He focused on some deep and steady breaths as he emerged into the open-plan living space of the yacht’s accommodation deck.
He remembered attending the initial meetings for the Sirinetta II just before they’d left on their trip to South America. It had been one of Duarte’s most innovative design projects yet. His senses felt overloaded by the bright and airy interior, with its open-plan spaces and natural blond wood design. He knew from memory that the endless smooth surfaces were an illusion, and in fact filled with discreet touch cabinets and modern technological gadgets.
‘What did you just say?’
Daniela’s voice had risen an entire octave, and her flashing amber eyes filled with disbelief as he looked over his shoulder.
Her cheeks were flushed with the warmth of the force of her anger at his proposal. Well, technically he hadn’t proposed so much as declared their engagement... He winced inwardly. Probably not the best way he could have done things.
Turning away from her, he touched a panel and grabbed a bottle of water from one of the discreet built-in fridges that slid out from behind the wood. ‘We can make the announcement in the morning papers if you get on it now. You are the PR guru, as you said. I assume you have contacts who can word it to make it all appear as romantic as possible.’
‘Valerio, we are business partners—our alliance is solid enough without turning it into some kind of media circus.’
‘Did you or did you not say that rumours surrounding my disappearance from the public eye have cast doubt on my stability?’
‘I—I am experienced with appeasing doubt.’ She stammered a little over her words. ‘It’s been my job to control Velamar’s public image for the past seven years and I’m quite good at it without resorting to outright lies and...and pageantry!’
‘My terms are that we release the news that we are engaged. That is non-negotiable.’
He took a long drink of water, trying to shake off the feeling of adrenaline still running riot in his veins. He was always like this after a bad night—he felt on edge for days. But now, knowing that someone had pushed to have Duarte declared legally dead even when he had made every effort to hold it off... He had to act now. He had to be ready.
Dani was silent for a long time, a frown marring her brow as she shook her head slowly from side to side. ‘I don’t buy it. What aren’t you telling me?’
Valerio walked out onto the open-air deck, gritting his teeth at the sound of her heels as she instantly followed him. Of course she wouldn’t just meekly accept his terms and move forward; this was Dani, after all.
He closed his eyes and inhaled a deep breath of cold sea air into his lungs. He wasn’t ready for this—for any of it. He needed to get off this yacht and find some breathing room while he built himself up to step back into his old life. Daniela thought she knew everything he had been doing for the past six months. Yes, he was broken, but not in the way that she thought. Despite public opinion, he was far from losing his mind. He had never had a more single-minded focus.
But that focus was entirely set on revenge.
‘Valerio...’ She appeared at his side, her expression a mixture of confusion and concern. ‘Talk to me. Please.’
She believed him to be mad... Let her think that. Maybe then he would be able to shield her from the true monster he had become. Before all this he had been a good man. He might even have deserved a woman like her. Not that he had ever truly considered having her. He had always known she was off-limits to him. His friendship with Duarte had been worth more to him than any pleasure he might have got from pursuing any inconvenient attraction he may or may not have had. She was and would always be his best friend’s sister.
Untouchable.
Now he was just the man who had let her down in so many ways. He’d known that she disliked him before, but now that he’d abandoned her to run Velamar for months without explanation... It was his own fault if she hated him, and perhaps that was a blessing in disguise. The man who stood beside her right now was nothing but darkness and regret. If hating him would keep her safe from getting too close, he’d bear every moment of the burn from her wrath.
He turned away from her, bracing his hands on the railing and looking down at the inky foam of the midnight waves as they crashed along the side of the yacht.
‘You made your demands, Daniela. Now I have made mine. I’m willing to forgive your actions tonight so long as you agree to my terms without any further questioning.’
‘Your terms being the immediate announcement of a fake engagement?’ She was incredulous, her chest rising and falling with outrage.
‘Not just an engagement.’ He turned to face her, noticing once again how much warmth her eyes held. He could almost feel the heat emanating from her, along with that intoxicating scent she wore. The galloping of his heart seemed to slow when he considered the deep golden-brown depths of her eyes.
‘You will be my wife.’
As he spoke the words and saw the shock turn to anger in her eyes, he felt a strange calm settle within him. He had known for six months that it might come to this. He had known that she would fight him every step of the way. And now, seeing her ablaze with fury and outrage, he thought maybe she would withstand the burden of being tied to him. He had to believe that. He had no other choice.
Dani stood frozen, her mouth refusing to form words, as Valerio took a step forward.
‘A long time ago Duarte told me to keep the hell away from you unless I planned to marry you.’ Valerio shook his head, looking out at the darkness that surrounded them. ‘I doubt he ever thought things would come to this.’
‘This is ridiculous.’
Dani turned and walked inside, needing to move away from him. He had no idea what he was saying. How hurtful it was on so many levels. Even when she’d moved back to London and become engaged to another man, she’d fought not to let herself think of him. She growled in her throat, marching into the living area and reaching for her laptop—only for a large male hand to close over hers, stopping her.
‘Valerio, stop. Let me show you my plans and we can discuss this rationally.’
‘Your brother knew the kind of guy I am. He knew the perfect way to ensure I would never touch you.’
‘You never wanted to touch me!’ She practically growled it. She felt heat rise into her cheeks at her own words...at the hint of years of hidden feelings under the surface.
He opened his mouth as if to speak, then paused. For a moment there was nothing but weighted silence between them and the sound of the waves outside the open door.
Valerio cleared his throat, waited until she met his eyes. ‘The day before Duarte was killed, we planned an escape. He told me that if anything happened to him and I survived, I was to keep you close. To give you my name and protect you.’
‘I don’t need a husband for protection. That is my choice. Not his.’
Dani fought against the lump of emotion that tightened in her throat at the thought of her brother instructing his best friend to care for her. He must have known that she would never agree to this kind of archaic showing of duty, or whatever it was.
Valerio turned away briefly, pushing his hands through his hair. ‘I swore to him. I promised that I would follow his wishes. And I spent the last six months...’
Dani looked up at him, seeing a strange look in his eyes. ‘You spent six months...what? Trying to find a way out of it? That’s what it was all about?’
‘No...you don’t understand.’
‘I think I understand far more than you do, Marchesi.’ She picked up a small bag from under the desk and threw it onto the low sofa between them. ‘I’m done here. I apologise for wasting your time tonight. Believe when I say I wish I hadn’t bothered. The code for the wheelhouse is in that bag, along with your mobile phone. Order the Captain to take you wherever you need, so long as you’re off this yacht by morning.’
‘This won’t just disappear because you order me away. I’m coming to Monte Carlo. You say you need me for this board meeting, so I’ll be there.’
‘I’ll find another way. I always do.’ She fought to keep her voice level, to hide her hurt and anger under the professional veil she wore so well. ‘Pretend tonight never happened. Consider yourself officially relieved of your duties to Velamar. To me. All of them.’
She didn’t wait for his response before she walked away, not stopping to take a breath until she had her cabin door firmly closed between them and she was sure that he hadn’t followed her.
Then she closed her eyes tight and sank back against the door, allowing herself a single moment to feel the blinding pain of knowing how little Valerio Marchesi had ever cared about her.
‘I can’t believe you didn’t take a photograph. I’d pay good money to see either one of the Marchesi brothers all tied up.’ Hermione Hall waggled her brows seductively from across the terrace table of their favourite little Monte Carlo café.
Dani rolled her eyes, playing with the remains of her omelette as she struggled with the knot that had formed in her stomach and had refused to shift since the night before. Her best friend of eighteen years usually always knew just how to pull her out of a dark mood, but her night with Valerio had shattered all the careful control she had worked so hard to achieve over the past few months. She felt completely off balance.
Hermione was no stranger to difficult situations, being the child of an infamous Los Angeles talent agent who had stolen money from half of Hollywood. They’d met as teenagers, on their first day at boarding school in England, when Hermione had stepped in to defend Dani from a group of name-calling older girls. Together they’d become untouchable, unrepentant overachievers all the way through college, supporting one another through the loss of parents, bad relationships and sanity.
Now that Hermione was one of the most in-demand personal stylists in Europe, they didn’t get to see one another very often, but their emails were long and never short on salacious details.
Hermione called over a waiter and ordered a caramel-drizzled waffle from the extravagant dessert menu, declaring it a celebration after hearing Dani’s heavily edited version of the events of the night before.
Dani shook her head. ‘You’re completely overlooking the part where he just assumed he could announce our engagement. Along with the rest of his little speech about keeping me safe by marrying me. I mean...who even thinks like that? Apparently “safe” is just another word for “away from my own sources of power and independence.”’
‘I don’t know... Daniela Marchesi has got a nice ring to it.’ Hermione smirked.
‘You’re taking far too much enjoyment from my outrage.’
‘Sorry—a drop-dead gorgeous Italian, whom you used to have a gigantic crush on, is now back to run his own company, which might allow you to finally get back on track with starting your own PR firm.’ She took a sip of her tea, her tone dry. ‘Oh, and he apparently wants to marry you too. How utterly terrible all this is.’
Dani looked away from her friend, ignoring the tension in her body as she remembered that her own consulting work had come to a standstill since she’d taken the helm at Velamar. No one knew that she had signed a lease on an office in London just weeks before the awful news from Rio—that she’d finally been poised to quit her job at Velamar and launch her own firm.
But, truthfully, it had been easier to cancel all her plans and throw herself into the heavy workload that had come with being a stand-in CEO. There was less time to think, less time to feel...
Hermione continued to chatter, trying to lighten the mood in her usual way. ‘With those eyes and that insane body...I wouldn’t turn down any kind of dark and brooding proposal from Valerio Marchesi—that’s all I’m saying.’
‘I’m sorry that I don’t share your love of dramatic romance. And I get it that he’s a little paranoid since...since everything that happened in Rio. But I’m not in danger. This isn’t Regency England and I am not on the market for a protector.’
She frowned as her phone buzzed with an email notification from the head of the Velamar events team.
Subject: You might be interested in this.
The email showed the guest list for the modest cocktail party she had planned for some select guests to get a sneak preview of the Sirinetta II later that evening. Dani frowned, her eyes scanning down the list with increasing disbelief.
A shocked huff of laughter escaped her lips. It seemed that Mr Hotshot CEO had decided to dive right back into work.
The numbers for the ‘small and intimate’ gathering had now tripled, and contained the names of some of the wealthiest people in Monaco, including philanthropists, celebrities and even a few members of European royalty. It was no secret that the Marchesi family had connections, but seriously...
The arrogance of the man! For him to just march over and amend details of an event that she had planned and executed without even asking...
The curse words that escaped her lips were very unladylike, sending even wild-mannered Hermione’s eyebrows upwards.
‘He believes he can just reappear and completely railroad an event that I’ve been planning for weeks! I bet he doesn’t even think he’s done anything wrong.’
She stabbed her index finger at the phone screen, beginning to type an email to inform her team that she didn’t need to see the guest list, as she wouldn’t be attending. Let the returned ‘Playboy Pirate’ explain her absence to his guests—let him try to make the same kind of connections and collaborations that she did at such events. He thought he could just swoop in and do everything? She would leave him to it.
Hermione interrupted her thoughts, bending to look at the email over her shoulder and letting out a low whistle. ‘That’s a lot of prime potential new clientele. What are you going to wear?’
‘I won’t go.’ Dani bit her bottom lip. ‘If he refuses to treat me like an equal partner in this company, then I don’t see why I should jump to host this event by his side.’
‘Correction, you will go. Because you are an equal partner in the company and a professional one at that. You’ll go and you will tell him exactly where he can stick his proposal. Along with giving him a clear outline of the kind of treatment you will be expecting from now on.’ Hermione opened up her small tablet computer and began clicking rapidly. ‘I’ve got the perfect dress I’ve been saving for you—you just need to get the perfect date. And before you ask, I already have plans tonight.’
Dani knew her friend was right. The problem was that Valerio would also know that she couldn’t not attend, and that grated on her nerves. ‘If I do go, I won’t need a date. I was the one to plan the thing originally, so I’m technically the hostess.’
Hermione had a familiar glimmer of mischief in her eyes. ‘You don’t need one...but imagine what kind of statement it would make for you to walk into that party with the one man that Valerio Marchesi truly despises by your side.’
‘You don’t mean...?’ Dani felt her eyes widen as she let out a puff of shocked laughter. ‘I couldn’t bring him. It would cause a riot. Besides, it’s pretty late notice...’
‘You think Tristan Falco isn’t going to jump at the chance to gatecrash that party?’
Dani frowned, knowing her friend was right.
‘You want to put Marchesi in his place, don’t you?’ Hermione waggled her brows. ‘Time for you to introduce the ace up your sleeve. Show him that you’re not playing nice. You make the call—I’ll go and assemble my wonder team. That man has no idea who he’s messing with.’
Hermione dropped a quick kiss on her cheek and breezed away, leaving Dani staring down at her phone, which was still open on the guest list.
She walked to the railing of the restaurant’s terrace, looking out at the pink and orange clouds painted along the sky... The sun would sta
rt setting soon—she didn’t have the luxury of waiting around. If she was going to put up a fight, she had to go to this event. Tomorrow she would come up with a new angle and figure out how to save Nettuno from being sold off. As for tonight...
She opened her phone and scrolled down to the name of a man she had never thought she would call again. A smile touched the corner of her lips as the number rang and a deep male voice answered. Within moments she had confirmed her scandalous date for the evening, silently marvelling at Hermione’s evil genius.
It seemed that Cinderella would attend the ball after all, but she would not be waving the proverbial white flag and dancing with Prince Charming.
Tonight she would make Valerio Marchesi realise just how wrong he had been to underestimate her.
The paparazzi were gathered eagerly around the gates of Valerio’s luxurious Monte Carlo villa, waiting for the first public photograph of the Playboy Pirate’s return and an exclusive opportunity to see what had become of their tragic hero.
Valerio had planned to give them their show—to depart in his usual extravagant style, driving one of his prized sports cars. But at the last moment he had chosen to have his bodyguard drive one of the Jeeps, instructing him to exit the rear gate so that he could slip past the cameras.
He had told himself that he was adding to the mystery—that he was playing up to the media circus and fanning the flames of gossip. It was all good publicity, after all. He was building up to a grand return on his own terms. But the reality was that he had stopped himself from booking the first flight out of Monaco at least three times since walking off the yacht into the dawn light that morning. If it hadn’t been for the threat to Dani, he’d have gone. But he knew he had to be here—knew he had to ensure her complete safety.
He had stood in the marina, looking up at the now unfamiliar city that had once been one of his many playgrounds, and he had felt like an impostor. He was playing the part of Valerio Marchesi, but he had no interest in that life any more.
The Vows He Must Keep (Mills & Boon Modern) (The Avelar Family Scandals, Book 1) Page 3
