The Italian Marriage

The Italian Marriage
Kathryn Ross

It definitely won't be a marriage in name only… But it was all finished between Gemma and Marcus Rossini, except for one bond, their son, Liam. Now Marcus is returning to Italy - and he wants Liam and Gemma with him. And he will do anything to get what he wants… even marry! Gemma would love to reject his proposal.But that's not something she's ever been able to manage with the very persuasive Italian tycoon.

“We may have to pretend for everyone else’s sake that we are madly in love, but at least we can be honest with each other.”

“I thought we were being honest.” Marcus’s voice was hard and cutting.

Gemma took a deep breath and launched in before she could change her mind. “So I really think the decent thing would be for us to sleep in separate rooms.”

There was a moment’s silence.

“You don’t mean that?”

The arrogance of that remark made her angle her head up defiantly. “Yes, I do.”

“We have an arrangement, Gemma. You are my wife and tonight we will consummate the marriage.”

Your dream ticket to the

vacation of a lifetime!

Why not relax and allow Harlequin Presents

to whisk you away to stunning international locations with our new miniseries…

Where irresistible men

and sophisticated women surrender

to seduction under a golden sun.

The Italian Marriage

Kathryn Ross

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER ONE

‘DADDY is getting married.’

The words fell in the drowsy heat of the summer afternoon like an incendiary device.

‘Sorry?’ Gemma had been pouring a glass of lemonade for her son and it spilt on the picnic rug, flowing over the hem of her floral sundress. ‘What did you say, Liam?’

‘You’ve spilt lemonade,’ the four-year-old pointed out, reaching to get a chocolate bar from the picnic basket.

‘Yes, I know.’ Ordinarily, Gemma would have told her son not to eat the chocolate until he’d finished his sandwiches but her mind was in total disarray. ‘What did you say about Daddy?’ she asked again, trying hard not to sound flustered.

‘He’s going to get married.’ Liam munched on the chocolate and regarded her steadily from dark eyes that were unnervingly like his father’s. ‘Does that mean I will have two mummys like Annie does?’

‘Well…I suppose it does…’

Gemma was at a loss to know what to say. She was still reeling with shock.

It was strange how one moment the world could seem settled and then the next a gaping great hole could open up under your feet. She didn’t know why she felt so shocked…or surprised. Marcus Rossini was thirty-eight, spectacularly handsome, and wealthy. He’d had his pick of women for years. With forty looming on the horizon, maybe he thought it was finally time to put his philandering days behind him and settle down.

So who was the woman? she wondered. She’d put bets on it being his childhood sweetheart, Sophia Albani. Women had come and gone over the years but she seemed to have remained in the background—despite the miles that sometimes separated them, despite the fact that Marcus had fathered a child. Sophia had taken it all in her stride and their relationship seemed to have survived, against all odds. Maybe that was the test of true love? For some reason the pain of that thought seared straight through to Gemma’s heart.

‘Are you sure about this, Liam?’ she asked her son gently. ‘How do you know Daddy is getting married? Did he tell you himself?’

Liam shook his head and reached into the basket to get a biscuit. ‘I was supposed to be in bed but I got up because I had tummy ache and I heard him talking…’

‘Was this last night?’

Liam nodded.

Curiosity ate into Gemma. ‘Who was he talking to?’

Liam shrugged.

‘Do you think it was Sophia? Was she at Daddy’s house yesterday?’

‘He was talking on the phone.’ Liam grasped a packet of crisps and Gemma broke from the trance that had possessed her. Interrogating a four-year-old was not the done thing and Marcus’s personal life was nothing to do with her.

‘Liam, no more junk food. Eat a sandwich, please.’