Wouldn’t I? I would do whatever it takes to make this deal, Nicole.’ His eyes gleamed. ‘The choice is yours, tesoro.’
Nicole heard the steely determination behind his words and thought about his power and influence. Her lawyer had been right—Rocco could do exactly what he wanted because he had limitless funds to support him, and she didn’t. Simple as that. In theory she could wait for her divorce—but she didn’t want to. Three more years of being tied to Rocco Barberi with all the memories that brought with it? Of feeling that something was always holding her back from living her life? Of being unable to stop those rugged features and sapphire eyes from invading her dreams every night? No way.
Slowly, she lifted her eyes to his. ‘And if I agreed? What would it entail?’
He didn’t react. There was no triumph on his face. His expression was as coolly impassive as ever it had been. Of course it was, Nicole told herself bitterly. Rocco didn’t change. He was still the same cold-hearted control freak he’d ever been.
‘You will accompany me to a film screening, a dinner and a cocktail party over the course of a couple of days, that’s all.’
‘That’s all,’ she repeated slowly.
‘Se. We pretend we’re giving our marriage another go. We become yet another couple who’ve come unstuck and are trying to solve our “issues”. Everyone likes a love story and it will show a more sympathetic side to my character.’ His eyes gleamed mockingly. ‘You get a weekend in Monaco and I get my deal.’
‘Monaco?’
‘That’s where I live now.’
She stared at him in surprise. ‘Not Sicily?’
‘Not any more.’
She wondered whether she had imagined the sudden bleakness in his voice, but Nicole’s head was too full to wonder why he had left his beloved homeland. She tried sifting through her options as he stared at her and wondered if she could go through with his crazy plan. Yet how ironic was it that she needed to put on a convincing performance as his reconciling wife, in order to gain her freedom from that very role?
Could she pull it off?
In public, maybe—but in private... Her tongue slid over the sudden parchment-dry surface of her lower lip. Because yes, they might still be at war but things were never that simple. They never were with Rocco. He’d been the only man she’d ever really wanted and she was fast discovering that he still was.
And even though he hadn’t given a single indication that he might feel the same way about her, there was no knowing what was going on in that unfathomable mind of his. If Rocco still felt a flicker of the desire she was feeling right now—what then? If he should turn all that blazing Sicilian charm on her, would she be capable of resisting it?
Resisting him?
She had no choice. She didn’t want her heart broken all over again and therefore she mustn’t allow her sexy husband anywhere near her. All she needed to do was remember just how bad the pain had been and how much it had hurt to walk away.
She shook her head. ‘I can’t do it, Rocco,’ she said, swallowing down the emotion which was threatening to make her voice tremble. ‘You must be able to see that.’
But if she was hoping for understanding or for a modicum of consideration then she was about to be disappointed, because his features darkened into a look of determination she recognised only too well. He nodded and glanced at his watch as if he was late for a meeting, before giving a careless shrug of his shoulders.
‘Then it looks like I’ll see you in court, Nicole,’ he said softly.
And she believed him. Rocco wasn’t a man who said things he didn’t mean. He was a man who had the power to do exactly what he wanted and if that involved using a wife he had never loved to further his business ambitions, then he would do it. He had her in a corner. He knew it and she knew it, too. Nicole’s heart was racing as she met his brilliant gaze, unable to keep the anger from her voice. ‘Very well,’ she said. ‘Since you leave me no choice... I’ll do it.’
Rocco nodded, his senses on alert as he registered her reluctant agreement. He had achieved what he had set out to achieve but now he found himself wondering why she was prepared to do something she clearly detested, just to get her damned divorce.
‘So