year of my son’s life. I don’t intend to miss any more.’ His clipped words revealed gleaming white teeth as they bit out each word. Involuntarily Carys shrank a little.
‘I just meant—’
‘I know what you meant.’ He paused, scrutinising her as if she came from another planet. ‘Leo is my son. My flesh, my blood. I refuse to be a part-time visitor in his life while he grows up on the other side of the world.’
‘But marriage!’ Her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth on the word. ‘The idea is absurd.’
Alessandro’s eyes darkened. His face stiffened and his lips thinned. ‘I assumed you’d prefer that to the alternative.’
‘Alternative?’ Carys’ voice was a cracked whisper as foreboding slammed into her. That look in his eyes…
‘A legal battle for custody.’
CARYS’ fingers twisted into knots as he said the words she’d been dreading. She swallowed convulsively, forcing down fear. ‘I’m his mother. Any court would give me custody.’
‘You’re sure, Carys?’ An infinitesimal shake of his dark head accompanied the words, as if he pitied her naivety. ‘You have a good lawyer? As good as my legal team?’
Plus the Mattani millions to back them up. The words were unspoken, but Carys heard them nonetheless.
‘You wouldn’t…’ Her voice petered out as she met his unblinking stare. He would. He’d do what it took to get Leo.
Jerkily she swung away, frantic for breathing space. For time to marshal her jumbled thoughts. Her chest cramped so she could barely breathe and her head pounded as tension crawled up her spine and wrapped clammy fingers around her temples.
He was wrong. He must be! No court would take a child from his mother.
And yet…Carys stumbled to a stop in front of a massive window commanding a view of the city. Alessandro’s wealth and power were far beyond anything she or her family, if they were so inclined, could gather. He lived in a world of stratospherically rich, privileged and well-connected families. The normal rules didn’t apply to them.
Did she dare take Alessandro on? She should have nothing to worry about. She was a good mother. Leo was thriving.
Yet the poisonous seed of doubt grew.
The thought of their cramped flat in a run-down neighbourhood, the best she could provide on her meagre wage, haunted her. Would that be held against her? Contrasted to the vast resources of the Mattani family?
There were so many ways Alessandro could get what he wanted, even without gaining sole custody. What if he refused to return Leo after a visit? If he kept him in Italy?
Carys didn’t have the resources to go there and demand her son back. She didn’t have the power to force Alessandro’s hand. She’d be at his mercy. Who knew what delays Alessandro could throw up to stop her seeing Leo while their lawyers slogged it out?
A shiver rippled through her and she lifted a hand to her throbbing temple. This was the stuff of nightmares.
The man she’d loved wouldn’t have threatened her like this, no matter how they’d parted. He’d never have robbed her of her baby.
But that man was gone. The realisation felt like someone had carved a part out of her heart. Alessandro had no memory of the happiness they’d once shared. To him she was merely a stranger who had what he wanted.
She longed to hold Leo, safe and warm in her arms. Hide away from Alessandro and his demands.
But there was no hiding.
‘My preference is to keep this between us, Carys.’ His deep voice came from just behind her, making her jump. ‘I wouldn’t choose a court battle. That would be a last resort.’
He expected her to be grateful for that? Hurt and fear coalesced in a surge of desperate anger till her body hummed with the effort of containing it.
‘Well, that’s a comfort! I feel so much better now.’
Long fingers grasped her shoulder, their heat branding through her clothes. She resisted but his grip firmed and she turned.
Was that compassion in his gaze?
She blinked and the illusion disappeared. Alessandro’s face was angular, hard, powerful. He would never back down.
‘You come swanning into our lives and think you can run roughshod over everyone.’ Her words tumbled out so fast they slurred. ‘As if only you know best.’ Carys drew herself up to her full height. ‘Your demands are outrageous. You’ve got no right—’
‘I have the right of a father.’ His cool words stopped her tirade. ‘Remember that, Carys. You are no longer the only one with a say in how our son is brought up.’
Our son. The words were a douche of cold water dousing her indignation. Reminding her how vulnerable she was.
‘I offer you marriage, Carys. Position, wealth, a life of ease. And—’ he paused ‘—a home for our son. He will grow up with both parents. In a secure, stable home. What objection can you have to that?’
‘But we don’t care for each other. How can we—?’
‘We have the best possible reason to marry. To bring up our child. That’s something worthwhile and enduring.’ The words sank into the silence between them as his touch warmed her shoulder. She wanted to pull away, but his intense gaze pinioned her. ‘There is no better reason to wed.’
Except love. The futile little voice rang in her ears.
Carys ignored it. She’d given up believing in seductive fantasies of romance two years ago.
Yet she couldn’t douse her dismay at the matter-of-fact way Alessandro spoke of marriage for the sake of their child. Perhaps the aristocracy were accustomed to convenient marriages, brokered for family or business reasons.
How could she marry a man she didn’t love? A man who’d betrayed her trust?
Her lips twisted ruefully. Look where her fantasies of love had got her!
‘Unless…’ His fingers tightened then dropped away. His head jerked up and he regarded her down the length of his aristocratic nose, his look coldly accusing. ‘Unless you’ve become attached to someone here?’
Carys hesitated, tempted to grab at the excuse. But she couldn’t lie. Once already she’d tried to deflect Alessandro’s interest by pretending to have a boyfriend, but she hadn’t been able to maintain the pretence.
She shook her head, shifting back a pace and turning her head away. He was too close for comfort.
Did he know how distracting he was, standing in her personal space, radiating energy like a human generator? The hairs on her arms prickled just being so near him.
‘Good, then there’s no reason to refuse.’
‘But what if…?’ Carys bit her tongue, furious that she’d begun to blurt out her wayward thoughts. Furious she was even listening to his bizarre reasoning. She must be mad.
‘What if…?’ His whisper made her shiver and stiffen as the warmth of his breath caressed her cheek.
For three heartbeats, for four, Carys remained silent. Then unwillingly she continued. ‘What if one day you meet someone you…care for? Someone you want to marry?’
Even now, cured of the love she’d felt for Alessandro, the thought of him with someone else squeezed her insides into a tortured knot of distress.
‘That won’t happen.’ Certainty