MARRYING HER ENEMY & STOLEN BY THE DESERT KING

by Connelly, Clare

  She looked around, her heart racing, wondering what Luca’s biological mother was doing in London, and how she’d found them.

  She neatened her skirt and put a hand to her hair and then moved to the door. She pulled it open just as Mietta raised a hand to knock.

  “Rosie,” the older woman said in her soft voice. “It is a pleasure to see you again.”

  “Thank you,” Rosie said, unsure if she could return the compliment. “I’m sorry, Mietta, Luca isn’t here at present.” She bit down on her lip. “Perhaps you could leave a message for him with me.”

  “No.” She shook her head firmly. “I have been waiting for you.”

  “You have?” Rosie frowned. “Did you… were you watching for me to come home?”

  “I was simply sitting in the foyer,” the older woman said defensively.

  “How did you know where we live?”

  Mietta colored. “My husband’s business papers. I need to speak to you. You can then use your judgement as to whether or not you are happy to tell Luca what you know.”

  “Oh, Mietta.” Rosie shook her head at the same time that she took a step backwards into the apartment. Mietta took advantage of the opening to push inside. “I will not take long.”

  Rosie couldn’t help noticing how alike Mietta and Luca were, in that moment. The older woman had his same purposeful intent. “I don’t want to be in the middle. This is between you and Luca.”

  “He will not listen to me. I know it. He is just like his father was.”

  Rosie froze. “Was?”

  Mietta planted her hands in her hips. “Arlo is not Luca’s father, cara. I am his mother, though.”

  “But… huh?” She pushed the door shut and fought the temptation to collapse against it. “But… he was so sure.”

  “As he would be. I am listed on Luca’s birth certificate, and Arlo and I had been married for five years when I gave birth.”

  “What happened?” Rosie rubbed at her temples, feeling nauseous and uncertain.

  “May I sit down?”

  “Of course.” She looked at the clock. “Luca will be a little while.” The subtext was clear. Mietta should not be there when he returned.

  “Grazie.” Mietta eased herself down, though she perched on the edge of the stiff leather sofa. “I was very young when I married Arlo. He was good looking and rich, and he charmed me instantly. It was love at first sight.” Her smile was rich with the pleasure of remembering. “He travelled a great deal though, for business. At first, I didn’t mind. I was thrilled to be married, and we had our house, which took me a lot of time to furnish and beautify.” She smiled weakly. “I kept myself busy to block out the fact that we did not have a baby.”

  “A baby?” Rosie blinked. “Luca…?”

  “I am getting to it,” Mietta’s smile was kind, and her dark eyes shone with tears. “Arlo was desperate for a child. Eventually, we saw a doctor, and we were told it was not possible. He couldn’t have a baby.”

  Rosie’s throat felt thick with sympathy and tears, and worry for Luca. Whatever Mietta was about to reveal, it did not feel good. “And?” She prompted finally.

  “And it took a long time for Arlo to accept that he would not have the child he wanted. He was sad that he could not give me a child, but worse, it tore him apart. He has always wanted children, grandchildren. He comes from a very long line of proud men, you see.”

  “I see,” Rosie nodded, having to remind herself that it was not Luca’s line, though he had so many of the same characteristics.

  “Arlo began to travel for longer and longer periods of time. And to withdraw from me. I will not bore you with the details. They are private, after all. Suffice it to say, it was not a good point in our marriage.”

  Rosie nodded, and put her hand out on Mietta’s slim knee. “I’m sorry.”

  Mietta didn’t meet Rosie’s eyes. “It was one night. Just one night. I met a man in a bar. I didn’t even know his name. But he made me feel like a desirable woman again. We didn’t look at each other with all those silent accusations.” She sighed. “I found out I was pregnant almost four months later. Can you imagine, Rosie, the guilt I felt? It was too late for an abortion. I had to tell my husband, who wanted nothing more than to give me a child, that I had fallen pregnant by another man. In a sordid affair in a three star hotel.” Her laugh was thick with sadness.

  “And it was Luca.”

  “It was Luca.”

  “You gave him away, even though you wanted a baby so badly?” Rosie asked quietly.

  Mietta’s expression was defensive. “I knew it would kill Arlo, to raise another man’s son. It would be a permanent reminder of his failure. Of his inability to provide me with an heir.” She ran a shaking hand through her fine hair. “It was the hardest thing I have ever done. Only the belief that he would be raised by two parents prepared to give him a fresh chance kept me from pulling out. All these years, I was certain he must have been happy and loved. I had no idea that he’d carried so much anger toward us. To me and Arlo.”

  She dipped her head forward. “I only knew his father for a matter of hours, but I learned so much about him in that time. His face has been imprinted in my memory. Guilt has made him unforgettable to me. And now Luca is just like him in so many ways.”

  “Luca is a very good man,” Rosie felt forced to defend.

  “Oh, I know,” Mietta said with a nod. “I can tell that much. But he is hurting, and his pain caused him to lash out, and to try to take Arlo’s business from him.”

  Rosie realised with guilt that she hadn’t even asked Luca if he still intended to buy the man’s company. It was as if their wedding had usurped all of the unpleasantness with Mietta and Arlo.

  “You have known him a long time, Rosie. It brings me comfort to think he has had someone like you in his life for much of his adult years.”

  Rosie’s face showed her confusion. “You’re mistaken, Mietta. I have only known Luca for a month.”

  “A month?” Mietta pursed her lips thoughtfully. “But he took over Darling Enterprises fifteen years ago. I simply presumed you must have met then.”

  Two weeks ago, Rosie had seen Mietta plummet into faint from complete shock, and now Mietta had the same experience. Rosie gripped the edge of the sofa, but not quickly enough. She fell to the ground in a faint, as the statement pushed through her mind.

  “Rosie!” Mietta’s tone was terrified. “Rosie!” She crouched down to the floor and shook Rosie’s shoulders, but the younger woman kept her eyes shut.

  After what felt like forever, Rosie blinked, her eyes focussing on Mietta. “Aren’t we a pair,” she said with a humourless smile. “Both of us fainting like that, at the first sign of shock.”

  “I don’t understand. What did I say?”

  “Nothing.” Rosie shook her head, but her mind was whirling with the innocently delivered information. “I guess it’s just a lot to take in.” She sat up on the edge of the sofa. It was with great difficulty that she marshalled her thoughts into any kind of order. “And have you ever heard from Luca’s father?”

  Mietta narrowed her eyes. “Are you sure you are okay?”

  Rosie nodded. “I’m fine. Just tell me… Luca’s father… who is he?”

  “I’m ashamed to say that I told him a false name. And I made a point of not asking his.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “I was young, Rosie, and I made a mistake. If I had my time again, I would not have given away my baby. Arlo loved me enough to understand why I had the affair. I know that now. At the time, I was scared and stupid, afraid that I would lose my husband. I made the wrong decision.”

  Rosie nodded, her face was twisted into a compassionate mask. “I’m sorry, Mietta. I just don’t know what you want me to do.”

  “Talk to him,” the Italian woman hissed. “He will listen to you.”

  Rosie wasn’t so certain. She wasn’t sure she even knew Luca. Was it true? That he’d taken over Bertram’s struggling company? That he was the mystery buyer
who’d screwed Bertram down on price and ripped the rug out from under them?

  Was her husband the man she’d spent her whole life hating?

  And was he aware of that fact?

  She closed her eyes tight. Of course he was. How could he not be?

  “Mietta, I know Luca better than you.” She winced at the woman’s hurt expression. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be insensitive. But I know he wants to know the truth of his parentage very badly. And I know he’d take it better from you. I am going to ask him to meet you at the restaurant across the road. Okay?”

  “I’m not sure,” Mietta sounded terrified.

  “I am.” Rosie actually had no confidence in how Luca would react, but she desperately needed to be alone now. Their tragedy was their own, and she couldn’t add it in with her own mixed bag of sentiment.

  Rosie was already dialling. Luca answered after one ring. Was she imaging the tension to his voice?

  “Luca, Mietta is here.” Rosie cut straight to the chase. She wasn’t sure she could trust herself to say anything else.

  “Mietta is there? In the apartment?” He swore in his own language.

  “I’ve just been talking to her, and I think you should too. Let her explain.” She took in a deep breath. “I know you’ll want to hear what she has to say.”

  Luca tapped his pen on the edge of the notepad. The meeting he was in had gone on too long, and was mostly uninteresting. He stood abruptly and walked out, without farewelling any of the ten men who were in attendance. “Fine. I’ll be there soon.”

  “NO.” Her voice came out strangled and harsh. She took a deep breath and forced herself to sound relax. “The restaurant across the road.”

  “Fine,” he agreed without a second thought. “I’ll be there soon.”

  “Goodbye, Luca.

  “Rosie?” He forestalled her disconnecting the phone. “Did you get my note?”

  “Your note?”

  “I need to speak to you.”

  She blinked. It felt like an eon ago that she had seen his writing. “Yes, I got it. Goodbye, Luca.” Rosie hung up the phone, swallowing a sob. It took her twenty minutes to wrap things up with Mietta and get her out of the apartment. As soon as the older woman had left, Rosie collapsed against the front door in relief.

  She moved straight to Luca’s office and loaded up his very fast computer. It took hardly any time to google and confirm the truth. Yes. He was the same man who had bought Darling Enterprises fifteen years earlier. At the age of twenty one, she realised with a disbelieving shake of her head.

  It made no difference to how she felt. She loved Luca. With all her heart, she loved him. But she hated him, too. His actions were inextricably tied in with all the sadness she’d known in her life. And she wasn’t sure she’d be able to forgive him for lying to her for so long. For marrying her when he knew she was completely in the dark about his activities.

  What if he’d told her sooner? She closed her eyes. It didn’t matter. If he’d told her at all, she might have understood.

  It was the deception that hurt.

  She looked back on their relationship with a completely different eye now. He’d rushed their marriage. She’d been happy to go along with it, but now? She couldn’t help but wonder if it was because he thought she might change her mind. She was bound to learn the truth eventually… and now that she had?

  She had to go. Just for long enough to clear her head.

  She grabbed her handbag and coat and left the penthouse, not sure when she’d be back.

  Chapter 10

  Luca walked around the apartment with his head fogged by too much information. The conversation he’d had with Mietta had been insightful but desperately unhelpful. He’d spent his adult life feeling anger towards his birth parents. And now he knew how misplaced that anger was he felt… confused. With anger gone, what was left? Sympathy? Pity? Forgiveness? Or could he still be angry for the situation he’d been plunged into? To the mother who’d selfishly given him away and not bothered to check on his welfare?

  Did he care now? Did it matter? “Rosie?” He thought of his beautiful wife and everything evaporated, except the happiness she brought him. At least he had made one right choice in his life. One decision that had been borne of love rather than anger or a desperate desire to succeed.

  It was late, but she was not in bed.

  He checked the other bedrooms, wondering if perhaps she’d fallen asleep with a sketchbook and design guide in hand. Her desire to import a little more personality into his penthouse brought him nothing but pleasure, for it brought more and more of herself into his life.

  There was no sign of her.

  His office was somewhere she was yet to venture, and was therefore the last room he checked. He pushed open the door and stood completely still, on the precipice of the high tech space. He hadn’t seen the Darling Enterprises logo for a long time. He’d rebranded almost as soon as he’d bought it, then sold off the branches of the business that were less profitable.

  He swore and moved through the apartment, faster and faster now.

  He dialled her phone, and waited for her to answer. Nothing. He swore again.

  He called for his driver, and didn’t stop to put on a coat.

  The door to The Darling Buds of May was locked, but Rosie’s light was on. He looked up, then called her number again. No answer. Then, he remembered. She’d let the woman who’d taken over the floristry side of the business stay in her flat.

  So where was his wife? He texted her mobile, “I need to speak to you. Please call.”

  He hated that he didn’t know her well enough to know where she would run to. Did she have a favourite hotel? A place that was all her own, when life got too tricky? He racked his brain, going over their conversations, trying to think of something, anything that would give it away.

  But there was nothing. No hint nor clue in any of their discussions.

  Finally, he forced himself to accept that he could do nothing for the night. In the morning, the café would be opened, and he could at least appeal to Maggie for help.

  He asked the driver to take him home and entered the apartment with a scowl locked on his face.

  Rosie was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the lounge room floor. Her pinched expression and pink-rimmed eyes told him all he needed to know. He crossed the floor and crouched before her. “I should have told you.” He said, as soon as their eyes connected.

  Rosie didn’t say anything. Her face was etched with pain and hurt.

  “I’m sorry,” he said again, and though it was a statement he rarely uttered, he said it again. “I’m so sorry, my beautiful cara Rosie.”

  “I have hated you all my life,” she said tremulously. “And now I find that I am married to you.”

  “You have hated the idea of me,” he responded with a small shake of his head. “And I am not the man now that I was then.”

  Rosie nodded, but her eyes were bleak. “The thing is, I’ve seen for myself how capable you are of sheer single-minded ruthlessness.”

  He closed his eyes. “Yes.” It was true. And until that moment, he’d never seen it as a personality flaw.

  “You take what you want, and you don’t care who gets hurt.”

  He flashed her a look of acceptance. “I don’t intend to hurt anyone.”

  “Bullshit,” she retorted with an angry flash of exasperation. “You know people get hurt, every time you take over a company. You know it’s an inevitability of what you do, and you do it anyway.”

  “You do not understand,” he said defensively. “It is just business. Everyone in business plays to win. But not every one can win.”

  She gritted her teeth. “No. But you never lose. Because you do whatever it takes to avoid that.”

  “I am good at what I do,” he responded quietly. “I am sorry that I happened to buy your father’s business. That he was not good enough to hold onto it.” He reached down and put his hands on her shoulders. “But Rosie, bel
ieve me, if I hadn’t bought Darling Enterprises, someone else would have. It was a mess. Unprofitable, and bound for the scrapheap within a year, without the right person running it.”

  Defensiveness for her just-deceased father filled her with venomous annoyance. “My dad was a great man. And I loved him.”

  “And you love me,” he snapped back emphatically. “And I am here with you now. So work out what you want. I cannot spend the rest of our marriage apologising for something that happened fifteen years ago.”

  “Jesus.” She stood up and dragged a hand through her hair. “So that’s it? I’m expected to just accept this and move on?”

  “What alternative is there?”

  She sobbed then, for the hopelessness of her situation. “There is none.” She turned to face him, her eyes bloodshot, her skin pale. She held up the little box she’d bought only hours earlier. Back when life had seemed wonderful and she’d been dancing on cloud nine. “I’m pregnant, Luca. And I owe it to the baby to try to forgive you. But right now, I don’t know how that will ever be possible.”

  The silence was heavy between them. “Pregnant?” He narrowed his eyes and said the first thing that occurred to him. “But how? You said you were on contraception.”

  “I am!” She snapped, rubbing at her temples. “Or I was until just now. I guess I skipped a day or two. With dad’s funeral, and the shop, I was busy and distracted. I was a mess and some things fell through the cracks, I suppose.”

  He wanted to take her into his arms and throw her into the sky with delight, but her desperation stilled him. He blanked his emotion carefully, wanting to know what she was feeling, not to indulge his own selfish pleasure.

  “And how do you feel about this?”

  “I was ecstatic,” she said honestly. “A few hours ago.”

  He grimaced. He had taken even that from her. “I am very glad you came back. I was worried sick. I had no idea where you might have gone.”

  “I went to a movie,” she said feebly.

  “A movie?” He shook his head. “That would never have occurred to me.”

  “I left half way through and walked around.”