Chapter Three #2
“I had to,” Renzo said in clipped tones.
“I can’t have anyone thinking I discarded you.
Honestly, this is not a bad idea. Now the entire world can think this is a regular conception and that I’m not ashamed of either you or this baby.
” He regarded her curiously. “Isn’t this better than all the speculation about who you are and why I hid you away for so long? ”
“No, this isn’t better. Nothing is worse than me standing here, seven months pregnant, walking toward you in front of all these people in a mockery of what a real wedding should be.”
His hands moved to her shoulders, and he pulled her close. “I called you last night. You didn’t take my calls. You just kept texting me that everything was fine and you would show up.”
“I was out with my friends, and then I came back early because I…” Mimi swallowed the small bite of the truth.
If she told him that she’d been feeling uneasy all day yesterday and today, God knew what he’d do.
“I was tired, and I’d had enough of your high-handed instructions.
Honestly, I wanted one last quiet night before all this drama.
Now it looks like my circus radar was justifiably going haywire. ”
“It’s not as bad as you think. You have that glow about you, and your…” He stepped back as if to get a better view of her and laughed as he fully took in her black dress. “Ahhh… I get it now. Last little rebellion.”
Despite the twisting in her stomach, Mimi smiled. How was it that he was the one man who saw her inner motivations so clearly? And that the fact that he could see her always made her smile?
“If you care about how you’re perceived in all this, I can have the wedding attendant put you in a designer dress in two minutes, and then you don’t have to be embarrassed.”
“No. There’s no way I’m pandering to these guests who don’t even know me, the stupid media, or you. I’m getting married in this dress. Take it or leave it.”
If she thought she would darken his mood with her stubbornness, Mimi was proved wrong.
Renzo’s grin only deepened, and he gave her a short bow, as if she were a queen making the most solemn declaration for him to execute.
“There’s one more thing we need to discuss,” he murmured.
Groaning again, Mimi muttered, “Jesus, Renzo. At least take pity on the fact that I’m two months away from giving birth. What else is in store for me?”
“When I tried to get in touch with your mother, I got John instead. I told him of my plans, and he insisted on being here for you today.”
Her heart scuttled into her throat as Mimi searched the crowd for the tall, lean figure of her stepdad. That tight clutch of tears returned to her throat as if it had never left. “John’s here?”
Renzo nodded, his sweep of her features intense.
His knuckles danced over her wrist in soothing strokes, as if he knew the mention of her stepdad would push her that much closer to the edge.
“I told him that it was up to you whether you want to see him here today. I know you haven’t seen him since the wake, and I understand how hard this might be for you. ”
The depth of his perception when it came to her emotions…it took her breath away anew. And the warmth it enticed in her belly scared her.
Mimi pressed her forehead into his chest, uncaring that she was messing up his pristine suit. Or that he could mistake it for her softening toward him. In that moment, she needed his support to stay standing.
Not a surprise that John would offer to be here for her.
To give her away, in what was nothing but a farce, because he wouldn’t want her to be alone.
Even though he knew now that she was having the baby that was supposed to be his daughter’s, though he’d never shown any preference between her and Pia.
He had loved them both the same from the moment her mother had married him. And Mimi had tried for his sake, more than anything, to be a good sister to Pia, who, like her, had never known her other parent, having lost her mother in childbirth.
That cunning sneak grief came at her again, making her tremble on the warm day. With Renzo’s arms around her shoulders now, she wasn’t alone with it.
“Shh…cara. You don’t have to see him if you don’t want to,” Renzo whispered.
Mimi wrapped her arms around his waist loosely, pretending for one moment that this was real. That his care for her was real.
“Does he know how this pregnancy came about? Did you tell him that the baby’s…ours?” she asked, for once hoping he had taken control of the situation. She didn’t have it in her to go through it with her stepdad, didn’t have it in her today to be strong for him.
“Yes, I told him the entire twisted story, and it will stay with him. I want the world to know that this is our child. I don’t want any confusion—now or later. I loved my brother, but this is our life now. And there’s no need to feel any guilt for making the best of the cards we’ve been dealt.”
“It’s not that simple for me,” she muttered.
“What about this bothers you?” Something about the way he asked that question, his voice low and threaded with a hint of genuine concern, made Mimi unravel a little more.
If she wasn’t careful, he was going to turn her into a home-trained little puppy who did whatever he wanted every time he spoke in that husky tone.
“I don’t like this much public scrutiny.
And then there’s the fact that I’m at a disadvantage here, Renzo.
This whole wedding circus makes it look like I trapped you.
You’re known for your bachelor status—for enjoying your freedom, for enjoying the fast life.
Now it looks like you have no choice but to marry me because I’m cooking your bun in my oven. All my life…”
She swallowed the words that wanted to rush out after that. No need to bare her entire vulnerability to his eyes.
“All your life what?” he demanded.
She shrugged, not meeting his eyes. Not willing to set aside her concern to simply soothe him.
Even though his frustrated grunt urged her to do just that.
“Then how about we do something that shows the media and everybody else here that you’re not trapping me into anything? That I’m standing here because I want to be here.”
She looked up at him, and her breath left her in a rush at the glint in his eyes. Whatever it was, Mimi knew she was going to hate and love it at the same time. “Like what?” she said, making it clear that she didn’t trust him.
Renzo’s grin turned wicked. His hand moved to her waist, pulling her closer in a way that made her hyperaware of every camera trained on them.
And somehow, he even managed to shift a little to the side so that he didn’t nudge up against her belly.
And then he clasped her jaw in a firm grip. “Something like this.”
Mimi stared, transfixed, as he dipped his head and touched his lips to hers.
His were cool and soft while hers were burning hot with a longing she couldn’t push down.
She’d have thought it impossible for her body to even register any more stimuli…
but she was minutely aware of the puffs of his breaths against her lips, the indents of his fingers against the nape of her neck, and the low rumble his chest made under her own fingers when she rubbed her lips lazily against his…
and then there was the way he draped himself over her, with those broad shoulders shading her from the entire world, as if the moment was too private to be shared…
And then even that level of awareness fell away, and she was spun into pure golden sensation as the kiss deepened.
“Open, bella. Let me taste you.”
The sensual shock of his words made her gasp, and he took immediate advantage, swiping his tongue inside her with a mastery that made her groan. On and on he kissed her, in long sips and little nips and lazy bites, stealing every inch of air from her lungs and every ounce of sense from her head.
Mimi sank into the kiss, lazy heat unspooling through her, unraveling her. And when he turned the soft nip into a sharp pull of her lower lip, dampness filled her panties, and she lost the little balance she had.
She fell into him, and he steadied her, but not before her belly brushed his…erection. A lash of pure primal heat held her captive.
God, to be wanted by this man was unlike anything she’d ever known.
His low curse feathered over her skin as his lips drifted down her jaw. Large hands rounded her shoulders gently, belying the heat and intensity of the kiss. “I only meant to give them a little glimpse into this. Now it won’t look like I’m being dragged to the altar against my will.”
“How very sacrificial and performative of you, Renzo,” she said, something she couldn’t control creeping into her tone.
Surprise made his mouth slacken while his gaze searched hers. Whatever he saw there, he sighed. Not that it stopped him from rubbing his thumb pad against her lower lip. “You’re a hard negotiator, cara.”
She swiped the back of her hand across her lips as if to erase the kiss, though the heat of it lingered stubbornly, mocking her. “I didn’t ask you for anything.”
“And yet I want to admit that only point one percent of that was for the press. The rest was for me. For us.” He frowned, as if he didn’t like the taste of that word on his lips. Us…a feeling Mimi completely understood. “I simply wanted to test a theory.”
“What are the results?” she said, her voice sharp enough to cut glass.
“That we could have an altogether entertaining marriage if we so wished,” Renzo replied smoothly, his wicked grin unwavering.
Mimi’s fingers curled into fists at her sides. “You’re unbelievable. One blistering kiss and an unplanned baby does not guarantee marital bliss. And please, warn me next time so that I can prepare myself appropriately for the performance. Although I should tell you, the acting gene missed me.”
“If I told you I was going to kiss you senseless, then you’d have put your defenses up and ruined the spontaneity. That would hardly convince anyone, don’t you think?”
“I would still like to be included in the plan, please.”
Renzo chuckled, the sound infuriatingly rich and self-assured. “That’s a fair ask. Next time, I’ll tell you how much I want to kiss the hell out of you.” His gaze moved to her belly. “Like you, I don’t like surprises, and we’ve had enough to last a lifetime.”
“We never agreed on the sexual side of this arrangement,” she huffed in meager protest.
“Sì, but I’m a patient man, and the chase is half the fun.”
“You’re not chasing me,” she sputtered, the very idea making her body hum.
“Of course not. I’m talking about you chasing me, sliding one rung down at a time from your high-and-mighty ladder. Begging me to give you what you need.”
Empty air huffed out through her lips as Mimi wondered at the sheer audacious ego of the man. “I’ll never beg you for kisses or sex, not if you were the last man on earth. In case I didn’t make it clear earlier, you’re not the man I’d have chosen to have a child with.”
His smile dimmed, replaced by something unreadable.
And Mimi had the most ridiculous notion that she had grazed the impenetrable arrogance and confidence that he wore like a second skin.
But then the walls were back up, and he was the smooth, charming Renzo DiCarlo again.
“I promise to not crow when you lose, bella. Should be easy since I will be too deep inside you to care about winning. Your surrender will be the true reward.”
Before she could respond, he turned on his heel, his stride confident as ever as he walked away, leaving her standing there, fuming.
And Mimi swore to herself that she wouldn’t surrender to the arrogant Italian, even though the vow felt just a little hollow beneath the lingering heat he had provoked in her body.