CHAPTER TWO
ITWASOBVIOUSjust by looking at Luca that he was a man who prized his control and strength, but in that moment Olivia could have blown him over with a feather. It was, quite clearly, the last thing he’d expected her to say.
‘You’re saying—’
‘That I need to marry you,’ she confirmed, forcing herself to meet his eyes even when something sparked between them that set her blood racing at a million miles an hour. ‘And that marrying me could be very good for you, too.’
‘This makes no sense.’
‘I know.’ She bit down on her lip. ‘I was really hoping you’d know about this whole thing.’
‘My father and I are not exactly on speaking terms.’
She pulled a face, sympathy flooding her. But then, she knew more than enough about difficult family relationships.
‘But they made the agreement so long ago. I just presumed, over the years...’
‘It was never discussed with me.’
‘Me either,’ she promised. ‘The first I heard about it was when the solicitors appeared at Hughenwood, grim-faced and stern.’
‘How did you learn about the bank I am buying?’
‘Trying to buy,’ she corrected valiantly, because his desire to acquire the bank, and their determined rebuffing of his offers, was at the heart of her inducement. ‘I read about it online. Why?’
‘So you researched me, prior to coming here tonight?’
‘Given that I came here intending to propose marriage to a man I’d never met, naturally I did some preparation.’
A curl of derision shifted the shape of his mouth. ‘Then perhaps you also read that I have already been married once. It was, in every way, an unmitigated disaster. I have no intention of ever—’ he leaned closer, so close that if she pushed up onto the tips of her toes, she could kiss him ‘—marrying again. Capisce?’
‘This wouldn’t be a normal marriage,’ she said quietly, glad that years of living in the war zone that was her parents’ relationship had left her with nerves of steel—or the appearance of them, at least. ‘I don’t want a husband any more than you want a wife.’
‘I’m sorry, I thought you just asked me to marry you?’
‘Yes,’ she responded quickly. ‘For the sake of satisfying a clause in my father’s will. But our marriage would be a sham—nothing more than our names on a piece of paper.’
He stared down at her, his features inscrutable, so she had no idea what he was thinking. With a sense she was losing her argument, she clutched for the only straw she held in her possession. ‘My family’s name is well respected. Marriage to anyone would increase your chances with the bank’s uber conservative board—but marriage to a Thornton-Rose, in particular, would improve your standing.’ She had made her peace with this offer many weeks ago, but as she said it now, as she heard herself actually trading on her father’s hated, hated surname, she wanted the world to open up and swallow her whole.
But freedom would be worth it. If she could just get him to agree, the money would be hers and she could finally fix everything her father broke—her mother would finally have some security and stability. And, most importantly, Olivia’s beloved younger sister Sienna would be saved from having to make her own arcane match to inherit any part of the fortune—they simply wouldn’t need the money.
‘And you are suggesting I could use your ancient name to curry favour with a group of prejudiced snobs? That this is how I operate in business?’ His sneer of derision warmed her to the centre of her being. She couldn’t have said why, but his immediate rejection of that idea was a relief. ‘I do not need your father’s name to succeed, bella,just as I have never needed my own father’s name.’
Admiration expanded inside her. He was right—everything he’d achieved had been off his own back. And yet, from what she’d read online, he wanted the bank more than anything else—and she was sure their marriage would help him achieve it. She narrowed her gaze, focusing on that salient detail. ‘You want to buy the Azzuri Bank, and I believe our marriage would make that easier.’
‘I don’t do things the easy way.’
Her heart skipped a beat and she realised, all at once, that this wasn’t going to be enough. She didn’t hold enough of an incentive for Luca to agree to this. Why had she even allowed herself a glimmer of hope?
‘Well, that’s a lovely privilege to have.’
‘Privilege,’ he repeated with disbelief.
‘Oh, yes, privilege.’ She turned away from him, stalking back to the railing and staring out at the river. It had seen so much over the millennia, so many tragedies and heartbreaks, so much joy and delight. Her own emotions spilled towards it, adding to the multitude of experience. ‘What must it be like to be able to turn down offers of help?’
‘You said it yourself, you come from a very wealthy family. Do you really think you have any right to complain to me about privilege?’
‘Wealthy, in theory, yes,’ she responded, turning to look at him over her shoulder, only to realise he’d moved to stand right beside her and was staring at her in a way that made her feel as though she was completely naked—not in a physical sense, but right down to her soul. ‘But not privileged. And not free. Do you have any idea—?’ She bit back the words, shaking her head.