LITMIR.BIZ

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And that was it.

      The only photograph on show was an old one he recognised of her mother but there were none of him. Rocco’s mouth hardened. Did he really think there might have been? Perhaps a shot of them standing outside the Sicilian cathedral, a white tulle veil billowing around her dark curls and Nicole’s flat stomach concealing the fact that she was several weeks pregnant?

      His jaw tightened as he wondered what had made him start thinking about such a taboo subject but, with the ruthlessness born of practice, he pushed the powerful image to the back of his mind as he stared at the woman in front of him, thinking how different she looked. Gone were the elegant clothes which had crammed her wardrobe during their short marriage and in their place was the distinctly Bohemian look she had always favoured. Clothes he had found attractive enough in a mistress, but which had been unsuitable for a Barberi wife. Silver hoops gleamed amid the wild tumble of dark curls and the lush sensuality of her mouth was fixed and unsmiling as she returned his stare.

      ‘So,’ she said. ‘What exactly is this all about, Rocco?’

      He thought of chastising her for her lack of courtesy. He had lifted her out of the gutter and given her the chance of a better life. He had taught her everything. Everything. What to wear and how to behave. When to speak and when to remain silent. And now she was treating him with the barely disguised impatience she might show a persistent salesman who had shoved his foot in the door.

      ‘You don’t even offer me coffee?’ he drawled.

      ‘There won’t be time. I wasn’t planning a long visit. Were you?’ She looked at him enquiringly. ‘You told me you had something you wanted to say, so why don’t you just say it?’

      He sat down on the arm of the sofa, stretching his long legs out in front of him. ‘I need you to play a part for me,’ he said.

      ‘A part?’ she echoed non-comprehendingly. ‘What are you talking about?’

      ‘As my wife.’ He gave a mirthless smile. ‘Or rather, my reconciling wife.’

      ‘Your reconciling wife? Are you crazy?’

      Rocco thought back to the number of times he had asked himself the same question, wondering how he could have fallen for someone like her. Why, despite the eager attentions of women of his own class, he had allowed himself to become transfixed by this one—a humble cleaner at his London headquarters. Because of her he had behaved in a way which still had the power to make him shudder as he remembered locking the door to his office and taking her over his desk. He remembered her curving hips facing upwards in a silent plea for him to remove her panties. And him complying with shaking hands, his fingers sliding over her molten heat, before entering her with a hunger so all-consuming that it had completely blown his mind. He swallowed. All his legendary self-control had deserted him the moment he’d laid a finger on her. The powerful head of Barberi associates thrusting hungrily into one of his lowly employees, with his trousers around his ankles like a teenager!

      He swallowed before shaking his head. ‘On the contrary, tesoro—I’m deadly serious. This petition could not have come at a worse time for me.’

      ‘Really?’

      ‘Yes, really. I’m in the middle of a deal, which is balancing on a knife-edge right now.’

      ‘Gosh. I thought you had a hundred per cent success rate where business was concerned. You must be slipping, Rocco.’

      He gave an impatient flicker of a smile. ‘This deal is a big one,’ he said softly. ‘The biggest in a long time. I’m attempting a hostile takeover bid of a European company, which will increase my stock to make Barberi the biggest pharmaceutical business in the world.’

      ‘So what’s the problem?’

      His eyes narrowed as he met her gaze. ‘The problem is that there has been some opposition to my involvement. Several of the shareholders have hired a PR agency to see what dirt they can dig up on me and a complicated personal life could provide fuel for their stories. Plus, one of the biggest shareholders is a man named Marcel Dupois who’s known for being extremely conservative, particularly around family matters.’ He shifted his weight slightly. ‘The last thing I need is an estranged wife coming out of the woodwork seeking a divorce at such a sensitive time.’

      ‘So drop your business bid.’

      ‘But I don’t want to drop it.’ His voice hardened. ‘It’s too important to me.’

      Nicole nodded. Of course it was. Business had always been important to Rocco. The only thing which really mattered in his life. His go-to activity which took precedence over everything else, even his wife. Especially his wife. ‘So what are you expecting me to do—call off the divorce?’

      ‘Only temporarily.’

      ‘I wasn’t being serious, Rocco.’

      ‘But I am.’ His sapphire eyes flattened. ‘Deadly serious.’

      ‘You want me to delay the petition.’

      ‘I want you to play a role. You were always very good at role-play, weren’t you, Nicole? It’s easy. All you have to do is pretend to be my wife for a couple of days.’

      ‘Pretend to be your wife,’ she repeated slowly.

      ‘Sure. I have a high-profile weekend coming up and having you by my side as my loving spouse could be extremely useful.’

      ‘Useful?’

      ‘You don’t like the word?’

      Nicole bristled. Of course she didn’t like the word, which seemed to emphasise the only thing she’d ever been to him. Someone who was convenient. Who could be picked up and put down like a commodity. She wanted to push him towards the door. To tell him to get out and never come back—until she remembered what her lawyer had said just before he’d filed the papers.

      ‘Your husband is a powerful man, Mrs Barberi. Not a man you’d want to get into a protracted legal battle with. Not under any circumstances. My advice to you is to keep proceedings as amicable as possible.’

      She got that, but even so.

      Masquerade as his wife?

      Open herself up to all that pain and frustration and make even more of a mockery of their doomed marriage?

      No way.

      She shook her head.

      ‘It’s a crazy suggestion. You must realise that. I’m sorry you’ve come all this way for nothing, Rocco, but I can’t do it.’

      He looked around the small scruffy room before returning his gaze to her. ‘I meant what I said, Nicole,’ he said. ‘Unless you were prepared to cooperate, I might not let you have your divorce.’

      She shook her head. ‘You can’t stop me.’

      ‘Oh, but I can,’ he argued softly. ‘We’ve been separated for two years but you still need my agreement.’ There was a pause. ‘I’ve spoken to my lawyers and I can easily defend the petition by saying I don’t believe the marriage has broken down irretrievably.’

      ‘You wouldn’t...’ she breathed.

      ‘Wouldn’t I? I would do whatever it takes to make this deal, Nicole.’ His eyes gleamed. ‘The choice is yours, tesoro.’

      Nicole heard the steely determination behind his words and thought about his power and influence. Her lawyer had been right—Rocco could do exactly what he wanted because he had limitless funds to support him, and she didn’t. Simple as that. In theory she could wait for her divorce—but she didn’t want to. Three more years of being tied to Rocco Barberi with all the memories that brought with it? Of feeling that something was always holding her back from living her life? Of being unable to stop those rugged features and sapphire eyes from invading her dreams every night? No way.

      Slowly, she lifted her eyes to his. ‘And if I agreed? What would it entail?’

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