by Lucy Gordon
To repay an old debt...
Deliciously handsome Count Vittorio Martelli’s promise to repay his late father’s debt leads him to penniless and unemployed Jackie Benton. So to start with, he offers her a prestigious job in Rome working for him!
He’ll take her as his fiancée!
Jackie cannot believe her luck when an Italian stranger hands her a lifeline out of the blue. But when she gets there she discovers Vittorio also needs a convenient fiancée...and feisty, hardworking Jackie is the perfect candidate!
“Shall we dance?” Vittorio asked. “And couldn’t you smile at me as though I was your heaven on earth?”
“But what would that prove?” Jackie asked. “Only that I was one of the crowd chasing you. Now, if you smiled at me, that would be better. But don’t worry. I do understand why you don’t want to.”
“Don’t I?”
“Heaven on earth? Me? More like purgatory, driving you mad.”
“Which is just how you like it.”
“I can’t deny that.”
They laughed together. Those dancing near them observed that they were in perfect accord and exchanged significant glances.
“Now we’ve really given them something,” she teased.
“And if they heard me tell you that you look wonderful tonight they’d enjoy that even more.”
“No, don’t say that.”
“But I want to say it.” He raised his voice. “You’re lovelier than ever tonight.”
Dear Reader,
I have always loved traveling. Fascinating places all over the world have lured me in and provided the settings for my books. Nowhere is that more true than Italy, where I met the love of my life. It’s not a coincidence that so many of my books have Italian heroes and Italian settings.
It was a pleasure to write about Vittorio, an Italian count, whose glamorous estate is close to Rome. He was stunned by meeting Jackie, an English girl whose ideas about life were a revelation.
At first everything seems to be against them. His father did hers a terrible wrong, and Vittorio’s attempts to repay Jackie are met with rejection, something he’s never known before. From then on all he cares about is winning her over, and he discovers emotional aspects of himself that he’d never dreamed of.
We think of true love as a meeting of hearts, but love gains extra strength if it’s also a meeting of minds. For me, one of the crucial moments between Vittorio and Jackie comes when he says to her, “You understand things that nobody else could.”
He means that she understands him, and it draws him ever closer to her. His knowledge of her isn’t quite so deep, but his growing love leads him along the path to true unity. Their great moment comes when he finally manages to look into her mind and understand what he sees. After that their future is secured.
Best wishes,
Lucy Gordon
A PROPOSAL FROM
THE ITALIAN COUNT
Lucy Gordon
Lucy Gordon cut her writing teeth on magazine journalism, interviewing many of the world’s most interesting men. She’s had many unusual experiences, which have often provided the background for her books. Once, while staying in Venice, she met a Venetian who proposed to her after two days. They were married for forty-five happy years, until his sad death. Naturally this has affected her writing, in which romantic Italian men tend to feature strongly. Two of her books have won a Romance Writers of America RITA® Award. You can visit her website at lucy-gordon.com.
Books by Lucy Gordon
Harlequin Romance
The Falcon Dynasty
Rescued by the Brooding Tycoon
Miss Prim and the Billionaire
Plain Jane in the Spotlight
Falling for the Rebel Falcon
The Final Falcon Says I Do
The Larkville Legacy
The Secret That Changed Everything
Diamonds are Forever
A Mistletoe Proposal
His Diamond Bride
Not Just a Convenient Marriage
Reunited with Her Italian Ex
Expecting the Fellani Heir
Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com for more titles.
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I dedicate this book to my Italian husband, Roberto, who taught me so much about Italy, and whose love inspired me to set so many books there.
Contents
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
EXCERPT FROM CLAIMING HIS SECRET ROYAL HEIR BY NINA MILNE
PROLOGUE
‘I DID WRONG. I didn’t mean to, but I couldn’t help it. All in a moment I found that I could be wicked.’
The old man lying on his deathbed spoke weakly, for his strength was fading fast. Vittorio, the young man sitting beside him, grasped his hand and spoke urgently. ‘Don’t say such things, Papà. You’re not wicked. You never could be.’
‘Try saying that to George Benton. He was the man I robbed of a million, whose life I ruined, although he never knew it.’
Vittorio rubbed a frantic hand over his eyes and said fiercely, ‘But that’s impossible. How could he not have known?’
His father’s eyes closed and he turned his head, as though too full of despair to say any more. Vittorio rose and went to the window, looking out onto the grounds. They were lavish, extensive, perfectly suited to the Counts of Martelli, their owners for five hundred years.
Franco, the present Count, lay still as his life slipped away. Vittorio knew that his father’s mind had often been confused recently. And surely this was merely another example. Yet there was a desperation in the dying man’s manner that warned him of something different; something fearful.
‘Don’t worry about it. Papà,’ Vittorio urged, sitting by the bed again. ‘It’s all in the past.’
‘It will never be in the past until it’s put right,’ the Count murmured. ‘We were friends. We’d met here, in Italy, when he came on holiday. We became friends, and when I went to England a few weeks later I visited him. He was younger than me, and that made him fun to be with. We enjoyed a good time, going out for the evening, having a drink, charming women. And we placed a bet. It was just innocent fun—until his gamble paid off! He didn’t know. He was too woozy with drink by then. So I cashed in his winnings, then supported him home and put him to bed.’
‘What did you do then?’ Vittorio asked quietly.
‘I’d had the bank draft made out in my name. I did intend to cash it, and pass the money over to George once he was sober, but I fled before he could wake up.’
‘And he never suspected?’
‘How could he? I never told him about winning. The next day I cashed the draft and returned home to Italy. I never meant to do wrong. I’d just succeeded to the title, but my pleasure was tempered by the discovery of the debt hanging on the estate. Now suddenly I could clear the debt. The world was bright again. It was wonderful to have people showing me respect, cal
ling me Count Martelli.’ He managed a wry smile. ‘Vittorio—my son—you’ll soon know that feeling.’
‘Don’t, Papà,’ Vittorio said with soft violence. ‘I don’t want you to die.’
The elderly Count squeezed his hand. ‘You’re a good son. But my time has come.’
‘No,’ Vittorio said fervently. ‘You must stay with me a little longer.’
The thought of losing the father he loved was intolerable. His mother had died giving birth years ago. His father had raised him since then, and together they had been a team, each meaning more to the other than anyone else ever could. Now the man who was the centre of his life was to be snatched from him, and the pain was agonising.
‘Fight it, Papà,’ he pleaded. ‘Another day, another month, another year. I’m not ready to do without you.’
‘You won’t have to. I’ll always be there with you—in your mind, your heart, wherever you choose.’
‘I choose to keep you with me in every way,’ Vittorio whispered.
‘My son—my son—there’s just one thing I would ask of you.’
‘Whatever it is, I’ll do it.’
‘All these years I’ve got away with what I did, and now that the end is near—’ he shuddered ‘—I must seize my last chance to make amends—with your help. Promise me—swear.’
‘I’ll do anything I can. My word.’
‘Find Benton. Ask his forgiveness. If he needs money—’
‘I’ll give him whatever he needs. He’ll forgive you and you can rest in peace.’
‘Peace? I can no longer remember how that feels.’
‘But you will have it, Papà. Wherever you are. I promise.’
‘Thank you—thank you.’ Franco whispered the words over and over.
Vittorio rose quickly to pull the curtains across the window.
‘Don’t do that,’ his father begged. ‘You’ll shut out the light.’
‘I was afraid the sun was too dazzling for you.’
‘It won’t be for long.’ He gave a sigh. ‘Sunlight never lasts. You think it will. You think the light has come into your life for ever. But suddenly it’s gone and there’s only darkness.’
Vittorio sat down again, taking his father’s hands in his. ‘Darkness can be fought,’ he said. ‘I’m going to fight this for you.’
‘One day you’ll have your own darkness to fight. You can never tell when it will come, or what will cause it. You must always be ready for what you’ve never expected. Take care of yourself, my son. Take care—when I’m no longer with you...’
His voice faded.
‘But you will always be with me. You must be. Can you hear me? Can you hear me Papà? Papà!’
But there was no response. Franco’s eyes had finally closed and he lay still.
Vittorio dropped his head against his. ‘I promise,’ he whispered. ‘I gave my word and I’ll keep it. Wherever you are—hear me, believe me, and rest in peace.’
CHAPTER ONE
THE WORLD WAS full of light and glamour. Excitedly Jackie danced this way and that, rejoicing in the vision of her beautiful self that appeared in the mirror. Music played in the distance, inviting her into a universe in which she was the heroine.
But abruptly the dream ended. As she opened her eyes the real world fell back into place. The mirror’s reflection showed not the luscious beauty of her fantasy but Jackie Benton, a slender young woman with a face that was intelligent, but not beautiful.
She sighed, easing herself out of bed.
Surrounding her was the austere bedroom where she spent every night. By now she had hoped to leave it behind, move to a new home and a more exciting life. But fate had arranged things differently, confining her to Benton’s Market—the little shop where she lived and worked.
She’d spent most of her life in the tiny apartment over the shop that her father, George Benton, had started twenty years earlier. He had fought to make it a success, always struggling with money worries, and raising his daughter alone when his wife had left him.
In his last years Jackie had been forced to run the shop alone—something that had given her an unexpected satisfaction.
She was clever and hardworking, able to retain information about all the stock, and produce it at a moment’s notice. Something which had at first impressed her father.
‘You really remembered all that?’ he would exclaim. ‘Well done! You’re in the right business.’
‘I get it from you,’ she had reminded him. ‘I remember when I was a child there were lots of times you made people gulp at what you could remember without having to look it up.’
It had been a happy moment, uniting father and daughter. He had been proud—not only of her memory but her ability to choose the best stock. Knowing this, she had felt her confidence grow, and she had begun to see herself as a serious businesswoman.
Just occasionally her father had given her a little warning advice. Once, when a temporary employee had flounced out in a temper, he’d said, ‘Did you have to be so hard on him?’
‘I wasn’t hard on him,’ she’d protested. ‘I just pointed out that he’d got something wrong. And he had.’
‘You might have been a bit more tactful.’
‘Oh, come on, Daddy,’ she had said, in a teasing voice. ‘What you mean is that a woman mustn’t tell a man that he’s wrong in case he’s offended. But we’re not living in the nineteenth century.’
He’d patted her hand. ‘You may not be, darling, but a lot of men are. You’re a bit too fond of giving orders.’
‘Too fond for a woman, you mean? You think I should just go along with him? Even when I know he’s an idiot?’
They had laughed fondly together, but she’d come to understand that he had been making a fair point. She had learned to speak with more care, but it was still exasperating to have to do so when she knew she was an expert.
She had gradually come to enjoy the feeling of being in command—not merely of their employees but of the whole running of the place. She had chosen stock and it sold well. She’d had the instincts of a talented businesswoman, and they had given her hope for the future.
But her hard work had come too late. Matters had started getting worse, owing to the mountain of her father’s debts that had piled so high that even her commercial success could not completely deal with it. Finally her father had been forced to sell the shop.
By then his life had been drawing to a close. Rik, the new owner, had reluctantly allowed them to stay in the little apartment upstairs, and Jackie had continued to work in the shop—but only part-time, so that she could always hurry upstairs to check that her father was all right. She nursed him gladly, giving him everything in her power in return for the loving care he had always shown her.
‘It’s so hard for you...to be caring for me and working downstairs as well,’ he had said once. ‘Such a burden.’
‘Stop it, Dad. You could never be a burden to me. Never.’
‘Bless you, darling. I wanted to leave the shop to you. I’d have been proud to give you a legacy. I hoped once—But there. It just didn’t work out.’
She would have loved to own the shop. So much of its success was due to her work, and it still held the atmosphere created by her beloved father. But she had known she must abandon that dream.
Her father had died a few days later. And then Rik had offered her a lifeline.
‘You’re welcome to stay if you become full-time. You can go on living here.’
She’d thought carefully before agreeing. She disliked Rik—an ill-tempered man in his forties—But she had accepted the job because it would give her a little time to work out her plan to escape into a new life—one in which she would have her own business, organising everything, using the talents she’d so gladly discovered.
; Her dislike of Rik was well-founded. He had a high opinion of his own knowledge and skills, but Jackie felt that he actually knew very little. He made silly mistakes for which he blamed her.
She had tried to save money, hoping that soon she would be able to afford to leave and explore new possibilities. But it had been a hopeless task. Following George’s death had come the discovery of more debts that he hadn’t managed to pay, even with the money he’d made from selling the shop. Her savings had soon been swallowed up by them. And she had no hope of saving much more, given the meanly low pay Rik allowed her.
‘I give you a fair wage,’ he would say. ‘You live here for nothing. If you worked somewhere else you’d have to pay for accommodation.’
It was true. Frantically she had hunted for another job, but hadn’t been able to find one that paid enough to solve the problem. Now she felt trapped, and with no obvious way out she just had to hope for a miracle!
She showered and dressed carefully. She presented a picture of efficiency—ideal for the work that consumed her life—but her looks didn’t please her. She considered herself far too plain.
She opened her laptop and logged on to her bank to check the state of her account. The result made her groan with despair. She had very little money, despite her attempts to live frugally.
Dispirited, she opened an astrology website, and read her prediction.
The fates are planning a startling new beginning for you. The sun in Jupiter will bring things you never anticipated, and decisions that will change your life.
In her dreams, she thought wryly. Last week it had said she was going to be a millionaire. And look how that had turned out.
She read the prediction again, trying to see it as the approach of the miracle she longed for, and then hurried downstairs and opened up the shop. She served a couple of customers, then spent some time looking around.
The shop had a variety of stock, including home wares and groceries. She often wished she could persuade Rik to show a little more imagination about the stock. But he had no sympathy for her ideas.
