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CHAPTER THREE

L ILI WANTED TO fade into the background, not be the focus of this man’s silvery-grey gaze, narrowed so intently on her face. Her very bare and unremarkable face. ‘I’m afraid it really is that simple. I want nothing more than peace and security. A child of my own.’

He sat down again, long legs spread under the table. Lili pulled hers together and slanted them away in case they touched.

‘And it would be your child too,’ she pointed out.

Something flashed across his face for a second but then disappeared. ‘Our child then.’

Lili’s heart beat a little faster. Our child. ‘I really don’t need much. I could be happy here with our child.’

‘Your parents, you don’t see them?’

She shook her head. ‘We’re not in touch.’

‘Siblings?’

Lili avoided his eye. ‘Two brothers, but again we’re not close.’

‘You mentioned a wealthy background, yet you’re working as a housekeeper. Didn’t you receive any inheritance?’

Lili shook her head. ‘No, I didn’t want anything from them.’

Corti made a sound. ‘It must have been bad. What happened?’

The last thing she wanted was to reveal how two sets of parents hadn’t deemed her lovable enough. She looked at him reluctantly. ‘The truth is that they valued my brothers over me and my brothers valued taking their place in the family business over a relationship with me. They had no use for me so I decided to cut ties as soon as I was old enough.’

‘So it’s just you now?’

Lili nodded and tried not to let that impact her like a barb. It was just her and had been for some time. And she was okay with that. And now, if she was lucky enough to have a child of her own…maybe she could finally start to heal that wound of abandonment and ensure that her own child never felt the lack that she had.

He said, ‘I’m sorry that you’ve had to walk away from your family, I can’t imagine it was easy.’

Afraid he thought she was looking for sympathy, she said, ‘I’m not angry or resentful or sad about my experience. I’m happier now that I’ve cut ties. Unfortunately I didn’t have a positive childhood but that’s one of the reasons why I want a child, to show them the love I never received.’

‘And maybe find someone who will love you back?’ Corti said quietly.

Feeling prickly and exposed she said, ‘Is that so bad? To want to feel loved?’

He shook his head. ‘Not at all, it’s something everyone should experience. I had it with my parents but then it was taken from me and I learnt not to look for it again. Loving and losing is not something I would recommend.’

‘I would ensure our child knows only love and security,’ Lili said fervently.

Corti was silent for a long moment. And then he said, ‘Well, you’ve given me a lot to think about.’

He was dismissing her. Lili put her hands on the arms of her chair. ‘I’ll go then, leave you in peace.’ She stood up. ‘Goodnight, Signore Corti.’

He stood up too. ‘Goodnight, Lili.’

She walked away quickly, her skin prickling all over as the full enormity of what she’d just done landed in her belly. Of course there was no way he would choose her. He would undoubtedly find some titled Italian socialite who would be only too happy to bear the Corti heir. He was probably chuckling into his wine right now at the very thought of allowing his family lineage to be tainted by a woman who had chosen menial work over an inheritance.

But at least he hadn’t laughed in her face.

* * *

‘Signore Corti wants to see you in his office, Lili.’

Lili looked up from where she’d been sitting in the villa’s managerial office. She’d been ordering supplies online. Her insides went into free fall. She’d seen Corti at breakfast briefly but he’d been on his phone speaking in rapid French and had barely acknowledged her.

Maybe, Lili had thought to herself, her suggestion last night had been so outlandish that he wasn’t even going to countenance it? But now he wanted to see her. Maybe he’d had time to reflect on the audacity of her behaviour and was going to fire her?

She went up through the villa and once outside his office she heard voices. She recognised the solicitor’s voice from yesterday. She was going to be fired.

Before she lost her nerve, she knocked lightly on the door. The voices stopped, and Corti said, ‘Come in.’

Lili pushed the door open and the solicitor stood up again to greet her, except this time he held out his hand and said, ‘Buongiorno, Miss Spirenze, I’m Giorgio Macchi.’

Lili looked at his hand. She had no choice but to touch it or seem incredibly rude. She steeled herself and let their hands touch for as brief a moment as possible before pulling her hand back and putting it behind her back. Her heart was beating too fast.

She looked at Corti who was frowning slightly but then his expression cleared and he said, ‘Join us, Lili, take a seat.’

She sat down in the empty chair beside the solicitor, hands in her lap. Corti was standing by the window, tall and imposing. Dressed a little more formally today in dark trousers and a tucked-in light blue shirt, top button open.

She was a little surprised to realise that the man in front of her didn’t really resemble the partying playboy she’d read about in the papers. There was an air of…something like boredom about him. Jadedness.

He said, ‘I’ve been talking to Signore Macchi about our conversation last night. I need to know if you were serious?’

Lili’s throat felt dry under the gazes of the two men. It had been a long time since she’d been the center of anyone’s attention. If she ever had been. Even the kidnappers hadn’t really noticed her, apart from manhandling her and making crude comments.

She nodded. ‘Yes, I was.’

‘Well, in that case, I accept your proposal.’

Lili blinked at Corti and then repeated a little breathlessly, ‘You accept…my proposal.’

There was a flicker of amusement at the corner of his mouth. ‘Weren’t you the one who came to me and offered yourself in marriage?’

‘Yes, I guess I was.’ She felt light-headed again.

The solicitor beside her cleared his throat. Lili tore her gaze from Corti to look at the man who was taking out a sheaf of papers from a briefcase. ‘In that case, if you are serious about becoming Signore Corti’s wife and potential mother of his child, you’ll need to sign a prenuptial agreement.’

Corti said, ‘The agreement is pretty straightforward, protecting Corti assets naturally, but you will receive a generous allowance and leave to live here if we are successful in having an heir. We will share custody of our child but he, or she, will reside here with you as the main carer. We will both have a say in major decisions to do with schooling etc. If there is no child, you will also receive a generous settlement and you will be free to seek a divorce and move on with your life.’

Lili looked at the solicitor and back to Corti, a little bewildered with all of that information. ‘It’s that easy?’

Corti shrugged. ‘Pretty much. We’ll need some documents from you of course, and if the prenuptial agreement is to your satisfaction then we’ll proceed with the marriage. It’ll take place here in a month’s time.’

‘A month!’ Lili squeaked.

‘There’s no need to delay is there? I’m not due to race again until Monte Carlo in a couple of months, and that should give you enough time to interview a new housekeeper.’

Lili felt like a parrot. ‘A new housekeeper. Why would we need a new housekeeper? I thought the whole point was that I could stay here?’

‘You can, but you’ll be my wife, so you’ll be the chatelaine of the villa, not an employee.’

She said falteringly, ‘I…yes of course, it wouldn’t be appropriate.’ She hadn’t even thought that far ahead but now it seemed to be hurtling towards her with the speed of a train.

The solicitor stood up and said, ‘I’ll leave the agreement here for you, Miss Spirenze. When you’ve looked it over you can let me know and I’ll come back to witness your signature. Here’s my card so you can contact me.’ He held out a card and Lili plucked it from his fingers, careful not to touch him again.

He left the room. Now it was just her and Cassian Corti. He came to the other side of the desk and sat down in a louche sprawl. Now he did more resemble the playboy figure.

He said, ‘If you’re having second thoughts, Lili, I’d prefer if you could let me know now before we invest any more time in this.’

Lili shook her head faintly. She knew this was an outrageous thing that she was offering to do but after this last year in the villa she knew that this was where she wanted to be. And if she had a child too, she would have all she could possibly need. Security, love and peace.

She looked at her boss. ‘Are you sure?’

A hard expression flitted over his face. ‘You heard the conversation yesterday. This is what I have to do if I want to keep the villa in the Corti name and family. As much as I have ambivalent feelings towards it, I don’t want to be the one who is responsible for letting it go.’

Lili knew the value of the properties in Lake Como. Clearly he didn’t need the money from a sale.

She forced her mind to think, to ask some pertinent questions. ‘But what if you change your mind? What if you want to marry someone else?’

‘That won’t be an issue because I never had any intention of marrying, or having a family.’

‘But haven’t you always known about this rule?’

He looked a little sheepish. ‘Yes, but I have to admit that when the time came I thought I’d be able to let this villa go.’

‘But you can’t.’

His expression shuttered again. ‘If I have the option to keep it then I will try.’

Lili stood up now, feeling too agitated to stay sitting. She put herself behind the chair, hands on the back of it. ‘But if I can’t have a child then you’ll lose it all.’

Corti shrugged. ‘Then I’ll have done my best. I’ll let it go and become even wealthier. You’ll be well compensated for your time.’

‘But you’ll lose this connection to your family.’

His eyes flashed dark silver for a moment, as if she’d pressed on a nerve. He said, ‘I lost that connection the day they all died.’

Lili cursed herself. ‘Of course you did, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to suggest—’

He held up a hand. ‘I know you didn’t.’ He dropped his hand. ‘The truth is that it’s my own fault that there’s only a year left to secure the villa in my name.’

‘Maybe you hoped you’d find someone who would change your views on marriage?’ Lili suggested.

He barked an unamused sounding laugh. ‘A cute but naive idea. No. Not in a million years. I knew what would be involved in keeping the villa and I hadn’t relished the prospect of finding the elusive woman who would agree to a marriage in name only. And , agree to have a child.’

He continued, ‘But then I returned here yesterday and met you and now I have the very real prospect of keeping the villa in the Corti name. An unexpected, but welcome, development. You couldn’t be more perfect for what I need right now.’

And potentially, forever. Lili swallowed. ‘If this does work out, what would your day-to-day involvement be?’

‘Minimal. I have a busy life and work schedule. I’d check in with you, naturally, and the child, but I’d be happy for you to be his main carer.’

‘It could be a girl,’ Lili pointed out, feeling a need to press against that nerve again. He sounded so…sanguine. As if they were not discussing an actual potential human being.

‘Whatever the sex of the child, it will want for nothing.’

Except a father, Lili felt like pointing out. ‘You really meant it when you said you didn’t want to have children, a family.’

‘Yes. I had a family and I lost them. A child is integral to keeping the villa but I will not be involved. I will be more like a benevolent guardian protecting his, or her, inheritance until they come of age.’

Lili really couldn’t argue with that. She was willing to agree to an arrangement where she was going to be a sole parent. And he had explained his reasons which were pretty compelling. To suffer a trauma like he did, it would put anyone off risking that kind of loss again.

They were both guilty of fulfilling their own needs. But Lili knew she could love a child enough for two parents. It would want for nothing. She’d make sure of it.

‘Okay,’ she said.

‘Okay?’ Corti lifted a brow.

Lili nodded. ‘I’ll read over the agreement but I’m sure it’ll be fine, Signore Corti.’

‘I think that you can call me Cassian. After all, you know all my secrets now.’

Lili gulped. That felt very intimate, which was ridiculous after what they’d just been discussing. She responded, ‘I…okay.’

Then she reiterated, ‘I really don’t want anything more than a place to live and a child of my own.’

‘What was it you said last night? Peace and security?’

Lili nodded, feeling slightly defensive. No doubt he must think her very unambitious or parochial. ‘You have your wishes and desires and I have mine.’

* * *

As Lili’s words sank in, Cassian had to admit to a sensation of hollowness inside him. Did he have wishes and desires? Professionally, he was still passionate about racing but he couldn’t deny that the relentless pace and schedule was becoming wearying. He was realising that he wanted to spend more time improving the sustainability of the motor racing industry.

And, the board of the Corti Group had been making increasingly frequent noises about needing his more consistent involvement.

But outside of that not much had caused him to desire much or wish for anything. He had everything. He could literally afford anything he wanted.

Nothing was unobtainable. Not even a convenient wife who was prepared to have his child so he could hold onto his inheritance. Without even making love. Which wouldn’t be a problem if the potential wife in question hadn’t sparked this current of awareness ever since he’d seen her stepping out of the pool.

It confounded him that he found her attractive when she was wearing another shapeless ensemble today. Dress, or skirt, he wasn’t sure which it was, falling almost to the ground. Sneakers. A loose cardigan. Long hair. Unstyled.

But now he knew what was underneath. A voluptuous and full-bodied woman. Why was she hiding herself like this? Under clothes and in the confines of a vast villa?

He wanted her. But did she want him? His instinct said yes. She was skittish around him. Colour stained her cheeks and she looked at him as if she’d never seen a man before. Fascinated and also something else he couldn’t quite put his finger on.

He’d had dreams all night about peeling the white one-piece off her body and baring her to his gaze, dreaming of her breasts and nipples. Dreaming of spanning her waist with his hands and positioning her between his legs so that he could explore her breasts and taste her.

The awareness that had been humming in his blood since she’d entered the room, threatened to ignite fully. He did have a desire. He desired this woman. He clenched his jaw in a bid to control it, not welcoming this completely unexpected development.

He had the sense that Lili was the one woman who he might not be able to have but he wasn’t even going to test that theory. There was too much at stake here. And if they could work this agreement the way she seemed to be happy to, it couldn’t be better for both of them. He’d done business deals with more emotion involved than this.

He said, ‘Take the agreement and have a look at it, if you want to engage your own solicitor that’s fine.’

Lili picked up the sheaf of papers and held it to her chest. Cassian noticed the line of her jaw. He sensed a steeliness about her then and had to admire her for her balls in suggesting this audacious plan.

She said, ‘I’m sure that won’t be necessary but I’ll let you know if there’s anything I’m not happy with.’

‘I’m leaving this evening, I have to go to a motor race meeting in Miami.’

‘But you’re not racing?’

He shook his head. ‘No, as I said, not until Monte Carlo. I’ll be in Miami in my role as shareholder of the governing body and to have some meetings about new sustainability measures.’

‘l’ll get in touch with you…via your assistant as usual?’

Cassian pulled out a piece of paper and scrawled a number. ‘This is my private cell phone, use this if you need me.’

He handed it over the desk and saw how Lili looked at his hand for a moment before taking the very tip of the edge of the paper and snatching it out of his fingers. She’d looked at his hand like that yesterday and he’d noticed that she’d been slightly funny about shaking the solicitor’s hand too.

He pushed it aside. He was imagining things. Lili was perfect. He’d hardly ever see her once they were married, especially if they used IVF to have a baby.

Lili was at the door now but she stopped and turned back to face him, not quite looking him in the eye. ‘Um, obviously you’re going to continue to live your life…in all aspects… I would just ask that if we marry you’d be discreet?’

It took Cassian a moment to realise what she was saying and then he welcomed the interruption to thinking about the reality of a child.

But he was surprised to find that the first thing he felt was not relief that his prospective wife was giving him free rein to keep taking lovers. Lovers who had singularly failed to ignite much more than a spark lately. Yet she was igniting a spark. More than a spark.

He assured himself this attraction was an anomaly. An aberration. He said smoothly, ‘Of course, and I would ask the same of you.’

But the thought of her taking a lover, of some other man peeling that swimsuit from her body…gazing at her luscious curves instantly sent something dark and heavy into his gut.

Her eyes met his and they were very blue. There was almost a kind of a wry smile on her mouth and Cassian suddenly wanted to know what she would look like if she smiled properly. She said, ‘That really won’t be an issue.’ And she’d slipped out of the door before he could ask her to elaborate on that enigmatic response or wonder why the hell he wanted to see her smile.

Two weeks later

‘Signore Conti?’ said the voice into Cassian’s ear. He felt a frisson of awareness go straight to his groin. So much for this desire being an anomaly or an aberration.

Cassian responded, ‘Didn’t we already have this conversation? It’s Cassian.’

There was a pause, and then, ‘Okay… Cassian.’

The frisson of awareness got even stronger to hear Lili say his name in that low voice. Man, he was losing it. He looked out of his office window in Rome. From here he could see the Colosseum and it never failed to give him a sense of satisfaction but today he barely noticed it.

‘What can I do for you, Lili?’

‘Is it really necessary for a stylist to come and fit me for a new wardrobe and a wedding dress? I can go into the boutique in the village and get a dress. I’ll try not to embarrass you if that’s what you’re concerned about, I know my sense of style is a little, um…outdated.’

Cassian could agree with that when pictured the long flowing garments she wore and could well imagine her choosing the same but slightly different in cream or white for the wedding. He wanted to see her body revealed, like he had that night when she’d been swimming. That white swimsuit that had become an almost talismanic image, invading his thoughts at the most inappropriate moments.

‘A photographer will be there for the wedding and the pictures will be sent out globally.’

‘Oh.’

‘And, as you will no longer be the housekeeper, I thought it could be an opportunity to wear clothes a little more befitting the mistress of the property.’

‘But no one will be seeing me except the staff.’

Cassian shook his head mentally. No woman he knew would be turning down a chance to spend his money on clothes.

‘Your duties will be different now.’

Lili sighed audibly. ‘I guess so.’

Cassian found himself biting back a smile. She really would prefer to remain the housekeeper. ‘Have you picked the new housekeeper yet?’

‘Yes, a local woman called Eloisa. She seems to be working out well.’

‘Good.’

Cassian’s assistant appeared in his office and he said with more reluctance than he would have expected, ‘I have to go.’

‘Okay, goodbye Signore Cor—’ she stopped herself and amended, ‘Cassian.’

‘Goodbye, Lili.’

Cassian cut the connection. It was strange, because he barely knew Lili really, but in the two weeks since she’d agreed to marry him and they’d had a couple of phone conversations like this, he’d found himself thinking about her and wondering what she was doing.

Even more disconcerting, he’d found himself feeling a sense of anticipation at seeing her again. Surely she wouldn’t have the same effect on him?

‘Signore Corti?’

Cassian frowned and looked at his assistant. He’d not even noticed the man waiting to talk to him. Feeling prickly now he said, ‘Yes?’

‘It’s Allesandra Amante on the phone. She wants to know if you’d like to go to dinner this evening?’

Cassian felt an immediately negative response to that idea even though she was someone with whom he’d enjoyed a no-strings arrangement over the years. ‘Tell her I’m busy.’

‘Very well, sir.’

Cassian turned back to the view. Even he knew it would be in bad taste to have announced an engagement and then be seen out with a woman, even though he could ensure it was done discreetly. But he had no desire for any woman. Except for your frumpy housekeeper. He scowled.

No. That had been an anomaly. Once they were married and they’d embarked on their IVF journey and she was ensconced in the villa securing his inheritance, life would go back to the usual routine.

But instead of a sense of relief at that assertion, all Cassian could see in his mind’s eye was an image of the Villa Corti, a place he’d spent years avoiding as much as possible, rising up out of the lake, and that provocative image of his housekeeper— fiancée— emerging from the pool under the moonlight, every dip and hollow and curve of her body burnt onto his brain like a brand.

Damn.

Two weeks later

The wedding day had dawned bright and serene. Cassian—Lili still had trouble thinking of him as Cassian —had arrived yesterday but after a brief conversation, he’d been in his study most of the time working.

Lili had since, reluctantly, moved herself into a guest suite near Cassian’s bedroom. She knew it was appropriate to do but it still felt as if she was transgressing.

It was now nearing midmorning, and time for the service in the chapel on the villa’s grounds. The stylist Cassian had organised, a woman called Carlotta, was fussing around Lili smoothing the dress. Lili was putting up with the attention, gritting her jaw as the woman’s hands fluttered around her.

Because of the wedding she’d had to endure being touched but to her relief, it hadn’t been too stressful.

Lili had chosen the most covered up dress, much to the stylist’s obvious dismay. She’d said, ‘You have a beautiful figure, Signora Spirenze, you mustn’t be afraid to show it off.’

Lili had still chosen the dress that covered her from neck to toe and shoulder to arm—and crucially, a dress that she could remove easily without having to ask for help. She liked it, even though the lace did cling to her figure in a way that she wasn’t entirely comfortable with.

The stylist had arranged for someone to trim Lili’s hair and while it was still comfortably long, the weight had been taken out of it and layers added, making it feel much lighter and move in a flattering way around her face and shoulders.

To her surprise, a few days ago the solicitor had arrived with a velvet covered box saying, ‘These are family jewels from the vault. Signore Corti said to choose an engagement ring and jewelry for the wedding.’

Feeling like a total fraud, Lili had gasped when the box was opened, showcasing a glittering display of what had to be priceless antique jewels. She’d chosen the plainest ring she could see—with a gold band—three white diamonds in a row in a slightly raised setting. Yet even that seemed too ostentatious to her.

The ring felt heavy on her finger now. The solicitor had had it resized for the wedding and it fit snugly. She’d chosen a simple pair of pearl drop earrings.

She wasn’t wearing a veil. Maria, who Carlotta had tasked to help with preparations, had pulled Lili’s hair back into a loose chignon, securing it with a homemade garland of flowers from the garden. She’d also done her make-up, thankfully nothing too clownish. Lili had blinked at herself in the mirror—she looked…pretty. Her eyes seemed huge and very blue, and had her mouth always had that pouty look? Her cheeks glowed as if she’d just taken a brisk walk outside.

There was a knock on the bedroom door and Eloisa, the new housekeeper, put her head around the door. ‘They’re ready.’

Butterflies erupted in Lili’s gut. More than butterflies. Was this really happening? Had she really been so bold as to suggest her boss marry her so he could keep his ancestral estate?

Feeling slightly as if she was in a dream, she was led out of the villa and down the steps where Matteo the gardener was waiting with a golf buggy used normally for getting around the estate. Maria appeared and handed Lili a simple bouquet of flowers from the garden, matching the flowers in her hair.

She clutched it gratefully.

Matteo was wearing a suit, as was his son, Tommy, and the buggy had been adorned with bunting and flowers. Lili felt ridiculously emotional. These people had become almost like family to her in the last year.

She got into the buggy with the help of Carlotta, making sure her dress was safely tucked in and then in that buggy and another behind, they made their way to the chapel in a secluded corner of the estate. Lili had always liked to come here—not out of any particular religious sentiment—but because it was peaceful and a place to savour a feeling of safety.

Ironic now that it was going to be the location of possibly the scariest thing she’d ever done in her life.

Her little entourage went into the small chapel and then Lili took a deep breath and walked out of the sunlight and into the cool interior.