‘Not even close,’ Rafael answered coolly. ‘Trust me.’
Never. The limo had pulled up to the hotel. Allegra gazed at the elegant building overlooking Central Park, and felt as if she were about to enter a prison, one to which Rafael held the keys. She couldn’t go inside, not willingly.
‘We can discuss the necessary arrangements,’ she told Rafael in as dignified a tone as she could manage. ‘Of course I want to accommodate you as best as I can. I want our baby to have an involved father as much as you do. A completely involved father. We can work something out, Rafael. I know we can.’ A bellboy came forward to open her door. ‘But I also want to return to my life,’ Allegra said as firmly as she could. ‘My apartment, my job. Now that we know things are okay there’s no need for me to stay here.’ And she could use some distance from Rafael and his autocratic commands, his unsettling presence. She moved to get out of the car and Rafael stayed her with one powerful hand encircling her wrist, the proprietary touch shocking her.
‘You don’t understand, Allegra,’ he informed her in a lethal tone. ‘You’re not going back to your apartment or your job or even your life. As soon as possible you’re coming to Sicily to live with me...as my wife.’
ALLEGRA STOOD IN the centre of their hotel suite, her whole body trembling. As his wife? The words he’d spoken moments ago in the limo reverberated through her. With no choice but to get out of the car and deal with this head on, she’d stalked up to their suite and then turned to face him, every atom of her being radiating outrage. Shock. Fear. Rafael, on the other hand, looked cool, calm and completely in control.
It was impossible. He was impossible. How could he issue such an outrageous command without batting an eyelid? Even now Rafael was shrugging off his jacket and heading for his laptop, as if it were a normal business day. As if their whole world hadn’t shifted on its axis.
‘Rafael.’ Her voice trembled along with her body. ‘You can’t... I can’t...’
He didn’t even look at her as he answered, ‘You can and you will.’
‘Just like that?’ Her voice rang out. ‘You want me to leave everything and marry you? That was your proposal?’
Irritation flickered across his face as he turned to her. ‘Don’t be melodramatic.’
‘Don’t be insane,’ she snapped, well and truly angry now. Anger felt better and stronger than the fear that surged right beneath it. Because even now she was afraid Rafael would win. He was richer, stronger, more powerful. And so far he’d achieved everything he’d wanted. Nothing stood in his way, and yet Allegra clung to her ground. She had to, because the alternative... ‘I’m not marrying you.’
Rafael regarded her levelly for a long, tense moment. Then he shrugged and went to sit down on one of the plush sofas. ‘Fine, let’s talk about it. What are your alternatives, do you suppose?’
On shaky legs Allegra moved over to the sofa opposite him and sat down. ‘To stay in New York and live my life.’
He arched an eyebrow. ‘Working in a café for most likely little over minimum wage, and living in a studio flat in an insalubrious neighbourhood?’
‘It is not insalubrious,’ Allegra snapped. ‘For heaven’s sake, talk about being melodramatic.’
‘I am not having my child raised in a near-slum.’
All right, maybe her street wasn’t the fanciest in Manhattan, but it was hardly a slum. ‘You’re being ridiculous.’ In all sorts of ways.
‘And I think you’re being ridiculous,’ Rafael countered coolly. ‘What about your job, Allegra? How do you propose to continue working with a newborn baby, one that will have particular and crucial needs at the start, and maybe after that as well?’
‘I’ll take time off, naturally.’ She lifted her chin, determined to remain strong. Defiant. She’d meet every challenge he threw at her.
‘And do you get maternity benefits with your job? Proper healthcare coverage?’ He sat back against the sofa cushions, the twist of his mouth belying the dangerous emotion she saw sparking in his eyes. Despite his level tone, his reasonable demeanour, she had the feeling that he was angry. Very angry.
He was also right. Her job provided healthcare, but it wasn’t the best coverage and she wouldn’t get much time off after their son was born, plus she couldn’t afford the kind of childcare she knew she’d need. All things she hadn’t yet had time to think about, much less sort out. She looked away, silently fuming, saying nothing.
‘You clearly haven’t thought this through, Allegra. Unless you intended to rely on your mother’s scant generosity?’
‘No.’ The word was squeezed out of her throat. She hadn’t thought through all these details, at least not enough, mainly because she’d just been trying to struggle through her pregnancy.
And now, thanks to Rafael, she had to think about them immediately. Allegra took a deep breath, trying to steady her jangling nerves. ‘I’ll admit there are some difficulties,’ she said as calmly as she could. ‘But that doesn’t mean the only other option is living in Sicily as...as your wife.’ A blush swept over her entire body at that thought. Marriage. In all the possible scenarios she’d envisioned, that one had never even crossed her mind. Yet Rafael now seemed to think it was a foregone conclusion.
‘Then name one option that would be acceptable to us both,’ Rafael stated.
‘I can’t,’ Allegra retorted, ‘because you’re being so unreasonable.’
‘I’m being unreasonable?’ Rafael leaned forward, his tawny eyes glittering. ‘What if you are the one who is being unreasonable, Allegra? You seem to think it is your right not to have to make any changes or adjustments to your life circumstances for the sake of your child. Is that reasonable?’
‘I didn’t say—’
‘You want to stay in your tiny apartment, walking up and down six flights every day?’
‘Plenty of women—’
‘Where would you even keep a stroller? Or a cot? That place is minuscule. There isn’t room for a baby, and you know it.’
Her lips trembled and she pressed them together. ‘I could get a bigger apartment, then.’
‘Can you afford it? Or are you expecting me to pay for it—to fund your freewheeling lifestyle while I take whatever scraps I can? What do you think is going to happen?’ Rafael demanded, his voice like the lash of a whip. ‘I fly over to New York for occasional visits? I don’t get to know my son until he’s school age? Impossible. I refuse.’ He glared at her, his whole body radiating both determination and rage. ‘That is not how I intend to be a father.’
Allegra glared back at him, caught between misery and fury. All right, yes, she saw there were problems with her unthought-out plan. Of course she did. But she hated being railroaded into a huge decision, with Rafael expecting her to acquiesce instantly. Marriage...she’d never considered it. Never wanted to be that close to a person, that vulnerable—and why would Rafael?
But of course that wasn’t the kind of marriage he was talking about. Even so Allegra couldn’t countenance it. Couldn’t let Rafael have that much power over her. Because, she knew, it would be power. Already he affected her too much. Made her want too much.
‘You’re not being fair,’ she said quietly. ‘I’m only four and a half months pregnant, and I’ve barely been able to keep a mouthful of food down until this last week. I’m sorry if I haven’t worked out every last detail of my plan yet. And anyway,’