The Italian Prince's Proposal

The Italian Prince's Proposal
Susan Stephens

Crown Prince Alessandro Bussoni Ferara needs to make a purely practical marriage–and he's found the perfect bride! Emily Weston agrees to the prince's proposal. But once Alessandro's wedding ring is on her finger, it's revealed that Alessandro must provide the principality of Ferara with an heir.Heartbroken to find she's just a bride of convenience, Emily decides she must leave Ferara and Alessandro–without telling him she's expecting his baby….

MARRIED BY CHRISTMAS

For better or worse,

she’ll be his by Christmas!

As the festive season approaches,

these darkly handsome Mediterranean men

are looking forward to unwrapping

their brand-new brides. Whether they’re living

luxuriously in London or flying by private jet

to their glamorous European villas, these

arrogant, commanding tycoons need wives,

and they’ll have them—by Christmas!

Don’t miss any of the exciting stories available

this month from Harlequin Presents EXTRA:

Hired: The Italian’s Convenient Mistress

by Carol Marinelli

The Spanish Billionaire’s Christmas Bride

by Maggie Cox

Claimed for the Italian’s Revenge

by Natalie Rivers

The Prince’s Arranged Bride

by Susan Stephens

SUSAN STEPHENS was a professional singer before meeting her husband on the tiny Mediterranean island of Malta. In true Harlequin Presents style they met on Monday, became engaged on Friday and were married three months later. Almost thirty years and three children later they are still in love. (Susan does not advise her children to return home one day with a similar story as she may not take the news with the same fortitude as her own mother!)

Susan had written several nonfiction books when fate took a hand. At a charity costume ball there was an after-dinner auction. One of the lots, “Spend a Day with an Author,” had been donated by Mills & Boon author Penny Jordan. Susan’s husband bought this lot and Penny was to become not just a great friend, but a wonderful mentor who encouraged Susan to write romance.

Susan loves her family, her pets, her friends and her writing. She enjoys entertaining, travel and going to the theater. She reads, cooks and plays the piano to relax, and can occasionally be found throwing herself off mountains on a pair of skis or galloping through the countryside.

Visit Susan’s Web site,

www.susanstephens.net (http://www.susanstephens.net). She loves to hear from her readers all around the world!

The Italian Prince’s Proposal

Susan Stephens

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

The Italian Prince’s Proposal

For Steve, my hero

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

CROWN PRINCE ALESSANDRO BUSSONI OF FERARA narrowed amber eyes in lazy speculation as he continued to stare at the brightly lit stage. ‘She’d do.’

‘I beg your pardon, sir?’

There was no emotion in the question. The man sitting next to the Prince on the top table at the lavish Midsummer ball wore the carefully controlled expression of a career diplomat, and had a voice to match. Thin and lugubrious, with sun-starved features, it would have been impossible for Marco Romagnoli to provide a sharper contrast to his employer, and Crown Prince Alessandro’s blistering good looks were supported by one of the brightest minds in Europe, as well as all the presence and easy charm that was his by right of birth.

‘I said she’d do,’ the Prince repeated impatiently, turning a compelling gaze on his aide-de-camp. ‘You’ve paraded every woman of marriageable age before me, Marco, and failed to tempt me once. I like the look of this girl—’