by Jennie Lucas
Taking it, Antonio frowned.
Hana shrank a little, watching him. Who was calling him? Few people had his direct number. Was it another woman? He’d had many mistresses in the past. And time after time, she’d seen him treat those women so casually, discarding them like drive-through wrappers after lunch. Easily consumed, easily forgotten, easily replaced.
Glancing at the phone, Antonio turned it off without comment. He gave it back to her. “Sorry.”
“It’s fine.” Putting it back in the jacket pocket, she told herself she wasn’t going to ask. She had no intention of marrying him, so why would she care who called him?
She was grateful, in fact. It reminded her why she had to stay strong and resist his marriage proposal.
Because she was tempted. After they reached the end of the boat ride, as he held out his hand to help Hana out, she couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like if every day could be like this. Having a home together. Working together. Raising a child together. Being happy.
But this feeling couldn’t last. Even if Antonio could be faithful to her as he vowed, he was a workaholic who loved only his company. He’d never make room in his life to be a full-time husband and father. That wouldn’t change. Ever.
Although, she suddenly realized, he’d just given up a critical business deal, just to spend the day with her and see the sights of Tokyo...
“What about shopping?” Antonio asked, his dark eyes crinkling in a smile. “I heard Tokyo has some of the best luxury shops in the world.”
She paused. “Yes, it does. Why? Do you need something?”
“Yes,” he said firmly. “I do.”
Hours later, they came out of yet another lavish Ginza boutique, a toy store so enormous it was five stories high. Going out onto the main shopping avenue of Chuo-Dori, Hana was still shaking her head.
“The baby won’t be born until October,” she chided. “And this is too much! Don’t you think you should wait?”
“Wait for what?”
“You haven’t even seen a scan yet. I’m only ten weeks pregnant.”
He stopped. “Did the doctor you saw hint there might be a problem?”
“No, she said everything looked perfect. But it just seems—”
“What?”
“Like tempting fate!”
Looking down at her, he said gruffly, “I make my own fate.”
That was certainly true. Hana shook her head with a laugh. “Toys, baby clothes. The most expensive baby stroller I’ve ever seen. I’ve seen cars that cost less! It’s just a good thing the shops deliver, or you’d have needed to hire a van and staff to carry it all.”
“I wanted to buy more.” Standing beside her on the busy sidewalk, he looked down at her seriously. “I wanted to buy things for you. Why won’t you let me?”
Hana looked away, feeling her cheeks burn. “I’m not your responsibility.”
“I’d like you to be.” The intensity of his dark gaze burned through her. She couldn’t bear it. Tugging on his hand, she started walking. They passed other lavish luxury department stores and boutiques. Glancing down the street at the enormous, exclusive Bulgari flagship on the corner, he stopped her. “I want to buy you a ring, any ring you like, the biggest damn diamond in the entire store.”
“I don’t need a big diamond,” she objected. All around them, Tokyo’s traffic whirled past, making her dizzy.
“I’d give anything,” Antonio said gruffly, “to get down on one knee and propose marriage in any way that would make you say yes. With a twenty-carat diamond ring, a sapphire, an emerald—even a damn ring from a gumball machine.” He looked at her. “What would it take, Hana? Tell me. Whatever it is, I can do it. Just tell me.”
Her heart was in her throat. Her eyelashes fluttered, brushing her cheek as she looked down at her own hands. She couldn’t look him in the eye. He couldn’t know how close she was to falling. If he had any idea of how tempted she was to surrender—
“Mr. Delacruz!” a voice called loudly. “Señor!”
Turning, she saw Ramon Garcia’s hulking form waving at them through the crowded sidewalks. “There you are,” the man panted. “We’ve been looking for you. All over. The lawyers are frantic.”
“What do you want?” Antonio demanded, clearly annoyed.
“It’s—the Iyokan deal.” The muscular bodyguard leaned over, gasping to catch his breath. She wondered how long he’d been running. “Another company made—an offer. Iyokan says if they don’t get a—sweetened deal—by the end of the day, they’re going to walk. Please.” He waved desperately toward the street. “The car is around the corner. Come now.”
“I turned off my phone for a reason,” Antonio said coldly. “Tell the lawyers I’m busy.” And he turned back to Hana. “What’s next?”
She stared at him, thinking of the hundreds of hours she’d spent over the last few months, helping him assess and prepare the legal and financial documentation for the negotiations. This deal was CrossWorld Airways’s entrée into the Asian market, the key to make his company a truly global power.
“Are you crazy?” she demanded. “Go! Go now!”
“I don’t care. Let it fail.” Antonio looked at her steadily. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m here. For you.”
Her jaw dropped.
He was truly willing to fail, and let a competitor win in his place? Just to impress her? Just to woo her?
No. No way.
“Forget that.” Hana’s eyes narrowed. “We’re going. Right now.”
“We?” Antonio blinked. “But I thought—”
“You thought I’d let the deal we’ve both killed ourselves over for months just disappear up in smoke? No way!” She turned to the bodyguard. “We’re coming now.”
She heard Antonio’s ragged intake of breath.
“Querida...” he breathed, and, pulling her into his arms, he looked down at her with such pure joy that it melted her right through. She beamed back at him, and then her smile slid from her face.
Oh, she was in so much trouble.
CHAPTER SEVEN
TWO HOURS LATER, as Antonio walked out of the boardroom with the Iyokan Airways deal signed and delivered, he looked down at the amazing, intoxicating woman beside him.
“We did it,” he said, still slightly dazed.
Hana turned to him, smiling. “You did it.”
Antonio shook his head. She was the one who’d known every detail necessary to hammer out the negotiations and get everything signed. Her beauty hadn’t hurt either, or her fluency in Japanese. The CEO of Iyokan Airways had obviously been charmed. Even now, as they walked out of the office toward the elevator, trailing lawyers in their wake, Antonio still wondered if the other airline had made the deal in order to partner with CrossWorld Airways—or to partner with Hana Everly.
Either way, with one stroke, Antonio’s airline now had the international reach he’d always dreamed of.
“The deal was signed because of you,” Antonio said quietly.
“I couldn’t let you lose it. Not when it means so much to you.”
He thought of how hard she’d worked, at his side, night and day. “And you.”
“I love our company, too,” she said simply.
Our company.
He’d never thought of it that way before.
“We’re all going to celebrate,” Emika Ito, the pretty young director of the Japanese lead team, called out to them. “Come join us!”
“Thanks, but we have plans,” Antonio replied automatically, not looking away from Hana’s beautiful face.
“We’ll be at the hotel bar in Ginza if you change your mind!”
“What plans?” Hana asked him.
Plans? Antonio’s only plan was that he wanted to feel like this forever, triumphant after their business deal, with this sensual, brilliant
woman in his arms. No one else could have done it—none but Hana.
“You’re right. The company isn’t just mine,” he heard himself say suddenly. “It’s ours.”
“I know,” she said cheerfully. “You couldn’t possibly succeed without me.” Then she saw his expression. Her forehead furrowed. “What are you trying to tell me?”
Yes, what? His heart was suddenly pounding. He could hardly believe he was saying it. But he slowly said, “You know this company is my life. My family. But you and the baby are part of that now. You should be with me.”
“You—” Licking her lips, she said, “You want to hire me back as your secretary?”
“Not my secretary.” He took a deep breath, then plunged in. “My full partner.”
Her lips parted. “Wh-what?”
Antonio took her hands in his own. “Maybe I can’t offer you love like in the fairy tales. But we could have an incredible marriage. We’ll work together, create a worldwide empire—a legacy that someday our child will inherit.”
Her warm brown eyes met his. They looked equal parts terrified and dazzled. “We’ll spend our days together, as a team? Working together like before?”
“Better than before. This time, we’ll be partners. Our family. Our company.” Running his hands through her long dark hair, he whispered, “I can imagine nothing better than spending our days together running our empire, and our nights setting the world on fire.”
He heard her gasp. Her cheeks were pale as she looked up at him in shock. “You’d give me half your company—just like that?”
Antonio could hardly believe it himself. His heart was pounding. He felt almost sick if he let himself think about it that way. His company meant everything to him. Even now, part of his heart was screaming that he couldn’t risk this, couldn’t, not even with someone he trusted as much as Hana. His company was everything he had.
But what risk? He needed her in his company. He needed her at his side, slaying dragons. Almost as much as he needed her in his bed.
He wanted to marry her. If she refused this, he did not know what more he could offer her.
Standing by the elevator on the top floor of the Tokyo office, he looked at her. “What do you say, Hana?” he asked in a low voice. “Will you have me?”
“If you would offer me half of your company, then some part of you must—”
She stopped.
He prompted, “Must?”
“Must...really want to marry me.”
He had the strange feeling that she’d been about to say something else. “How much clearer can I be?”
Hana looked up at him, her eyes shining. “I thought I knew you,” she whispered. “But maybe I don’t. Because the man I knew could never do what you’ve just done.”
Antonio felt a drop of cold sweat go down his back. Half his company. How could he have offered her that? How?
But he had to win. He could not lose Hana. She was the heart of CrossWorld Airways. She was the mother of his unborn child.
“Does that mean yes?” he asked quietly.
Her eyes were suddenly full of tears. “What if you regret it?”
“I won’t,” he said harshly, praying he wouldn’t.
The elevator dinged as the door slid open. Behind them, more lawyers were coming out of the boardroom with their assistants and briefcases. Grabbing Hana’s hand, Antonio pulled her inside the elevator, away from prying eyes.
Taking her into his arms, he whispered, “Say you’ll be mine.”
He could feel her trembling, tottering on the brink of surrender.
“Just...just let me think,” she breathed.
Antonio’s mind whirled. They were both exhilarated after signing the deal. Perhaps tomorrow she’d have a clearer head. Perhaps tomorrow, Ren Tanaka would be back from Osaka and convince her she could do better than Antonio. He looked down at her.
Which she could.
Cupping her face in both his hands, he vowed, “I’ll make you happy, Hana. We’ll have a marriage. A home. I’ll be a good husband and father. Everything you ever wanted. I swear it. Marry me. Marry me now. Today.”
For a moment, he thought she was still going to say no, and his heart thundered in his chest. He’d never let himself be so vulnerable, not since he was eighteen. In fact, he’d created his whole life to make sure he never felt vulnerable like this.
Hana took a deep breath.
“Yes,” she said quietly.
“You will?” Antonio felt a rush he’d never felt before. Every business deal he’d ever made, even the first one that had allowed him to lease a plane for little more than a promise of a percentage of future profits, paled compared to this. He needed Hana in his bed. Tonight. Knowing he would possess her, now and for always.
He needed her as his wife.
* * *
And so it was that an hour later, they were signing the document in a plain civil registration in a government office in the city. Hana seemed slightly bewildered, as if she wasn’t sure how it had happened so fast. But with Tokyo’s straightforward marriage laws, there was no need to wait. Neither of them had ever been married before. They’d just needed passports, his driver and Ramon Garcia as witnesses, and a simple document from their embassies. They wore the same clothes as when they’d left Tanaka’s hotel that morning, Antonio in a white shirt and black trousers, Hana in her pale pink sundress, clutching the tiny bouquet of cherry blossoms he’d impulsively bought from the flower shop across the street.
And just like that, it was done. They were married.
After a lifetime of being absolutely sure he would never, could never, marry anyone, he could hardly believe how easy it had been to marry Hana.
They left the small government office and came out into the fading afternoon light, Antonio holding the marriage document with one hand and Hana’s arm with the other. As they came out of the building, a beam of light fell on her, and he stopped.
Golden light caressed her long dark hair like a halo, frosting her soft cheeks, her pale pink sundress and sandals. She looked fresh-faced, sweet and innocent as a country girl—except for the big diamond ring on her finger, which he’d insisted on buying at Cartier en route to their civil ceremony. It wasn’t the biggest diamond in the store, but it had been the most expensive, because it was perfect.
Like Hana, Antonio thought, dazzled. Perfect in every way.
And now she was his—forever. He shivered. He couldn’t wait to get her into bed. He’d made love to her four times last night, but he still wanted her to the point of madness. It was insane, the grip she had over him. Normally that sense of lost control might have scared him. But that was nothing.
Not compared to the fact that he’d just married her without a prenuptial agreement.
He could hardly have asked for one, after his big speech about wanting to share his company with her. And the last thing he’d wanted was to wait for his lawyers, when he’d been desperate to marry her today before the municipal office closed. They’d barely squeaked in before closing time as it was. He hadn’t wanted to give her a night to think it over or change her mind—especially since he’d heard her call Ren Tanaka as they left the skyscraper in Marunouchi, leaving him a message about her hasty wedding.
But now, thinking of what he’d just done, Antonio felt ice slide down his spine.
He’d promised her half his company. He’d married her without a prenup.
Without his airline, Antonio was nothing. He was still that dirty, worthless little orphan no one wanted, no use to anyone, not even his own family—
With a deep breath, Antonio pushed the old fear aside. He could trust Hana, damn it. She would never leave him. She’d never try to wrest control of CrossWorld Airways from him. She would respect his decisions. At least she always had before.
Before he’d given her everything...
; “Congratulations, you two!” Ramon Garcia exclaimed, interrupting Antonio’s unsettling reverie. “How are you going to celebrate? Join the team at the bar? Wait until they hear!”
Antonio’s gaze traced from the delicate corner of Hana’s neck to the full curves of her breasts. “I have something else in mind.”
All he wanted to do was get back to his own lavish hotel suite—far from Tanaka’s hotel—and make love to his wife.
His wife!
“Oh, please.” Hana turned to him with her big brown eyes. “Can’t we meet with the others?” She added wistfully, “I’d love to celebrate with everyone...”
There was no way he could deny her anything right now.
“If you wish it, querida,” he agreed, and Garcia and Haruto Nakamura, the Japanese driver, cheered. His wife, with an adorable smile, lifted on her tiptoes to place her hands around his shoulders, one hand still holding her small bouquet.
“You’ve made me so happy,” she whispered, and Antonio’s fear melted away as his heart swelled with pride. All he wanted to do was keep the joyful light in her eyes, and know he’d caused it to be there, now and forever.
As Nakamura went to get the car, Antonio gripped Hana’s hand. In the back seat, even when they reached his luxury hotel—the biggest, most glamorous international hotel in Ginza—he never let go. As they walked into the hotel bar, which was sleekly black-and-white with high ceilings and modern art, the two of them were met with thunderous applause.
“Congratulations!” Emika Ito cried, holding up a champagne toast toward them. Stopping in the doorway, Antonio looked around in astonishment. Had everyone already heard about their wedding? But how?
The young woman continued, “The deal was lost, then it was struck. To the couple of the hour!”
Everyone applauded wildly, the entire Japan lead team, and the New York lawyers who’d been staying here the last few weeks to prep for the Iyokan deal. Emika had not been referring to their wedding, but the deal he’d actually forgotten about in all the excitement of marrying Hana.
He really was losing his mind...
