at her betrayal of trust he had seduced her and she hadn’t deserved that. Virginity had to matter to a woman who had reached almost twenty-four years of age without experimenting and he had taken it from her. Carelessly, thoughtlessly, cruelly.
‘I took advantage of you last night,’ Luciano breathed in a driven undertone. ‘I was angry. I was drunk.’
Her pale blue eyes widened and she set down her cup with a sharp little snap. ‘No, nobody took advantage of anyone last night. I’m an adult and I made a choice.’
‘You weren’t in any fit state to make a choice.’
Anger flared in her mutinous gaze. ‘I chose you because I’ve never been so attracted to anyone before. I’m not proud that I was that shallow but it was my decision!’
Silence lay thick and heavy between them in the heat and she shifted uneasily in her seat, embarrassed by her own vehemence. Had she really had to admit that she had never wanted any man the way she had wanted him? Didn’t that sound a bit pathetic?
‘The odd thing about decisions is that when you make major ones you’re always convinced that you’ll never change your mind. After my wife died in the crash I decided that I would never marry again,’ Luciano confessed tautly, unsettling her with that admission. ‘I did not want to share my life with another woman but I was grieving for the child I had lost and I did still want to be a parent. That is why I came up with the idea of a surrogacy agreement. I thought it would be a simple business contract and problem free, but I didn’t count on dealing with a woman like your sister.’
Jemima heaved a sigh but said nothing. By running away with Nicky after the birth, Julie had changed everyone’s lives and there was no getting away from that. She was, however, far more interested in wondering why Luciano had decided never to remarry. Had that been a tribute to the wife he loved? Gigi Nocella had been a gorgeous and very famous movie star. What woman could possibly follow in such gilded footsteps?
‘You have had complete responsibility for my son since he was only a few days old,’ Luciano pointed out.
‘Yes.’ Jemima snapped back to the present and shook irritably free of her futile speculation about Luciano’s past. ‘Julie went back to London to work. She told me that she earned good money working in PR and I had no reason to doubt her. I continued my teaching job and placed Nicky in a nursery nearby. Julie didn’t help with the expense and it was a challenge to afford it on my salary and my savings were soon gone. My parents were struggling too, so it made sense for me to give up my apartment and move home again.’
‘You’ve made sacrifices to look after my son,’ Luciano acknowledged grimly. ‘And you have looked after him well. I believe that you love him and that he loves you.’
‘I couldn’t help loving him.’ Jemima sighed.
‘But he’s not your child.’
Jemima grimaced at that unnecessary reminder. ‘That didn’t come into it for me.’
Luciano continued to study her with brooding intensity. ‘My son may not be your child now but he could be...’
Jemima stared back at him in bewilderment. ‘What on earth are you saying?’ she framed uncertainly.
‘I’m asking you to marry me to become my son’s mother and my wife,’ Luciano clarified with silken sibilance, his dark eyes glimmering golden as a lion’s in the sunlight. ‘It makes sense—in this situation it makes the very best sense. Think about it and you’ll see that.’
JEMIMA WAS IN SHOCK.
Luciano Vitale was asking her to marry him. How was that possible? She had joined him at breakfast expecting to be told when she would be flying home and instead he had proposed marriage. Her lashes fluttered down to screen her eyes.
‘Nicky’s mother?’
‘And the mother of any other children that we might have together,’ Luciano slotted in smoothly, catching her startled upward glance and looking steadily back at her. ‘I’m talking about a normal marriage and a family. Be assured of that.’
Jemima felt rather like a mouse cornered by a cat. His brilliant dark eyes sought out hers, level and direct and forceful, as if seeking assurance that she was listening properly. A normal marriage, a family. Shock was piling on shock. Her taut lips parted and she blurted out, ‘But you’re not in love with me!’
Luciano inclined his arrogant head to one side and compressed his sensual mouth. ‘Is that kind of romantic love so necessary to you?’
Jemima went pink. ‘I always assumed that I would only marry for love.’
‘But love doesn’t always last,’ Luciano parried wryly. ‘It can also encourage unrealistic expectations in the relationship. I can’t offer you love but I can offer you respect and consideration and fidelity. I believe there is a very good chance that a marriage created on such practical foundations would succeed.’
She thought he was quite probably the most beautiful man in the world as he leant back against that balustrade, black curls ruffling in the breeze above his darkly handsome features. He was offering her respect, consideration and fidelity. Didn’t he believe in love? Or did he still think he was in love with his first wife? She wanted to ask but it felt like the wrong moment. Luciano had proposed marriage. Wasn’t that supposed to be special? It was obvious he had thought in depth about marrying her.
‘Why me?’ she asked baldly.
‘Primarily you love my son and he loves you. I grew up without a mother and I want more for him.’
‘You could marry anyone,’ she cut in helplessly.
‘But to any other woman Niccolò would always be second best once she had a child of her own. I don’t believe you will react like that but many women would,’ Luciano fielded quietly.
‘Yet you planned his birth knowing you intended to raise your child without a mother,’ she reminded him.
‘That was before I saw the strength of the bond between you and him and the happiness that gave him.’
Having heard enough, Jemima forced a smile and rose from her seat. ‘I’m afraid the man I marry would have to want me for more than my child-rearing abilities,’ she told him stiffly, struggling to keep the little amused smile in place and mask the deep hollow of hurt opening up inside her.
Luciano dealt her a seething look of frustration and strode after her. ‘Jemima!’
Jemima didn’t turn her head, she just kept on walking away fast, unable to face any further dialogue. She was so hurt and she didn’t really understand why. Surely it was always a sort of a compliment if a man asked you to marry him? Even if you didn’t want to say yes. And at that point, she realised what was wrong. She wanted more. She wanted him to want her personally and that was downright silly as well as unlikely. So many more beautiful and sophisticated women would have snatched at Luciano’s offer with two greedy hands. Who did she think she was to be so finicky?
‘Jemima...!’ Luciano exclaimed, closing a powerful hand round her shoulder to spin her round in the picture gallery. ‘You know very well that I want you for more than that!’
Jemima sucked in a gulp of oxygen and almost lost it again as she clashed with blazing dark golden eyes. ‘Do I?’ she slashed back in challenge.
‘You do know,’ Luciano told her, crowding her back against the wall behind her.
‘How would I know?’ Jemima flamed back at him. ‘Nicky loves me and you think I’m good for him. That’s why you’re asking me to marry you.’
His white teeth flashed against his bronzed skin. ‘Last night, we—’
‘No, don’t try to drag last