Page 6 of How to: Seduce Your Wife

Brand froze, struggling to assimilate his father’s words, words that shocked him to the core. He struggled even harder to comprehend what he possibly could have done to earn such a punishment.

“Luc is in agreement with this?" he asked numbly. “He runs Salvatores now.”

“Lui è d'accordo. He is in agreement.”

“Papà, what—”

Dom waved him silent and dropped a heavy hand on his son’s shoulder. “I do not want to do this.”

“Then don’t.” Brand fought to control his anger. “At least explain why you’ve come to this decision.”

“First, Iwill tell you, there is a way for you to change my mind.”

A trap yawned before Brand and he threw himself into it without a moment’s hesitation. “Name it.”

“Marry. Provide Toni with a mother.”

“Not this again.” Brand sighed, rubbing a weary hand across his brow. “Papà, we’ve discussed thisad nauseum. After Carina, Ihave zero interest in ever marrying again.

“So you fill your nights with meaningless flings?” Dom retorted. “This is an example you wish to set for your daughter?Ragazzo sciocco!”

Fool? Brand held onto his temper by a hair. “No. Of course it’s not an example I wish to set for Toni,” he replied evenly. “I doubt she even knows about them.”

“Oh, she knows.” Condemnation ripped through his father’s voice causing Brand to flinch. “She has told me this, herself.”

Well, shit. “I didn’t realize.”

“Now you do.” Dom waited a moment before continuing. “Carina, she was not the right woman for you. The only good that came from your relationship with her is Antonia.”

“But you expect me to marry again? Compound one mistake with another? Possibly a worse one?” Brand shot to his feet, pacing in front of the serenely beautiful statue, his family’s guiding star. Usually, it offered him peace. Not today. “How will remarrying help Toni? If anything, it will make the situation worse.”

Dom shook his head.“Figlio mio, you date knowing it is not going anywhere. Your daughter, she needs to witness true love. You must show her this. Not an endless string of one-night stands.”

“I’m supposed to demonstrate true love by marrying?” he asked skeptically. “By marrying the wrong womanagain?”

“No, Brando. By marrying the right one this time.”

Brand struggled to keep his voice calm, to eliminate any hint of sarcasm or cynicism. “I suppose you’ve already lined up the perfect woman?”

His father winced. “I wish I knew who that is. Instead I am sending you where your brother, Matteo, found his soul mate.”

“The Cinderella Ball?” Disbelief shot through his words. “You’re joking.”

For a long moment Dom remained silent in unspoken rebuke until Brand finally apologized. Then he continued. “I brought Antonia through the maze yesterday to visit her namesake, hernonna. Instead, your daughter spent the entire time talking and playing with her mother. You know of this game,sì?”

“Many children have pretend playmates,” Brand insisted uneasily. “It’s a passing phase.”

Dom pounded his fist into the palm of his opposite hand. “It is not passing. It has been growing steadily worse. When I attempted to distract her, she stopped talking to me. To me, thenonnoshe adores!” He released a weary sigh. “We are losing her, Brando. We must find a way to bring her back to the real world.”

Alarm vied with concern. “And you think a mother will do that?”

“I do. She will have a real mother to talk to instead of an imaginary one.”

Brand stared at Dom for an endless moment, pointing out a major inconsistency in his father’s demand. “You never remarried, and yet you insist I do.”

Dom’s mouth tightened for a moment before he acknowledged the accusation with a small nod. “I did not.”

“Why?” Brand demanded bluntly, planting his fists on his hips. “You require something of me that you never required of yourself. Explain why that’s fair.”

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