A Shocking Proposal In Sicily (HQR Presents)

by Rachael Thomas

  ‘Maybe.’ He smiled and sipped his wine.

  ‘How is your father today? Will he be well enough to attend the party tomorrow?’ Kaliana needed to change the subject, needed to keep herself focused on what was really going on. She couldn’t allow the passion, the ever-deepening emotions she felt for Rafe, to cloud the reality of the situation. The cold, practical deal they’d made to marry and have children.

  Whatever she did, she had to tell herself that the desire between them was just lust. No matter how much she now secretly yearned for it, that lust could never be love. She had to remember what he’d told her. Like her, he’d loved and lost.

  ‘He is responding well to his treatment, although it is taking it out of him physically.’ Rafe stepped back from her. From the spark of sexual energy. ‘Our engagement party has given him a new surge of life. He is determined to be well enough to celebrate with everyone.’

  The reminder of what tomorrow would bring made her tense. A high society party here, at Villa Casella, to seal the deal she’d made with Rafe. The marriage deal made purely for convenience. Tomorrow, she and Rafe would officially be engaged.

  Photographers from Vive, Italy’s top celebrity magazine, were due to arrive in the morning. The fact that her engagement photos would be seen around the world was daunting enough. But, worse than that, tonight, among the many guests due to arrive, from Franco to Claire, was Enzo.

  Kaliana had hoped he would come, hoped that this would be the beginning of the brothers—the twins—creating a new friendship. Rebuilding their relationship. ‘It will be nice for him to see Enzo, to have both his sons together.’

  ‘Enzo and I have agreed to put our differences aside,’ Rafe said, his shoulders tensing. ‘We’ve agreed to do that because our father is ill. Because he needs to believe we are now united. That together we will ensure the Casella inheritance remains just that. It doesn’t mean I have forgiven him for anything.’

  ‘Sometimes you have to let go of things from the past and move on, even if you don’t feel good about it.’ The words rushed from her and, looking at Rafe, she wondered why she’d said that. Was she trying to help heal wounds between him and Enzo? Trying to make him move on from the loss of his first love? Or was it because she was beginning to feel ready to do just that herself? That she was looking for her own approval.

  Rafe looked at her, the hardness of his gaze leaving her in no doubt that her outburst had doused the flames of desire which had been whipping around them just moments ago. Maybe that was for the best.

  ‘Enzo and I have...’ he paused as if searching for the right words ‘...a very complicated past. One that can’t just be put aside.’

  ‘You can act like my lover, act as if we are in the middle of a whirlwind romance, for the sake of your family, so maybe, for the sake of your father, you and Enzo can not only portray the image of twins who have forgiven and forgotten, but actually do that. Actually forgive one another.’

  Rafe looked away, as if ashamed of his thoughts. ‘I’m not sure I can ever forgive or forget what Enzo did. He took Emma from me.’

  ‘And you loved her?’ Kaliana stepped forward, sensing Rafe’s pain, wanting to help him heal as she was beginning to heal.

  He looked up at her, questions and doubt in his eyes where desire had only recently been. ‘I can’t do this now, Kaliana. I know you mean well, that you think we should mend the broken bridges between us, but it takes two to do that.’

  ‘If Enzo comes tonight?’ She asked the question softly.

  ‘Then maybe we can start to rebuild those bridges. But it will take time. And trust. On both sides.’

  Had the argument between the twin brothers blown up because Enzo, the eldest, had discovered he was unable to father children? Because he couldn’t do the one thing his father expected of him? Or did it go back much further? To Emma? All sorts of questions rushed through Kaliana’s mind and she wished Rafe didn’t shut her out so much. Wished he’d let her in.

  But that would be more like being real lovers. And they weren’t. They were acting the roles of lovers. For their own gains. Why did just being with Rafe cloud that sentiment? Make her wish for more?

  ‘Franco and Claire are due to arrive soon.’ Rafe’s words interrupted her thoughts, bringing her back to reality at a startling speed. He’d clearly put their conversation to one side, focusing instead on what they needed to do as a couple. She wondered if Franco knew the truth of the arrangement, as Claire did. Somehow the idea of Rafe confiding in anyone, even his lifelong friend, didn’t seem possible.

  ‘I’m looking forward to seeing Claire,’ she said, attempting to put some distance between the feelings deep inside her and the reality in front of her. ‘It will be good to catch up.’

  ‘It will be nice to dine with Franco and Francesca as well as Claire, no?’ His voice now held that seductive amusement she found so hard to resist.

  She loved the way he added no to the end of his questions. As if he doubted she could ever agree with him. It was just one of the many things about Rafe she’d grown fond of during their time in Rome.

  ‘It will be really nice for Claire and Franco to meet and get to know one another.’ Kaliana smiled up at him, revelling in the gentle closeness surrounding them—as if he cared, even though he’d actively shut her out emotionally once more. ‘After all, they will be best man and bridesmaid.’

  ‘Sì, it will be a good thing. And Franco tells me Francesca is excited to see you again,’ Rafe said, that hint of amusement lingering in his voice.

  ‘I don’t think she believes it’s possible the most untameable bachelor is getting married,’ Kaliana teased him. She couldn’t help herself.

  ‘Is that what I am?’ He moved closer to her again, the coldness of their discussion about Enzo seemingly forgotten.

  ‘Didn’t you know that?’ She laughed. ‘The headlines after our night out in Rome said that a mysterious princess had tamed the world’s most untameable bachelor.’

  ‘Mysterious.’ He moved closer. ‘I like that.’

  ‘And being tamed?’ she teased him again, unable to help herself. Especially when she knew that next he would brush his lips over hers in a sexy and very teasing kiss.

  As if he read her thoughts, he smiled then lowered his head, brushing his lips over hers. ‘It’s a pity we are to be apart tonight, no?’ he whispered against her lips. She laughed softly, like a teenager who’d finally got to go out with her crush.

  ‘So the rumours are true.’ A new voice broke into the sensuality of the moment. Kaliana sprang back from Rafe, turning to see a man who could only be Enzo. Inwardly she sighed with relief. He’d come. There was hope of making things right. That had to happen. Deep down she knew that whatever was going on between these two was linked to Rafe’s impenetrable barriers.

  She watched him as he walked into the room, as tall and as powerfully commanding as Rafe, but there was a hard edge to his expression. The hope that Rafe and his twin could mend things faded slightly.

  ‘By that, I assume you mean that my fiancée and I are very much in love?’ Rafe’s voice bristled with irritation. And something else. Warning.

  ‘And there I was thinking you’d finally decided to do your family duty and marry for the good of the Casella name. To have the heir we all need.’ Enzo’s voice was cautious as he came to stand in front of them, looking at her.

  She could hear his unspoken questions. This was the one person Rafe had wanted to believe the whirlwind romance story. But from the look on Enzo’s face, Kaliana suspected he wasn’t fooled. He knew it was a marriage deal to keep the family fortune. Something he was unable to do himself. She couldn’t tell Rafe now, that maybe she already carried the heir they all required. It would have to wait until they were married. Until Rafe and Enzo had rebuilt their relationship.

  ‘So, tell me...’ Enzo directed the question at her, smiling, the same curve
to his lips as Rafe. She forced her thoughts back. Focused on the moment. ‘How did my brother persuade a princess to become entangled in the Casella family?’

  ‘Enzo...’ Rafe growled, moving closer to Kaliana, putting his arm around her, drawing her against him. Staking his claim on her.

  That possessive action was because Enzo had stolen his first love, Kaliana reminded herself, nestling even closer to Rafe as the need to stand up for him—for them and what they were doing—surged forwards. ‘It was one of those instant attraction moments,’ she said quickly, trying to deflect the tension which was weaving around them. Tightening its grip. ‘And we haven’t looked back since, have we, Rafe?’

  Rafe’s arm tensed around her and her heart began to race. ‘No, we haven’t.’

  Enzo turned his full attention onto her. That expression of doubt she’d seen so many times before tugged at her guilty heart. He had the same seductive and very sexy smile that Rafe had. It made her pulse leap. Not with attraction, as with Rafe that very first night in London, but with her own loss and fear. She shouldn’t allow it, but the worry of consequences from that night in Rome was seeping ever deeper.

  Shock was the motivator for that pounding in her head. Shock that right now, right here, in front of his twin, the brother he’d already lured a woman away from, Enzo was once again turning on the charm. Was he really trying to seduce her away from Rafe—his own brother? Or was it to make a point? To prove that he knew the love between them wasn’t real. Was he testing her?

  Enzo must know they were acting. That it was all role play. He was trying to seduce the truth from her.

  ‘That’s very convenient,’ Enzo said, his brows flicking upwards suggestively.

  ‘Enough.’ Rafe’s voice was steady. Hard. Enzo turned his attention to his brother as Rafe continued. ‘Kaliana is my fiancée, the woman I will be making my wife, and you will show her some respect.’

  The hot sultry evening air froze around them. The crackle of ice hardening, filling the air, was laden with gut-wrenching tension.

  Enzo turned to Kaliana. ‘My sincere apologies.’

  Before she could see what was coming, Enzo moved towards her, the customary kiss on each cheek planted on her. It was like being in a tug-of-war—Rafe rigidly holding her close, keeping his arm around her, Enzo following the expected protocol. Kaliana knew for sure he was exploiting it to goad Rafe.

  ‘Apologies accepted.’ She pulled back.

  Voices in the hallway alerted Kaliana to Claire’s arrival and when her friend walked in, accompanied by the tall and distinguished Franco, with Francesca looking so elegant that Kaliana wanted to rush off and change her emerald-green dress, she breathed a sigh of relief.

  ‘Claire, thank goodness you are here.’ She all but dragged her friend into the room, relief bursting through her. Finally, she could talk to someone about the confusion of emotions pounding through her.

  ‘Problems?’ Claire whispered as she glanced at Rafe and Enzo, now greeting Franco and Francesca.

  ‘It’s probably just me. I’m really nervous,’ Kaliana said quietly, keeping the smile pinned to her lips as she felt Enzo’s scrutiny on her once again. She couldn’t say anything here. Not yet. ‘Who wouldn’t be nervous? I’m engaged. And very soon I’ll be married.’

  Claire took her hand, squeezing it reassuringly, and Kaliana relaxed. Claire understood and, more importantly, she was here for her. A friend she could rely on. A friend she could trust. Even with her worst fear.

  ‘I think I may be pregnant,’ she whispered.

  Claire laughed softly, rubbing Kaliana’s arm. ‘Does it really matter now if you are?’

  * * *

  Rafe watched Kaliana as she spoke to Claire, the women’s friendship and support clear. Guilt rushed through him. He should have backed Kaliana up. Should have told Enzo he and Kaliana were in love. Instead he’d remained silent while she’d stood up to Enzo. He’d allowed the past to rear its head again. He turned his attention to Enzo and Franco, the flurry of Italian now flowing between them as Francesca listened intently. He needed to get Enzo alone, needed to discuss things privately with him.

  ‘Marriage will suit you,’ Franco said to Rafe, drawing him from his thoughts. His friend smiled warmly at Francesca as he wrapped her close to him, the love between the couple as clear as the sparkling sea surrounding Sicily. The kind of love he’d thought he’d had with Emma, before Enzo had taken her from him. Could he have got that so wrong?

  ‘Kaliana is very beautiful.’ Francesca smiled, looking across the room to where Claire and Kaliana were deep in conversation. With her emerald-green dress hugging her slender figure, she looked the picture of elegance. Regal elegance. Every inch the Princess.

  ‘She is, yes,’ Rafe agreed. ‘She is beautiful—inside and out.’

  Watching Kaliana, he realised she was exactly that. But more startling was the realisation that she was so like his mother—a woman with strength and compassion in equal measures. The kind of woman his mother had urged him to find. The kind of woman who didn’t deserve to be trapped in a loveless marriage. A woman who deserved to be loved.

  Kaliana was everything he needed to put the hurt behind him without tarnishing the memories of happier days by dragging the past into the present.

  So why couldn’t he let her in?

  Why did he want to push her as far away as possible emotionally?

  ‘I see she’s already got to you,’ Franco said, his voice full of amusement. Then his expression turned more serious as Enzo was greeted by another guest, becoming embroiled in conversation. ‘Don’t shut her out, Rafe. It may be a marriage of convenience, but she is just what you need.’

  Instantly Rafe was on his guard. ‘I don’t understand what you’re talking about.’

  Franco knew. He knew their romance wasn’t real. Rafe couldn’t have this conversation. He couldn’t have this manly heart-to-heart right here, right now. He glanced at Kaliana, at the way the soft evening light glowed in her hair as she stood by the windows opening onto the terrace, her face filled with pleasure and happiness as she and Claire talked and laughed.

  Last night, and every other night in Rome, her face had shone with pleasure and desire—desire they’d shared. But could he give her what she really deserved? Could he give happiness? Love?

  Kaliana deserved happiness. She was giving up so much to save her small kingdom from financial shame, prevent her people living in poverty. Just like his mother, she had a loving and giving heart. Exactly the kind of woman he should love. But he couldn’t. Not until he’d drawn a line under the past. A big bold line.

  Yet still he was drawn to Kaliana. She was taking him back to a place he’d never wanted to go again. A place where his emotions would be exposed. A place where those emotions would be so very vulnerable. He couldn’t allow that. He couldn’t go there again.

  ‘I’ve seen the way you look at her.’ Franco said. Rafe snapped his attention back to his lifelong friend. The only person outside his family who knew everything, who knew all the pain he’d endured. He was the only man who knew why he’d barricaded his heart.

  ‘You have seen through our façade. And yes, I do like for her, but convenience is the only reason we are marrying,’ Rafe said after ensuring Enzo was out of earshot. ‘What you think you see is just the charade of being lovers.’

  ‘And you, my friend, forget I know you as well as you do. Maybe even better than you know yourself.’ Franco placed his hand on his shoulder, a knowing smile on his face.

  ‘Now you are talking nonsense,’ Rafe said, unnerved by the way Franco went straight to the core of his fears. The reason why Rafe had to ensure that the sizzling attraction between him and Kaliana remained at the forefront of the relationship. That attraction, that sexual chemistry, had to remain his reason for agreeing to their deal as much as fulfilling his duty. Nothing else could ever become the reason.
r />   ‘Hi.’

  Kaliana’s voice, as she and Claire joined them, jolted Rafe from his traitorous thoughts.

  ‘This is Kaliana’s friend Claire, and this is Franco and his lovely wife, Francesca.’ Rafe made the introductions, aware of Claire watching him. He could feel her disapproval. Her doubt. Was he to be cross-examined by both Franco and Claire?

  Francesca moved towards Kaliana, kissing her warmly on both cheeks. ‘It’s so lovely to see you again and be here to celebrate your engagement.’ She then embraced Claire in the same way, with the same warm welcome. ‘And to meet you, Claire.’

  * * *

  Kaliana had found it difficult to relax as the formal meal started. The small group had enjoyed lively conversation but, by unspoken agreement, nobody had mentioned their engagement, or the impending wedding.

  That, together with her ever-increasing worry, had been so overwhelming that she hadn’t been able to face going into her room alone after everyone else had retired for the night. Instead she slipped out into the peace and quiet offered by the villa’s terraces. The velvety black sky cloaking everything in softness, soothing the ache in her heart.

  She inhaled a deep breath of the warm scented air, hugging her arms about her. The sounds of the night calmed her. She rubbed her hands up and down her arms, slowly beginning to relax.

  The time she’d spent in Rome with Rafe had been like living in a bubble. A bubble of passion and happiness. A bubble where she’d begun to dream, begun to wish and want for more. Now the reality of what their engagement would mean, and their wedding, began to banish that relaxed state she’d managed to find.

  ‘Couldn’t sleep without me?’ Rafe’s teasing words startled her and she whirled round to face him. He’d discarded his jacket and the white of his shirt was stark and bright in the darkness of the terrace. The array of foliage growing up the trellis as shade against the sun shrouded him in darkness, making him seem more unreachable than ever.