“Speaking of Michael, when will we tell everyone that Michael is actually Juliet and Antonio’s?”
“Never.”
“What? Why not?”
“There is no need to make an announcement. Those close to us will know the truth. But the rest, why correct them? It’s no one’s business but ours—” He broke off as Anna returned with coffee and breakfast.
Rachel murmured thanks for her coffee but couldn’t even look at the food, far too shaken by the developments. “How many people are you inviting to this party?”
“Two hundred and sixty. I anticipate we will have about two hundred actually attend.”
“That’s a huge party.”
“The ballroom is huge.”
“Then put the party in another room, your mother’s favorite room, for example. We could have twenty in there and it would be lovely.”
“That sounds lovely and intimate, but it won’t communicate what we want it to. A large, lavish party doesn’t just convey confidence, but excitement, and joy...all the things we want the public to associate with our marriage.”
“Our engagement, you mean. A faux engagement, at that.”
He shrugged. “The goal is to present a united front to all. Even to those in our inner circle.”
“What about your mother?”
“I will tell her what she needs to know.”
“The truth.”
“I am not going to create worry and anxiety for her, not if I don’t have to.”
“I am not an actress, Gio. I am not good at pretending. I can’t even lie well. I don’t know why, but if I tell a fib, I immediately blush—”
“That is why you will marry me. Then you won’t
have to worry that about your acting skills. You won’t have to act, or lie. There would be no faux engagement, just a real one, ending in a real wedding. Michael will have his family. You will be able to focus on the baby. I can focus on my business. Everything will be as it should be.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
EVERYTHING WOULD BE as it should—for him.
He would have an heir for his business. He’d have a mother for his nephew. He’d have a warm body for his bed. It was all so easy and convenient for him. She’d made it so easy and convenient.
She inhaled, and then exhaled, face hot, chest on fire. “You don’t even regret having a marriage of convenience, do you?”
“I don’t romanticize marriage anymore, no.”
“But you once did?”
He shrugged. “Once upon a time I was naive.”
“What happened?”
“We got engaged, we nearly married, but in the nick of time I discovered she didn’t want me. She simply wanted a rich husband.”
Rachel went cold, suddenly understanding just why he loathed Juliet so much, and why he’d been so mistrustful of her, too. “I don’t want a rich husband,” she whispered. “I don’t want a husband at all—”
“I understand. But there are consequences in life. We both know that, and we both know marriage would be the best thing for a child that has lost both mother and father before he’s even seen his first birthday.”