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She turned away from Antonio—looking at him made it almost impossible to think straight—and paced towards the window. The same Gaudí was peeking back at her, this time bathed in gentle sunshine.
Antonio hated the diSalvo family, and the same could be said of Carlo and the Herreras. But her child wouldn’t feel that bitterness. This child had the power to heal those breaches. Surely once their baby was born, and was an actual little person rather than a hypothetical concept, Antonio would see for himself how damaging it was to continue this ridiculous blood feud? Surely he’d wish to put paid to the last vestiges of resentment, for the sake of their child?
It was a gamble.
Because he hadn’t said or done anything to give her the impression that his attitude might soften. But was it possible that over time, and as he got to know her, he would see the futility in hating Carlo the way he did? Particularly when the object of his acrimony was his own child’s relatives.
She spun around, her eyes pinning him, her gaze unknowingly forceful. ‘Promise me you’ll...be reasonable,’ she said instead.
His brows lifted upwards. ‘I’m always reasonable.’
She made a scoffing noise of disbelief. ‘I’m serious, Antonio.’
‘As am I.’
Amelia shook her head. ‘This is ridiculous. There’s been nothing reasonable about how you’ve behaved with me. Nothing. You’re the most intractable, difficult...’
‘Bastard, yes, you’ve said this.’
She ground her teeth together. ‘I’m not going to be trapped into a marriage that makes me miserable, and so far you’ve done nothing to show me that you’re the kind of man I can even vaguely bear to be around.’
His expression was pure sensual challenge and it had the desired result. Her pulse notched up a gear and her breath burned in her lungs.
She pushed on before he could speak. ‘You’re asking me to marry you and stay married to you, and you’re giving me nothing in return.’
‘I am giving you,’ he said so softly it was dangerous, ‘an assurance that I will leave your brother’s other business interests alone. And, believe me, Amelia, this is not a concession I make easily.’
She could believe it. In that moment, she felt his hatred and rage and she wondered how he’d managed to conceal those emotions so well when he’d come to the cottage.
It was so far from ideal! If only there was a way she could wrest some control back from him—show him that she wasn’t going to be pushed around. ‘I won’t sign my shares of Prim’Aqua over to you,’ she said quietly, ‘until the baby is born.’
He frowned, his expression showing he didn’t fully comprehend the distinction.
‘Why the delay?’
‘Because—’ she spoke slowly, logically ‘—once I give you Prim’Aqua, you hold all the cards. Even if I do decide to divorce you.’ She tilted her chin defiantly. ‘And I will not stay with you unless I truly believe that our marriage is in the best interests of the baby. Understood?’
It was obvious from his expression that he hadn’t expected a challenge on this point. He was cool and calm again almost instantly, but for a moment she saw surprise flare in his expression. What she didn’t register was the look of grudging admiration. ‘Fine,’ he said, shrugging with apparent indifference. ‘Seven months is not so long to wait.’
‘And you won’t touch my brother’s businesses in the meantime,’ she demanded, waving a single finger in the air to underscore her point. The silk of her camisole strained across her chest, emphasising the gentle curves there, so Antonio’s eyes momentarily dropped lower. ‘Swear you’ll leave Carlo alone.’
Antonio’s jaw clenched and he slowly drew his eyes back to hers in a way that set her pulse racing. ‘You do not trust that I want to do what is in our child’s best interests?’ he asked after a moment. ‘You are not the only one making a sacrifice here, querida. Believe it or not, marrying you is the last thing I would have wanted.’
‘Gee, thanks,’ she drawled sarcastically.
‘Marrying anyone,’ he corrected with a shrug of his broad shoulders.
‘That makes it so much better.’ She couldn’t help rolling her eyes, but frustration and impotence were burning through her.
‘You came to me today,’ he reminded her after a moment. ‘And I believe we have discussed what we are each willing to give to make this work. So? What is your decision, Amelia?’
‘I...’ What was the conclusion to that sentence? He was right: she’d come to his office today, and with every intention of marrying him. And, while she desperately wanted Carlo to be immune from this man’s vengeance, there was a far greater consideration.
Their baby deserved the very best. Materially, she could provide everything the child needed, but what of that gaping hole in the middle of Amelia’s heart, from her own childhood? What of her own desperate yearning for a father?
Her eyes landed on Antonio’s face, his devilishly handsome face, and she expelled a soft, slow breath. And then, with every sense that she was making a deal with the devil, she nodded. ‘Fine. I’ll marry you.’
There was a momentary response of triumph, a flare of reaction in his jet-black eyes, and then he moved on, with that rapier-sharp mind he was renowned for.
